The Mercy Seats

The Ark of the Covenant was a golden box that contained God’s presence, the Tablets of the Old Covenant, Aaron’s Rod and the Manna from heaven. The Ark was called the mercy seat and God appeared over it, “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” (Exodus 25:22).  The Ark was carried on two long poles by the priests of Levi and anyone who touched the Ark died because unlike us Christians they did not have the protection of Jesus Christ our God’s Blood. The Ark has been made known to pagans as much as saints thanks to Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Even now it is a relic like the Chalice or Holy Grail, sought for by treasure bunters, but the Lord not only said the Ark would pass from memory one day, “And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again,” (Jeremiah 3:16) but it is obsolete because of Christ, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16), The Lord replaced the old mercy seat with a new mercy seat, the cross. The Ark of the Old Covenant was made out of wood, “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height,” (Exodus 25:10), and Christ died on a cross of wood for the sins committed under the old covenant, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant,” (Hebrews 9:15), “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” (2,Peter 2:24-25), “By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross,” (Colossians 2:14), and “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree,He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. ” (Galatians 3:13-14). The importance of wood as God’s tool dates to the wood for Abraham’s Sacrifice, that a Lamb was provided in Isaac’s place (Genesis 22), just as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) Jesus Christ takes the place of all who believe in Him. The Burning Bush was wood and God spoke from it (Exodus 3:1-15), just as God Incarnate spoke hanging from a tree or cross of wood (John 19, Matthew 27, and Luke 23). So we see that the mercy seats are part of God’s plan, and there is a pattern to His Ways. 

The Ark of the Old Covenant is mentioned in the apocalypse, “Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.” (Revelation 11:19), but its purpose is now obsolete, as the Old Covenant is replaced by a better and newer one, “But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises,” (Hebrews 8:6), “By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear,” (Hebrews 8:13). The Prophet Jeremiah foretold a new and greater covenant would come, “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and Jesus reveals that New Covenant is in His blood, “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:7-20). Christ has already hung on the mercy seat of the cross, and made His sacrifice on the mercy seat in heaven, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” (Matthew  26:28), “He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed,” (1 Peter 2:24), and “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). His blood has soaked the cross and all souls who trust in Him with forgiveness for all sins. Just as the sprinkling of blood by Moses allowed the Elders to eat with God, “Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”

Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.” Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!” (Exodus 24:4-11), so we by sprinkling of God’s blood may eat with Him, “Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9) and be with Him for all eternity, “I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:21-27). 

The Old Testament and the Ark were both forerunners and foreshadowings of the greater mercy to come in Christ. It is evident there is a connection, that we see themes, wood ark and wood cross, sprinkling of animal blood and sprinkling of Christ’s blood, mercy seat in both covenants, this gives us confidence that the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament! The I AM and Godhead (Trinity) has been at work to bring salvation, and restore intimacy with His children and creation. 

The Mercy Seats have shifted, as have the covenants: 

“Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. 

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:1-28). Now is the time to trust in Jesus Christ and His all sufficient and for all time sacrifice for sin on the cross! Believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son, who is One with God The Father and God the Holy Spirit, One God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity. Amen.