1K6-5: You Didn’t Know the Holy of Holies Meant This

“In the inner part of the house
he set up the sanctuary,
so that the ark for the covenant of
Adonai could be placed there.
This sanctuary was thirty-five feet long,
wide and high;
and it was overlaid with pure gold.
In front of it he set an altar,
which he covered with cedar.“
-1 Kings 6:19-20

From verse 19, we’re given instructions about how the sanctuary was set up.

This was patterned after the original sanctuary erected in the wilderness during the Israelites’ time in the desert.

Now, note the part where it says the “inner part” of the house where the sanctuary was built.

The original Hebrew term here is DEBIR, which is related to the root word DABAR.

Do you remember what DABAR means?

It means “word” or “speech.”

Actually, some Bible translations more accurately translate DEBIR as “oracle.”

For example, the King James Version says the following:

“And the oracle he prepared in the house within,
to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.”
-1 Kings 6:19

But here’s what most folks don’t know.

In these verses, the word DEBIR is being used as a technical term for the awesome Holy of Holies here.

Betcha you didn’t know that now, did you?

Recall the dimensions of the Holy of Holies were 20 x 20 x 20 cubits.

Or 35 x 35 x 35 feet.

In other words, it was a perfect cube.

And true to the original pattern, a lot of gold was utilized for the decorations inside.

Now, what’s up with all the cedar wood mentioned?

.This is referring to the Altar of Incense.

You recall what the Altar of Incense is, don’t you?

What’s that?

You don’t remember?

Well, let me jog your memory here a bit.

The Altar of Incense was the small gold-covered altar inside the Tabernacle’s Holy Place (not the Holy of Holies) where priests burned a special blend of incense every morning and evening.

It symbolized prayer rising up to God.

This picture was also carried into the Psalms and later into Revelation.

Blood was applied to it once a year on the Day of Atonement.

So what takeaway can we extract from all of this?

There are actually quite a few takeaways I could get into.

Pointing to the perfect cube dimensions of the Holy of Holies, I could talk about how the God we worship is a God of order and precision.

Or I could show you how the closer you get to God, the more valuable things become.

I’m referring to how, as you moved deeper into the Tabernacle, from the outer court inward, the materials got progressively more precious, culminating in pure gold everywhere.

However, what I find most inspiring is the fact that the Holy of Holies has a name that actually means “word” or “speech” in Hebrew.

This tells us that God speaks from the innermost place.

That ain’t a coincidence, homie.

When you pray and draw close to God, you’re stepping into the very place where He speaks.

If this ain’t the coolest thing you’ve heard this week, I dunno what is.

Alrighty, I’ll leave it at that for today.

See ya all next time.