Entering the Holy Place – Properly Dressed

 

Entering the Holy Place – Properly Dressed

Being properly clothed is important. When a person goes for a job interview, it would be wise to dress for success. First impressions are often made by the appearance of the applicant. A person's attitude and how they feel about themselves is often revealed by the visual aspect.

The Bible mentions spiritual garments for the Christian. We often consider the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians chapter 6, as we cloth ourselves for the tasks of the day. 

" Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which, you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel."

You will notice that the armor is to be put on as we enter our world of activity for the day. Gird yourselves with truth around your waist, (your gut feeling about what is correct and what is error) your feet are shod with peace of the gospel, faith as a shield against the negative thoughts that come your way. Further protection for the mind, with the helmet of salvation that includes deliverance and healing and your sword which is the Word of God.

Most of us as we prepare our day, will spend a time in our secret place where we will enter the Holy of Holies, to read our Bible, perhaps a passage from a devotional, and a chapter from a good book, then we will take time to praise Jesus, and enter into His presence.

My question today, is what will you be wearing as you enter the Holy Place? To wear the armor of God would NOT be proper in the Holy Place. The armor is protection against the enemy and the foe is NOT in the Holy Place.

So let us do some research; In the Old Testament, the Regular priests were allowed in the outer holy place, but the Holy of Holies could be entered only by the high priest on the annual Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. So once a year, on that day, the high priest would bathe, then put on the clean linen garments of the priest. His robe had solid gold bells hanging from the hem. The bells were so that the people would know the priest was still alive and not struck dead because of not being pleasing to God. The priest entered with fear and trembling not with anticipation joy and excitement.

His garment was clean white linen - The turban was plain white, with a gold plate placed at the forehead. On the plate were inscribed the words “Holy to the Lord.” This gold plate “will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that [the children of Israel] will be acceptable to the Lord” (Exodus 28:38). This reminder of consecration, placed so conspicuously on the outfit, symbolized the importance of approaching the Lord God in holiness.

All the garments worn by the Old Testament priests were symbolic of being set apart for God’s work of atoning for sin. Compliance with the “dress code” was required. ”
While such elaborate garments may seem odd today, God used these distinctive garments to set His spiritual leaders apart from the other Israelites. Each piece of the priestly garments held significance related to the work the priests performed. They also had a foreshadowing of Jesus, the “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14), who would carry out God’s plan of atonement in true holiness and perfection.

As we prepare to enter the Holy of Holies in our secret place, we are reminded to come with praise on our lips;

Isaiah 61:3 speaks of a garment of praise in a prophecy that the coming Messiah would “provide for those who grieve in Zion.” The Lord promises that He would “bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”

The phrase garment of praise is a metaphor for the gladness and thanksgiving God’s people feel when they are filled with the joy of the Lord. In ancient times, it was customary for a grieving person to wear sackcloth. The garment of praise is the opposite of sackcloth; it is brightly colored raiment indicative of celebration. The Christian Standard Bible translates it as “splendid clothes.”

As we prepare to enter the Holy Place, as Priests and Kings onto our Lord (Rev 1:6 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So with the garment of praise, we are ready with splendid garments to enter the Holy of Holies. The very garment of the Righteousness of Jesus is ours as we are adorned with splendor and royalty as his beloved child.

Consider as parents, and our child is before us with love on their face, being thankful for all we do for them, but now they are asking for us to do them a favor.... How will we respond?

Jesus said, he always asked His Father – what do we do next? Then as He listened to God's reply, that is exactly what he said and did.

So today, as we enter the Holy Place to ask our Lord to bless our city, our state and our Nation, we are systematically, coming into his presence with praise and thanksgiving, and allowing not our own righteousness, but His Holy robe of His Righteousness to cover up our nakedness.

As the Bible instructs us, we enter boldly not with fear and trembling, but knowing that Jesus has promised to not only listen but that He is ready to perform that which we are asking today.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your splendid clothing to outfit us with your garments of praise and your righteousness as we enter your presence.   Then as we leave to enter our day, for the spiritual armor for our protections.  May you be praised.