The Veil

Based on the detailed account in Exodus 26, we know the veil of the Tabernacle was specially made according to God’s own instructions. It was woven from blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen, with cherubim skillfully embroidered on it. The veil hung on four gold-plated acacia wood pillars with gold hooks, which rested on four silver bases. The veil hung below the clasps, and the Ark of the Covenant was placed inside the veil. It separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The veil was the same width and height as the Tabernacle, measuring ten cubits wide and ten cubits high. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, the veil was four inches thick and was repaired annually. He also wrote that it was so strong that it could not be torn apart by two horses pulling in opposite directions. (1 inch = 2.54 cm).

The purpose of the veil was twofold: to separate the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place (Exodus 26:33) and to cover the Ark of the Covenant when the Israelites set out from their camp in the wilderness (Numbers 4:5). The purpose of covering the Ark was to separate the holy God from sinful people, preventing anyone from seeing God directly. Because God is holy and inviolable, fallen humanity could not approach Him in the Most Holy Place before the Ark. Even the high priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year, with blood, to make atonement for the priests and the people (Leviticus 16:33).

This veil also prefigured the flesh of Christ. The Gospels record that when Jesus breathed His last on the cross, the veil of the temple was “torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). This was an act of God, symbolizing that the flesh of the Lord Jesus was torn for us. Because of this, we “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19) and can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). From that moment on, people only need to trust in Jesus Christ and no longer need sacrifices and priests to approach God.

The Bible records：

[Luke 23:44-45] It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

[Hebrews 10:19-20] Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.

[Matthew 27:50-51] And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.