And thou shalt bring the veil under the clasps, and bring in thither, inside the veil, the ark of the testimony; and the curtain shall make a division to you between the holy [place] and the holiest of all.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And thou shalt put the mercy-seat on the ark of the testimony in the holiest of all.
The command is short. Once the veil hangs, the ark with its golden lid goes behind it. Yet this one sentence sets the centre of Israel's worship. It says where God would sit, what He sat on, and how far back He kept everyone.
The inner room held one thing only.
Inside the veil, in the Most Holy Place, the ark with its covering mercy seat was to be the one piece of furniture (vv. 33-34), for it is a symbol of the throne of God, and of Christ who upholds that throne.
Of everything in the tabernacle, the ark stood highest. And its lid, above all else, was God's throne.
Of these the highest is the ark. It was the seat of God's majesty in Israel. And, as everyone knows — and it matters greatly — the mercy seat was above all else that throne of God. This is the mercy seat we later see with blood sprinkled on it and in front of it. This is the mercy seat that hid the law, the law that destroys every claim man makes for himself. Yet it kept that law in the place of highest honour, out of human sight.
The ark is called "the ark of the testimony" because the two stone tablets of the law lay inside it. That detail is what makes the lid so important.
The God who was to be approached is holy — completely holy. Holiness is a nature that loves purity and drives evil away. So He sits on a throne that judges the evil holiness hates, in righteousness and with authority. What is more, the law — the testimony of what God required of man — was in the ark, but thank God the mercy seat covered it. Another writer has said it well: "Suppose an ark with no mercy seat. The law would then lie uncovered. Nothing would hush its thunder, nothing would hold back its righteous sentence. Could a nation of lawbreakers stand before it? Could a holy and righteous God meet sinners there? Could mercy reign, or grace shine out from such an ark? Impossible! An uncovered ark might make a throne of judgment, but not a seat of mercy."
The name of this lid is not just a poetic title. The Hebrew word says what the lid was for.
"A throne of grace" is now a happy and familiar thought to Christians. The blood on the mercy seat before God pictured that. The high priest put it there once a year, on the day of atonement, when he went into the Most Holy Place. The mercy seat was the throne of the Lord in Israel, where He dwelt between the cherubim. Its name was the kapporeth, the "propitiatory" — the place where the blood made propitiation for the soul. There the blood of atonement met God's righteousness, and so it upheld God's grace in staying among the people despite their sins.
One writer follows that word into the New Testament:
So the New Testament shows that "mercy seat" and "propitiation" are one and the same word. Here the Old and New Testaments join hands.
"In the Most Holy Place" was not an address anyone could visit. It was a sealed room.
The Most Holy Place was the second, inner room of God's dwelling. Here, from His symbolic throne, the Lord spoke to the mediator (Ex. 25:22). No one could enter this room, except once a year, when the high priest went in to make atonement for the sins of the people… Inside it was dark. God lived among Israel, yet He was alone… But that arrangement has now passed away, and the things it pictured have come. So we have "confidence to enter the holy places" (Heb. 10:19).
One writer sets this verse beside two others to draw out three truths.
Three Old Testament Scriptures give us the leading truths of the mercy seat. First, Exodus 25:17 tells us the mercy seat was of "pure gold". This speaks to us of the glory of the Person of Christ… Second, Exodus 26:34 tells us the mercy seat was put on the ark "in the Most Holy Place". The Most Holy Place was a picture of heaven itself (Heb. 9:24). It speaks of where Christ is today, in the presence of God. Third, Leviticus 16:14-15 tells us that the blood of the sacrifice was brought inside the veil… and sprinkled "over the mercy seat". This speaks not only of the work of Christ, but of God's acceptance of that work… We learn Who He is, where He is, and what He has done for the satisfaction of God.
- Throne — the ark with its lid was the only furniture in the inner room, God's seat in the middle of His people.
- Cover — the law lay inside. Uncovered, it could only condemn. The lid turned a throne of judgment into a seat of mercy.
- Blood — the lid's own name is "propitiatory," the same word the New Testament uses for propitiation.
- Barrier — the room was dark and shut to everyone but the high priest, once a year. The way in was not yet open.
- Heaven — the Most Holy Place pictures heaven, where Christ is now. His work is accepted, and the way in is open at last.
And thou shalt set the table outside the veil, and the lamp-stand opposite to the table on the side of the tabernacle southward; and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.