The Ark, the Mercy Seat, and Christ

Exodus 25:20-22 says, "The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 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."

This is quite a description Moses has recorded for us. God has designated a place in time and space where he will come in his holy presence and speak with Moses. It is hard to conceive the magnitude of the situation described here, "...from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you..." And yet, a few verses later, Moses would record the Lord's words depicting what was actually happening. The Lord says to Moses, "And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain" (Exodus 25:40). A pattern is simply an example set up to represent an actual person, place, or event - it is not the real thing. What then, does this represent?

It is sometimes described in the Old Testament that God sits upon the cherubim molded to the ark of the testimony, envisioning God in his majesty in heaven, where the ark of the testimony, together with the mercy seat, would become the Lord's throne. But this scene has been described before, when Ezekiel sees the Lord enthroned in the heavens in a vision. Ezekiel describes the cherubim, whose wings were touching one another (Ezekiel 1:9, 23), as on the ark. There was a throne above the expanse over their heads, and seated upon the throne was the glory of the Lord (v. 26, 28). From in the midst of the expanse, he spoke to Ezekiel (v. 25, 28).

Isaiah saw something very similar to this scene in Isaiah 6, which I have described in more detail here. John would later record in his gospel account that the one sitting upon the throne was Christ himself (John 12:41), in his preincarnate glory.

The point here is that the altar, the mercy seat, and the cherubim made of gold were simply patterns made after the actual heavenly scene Moses looked up from the mountain. The author of Hebrews confirms this when he says, "They serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5). And then goes on to say that Christ has obtained a ministry more excellent than the one Moses mediated, because it is enacted on better promises - namely, that instead of priests entering the Most Holy Place each year for the atonement of Israel's sins, Christ has entered once for all into the holy places not made with hands by means of his own blood, securing our eternal redemption and purifying our consciences from dead works to serve the living God (see all of Hebrews 8-9).

SDG