Sacred Space in the Bible
By-Omkar singh, Main Writer ScienceRelief
The most striking use of sacred
space in the Old Testament appears to be employed to reflect the relationship
that exists between God and Israel, His chosen people. The same understanding
of sacred space is also apparent in the New Testament where the relationship is
between God and 'spiritual Israel', through the person of Jesus Christ
(Galatians 3:29).
Both Israel and the Christian Church are ideally God-centred
communities which have been chosen by God and set apart (made holy) from the
rest of the world (Leviticus 29:2; Exodus 19:56; 1Peter 1:15-16; 2:9). If it is
the relationship Between God and his chosen people which constutes sacred
space, then the rest of mankind who live outside a relationship with God also
live beyond the boundary of sacred space and are therefore in profane space.
Think of the relationship between God and his people as a circle (God) within a
circle (God's people). Outside of the circle of God's people (sacred space) are
the rest of mankind (profane space). This conception serves as a template for
the various examples of this type of sacred space found in the Jewish and
Christian scriptures.
In both the Old and New testaments
this relationship between God and his people is founded on a covenant, which is
basically a contract, or mutual agreement, between two parties. According to
Genesis, the Hebrew book of beginnings, Adam and Eve, our primordial parents,
lived within a specially created garden east of Eden (2:8). The garden of Eden
can be seen to correspond with the above model of sacred space, with both Man
and Woman living within its boundaries, in a harmonious relationship with their
Creator. However, this arrangement was maintained on the basis of a divine
command, that man "must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and
evil" (2:17). When Adam and Eve disobeyed the command, the arrangement was
nulified and they were both driven outside the garden into profane space, into
a world of death (3:17) that was never meant to be, and no longer in a perfect
relationship with God (Genesis 3).
Both the Old and New testaments present a way back for
mankind into sacred space (or relationship) with God.
In the Jewish scriptures, the call of Abr(ah)am illustrates
the transition from sacred to profane space. The Lord instructs Abraham to
leave behind the pagan influences of his fathers household and country, and
travel to Canaan where he is promised to become a 'great nation' (Genesis
12:1-2; Joshua 24:2-3). According to a certain Jewish commentary on the Pentateuch,
this separation was necessary for reasons of spiritual cleanliness (Hertz, J.H
'ed', 1960, p.45). And so, Abraham made the transition from The profane realm
of idolary into the sacred realm of the true worship of the One True God.
The most memorable account in Biblical history, concerning a transition from the profane to the sacred, has to be the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
The most memorable account in Biblical history, concerning a transition from the profane to the sacred, has to be the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
The Red Sea can be seen to correspond with the boundary
between the sacred and profane spaces. The Israelites, as Gods chosen people,
passed through the Red Sea (a kind of mass baptism) to safety, whereas, when
the Egyptians attempted to cross over the Red Sea they all perished (Exodus
14:26-30). It would seem that sacred space can be destructive towards those who
are not permitted to enter into it.
From the Red Sea the Israelites were led to another area of
sacred space at the foot of Mount. Sinai, where Israel willingly enter into a
covenant with God (Exodus 19:8). Again, the sacred can be seen as destructive.
Limits are placed around the foot of the mountain, setting it "apart as
holy" (Exodus 19:23) and any unwarranted approach is to be punished with
death (Exodus 19:12-13). Also, the Israelites must be ritually clean before
they can approach the sacred area.
The area around Mount Sinai corresponds well with our concept of sacred space. The people must wait outside the boundary of the mountain in profane space until they are ritually pure (Exodus 19:10-11, 14), only then are they permitted to cross the boundary into sacred space.
The mountain itself corresponds with the inner circle where God dwells and manifests himself (Exodus 19:3, 16, 18, 20). Entrance into this sacred space is regarded as "meeting with God" (Exodus 19:17), further illustrating that a relationship between God and mankind is something that takes place within sacred space, in one form or another.
The area around Mount Sinai corresponds well with our concept of sacred space. The people must wait outside the boundary of the mountain in profane space until they are ritually pure (Exodus 19:10-11, 14), only then are they permitted to cross the boundary into sacred space.
The mountain itself corresponds with the inner circle where God dwells and manifests himself (Exodus 19:3, 16, 18, 20). Entrance into this sacred space is regarded as "meeting with God" (Exodus 19:17), further illustrating that a relationship between God and mankind is something that takes place within sacred space, in one form or another.
The arrangement of the Israelite camp, during the forty
years spent in the desert wilderness also conforms well with our model of
sacred space. The twelve tribes were arranged around the Tent of Meeting
(numbers 2) where God had made his dwelling (Exodus 25:8; 40:34). Inside the
Tabernacle of God there was an area considered to be most sacred known as the
Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, which was separated from the Tabernacle by
a curtain and housed the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 26:33). The high priest of
Israel was alone permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, and then, only once a
year when he would sprinkle blood over the cover of the Ark, making atonement
for the sins of Israel (Leviticus 16). Unauthorised entrance into the Holy of
Holies, as at Mount Sinai, was punishable by death (Leviticus 16:4) and also
ritual purity was necessary (Leviticus 16:4). The Tabernacle, especially the
Holy of Holies, corresponds with the sacred space of the inner circle, the
surrounding camp fits with the sacred space of the outer circle, while the
profane area, the Desert widerness, lies outside the boundary sacred space.
Later, the Temple of Jerusalem came to replace the desert Tabernacle, sharing
the same arrangement of sacred space as that of its predecessor, with a Holy of
Holies as its most sacred area (1 Kings 6), that served as a dwelling place for
God (1 Kings 8:13).
In the New Testament, the above model of sacred space as a
God-centered sacred area remains conceptually the same, although there is no
specific sacred geographical location such as that at Mount Sinai or the Temple
of Jerusalem. Rather, sacred space is located in the invisible spiritual realm
(John 4: 20-24). It is now Jesus, as God incarnate who occupies the inner
circle, and is the center of attention relative to the Lord God of the Old
Testament (Psalm 141:8: Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 2: 9-11). Also, Jesus
replaces the function of high priest as mediator and purifier, providing access
for God's people to the inner circle without the threat of death (Hebrews 8:2;
10: 19-22: Romans 5:1-2).
The kingdom of God, which is connected with both heaven and
earth (Matthew 6:9; 16:18; 18:18) also conforms to the same model of sacred
space.
In the book of Revelation there is a symbolic representation of the kingdom of God, with God's throne in the centre (the inner-most circle) surrounded by 'twenty-four elders' (the outer-most circle) who have been interpreted by New Testament scholar William Hendriksen as "probably representing the entire church of the old and new dispensation" (1995, p.85).
In the book of Revelation there is a symbolic representation of the kingdom of God, with God's throne in the centre (the inner-most circle) surrounded by 'twenty-four elders' (the outer-most circle) who have been interpreted by New Testament scholar William Hendriksen as "probably representing the entire church of the old and new dispensation" (1995, p.85).
In the gospels there is mention of a profane area beyond the
kingdom of God that is described as both a 'fiery furnace' and a place of
"darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
(Matthew 8:12; 13:41-42).
The final description of God's Kingdom is found at the end
of the book of Revelation. It is described as "a new Jerusalem"
descending from heaven:
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be
his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 21:3
kjv
Again we have a clear representation of sacred space as an
area of relationship between God and his people. At the centre of the new
heavenly Jerusalem is "the Lord God Almighty and the lamb" (21:27
N.I.V). Outside the city wall, in profane space, are all those who do evil and
are excluded from the sacred space of God's kingdom (21:8; 22:15). Also, access
to the tree of life is restored indicating that the kingdom of God is a
restoration of the untainted relationship mankind had with God in the beginning
in the garden of Eden (Revelation 22:14).
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Posted by Unknown
on Friday, January 11, 2013.
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