“For the entrance to the sanctuary
he made doors of olive wood,
set within a five-sided door-frame.”
-1 Kings 6:31
Alrighty, so verse 31 speaks of the entrance to the “sanctuary.”
The Hebrew term being used for “sanctuary” here is DEBIR.
Do you recall my explanation of this word?
If you need a quick refresher, you can read it HERE.
Anyway, to get straight to the point, the Complete Jewish Bible says, “sanctuary.”
Other Bible translations will say “shrine” or “oracle.”
But what this is really referring to is the Holy of Holies.
Again, read the article I posted a couple of days ago for full context.
So if you reviewed the earlier article, you’ll know this verse is talking about the entrance from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies.
Recall that the original wilderness tent was covered with a veil, or in Hebrew, PAROKHET.
But here in Solomon’s Temple, instead of a parokhet, there was a finely crafted doorway made of olive wood.
The entrance had a large wooden frame with doors made from olive wood, and cherubim and palm trees were carved into the doors.
The same carvings could be seen all throughout the inside of the Temple.
So, here’s the takeaway.
That doorway leading into the Holy of Holies reminds us that coming before God ain’t some everyday random occurrence.
Every detail of the Temple was designed to reflect God’s holiness and remind us of His awesomeness.
Now, most of us will never walk through olive wood doors covered with carvings of cherubim and palm trees.
But the question is…
When you do go to approach the Lord…
How do you approach Him?
Are you rushing in with a distracted mind?
Or are you coming before the Lord with calmness?
And an attitude of gratitude, respect, and a heart that genuinely wants to seek Him?
Something to consider amidst the busyness of our lives, don’t you think?
Done.
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