The Diaphragm Is The Inner Curtain
The inner curtain (also referred to as the veil) of the Tabernacle separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Ex. 26:33), the innermost room that held the Ark of the Covenant. It hung from clasps and was decorated with cherubim and other designs made from blue, purple, and scarlet embroidered thread. In the human body, the inner curtain is represented by the diaphragm, and its embroidered design represents capillaries (small blood vessels).
The word diaphragm comes from the Greek word diaphragma, which means “partition.” It is a sheet of muscular tissue that extends across the bottom of the thoracic cavity (which represents the Most Holy Place [the Holy of Holies] in the body). The diaphragm is a part of the respiratory system and is the most important muscle of respiration ("diaphragm | Definition, Function, & Location", 2022). As a flexible muscle, its center moves downward during inhalation while its edges move upward, which allows the thoracic cavity to expand so the lungs can receive air. When the diaphragm relaxes, the thoracic cavity contracts, causing air to move out of the lungs (Aliverti & Pedotti, 2014). The repetition of these movements is involuntary, as the body automatically breathes on its own under normal circumstances.
Aside from breathing, the diaphragm helps the body remove urine, feces, and vomit by assisting the abdominal muscles in expelling the unneeded materials from the body. It also aids in childbirth. During the second stage of labor, mothers engage in deep breathing exercises that force the diaphragm into its downward position. When this happens, the diaphragm compresses the uterus and naturally forces the fetus into delivery (Mazumdar, n.d.). The diaphragm also has more mitochondria (organelles) and capillaries (small blood vessels) than any other skeletal muscle in the body (Hasleton & Spencer, 1996), proving that it uses a large amount of oxygen.
These characteristics and functions of the diaphragm are indicative of the inner curtain of the Tabernacle. Just as the diaphragm stretches across the body, the inner curtain stretched from one side of the Tabernacle to the other. Not only did it separate the rooms of the Tabernacle, but it also shielded the ark of the covenant (represented in the body by the heart; Ex. 30:6; 35:12). Even though the priests were responsible for keeping the fire of the lampstand (in front of the curtain) burning continually (Ex. 27:21), only the high priest could actually go behind the veil. But this could only be done once a year, on the day of atonement, when the high priest offered prayers and sacrifices as atonement for the sins of the entire Israelite people (Lev. 16:8, 24, 34). Therefore, the movement of the veil (diaphragm) brought life (in the form of forgiveness of sins) so that the nation could continue to live (literally breathe). Also, the removal of spiritual waste (the leftovers of bad spiritual teaching) and harmful substances (bitterness and unforgiveness) are required for purification (Matt. 5:23-24; Eph. 4:31-32; Heb. 12:15).
The blue, purple, and scarlet yarn are not coincidental, either. They represent capillaries, the smallest blood vessels of the body, but I have two theories of why these three specific colors were incorporated.
The first is that it is a matter of perception. The three colors could represent the various spiritual perspectives God allowed the priests to have when they laid eyes on the veil. Blood is always red, however, vessels can appear both blue and purple according to the relationship the viewer has with its source of light. Since God is light (1 John 1:5) and the Father of lights (James 1:17), He grants spiritual perception according to His will, therefore the colors may represent the color scheme of forgiveness granted through the high priest. The color blue is associated with healing, since those who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe (which was blue, Num. 15:38) were healed (Matt. 9:20; 14:36), and healing was what God wanted for His people (Ex. 15:26). Blue and red (the color of blood) make purple, the color of royalty. Therefore the embroidered thread of the veil could symbolically represent the spectrum of the divine presence on its other side—the source of light, sacrifice, and healing.
My second theory is that the different colors represent the brokenness required to come into God’s presence. Broken capillaries, often referred to as spider veins, can be blue, purple, or red in appearance, and are also referred to as thread veins (Berry, 2019). To be spiritually broken is to be humble, one of the requirements of true worship. It also means to be contrite. A contrite heart is “one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt” (Jacobs, 1915), a necessity for going before the father to make the atoning sacrifice for sin. The blue, purple, and red thread of the veil could have symbolized the brokenness required to move the veil (in other words, give the lungs, represented by the cherubim, room to move.)
References
Aliverti, A., & Pedotti, A. (2014). Mechanics of Breathing (p. 3). Springer.
Berry, J. (2019). Spider veins: Causes, treatment, and prevention. Medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324276#_noHeaderPrefixedContent.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, March 25). diaphragm. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/diaphragm-anatomy
Dr. Mazumdar, M. Second Stage of Normal Labor. Gynaeonline. Retrieved 15 January 2022, from http://gynaeonline.com/second_stage_of_labor.htm.
diaphragm | Search Online Etymology Dictionary. Etymonline.com. (2022). Retrieved 14 January 2022, from https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=diaphragm&ref=searchbar_searchhint.
Hasleton, P., & Spencer, H. (1996). Spencer's pathology of the lung (5th ed., p. 1). McGraw-Hill.
How the Lungs Work | NHLBI, NIH. Nhlbi.nih.gov. (2020). Retrieved 14 January 2022, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/how-lungs-work.
If Blood Is Red, Why Are Veins Blue?. livescience.com. (2012). Retrieved 15 January 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/32212-if-blood-is-red-why-are-veins-blue.html.
Jacobs, H. E. (1915). Contrite, Contrition. In J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, & M. O. Evans (Eds.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–5, p. 706). The Howard-Severance Company.
Mechanics of Breathing: New Insights from New Technologies. (2014). Italy: Springer Milan.