The beauty of holiness makes God’s holiness good.
There is another way we see in the Old Testament the goodness of holiness (for the previous ways, see one, two, three, four). We see it in the ways the holy Tabernacle brought pleasure to the human senses of sight and smell. God designed the holy Tabernacle to be beautiful and the Holy Place of the Tabernacle to smell beautiful. God also designed the holy garments of the high priest to be beautiful.
Beauty in the holy oil
“22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 ‘Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.”’” —Exodus 30:22–31
You may never have smelled myrrh; it is a fragrant gum that exudes from trees in Arabia. Solomon refers to it several times in Song of Solomon. For example, 5:13 says, “His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh.”
Likewise, cassia was an aromatic herb. Psalm 45:7–8 mentions cassia in a description of the king in his glory: “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.”
Because of this holy anointing oil, if you stood near enough to the holy high priest, you found that he smelled like perfume, for his garments were anointed with the holy oil. The priests who entered the holy place entered a room of perfumes, for the fragrant holy oil was applied to the tent, its furniture, and its utensils. In fact, the act of anointing all these things with the holy oil was part of what made them holy.
Holy means good.
Beauty in the holy incense
In addition to the perfumed holy oil, the priests burned fragrant incense in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle.
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.’” — Exodus 30:34–36
I won’t go into details on the ingredients of the incense, but obviously it was a pleasurable perfume. The smoke of the incense filled the space. Walking into the Holy Place was like entering the perfume department of a store, only more so.
Holy means delightful to smell. Holy means good.
Beauty in the priest’s holy garments
God also told Moses, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, [the High Priest], for glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2).
The high priest’s holy garment is so beautiful that its description fills all of Exodus 28, so let me summarize by saying simply that the high priest was covered with gold and jewels and gems and fine linen, embroidered with “gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked” (v. 6).
This colorful, gold-laced garment was topped off with a turbin on the priest’s head with a golden plate on the front engraved with the words “Holy to the Lord.” (v. 36)
Holy means beautiful. Holy means good.
Beauty in the interior design of the Holy Place
God instructed Moses how to create the holy Tabernacle for their journey through the wilderness, and it too was beautiful. For example, the curtains of the tent resembled the colorful embroidered fabric of the High Priest’s garment:
“All the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked.” —Exodus 36:8
Holy means colorful. Holy means good.
The beauty of holiness
When you put all this beauty and glory together, you have splendor.
“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.” —1 Chronicles 16:29
Therefore, with all this attractive splendor, a holy place is a good place, a perfectly designed, sweet-smelling place, a place you want to be.