And the glory of the Lord came into the house
by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
So the spirit took me up, and brought me
into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
Ezekiel 43:4-5
The inner court of the Sanctuary was for the priests
The priests had to do specific rituals to be able to enter
The designated robe, washings, sprinklings, sweeping
The average person did not enter the inner court
We are told now to not touch the unclean thing, anything of darkness,
anything against God, keeping ourselves unspotted from the world
Though different, somewhat, there are things unholy to God that defile us
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
People wonder why we need to study the Old Testament
It is important to know the law and the motions that God commanded
Those specifics help us to understand God and His ways
The reasonings might not make sense to our human minds,
the reasons why the priests were given certain rituals to do
but God can and does open up understanding to us by His Holy Spirit
There were very specific details not just suggested,
but commanded for those who came near the inner court,
near the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept
Nothing God does is by accident
God is very intentional
Understanding the blood sacrifice in the Old Testament helps us to realize why God sent Jesus His Son in the flesh to be sacrificed for our sins
There were many reasons for animal sacrifices which were for atonement
There were also many types of offerings, wave offerings, guilt offerings
Each represented a desire to give honor and obedience to God
Communion is an example of a present-day offering to the Lord:
After the same manner also He took the cup,
when He had supped, saying,
This cup is the new testament in My blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,
ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:25-26
Communion signifies Jesus’ atonement for our sins
Just like the gospel, the rituals and customs that the priests performed
are difficult to understand with our natural minds
Those who do study those directives, apart from the Holy Spirit,
cannot grasp the magnitude of Jesus’ blood sacrifice,
that the actual blood of God, in the flesh, was shed for mankind on Calvary
When David entered the inner courts and ate the showbread,
which was for the priests only, God did not get mad
Jesus even spoke of it to the Pharisees
as a way to help them realize their foolishness
Being Pharisees, they never understood
In contrast, when the Ark of the Covenant was being brought into the city,
there was a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant
He died on the spot
God was angry and then David was angry at God for killing that guy
No human could fully understand what it meant to be near God’s holiness
which is what the Ark of the Covenant represented, God’s holiness
The key here is without His permission,
the additional keys are humility and reverence and fear of the Lord
David was very reverent of God
He honored God for years while Saul was constantly trying to kill him,
but even though he could have, David refused to touch God’s anointed
or to let any of his soldiers kill him either, even though they could have
David waited on God
Waiting on God shows an enormous respect to God
Doing things on your own does not
So, David waited even though he knew he was chosen to be king
David essentially said, I will wait on the Lord to deal with Saul:
And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not:
for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed,
and be guiltless?
David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him;
or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
1 Samuel 26:9-10
We can see several people who God allowed in the inner courts
These are not literal inner courts
but that which represents being close to God:
Moses spoke with God face to face and saw the Lord’s back, Noah was there, close with the Lord, Abraham was a friend who communicated with God,
Isaiah saw the Lord, he was invited into the inner court and saw His glory,
as were several others allowed to be close to God: Daniel, Ezekiel, John
The inner court these saints entered was not a physical place:
And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua,
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:15
How do we get into the inner court now?
Is it prayer?
Is it fasting?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy;
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 1 Corinthians 3:17
We are the temple
There is no formula, but the directives that the priests of the Old Testament
were given will remind us of how we must honor God,
and realize that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him
He said, draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you
We also know, Jesus will say to many, I never knew you
Those who will demand that they are worthy to enter will be refused
That is why there is no formula, but we are at His mercy
and there was a mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant
This thought is so deep and rich and I cannot begin to uncover it at this time
The condition of our hearts is what God is searching
For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that sheweth mercy. Romans 9:16
Check your own heart
God has a way of teaching His children
What do you want out of your relationship with God?
What does God want from you?
Let’s go to the word to find the answer of how to cultivate that relationship
and how to serve the Lord that He may be pleased
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together,
and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him,
Which is the first commandment of all?
And Jesus answered Him,
The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:
this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28-31
By searching the scriptures you will find many explanations
that will clarify the question of how we cultivate our relationship with Christ
and that means, we might just be invited into the inner court, closest to God
Scriptural References:
When thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Psalm 27:8
But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him,
Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But He said unto them, Have ye not read what David did,
when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread,
which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Matthew 12:2-4
And David and all Israel played before God with all their might,
and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels,
and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon,
Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and He smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.
And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day.
And David was afraid of God that day, saying,
How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? 1 Chronicles 13:8-12
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
But without faith it is impossible to please Him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:8
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me,
ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:23