THE BEAUTIFUL DOORS
THE BEAUTIFUL DOORS
There were two doors; an outer and an inner (Exodus 26:31-37). The outer door (or first veil, Hebrews 9:2) was made of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen yarn, and like the colored curtains, the work of the weaver, for although it is said in the A. V., that the ornamental work was of needlework (Exodus 26:36), this term does not appear in the original. In the RV the Hebrew word is rendered “the work of the embroidered,” and in the Variorum Bible, we have the work of the variegater; the original indicates work that might be executed either by needle or the loom. In the description of the cherubim curtains finest white linen yarn is first mentioned, and then the bright colors follow (Exodus 26:1) leading us to suppose that the ground-work or warp was of fine white linen. With respect, however, to the hangings for the doors, blue is first named (Exodus 26:31-37), leading us to be of opinion that in their case the ground-work or warp was of blue yarn. And if blue, as likely, was the prominent color of the hangings, then this was significant, as these hangings were the doors of the dwelling, and more especially, as we shall see, with respect to the door of the holy of holies. With the purple, scarlet, and undyed white linen threads, beautiful devices were interwoven into the warp or ground work, probably consisting of palm trees and flowers such as adorned the corresponding door hanging of the temple, of which that of the tabernacle was the prototype (1 Kings 6:35). The beautiful door hanging was suspended from the five golden pillars standing before the entrance of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:37). The inner door (or second veil, Hebrews 9:3), called the veil, was not only resplendent like the outer door hanging with blue, purple and scarlet and fine white linen, but besides was adorned all over with lovely cherubim figures, its chief characteristic. “With cherubim the work of the cunning workman shall it be made” (Exodus 26:31, RV). This gorgeous curtain was suspended from the four golden pillars standing before the entrance into the holy of holies. It was called the veil (Exodus 26:31) whose chief prevailing color, most likely, as we have already remarked, was blue, and this is very significant, as it (the veil) was the type of the blue skies through which our Great High Priest passed into heaven, the true holy of holies (Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:9-11).