Supernatural Session 14 (Sacred Space)

The Israelites spent over a year at Mount Sinai. Why so long? They had already entered into a covenant with God and received the Ten Commandments. But they still had a lot to learn. It was one thing to promise to believe in and be loyal to the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was another to know what God expected and what he was like.

The Concept of Holiness

Many of the strange laws and practices of the Old Testament are grounded in the need to teach people that God is unlike everything else. In his nature and character, he is unique; he is completely other than humanity and anything else. For Israel, that was a truth that had to be reinforced at all times. Otherwise, God might be thought of as ordinary.

The biblical word for the idea of God’s unique otherness is holiness. It means “to be set apart” or “to be distinct.” The concept isn’t necessarily about moral conduct‌—about the idea that we should behave a certain way to reflect God’s distinct moral standards—though that is included ().

God wasn’t content to simply give Israelites an intellectual explanation of holiness. He wanted the concept of his otherness to permeate life in ancient Israel. The Bible tells us this was accomplished through rituals (symbolic acts) and by rules for approaching sacred areas.

How Is God “Other”?

The short answer to this question is “in every way,” but that’s too abstract. The Bible is much more down-to-earth, and the rituals and rules for Israelite community living reflect that.

For example, the Bible teaches us that God was not only the source of Israel’s life—he was life. God is not of this earth, a place where there is death, disease, and imperfection. His realm is supernatural. Our realm is terrestrial. The earthly space he occupies is made sacred and otherworldly by his presence. The space we occupy is ordinary. God is the polar opposite of ordinary.

In ancient Israel, these ideas were conveyed by the fact that people had to be invited and purified to occupy the same space as God. Many laws in the Old Testament regulate this purifying.

Israelites could be disqualified (made “unclean”) from sacred space by a variety of activities and conditions. Having sex, losing blood, certain physical handicaps, and touching a dead body (human or animal) all rendered an Israelite unclean. Israelites were forbidden from eating certain birds of prey that ate from dead animals (e.g., vultures, hawks; ) or animals that might be found on or inside a carcass (e.g., lizards, mice; ).

In these instances, uncleanness was not about morality but rather about association with loss of life and the incompatibility of that with God’s perfection. Even though the logic is simple, it feels foreign to our modern minds. Loss of blood and sexual fluids were perceived as the loss of that which created and sustained life. God was not to be associated with the loss of life but rather with being the giver of life. Requiring “purification” after the loss of such fluids was a reminder of God’s nature. Similar “purification” was required after being made unclean by contact with the dead. One could also be excluded from sacred areas in Israel due to physical imperfection or injury, in this case because such imperfection is incompatible with God’s perfection.

All these laws were intended to drive home a supernatural worldview.

Fixing the Problem of Uncleanness

Being “unclean” and unfit to approach sacred space was a serious matter for ancient Israelites. They could not bring sacrifices and offerings to the required locations if they were unclean. The solution was ritual purification, sometimes involving its own sacrifice or a waiting period.

The logic of blood sacrifice—the dabbing or sprinkling of blood on a person or object to render them clean and fit to occupy sacred space—is foreign to us. But blood sacrifices had a theological purpose—they introduced the concept of substitution. Since blood was the life force (), the taking of an animal life taught the lesson that approaching God on any terms except his own meant death. The blood of the sacrifice was a merciful substitute to rectify an Israelite’s defiled, unclean state.

The teaching point was that God was preserving an Israelite’s life by substituting the sacrifice. Human life was more sacred than animal life because humans were created in God’s image (; ). Israelites owed their existence by a supernatural intervention that enabled Abraham and Sarah to have a child (). But human life was in peril in the presence of a holy God. Sacrifices reminded them that God had power over life and death—and God wanted to show them mercy.

Heaven (and Hell) on Earth

Drawing attention to God’s otherness communicated certain ideas—not only about God, but also about supernatural boundaries. The idea of “realm distinction” was fundamental to the supernatural worldview of Israel. If where God’s presence dwelt was holy, the ground elsewhere was not—it was either ordinary or, in some cases, hostile and evil.

God’s own presence was marked by reminders of Eden. Many features of the tabernacle and the temple were designed to make people think of Eden, the place where heaven and earth met. The golden lampstand was fashioned and decorated as a tree (), an analogy to the Tree of Life in Eden. It stood guard in front of the veil that blocked the way to the Holy of Holies, the place where the ark of the covenant was stationed, the lid designed to function as a throne for God ().

The cherubim inside the Holy of Holies are also a clear connection to Eden. The Edenic cherubim stood guard at the dwelling place of God in Eden (). The cherubim inside the Holy of Holies guarded the lid to the ark of the covenant (). Later, after Solomon built the temple, the tent structure of the tabernacle was moved inside the temple and two giant cherubim were installed over the ark as a throne for God, making the ark his footstool ().

The temple was also decorated like the garden of Eden, filled with images of lush vegetation and animals (). Flowers, palm trees, lions, and pomegranates were carved into its architecture. It was a visual reminder of the place where God had first come to earth to live with his human family.

Israelites needed to be reminded of the dark side of cosmic geography too. If the Israelite camp, and later the nation of Israel, was holy ground, the home of God and his people, then the terrain outside Israel was unholy ground. God had, long before Sinai, forsaken the other nations and given them over to lesser gods (; ). He would one day reclaim the nations, but during biblical days, they were realms of darkness.

One Israelite ritual brought this lesson home in unforgettable detail. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), held every year and described in , included a fascinating object lesson to remind people about holy and unholy ground.

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Leviticus 16:1–10 ESV

1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Two goats were involved. One was sacrificed and its blood sprinkled in the sanctuary to cleanse it of human defilement for another year. The sacrificed goat was “for the Lord.” The other goat wasn’t killed—it was sent out into the wilderness after the high priest symbolically transferred the sins of the people onto it. That goat was “for Azazel.”

Who or what is “Azazel”? Some translations render the word scapegoat instead of Azazel. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew word in question is a proper name—the name of a demon. During the wilderness journey to the Promised Land, the Israelites had been sacrificing to demons (), because they feared evil forces would threaten their camp. The wilderness was, after all, outside the Israelite camp, and therefore it was the place of evil entities. This practice had to stop, and the goat for Azazel accomplished that. The goat for Azazel wasn’t an offering to evil gods—the goat was never sacrificed. Instead, sending it into the wilderness was a symbolic way of cleansing holy ground (the Israelite camp) from sin.

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Sacrifice and Israel’s Cosmic Geography

in intertestamental Judaism, the offending sons of God from Genesis 6 were believed to have been imprisoned in a pit or abyss in the netherworld. Azazel’s realm was somewhere out in the desert, outside the confines of holy ground. It was a place associated with supernatural evil.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement described in , is an important element of Judaism familiar to many Christians. Though not practiced today as it was in ancient times in the absence of the temple and Levitical priesthood, this holy day is still central to the Jewish faith. But while numerous Christians have heard of the day, most would be startled to learn that a sinister figure lurks in the shadows of . There’s a devil in the details.

The Day of Atonement ritual required a ram, a bull and two goats (vv. 3-5). The ram was for a burnt offering, a general offering aimed at pleasing God (). The bull, taken from “the herd” served as a sin offering for Aaron, the high priest, and his family. The purpose of the sin offering was purification—restoring an individual to ritual purity to allow that person to occupy sacred space, to be near God’s presence. Curiously, two goats taken “from the congregation” were needed for a single sin offering (v. 5) for the people. Elsewhere the sin offering involved only one animal (e.g., ). Why two goats?

The high priest would cast lots over the two goats, resulting in one being chosen for sacrifice “for the Lord.” The blood of that goat would purify the people. The second goat was not sacrificed and was not “for the Lord.” This goat, the one that symbolically carried the sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness, was “for Azazel” (ESV; vv. 8-10).

Who or what was Azazel?

The Hebrew term azazel occurs four times in but nowhere else in the Bible. Many translations prefer to translate the term as a phrase: “the goat that goes away” (the idea conveyed in the KJV’s “scapegoat”). Other translations treat the word as a name: Azazel. The former option is possible, but since the phrase “for Azazel” occurs in parallel to “for Yahweh” (“for the Lord”), the wording suggests that two divine figures are being contrasted by the two goats.

Two other considerations argue in favor of Azazel being a divine being—in fact, a demonic figure associated with the wilderness. First, Jewish texts of the Intertestamental period show that Azazel was understood as a demonic figure.2 The Mishnah (ca. 200 AD; Yoma 6:6) records that the goat for Azazel was led to a cliff and pushed over to kill it, ensuring it would not return. This association of the wilderness with evil is evident in the NT, as this was where Jesus met the devil (). Second, in Lev 17:17 we learn that some Israelites had been accustomed to sacrificing offerings to “goat demons.” The Day of Atonement replaced this illegitimate practice.

It is important to note that this goat was not a sacrifice—it was not sent into the wilderness as an act of sacrifice to a foreign god or demon. Rather, the act of sending the live goat out into the wilderness—unholy ground—was to send the sins of the people where they belonged—the demonic domain. By contrasting purified access to the true God of the first goat with the goat sent to the domain of demons, the identity of the true God and his mercy and holiness was visually reinforced.

Why This Matters

Things changed in the New Testament, but also stayed the same. God is still other. His holiness requires that we be purified to enter his presence. For us, that’s accomplished by believing in what Jesus did on the cross.

Everything Jesus did on our behalf had supernatural overtones. He went out into the wilderness—the place we would expect to find the forces of evil—and overcame Satan’s temptation. That event was followed by the beginning of his ministry, which culminated in overcoming the Devil, who “has the power of death” (). Jesus was crucified outside the holy city (). He was unclean because our sins were upon him, and Jerusalem was holy ground.

Jesus’ death and resurrection sanctify us—make us fit for God’s presence. Our sins were “taken away” (; see also ). Though unclean sinners, we are holy if we are in Christ. Though imperfect, our imperfections are overlooked because of Jesus. It’s that simple, yet that profound.

We tend to think Israelites were in many ways more spiritually privileged than we are. After all, they had God’s presence right in their midst. They lived in a world where supernatural, cosmic geography was real. We tend to think we would be more spiritual, more tuned-in to God, if only we had what they had, if only those continual reminders of God were our reality.

The New Testament says they are.

We don’t need a tabernacle or temple to mark sacred space. Our bodies are sacred space. Paul calls our earthly bodies a “tent” () because we are indwelt by the same divine presence that filled the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the temple (). Eventually our body, the earthly home of our spirit, will die, only to be replaced by a “house not made with hands” (), a heavenly dwelling—the new Eden, heaven returned to earth ().

Since God indwells believers today through his Spirit, each church‌—‌each gathering of believers‌—‌is holy ground. This is why Paul, when sadly telling the Corinthians to expel an unrepentant Christian who was living in sin, instructed them to “deliver this man to Satan” (). The church was holy ground. Outside the fellowship of believers was the domain of Satan. That was where sin and its self-destruction belonged.

It’s time we looked at ourselves through supernatural eyes. You are a child of God, fit for sacred space, not because of what you do or don’t do, but because you are in Christ, adopted by God (; ). You’ve been extracted from the realm of darkness and “transferred … to the kingdom of his beloved Son” ().

We must never, not for a moment, forget who we are in Christ—and what that means to the world.[1]

[1] Heiser, M. S. (2015). Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World—And Why It Matters. (D. Lambert, Ed.) (pp. 77–85). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

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