Pastorfrin and Jeannette, good insights here :-) I'll wait to see if Diane has anything to add.
_________________Christopher Joel Dandrow
Heres my thoughts so far: The temple presented terrible barriers (as pointed out) by its very design intended no doubt by God, the designer. It was a visual reminder of the barriers between God and sinful mankind. Gods perfect and holy law created an awful wall. Because of defilement caused by sin man simply cannot ever qualify to enter the inner courts. In that way the law pits all of us against God, and God against us. We (as a fallen race) are hostile towards each other. As sinful humans, we are aliens of Gods kingdom. And when humans are in opposition with God, they are also at enmity with each other creating all kinds of barriers, fighting, competition, inequality...
I also think of denominational divisions, again artificial, man-made, not of God.
_________________Diane