Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5)
It has always fascinated me how Jewish commentators love to analyze every word used in a verse and expound upon what can be learned from each of the words, especially when looking at them in Hebrew. In fact, Judaism believes there are at least four basic levels of Scriptural interpretation, starting with the plain meaning of a text to concealed truths within the same text. It is fair to say that they approach the Scripture with the idea every word has a lesson to convey. So then, for those of us who possess that same kind of Biblical curiosity, let us consider that David spoke of those who “ascend the hill of the LORD” and those who “stand in His holy place.”
In regard to the Temple on Mount Moriah, it should be understood that everyone who ascended did not stand in the Holy Place. In that era, everyone who ascended the steps leading into the Temple complex were required to first immerse themselves in a mikveh (ceremonial bath) in order to be ritually clean. Having satisfied this requirement they were able to enter God’s House, however, the average worshiper was permitted to go only so far. At a certain point, they had to stop because only the priests were permitted to enter the Holy Place and be near the Presence.
It should also be pointed out that, in order to stand in the Holy Place, more was expected of the priests in terms of sanctity and holiness than was expected of the average citizen. Let’s look at it this way: one’s proximity to God’s Presence was determined by how much one was willing to die to self in order to stand in the Holy Place. Borrowing from Exodus 19, Peter makes the assertion that followers of Messiah are a royal priesthood and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). As such, through the Messiah, we have access to God’s Presence and yet we are still required to keep our hands clean and our hearts pure.
In short, if we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), we must be willing to die completely to self; how far we are willing to go in that regard will determine just how close we are to standing in His Presence. I say that because dying to self hurts; becoming a living sacrifice consumes our flesh — our desire and will — which is why some stop short. In other words, some are quite content to ascend the hill of the LORD and remain in the court, going no farther. Let’s not be satisfied with that: let us be those who are willing to press on past the place where things are comfortable. Let us be willing to shed the rest of self, so that we might stand in His Holy Place and bask in the fulness of His Presence.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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