Mercy Seat

With only three days behind their miraculous Red Sea crossing, the Israelites are faced with unquenchable thirst and hunger. Instead of trusting in God they begin to grumble and complain about what they see as a hopeless situation; how Moses has led them out of Egypt and to their deaths in the wilderness. It’s hard to point my finger at the Israelites because I can act just as pathetic at times, grumbling and complaining about my own circumstances while standing in the shadow of a great mountain top experience.  Remember what happened to Peter, as he was walking out to Jesus on the open sea, he took his eyes off his Master and started sinking down into the water.

 As the Israelites walk through the sparse wilderness, God continues to provide for them by turning bitter water into sweet and begins raining down bread from heaven. There always seems to be a very dark valley to walk through before we get to the Mountain of God.  And so, as the Israelites walk towards the mountain, they are tested by God with two provisions in the wilderness. First, they are only to gather enough bread to eat for their family for one day and are not to store any extra. Second, they are not to gather any on the Sabbath Day but are to rest from all their work.

It’s interesting how God first showed His strong right arm, delivering them out of a seemingly hopeless situation, by parting the Red Sea and drowning their enemy. Then, He observed them through their wilderness experience to see how much faith they would exhibit. Finally, He tested them by giving them a couple of very simple rules to follow, “Here is free bread.  Just gather what you need for one day and don’t gather any on the Sabbath Day”. The Israelites had trouble following two very simple rules.

On Mount Sinai, God sets in stone Ten Commandments for the nation of Israel to follow. He also imparted to them provisions, blueprints and instructions on just how to build the tabernacle or tent of meeting. He also gave very detailed instructions on all the furniture that the tabernacle should contain. This portable facility would be where God could co-exist on earth with His own creation. One of these pieces of furniture was the ark of testimony, the container in which would hold the Ten Commandments written on two stone tablets. The design for the ark of the covenant was very specific and purposefully prophetic of God’s future plan of salvation through redemption.

The box itself was two and a half cubits in length, one and a half cubits in width and one and a half cubits in height. Four rings were cast, one for each corner of the ark. Two poles were to be inserted through the rings, never to be taken out, and would be the handles by which four men would carry the ark. If we look carefully at this design it reveals God’s purpose for the law. The ark was overlaid inside and out with gold making it very heavy. God then instructs them to put the tablets of stone into the ark making it even much heavier. It was not to be hauled around on a cart by animals but hand carried by men. God intended the ark to be a painful reminder that the law was to be a very heavy burden that men would have to shoulder.

On top of the container was a covering or lid that God referred to as “the mercy seat”.  Above this covering was where God’s presence or Shecaniah Glory would meet or appear to His people. The mercy seat, once sprinkled in animal’s blood, was to be our covering from the law, protecting us from the justice that the law demands. The law was rather to be our tutor or schoolmaster driving us to the mercy seat. God knew that we would not be able to perfectly follow the law and so devised a better plan.

By Israel carrying around the ark of testimony, God was demonstrating a couple of truths to us. Because the law demands nothing short of total obedience, it was kept out of man’s reach inside the ark. The law was covered by the mercy seat as a shield protecting us from its demands. Finally, as animal blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat it paid the ransom price. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission from sin. Once Jesus shed His own blood, God had now provided the world with a new covenant that would last forever. The death of God’s Son on the cross would usher in a new covenant, not written on cold stone by the letter of the law, but rather on the soft, warm flesh of His Son’s own heart.