Entering Old Doors?

Maundy Thursday Procession to unlock the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 

Psalm 24:3

Psalm 24 makes me ask more questions than I can answer. What are the ancient doors in verse 7 and 9? In English it’s not as shocking, but in Hebrew the word is usually, ‘eternal’ or ‘from the bowels of the beginning’ (my translation :) ). Is it just a dusty old door? Or is it an imagined door that is there when we see the glory of the Lord enter? And what is this about approaching purely when we read in Leviticus that truly no one is clean! 

Let me think about an answer with you, and as I do let’s meditate on God’s word. First, I love verses 7-10. I love the repetition that reminds us of the coming presence of God’s glory. In the Old Testament we have many, many times that God’s glory comes down, visits his people especially as they worship. So in Exodus 40:34-35, they build the tabernacle and the Lord’s presence fills it so that no one can enter it. ‘And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.’ I think this is one of the images Psalm 24 is talking about. But interestingly, the door to the tent is a brand new, non-ancient opening. And as the Lord enters even Moses wasn’t able to enter it! His glory overpowered humanity. 

Second, I think of Leviticus 9:23-24 where God first comes and enters the tabernacle to consume the sacrifice. ‘And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. ²⁴ And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.’ God’s glory, his presence is there, and its fire consumes the sacrifice. 

Third, I think of 1 Kings 8.10-11 when Solomon builds his temple (with doors now) and again the glory of the Lord fills it and the priests can’t stand it! ‘And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.’ The point is that God’s presence is unapproachable in its pure glory. 

I don’t know how David imagined this would happen. He just sang this contradiction because he knew that God was not purely unapproachable. God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. Noah walked with God. David knew the sweet fellowship of Yahweh, we see the intimacy in the Psalms. I think he is anticipating the day of Christ. God with us. As Christ descended the mount of olives on a donkey, the rocks were crying out, ‘Who is this king of Glory?’ The heart of man was grumbling, but it was all so that we could have the intimacy with the God of glory. We can truly now sing this song: who shall go up the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart: that’s me. That’s you who have trusted in the king whose glory seemed upside down in Jerusalem but that glory as he was lifted on the cross so each of us could look on Jesus and be saved. 

The Eastern Gate (sometimes called the Golden Gate)