The Glory of Divine Beauty

By Craig Ashton Jr., June 3, 2023

I’ve been thinking again about the Old Testament Sanctuary. Its symbols and metaphors speak to me about what is truly meaningful and sacred. I admit that its rituals and symbols can be dense and perplexing. They may seem outdated or even crude to our modern sensibilities, but if you take the time to press deeper into the symbols, you will find that they say something beautiful about God. Psalmist David captured this sentiment when he said the following:

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

The Sanctuary was the place where the tangible presence of God dwelt among the people (Exodus 25:8). It was a place unlike anything on earth. God’s glory came down and filled the Sanctuary in such a majestic way that those who approached it experienced awareness of God’s power and benevolence. David desired only to stay in God’s house, bathe in His presence, and see the beauty of the Lord. David’s highest priority was fellowship with God. His was not a quick visit but a way of life with God forever.

God’s heart desires to dwell with us. Looking back, one could say that the primary goal of the Sanctuary was to dwell among the Israelites, but in reality, the Sanctuary was not limited to God dwelling among the Israelites. Rather, the beauty of the Sanctuary indicated God’s ultimate desire to dwell among the nations and all of creation. The Sanctuary was a microcosmic symbol of God’s loving reign over the entire universe.

God’s desire to be with us is perhaps the most important aspect of the Sanctuary. This divine desire to dwell among us is a language of love. It creates in me a longing to experience God’s presence and awaken my heart to the greatest love of all. But where is God’s presence today? In reality, we often experience the absence of God.

The Sanctuary is viewed as a small replica of what is happening behind the scenes—a pattern or copy that reflects what God is doing in the heavenliest places (Exodus 25:40; Hebrews 8:5). In this pattern, sin continually entered the Sanctuary, but once a year, it was removed so that God’s presence would remain among the people. Likewise, our sin and disorder defile God’s abode, but we see Him actively working behind the veil to remove this dark blot from the universe until He is all in all and we are brought back into union with Him.

Perhaps the territory we now occupy is not fully reclaimed. That our access to God is limited here is evidence that the divine plan is still in progress and that suffering and death are only temporary. They will pass; they will be swallowed by holiness (Isaiah 25:8). When this fully happens, everything will be holy, as no place will be beyond His holy and loving presence.

Perhaps we lack David’s desire to dwell with the Lord and to behold the beauty of His kingship and rule. May I never forget to celebrate the beauty of God’s benevolent character. As I contemplate the Sanctuary where God dwelt, I see hints of its far-ranging importance, which gives me hope for the future.

That God’s presence was hidden in the inner sanctum, temporarily limiting people’s direct access to it, explains why God may seem absent and silent today. I know that God is not finished with humanity. He desires to dwell among us, so I continue to look forward to the re-creation of the world as God’s eternal dwelling with mankind. When the whole universe—not just the Sanctuary—becomes the place of God’s indwelling presence, the divine purpose to fill the earth with the beautiful glory of His self-giving love will be realized. The Sanctuary and God’s longing desire will culminate when God fully dwells among humans (Revelation 21:3).

God truly desires to be with us. I want my heart to be won by the love of God, who is always for me and whose heart pulsates with desire for me. I want to gaze on the beauty of the one who demonstrated His love by giving His life to take on my suffering and pain—the one who is ever ministering to save us to the uttermost so we can be in His presence forever. What is happening behind the scenes in God’s Sanctuary is beautiful. I want to consciously seek and know God’s immense love and then immerse myself in the everlasting beauty of the Lord for all my days.

Craig Ashton Jr.