“But, mamma, what was inside the Tabernacle itself—what was so very
carefully kept under those four sets of curtains?” asked Dora.
“The Tabernacle was divided into two rooms by a most magnificent
curtain of rich embroidery called the ‘Veil,’” replied Mrs. Temple.
“The outer room, which was double the size of the inner, was named
the ‘Holy,’ or ‘Sanctuary.’ In this outer room were kept the splendid
golden Candlestick with its seven branches, each supporting a lamp
which burned all through the night, and the Table of Showbread, on
which twelve cakes of unleavened bread were constantly kept—the supply
being changed on every Sabbath.”
“Ah! I remember, it was that show-bread which was given to David when
he was hungry,” said Lucius, “though it was meant to be eaten only by
priests.”
“What other things were in the outer part of the Tabernacle?” asked
Agnes.
“There was the Altar of Incense, my love, upon which sweet perfume was
daily burned, so that the room was filled with fragrance.”
“You have told us, mamma, what was in the first part of the beautiful
Tabernacle; but what was in the very innermost part, the little room
beyond the Veil?” asked Amy.
“That little room, about fifteen feet square, was called the ‘Holy of
Holies,’ and contained the most precious object of all—the special
symbol of the presence of the Most High. That object was the Ark,
with its cover of pure gold which was called the ‘Mercy-seat,’ and
on which were figures of cherubim, wrought also in gold, with wings
outstretched. Over this Mercy-seat, and between the golden cherubim
rested the wondrous glory which showed that God was with his people.
David, doubtless, referred to this when he wrote in the eighteenth
Psalm, ‘_Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth!_’”
“And were not precious things laid up in the Ark?” inquired Agnes.
“Were not the tables of stone on which the Commandments were written
put into it?”
“And the Pot of Manna, kept to remind the people how their fathers were
fed in the desert?” said Dora.
“And the wonderful rod of Aaron, that budded, and blossomed, and bore
fruit; was not that also in the Ark?” asked Lucius.
“All these most precious and holy things were laid up in the Ark (or as
some think in front of the Ark), beneath the golden cherubim,” replied
Mrs. Temple.
“Oh, I should have liked above all things to have seen them!” exclaimed
little Elsie. “I should have liked to have lifted up the splendid
curtain-veil, and to have gone into the Holy of holies—if the light
had not been too dazzling bright—and have looked upon all those
precious things! Most of all, I’d have liked to see that wonderful Rod
of Aaron, if it was the very very same rod that had once been turned
into a serpent.”
[Illustration: THE HOLY PLACE AND THE MOST HOLY PLACE.