The Sanctuary by M. E. Steward

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 26, 1911

The Sanctuary

By M. E. Steward

M. E. STEWARD

“Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8.

Facts regarding the building:—

1. The sanctuary was made of the precious acacia wood, “tough, hard, and beautiful.” The boards were placed upright, covered with gold, and set in sockets of silver. Bars of acacia, covered with gold, passed through golden rings in the boards, to keep the building in place.

2. It was divided into two parts, called the holy place and the most holy place.

3. It was about fifty-five feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high. The most holy place was a cube.

Concerning the court:—

1. Surrounding the sacred edifice was a court, enclosed with hangings of fine-twined linen,—double and twisted,—suspended from pillars of brass, set in sockets of brass.

2. These hangings were half as high as the tabernacle.

3. The court and the tabernacle opened toward the east, thus causing those who entered them to turn their faces from the rising sun, which the heathen worshiped.

Veils closed the entrances:—

1. Those in the court were “beautiful and costly, but not so rich as the two in the sanctuary.”

2. The first of these two hung across the east end of the holy place, from five gold-plated pillars of acacia wood.

3. Another beautiful veil divided the holy from the most holy place.

Three gorgeous colors, besides gold and silver, were used in the sanctuary. Its first covering was of fine-twined linen in these colors. On the rich background were wrought cherubim and flowers in threads of gold and silver.

There were three coverings of the sanctuary over the linen,—of goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and sealskins. These coverings were made in separate strips fastened together with gold clasps.

The candlestick, the altar of incense, and the table of showbread were in the holy place.

The most holy place contained the ark, the mercy-seat, which was the cover of the ark, and the cherubim on the ends of the mercy-seat.

Meaning of the articles in the holy place:—

1. The incense represented the merits of Christ, his intercession.

2. The showbread signified “dependence on Christ for life, both spiritual and physical.”

3. The candlestick represented the Holy Spirit.

In the court was the altar of burnt-offerings, with the laver and its basin, where the priests were required to wash their hands and feet before entering the sanctuary, signifying that those who serve the Lord must be clean.

“No language can describe the glory of the scene presented within the sanctuary,—the gold-plated walls reflecting the light from the golden candlestick, the brilliant hues of the richly embroidered curtains with their shining angels, the table, and the altar of incense, glittering with gold; beyond the second veil the sacred ark, with its mystic cherubim, and above it the holy shekinah, the visible manifestation of Jehovah’s presence; all but a dim reflection of the glories of the temple of God in heaven, the great center of the work for man’s redemption.”

Sanitarium, Cal.