Our all-knowing God had a plan from before the beginning of the earth for the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. In the Old Testament, He gave strict instructions on how worship should be, and it all pointed to Jesus. After He freed them from slavery in Egypt, He gave instructions and provided for their needs in the wilderness. They were headed for the Promised Land, and He would be their guide. In the daytime, He would guide with a pillar of cloud, and at night, a pillar of fire. When either of these stopped, they were to stop. He also provided a place of worship each time they stopped. Their Tabernacle was the house where God would reside in their presence. Each part of the Tabernacle was symbolic of the Savior to come. Today we will look at the gate.
The gate of the court was made of hanging curtains that had special meaning. God gave the instructions, and He never wastes a word.
Exodus 27:16 “For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases.”
The first curtain of the gate was blue. This symbolizes Heaven and represents divinity and Christ’s heavenly origin. It should remind believers of God’s holy eternal nature. In Exodus 24:10, it says, “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in His clearness.”
Next there was purple. All throughout Scripture, purple was a sign of royalty and kingship. The Israelites would have been familiar with it because, in the ancient world, purple dye was rare and costly, signaling a king. It points to Christ as the King of kings. One day all will bow to Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation19:16 “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Then comes the color scarlet or crimson. It represents a blood sacrifice for our redemption. This points to the death of Christ to cleanse us from our sins. When sin entered the world, death entered the world. God could no longer have sweet fellowship with mankind without our sins being covered by the blood.
Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
The last cloth was white, and it was fine twined linen. White has always represented absolute purity and righteousness. To be in the presence of God, we must be sinless. Thus, the need for the crimson color to come before the white.
This gate was the only entrance into the courtyard, symbolizing that access to God is only through Jesus Christ. Jesus made it clear in John 10:9 and John 14:6 that He is the only way to enter Heaven. This gate was the only way to enter the courtyard where they would meet with God and bring a sacrifice to be killed for their sins.
John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
One gate, one way. Yet God made it accessible for all. It was 30 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall. They must come through the gate, not over it. In John 10:1, Jesus begins his message on how He is the shepherd, and He teaches us that His sheep must come in through Him. Anyone who tries to enter by climbing over is a thief or a robber.
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
This gate is wide enough that any who wish to enter can gain entrance. Jesus died for all, and all are welcome. Not only are they welcome; God desires that they come. A great price was paid so that we could be forgiven.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
God gave His Son to pay the price for our sins. The Holy Spirit convicts us and draws us to repentance, but we must choose. We can go through the gate, Jesus Christ, or we can reject Him and spend eternity in Hell. All believers must come to God the same way. The Old Testament was about placing their faith in a Savior to come; we, on this side of the cross, place our faith in a Savior who has already paid for our sins. It is our choice. One gate, one Way!
