These verses are again repetitive concerning the mention of carving and gold overlay. Since, however, they speak of the door into the inner sanctuary, they are worthy of some particular comment. The careful Bible reader will remember that in the tabernacle the feature that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was a veil (or we might call it a curtain). The same was true of the temple in the time of Jesus, for we read in the New Testament that when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. It may seem strange, therefore, that in Solomon’s temple a door separated the two.
It is to be remembered that the width of the temple was twice that of the tabernacle. If the veil was made according to the pattern of the earlier veil, then it would not be of sufficient size to cover the distance required. It is conceivable that doors on either side were constructed so that they could span the extra distance, while the curtain would cover the space left over where they did not meet.
A more important reminder is the reason that the two chambers need to be separated from one another. It was not safe to approach the place where God dwelt. Only the high priest once a year was allowed to do so. To have the way unblocked by doors and curtain would cause the lesson of God’s utter holiness to be lost.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.