When the camp is; to set forward, Aaron and his sons shall go into the tabernacle of the covenant, and the holy of holies, and shall take down the veil that hangeth before the door, and shall wrap up the ark of the testimony in it,
וּבָ֨א אַהֲרֹ֤ן וּבָנָיו֙ בִּנְסֹ֣עַ הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה וְהוֹרִ֕דוּ אֵ֖ת פָּרֹ֣כֶת הַמָּסָ֑ךְ וְכִ֨סּוּ־בָ֔הּ אֵ֖ת אֲרֹ֥ן הָעֵדֻֽת׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The inner sanctuary, known as the Holy of Holies, was to be served by the descendants of Kohath, but solely after the priests had entered and secured it. In every situation, those in higher positions receive greater reverence, and everything belonging to God is maintained in an orderly manner; nothing is chaotic. The Levitical lineage was dedicated to service and occupied a subordinate role during the priestly duties performed by those in authority.
In the Old Testament period, prior to the transformative work of the God-Man Jesus Christ that established the New Testament Church, God instructed Moses and Aaron, while leading the Hebrews through the wilderness, to veil all the sacred items of the altar with a scarlet covering and to delegate the Levites to transport them. This directive is elaborated in Numbers chapter 4, verses 5-20, which state: “Aaron and his sons, when they enter the first tabernacle (the assembly of the church), shall remove the covering that obscures it, and drape the ark of the testimony (the ark of the covenant, or holy of holies) with it, covering it with a veil of blue skins, then spreading a covering of blue wool over it, securing the ark upon its poles of burden” (vv. 5-6).
Following this, directions are given for covering the table of showbread and ultimately, the golden altar with its utensils: “They shall remove the ashes from the altar and cover it with a purple robe, placing all its vessels used in sacred service upon it, encasing them in a purple robe, covering them with a covering of blue skins, and placing them on a stretcher” (Ibid., 4:15-16).
These provisions were ostensibly designed to prevent the curious from viewing the most holy objects before they were concealed, with the stern warning that any uninitiated individual who gazed upon or touched anything sacred would meet death. Consequently, those who bore the sacred items of the tabernacle were only aware of their weight, entirely shielded from sight by the scarlet veil. Similarly, those who fully commit themselves to the will of God refrain from probing into the mysterious workings of His Providence and Wisdom. This burden of limiting our curiosity must be willingly borne by each of us; it suffices for us to trust that the weight we carry, concealed beneath a blue or scarlet veil—metaphorically wrapped in the depths of God’s unfathomable will—is redemptive for our souls.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS