The King Who Reigns from the Mercy Seat

Good morning, everyone. It's good to worship with you.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

And if you can keep your finger there and turn also to Exodus 37,

I'm going to read from two places.

Exodus 25, 10 to 22, giving us instructions about the construction of the ark

and the mercy seat, and then Exodus 37, 1 to 9,

describing the fulfillment of those instructions and the actual building of it.

And for those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean.

I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church,

and it's my joy to preach God's Word to you this morning.

If you don't have a Bible, just raise your hand.

We'll bring one over to you that you can use.

If not, let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, thank you for inviting us to draw near to you.

Promising that when we do, that you will draw near to us.

We draw near to you now, inclining our hearts, our ears to your Word.

Draw near to us in speaking, addressing us from your Word.

Lord, make us stand in awe of you, your holiness, your glory.

But also strike us in you with wonder of your mercy.

That it's because of what Jesus has done

that we can approach you boldly, with faith, with confidence,

knowing that we will receive mercy to help us in our time of need.

Help us now, Lord.

We need your mercy.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you would please stand for the reading of God's Word

from Exodus 25, verses 10 to 22.

Exodus 25:10–22

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.

You shall overlay it with pure gold.

Inside and outside shall you overlay it,

and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.

You shall cast four rings of gold for it

and put them on its four feet,

two rings on the one side of it,

and two rings on the other side of it.

You shall make poles of acacia wood

and overlay them with gold.

And you shall put the poles into the rings

on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.

The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark.

They shall not be taken from it.

And you shall put into the ark the testimony

that I shall give you.

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.

Two cubits and a half shall be its length,

and a cubit and a half its breadth.

And you shall make two cherubim of gold.

Of hammered work shall you make them

on the two ends of the mercy seat.

Make one cherub on the one end

and one cherub on the other end.

Of one piece with the mercy seat

shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.

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 a commandment for the people of Israel.

Skipping forward to Exodus 37, verses one to nine.

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood.

Two cubits and a half was its length.

A cubit and a half its breadth.

And a cubit and a half its height.

And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside.

And made a molding of gold around it.

And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet.

Two rings on its one side

and two rings on its other side.

And he made poles of acacia wood

and overlaid them with gold.

And put the poles into the rings

on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

And he made a mercy seat of pure gold.

Two cubits and a half was its length.

And a cubit and a half its breadth.

And he made two cherubim of gold.

He made them of hammered work

on the two ends of the mercy seat.

One cherub on the one end

and one cherub on the other end.

Of one piece with the mercy seat,

he made the cherubim on its two ends.

The cherubim spread out their wings above,

overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings,

with their faces one to another.

Toward the mercy seat

were the faces of the cherubim.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated this time.

Even some people who don't know anything

about the Old Testament and the tabernacle

still know something about the ark of the covenant,

mainly because of the 1981 Harrison Ford movie,

Indiana Jones,

and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I think I was talking to Aubrey about this

a couple weeks ago

and talking about what's inaccurate and accurate

in the portrayal in the movie.

And in the movie,

the United States government gets wind of the fact

that the Nazis are trying to find the Lost Ark

to aid them in their conquest.

So they hire the archaeologist and adventurer,

Indiana Jones,

to find it and secure it

before the Nazis do.

And there's a fascinating dialogue there

where an army major asks Indiana Jones

what the ark looked like.

And Indiana Jones shows him a drawing of it

where the Jews are in battle

and the ark is in their midst

and there's light,

some kind of power of God emanating from the ark

and devastating their enemies.

And then the major looks at the drawing

and then responds,

I'm beginning to understand Hitler's interest in this.

And Marcus Brody,

a fellow archaeologist

and colleague of Indiana Jones,

adds this,

oh yes,

the Bible speaks of the ark

leveling mountains

and laying waste to entire regions.

An army which carries the ark before it

is invincible.

Well,

the Bible never speaks of the ark

leveling mountains

and it never suggests

that an army that carries the ark

before it is invincible.

In fact,

it records a specific instance

in 1 Samuel 4

when the Israelites carry the ark into war

thinking that it will save them,

but because they had been unfaithful to God,

they lose

because God had left them.

God's not fighting on their behalf

and the ark is actually captured by the Philistines.

So in contrast to this portrayal,

the ark is not something,

it's not a talisman

or a lucky charm

or an invincible weapon.

Rather,

it's an artifact that represents

God's rule

and God's presence

among his own people.

To go before the ark of the covenant,

therefore,

is to go into the very presence

of the living God.

This passage,

instructions about the ark

is intended to teach us

that we can confidently

draw near to the throne of God

and receive mercy

and we're going to first learn about that

by looking at the ark of the testimony

and then we're going to look at the mercy seat.

So let's look at the ark first.

It's the first item.

Did the picture of the ark already show on there?

Not yet?

Okay.

The ark is the first item

mentioned in the blueprint

of chapters 25 to 31

and it's the first thing that is built

because it's the most important item

in the entire tabernacle structures.

This is an artist's rendering of the ark.

The artist took some creative license

because he or she went way overboard

with the molding decorations.

It doesn't describe any of that in the Bible.

But other than that,

it's pretty accurate.

It'd be a little smaller than that table.

It says in Exodus 25, 10,

it says,

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.

Historically, people all over the world

have used various human body parts

to measure things,

to measure their length.

For example, a foot, right,

which comes from the length

of a typical male foot,

was used in Greek, Roman, Chinese,

and French and English systems.

A cubit is similar

and refers to the length

from a person's elbow

to the tip of his middle finger.

And so it's typically about 18 inches.

So the cubit was the limit of measurement

that was preferred over the foot

in places like Egypt, India,

and Mesopotamia,

and of course we see in Israel.

So the ark then is a rectangular wooden chest

made of hard acacia wood.

It's 2.25 feet in width and height

and 3.75 in length.

So width and height

and 3.75 feet in length.

But that's not all.

A simple wooden chest

would not be fitting

for the most holy place

inside the tabernacle.

So it says in verse 11

that the whole thing

is overlaid with pure gold,

both on the inside

and on the outside.

And a decorative molding of gold

is added around it.

But what exactly is the ark?

The English word ark

comes from the Latin word arca,

which means a box or a chest.

So it's a chest

that's intended to hold something,

store something,

and protect something inside it.

But what exactly is it intended to store?

In verse 16 and 21,

it says this,

God says that they are to put the testimony

inside the ark.

This is a reference to the Ten Commandments

that God himself has written

on the tablets of stone with his fingers,

which he has promised to give to Moses

earlier in 24.12.

Later on in Exodus 31.18,

he will actually give Moses these tablets

to put inside the ark

after it is constructed,

after finishing his instructions to Moses.

It says there that God gave to Moses

the two tablets of the testimony,

tablets of stone written with the finger of God.

We know that what's written on the stone tablets

is the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy 4.13.

According to Hebrews 9.4,

there were a couple other items

that were later stored inside the ark.

For example,

the gold urn holding a sample of the manna

to remind Israelites

of how God provided for them in the wilderness.

And also a staff of Aaron

that budded in Numbers 17

with almond blossoms

as a demonstration of God choosing the Levites,

the tribe of Levi,

and the sons of Aaron in particular

to be priests.

So those two items are also in there.

But the central and most important item

inside the ark

was the tablets of the testimony,

the Ten Commandments.

That's why the ark is called

the Ark of the Testimony.

And it's also sometimes called

the Ark of the Covenant

because it contains the covenant documents,

the terms agreement,

the Ten Commandments

between Yahweh and his people.

In the ancient Near East,

it was customary for people

who are making the suzerain-vassal treaty,

suzerain being the lord,

the vassal being the subject,

the lesser king or ruler,

that each party would receive

a copy of the terms of agreement,

the terms of the covenant.

And they would keep it as a reminder

for the lord,

the suzerain lord,

of the reminder of the obligation

to protect his subject,

to provide for his subject,

and for the vassal,

as a reminder for him

to obey his suzerain lord,

and to be faithful to him,

to pledge allegiance to him.

It's kind of like the way

we have merchant receipts

and customer receipts

when you go to restaurants,

so that both parties have

proof of the transaction

or the agreement.

So in this case here,

the book of the covenant,

which Moses wrote down

on the scroll in Exodus 20,

it contains Exodus 20, 22,

to 23, 33.

It's the specific application

of the Ten Commandments

for the Israelites to follow.

That is the people's copy.

That's the Israelite copy.

Now, the Ten Commandments

is the master copy,

inscribed permanently in stone

by the finger of God,

and that's kept inside the ark

of the testimony

as a witness,

a testimony between God

and his people

of their covenant relationship.

This teaches us something

very important about God

and his relationship with us.

The most sacred artifact

of the Old Testament,

worship and piety,

that's the ark,

it contains within it

not treasures,

not jewels,

not a statue,

not an idol,

not bones or other relics

of some special individual,

but the word of God.

God governs his people

from his word,

through his word.

It's in the keeping

of his word

that we bear witness

to the fact

that we are his people.

That's why Jesus says

in John 14,

over and over again,

if anyone loves me,

he will keep my word,

and my father will love him

and we will come to him

and make our home with him.

Do you want to commune with God?

Do you want God

to make his home with you

and to indwell you

by his Holy Spirit?

Then pledge your allegiance

to Jesus

and live according

to his word.

Truth,

the true faith,

genuine faith

is always borne out by love.

Love for God,

love for his people.

And the proof

of your love for God

is in the keeping

of God's word.

It's like a ring

that a husband and wife wear.

Everywhere they go,

it attests

to the fact

that they have

a covenant relationship

with someone.

They belong

to someone else already.

And it's,

how do people in the world

know that we belong

to someone,

that we have a Lord,

that we serve God?

How do people know

that it's by the keeping

of his word?

That's our testimony

and our witness

to the world

that we are his people.

So when you refuse

to swear

or use crude words,

vulgar language,

refrain from partaking

in the gossip

and slander

of your coworkers,

you are testifying

by your obedience

that the Lord

is my God.

When you don't cheat

on your tests

and you honestly

fill out your reading reports

in school,

you are testifying,

bearing witness

by your obedience

that the Lord

is my God.

When you faithfully

gather with the people

of God,

even when you are

swamped with work

and weary

and tired,

you're testifying

to the world

bearing witness

that the Lord

is your God.

God's love

and when we love

our Christian brothers

and sisters,

even when they don't

look like us

or talk like us,

even when they don't

share our recreational

interests

or our culinary

preferences,

simply because God

tells us that they are

our brothers and sisters

in Christ,

we are testifying

by our obedience

that the Lord

is my God.

And of course,

when we evangelize,

when we share the gospel

with others,

we're sharing,

we're testifying

by not only our words,

not only our deeds,

but also by our words

that the Lord

is my God.

That's why obedience

is so important.

Obedience is not merely

a legal concern.

God's not just

a judge or a lawyer

saying,

well,

this is the law

so you just got to do it.

No,

it's profoundly relational.

It's a mark

that we belong to God.

That's how we testify

to our relationship,

our covenant with God.

So the ark

is a chest

that contains

the tablets

of the testimony,

but it serves

another very important function.

First Chronicles 28,

two,

when King David

is expressing his desire

to build a temple

for God,

he says this,

I had it in my heart

to build a house

of rest

for the ark

of the covenant

of the Lord

and for the footstool

of our God.

So here,

David refers

to the ark

and the footstool

as distinct items.

So probably,

the mercy seat

is what he's referring to

when he says

the footstool,

which we'll get to later.

That's more precisely

the footstool

in that that's where

Yahweh's feet

figuratively touch.

But however,

the mercy seat,

because it functions

as the lid

of the ark,

they're really

two pieces

of a single furniture.

And that's why

the ark

is sometimes

itself referred

to,

the whole thing

is referred to

as the footstool

for the Lord.

So for example,

in Psalm 132,

it recalls how David

made preparations

for the building

of the temple

and then how he brought

the ark over

from the fields

of Jar,

which is another name

for Kiriath-Jerim,

the city.

That was the temporary

residing place

of the ark

and David brought

that in from there

to Jerusalem.

So Psalm 132

recounts that journey

and it quotes

Solomon's prayer

from 2 Chronicles 6,

40, 42

when Solomon

was dedicating

the temple

and it says this,

Behold,

we heard of it

in Ephrathah,

we found it

in the fields

of Jar,

Kiriath-Jerim.

Let us go

to his dwelling place,

let us worship

at his footstool.

Arise,

O Lord,

and go to your

resting place,

you and the ark

of your might.

So the footstool

and the ark

of his might

are in parallel

construction.

The ark

is being referred

to as the footstool

of God.

So that's why

it says in Psalm 99,

Psalms 99:5

verse 5,

Exalt the Lord

our God,

worship at his footstool.

So then the ark

together with

the mercy seat

function as

the resting place

for God's feet,

his footstool.

That's why

the Lord calls

the sanctuary

the place

of my feet

in Isaiah 60,

Isaiah 60:13

verse 13.

It's because

the Lord's footstool

is upon the earth

in the form

of the ark

that he says

in Isaiah 66,

Isaiah 66:1

verse 1,

Heaven is my throne

and the earth

is my footstool.

By extension,

the whole earth

where God

has set his feet

is his footstool.

So the fact

that the ark

and the mercy seat

compose God's footstool

tells us something

important about God.

The footstool

is not

a glorious piece

of furniture.

I bet no one

has gilded

footstools

in your homes.

It's not

a clean bed

to lie down on

nor is it

a stately

armchair

to sit on.

It's where you

rest your feet.

It's not a furniture

that you invest

a lot of money in

and yet

the ark of God

is overlaid

with gold

and its lid,

the mercy seat,

is made entirely

of pure gold.

Even where God

puts his feet

is holy.

The whole earth,

the magnificent,

beautiful creation,

the Grand Canyon,

the Redwood Forest,

all that grandeur

just got his footstool.

that's how holy

and glorious

God is.

And that's why

it says in verse 12,

you shall cast

four rings of gold

for it

and put them

on its four feet.

The ark has

golden rings

on its four feet

so that you

can put poles

also overlaid

with gold

through those

rings

and people

can carry

the ark

using those poles.

the whole idea

behind that

is that the ark

should never

be touched

because it is so holy.

You have to carry it

with golden poles.

And that's amazing

because remember

this is a portable

structure,

tabernacle,

so the Israelite

would often have to

encamp,

decamp,

carry the tabernacle

around,

carry the ark

of God around,

but they were only

allowed to carry

the ark

after the glory

of God

in the form

of his cloud

glory

had departed

from the tabernacle.

Even after the glory,

the cloud glory

has departed

from the tabernacle,

they're not allowed

to touch the ark.

They have to carry it

in golden poles.

Now,

in 2 Samuel 6,

it illustrates

the mortal peril

of disobeying

this command.

Some of you guys

know where I'm going.

There,

the Israelites

are carrying

the ark of God

into Jerusalem,

but it says

that they carried

the ark of God

on a new cart.

Driven by oxen.

That's their first mistake.

The people

and not animals

were supposed

to carry the ark.

It's the people

who are servants

of the Lord.

And it's specifically,

not anyone,

it specifically

had to be the Levites,

the priestly tribe

that had to carry

the ark.

But here they have

these lowly oxen

driving the ark.

Sure enough,

one poor decision

leads to another.

As the oxen

are drawing the cart,

they stumble

at one point

so that Uzzah,

who was accompanying

the ark,

has to put out

his hand

to touch the ark

of God

and take hold

of it in order

to stabilize it.

That was a grave

mistake.

Because it says

that the anger

of the Lord

was kindled

against Uzzah

and God struck

him down there

because of his error

and he died there

beside the ark

of God.

Uzzah

treed the footstool

of God lightly

as if it were

a common piece

of furniture

that you can just

grab hold of.

And in doing so,

he treated the Lord

God himself

with contempt.

That's how holy

and glorious

God is.

I pray that

we can recover

a sense

of the holiness

of God

by looking

at the care

that they took

to treat

his footstool

with such honor.

We sometimes

treat

human managers,

human professors,

human celebrities

with more reverence

and awe

than we do

the Lord Almighty.

are you more

concerned about

offending sinful

men

or about

offending

the holy

God?

That the ark

is merely

God's footstool

shows just

how holy

God is.

But the ark

also teaches us

something else.

It teaches us

something about

ourselves.

I think it's

generally acknowledged

that feet are

gross.

It's less of a

stigma here

in the West,

but most people

around the world

would not sit

at someone's

feet unless

they have to

because they'd

consider that

humiliating.

You can see this

in James 2,

2-4,

which warns

against showing

partiality to the

wealthy at a

church gathering.

It says this,

For if a man

wearing a gold

ring and fine

clothing comes

into your

assembly and a

poor man in

shabby clothing

also comes in,

and if you pay

attention to the

one who wears

the fine

clothing and

say,

you sit here

in a good

place while

you say to

the poor man,

you stand

over there or

sit down at

my feet.

Have you not

then made

distinctions among

yourselves and

become judges

with evil

thoughts?

To tell people

to sit at your

feet is to

treat them as

your inferior.

We have a

similar expression

in English.

When you say

someone walked

all over me,

what do you

mean?

You're saying

that they

treated you

like they're

beneath you,

like you're

underneath their

feet.

Feet are often

sweaty and

smelly,

right,

because the

palms of our

hands and the

soles of our

feet have the

most sweat

glands per

square centimeter

or inch,

whatever,

you know,

and so you

sweat a lot in

your palms and

in your soles.

And the hands

at least are out

in the open.

They could get

aired out,

and we wash

them very frequently

throughout the

day,

especially

nowadays,

but your feet

are not

exposed to the

open air,

and you don't

wash them nearly

as frequently,

and so it can

grow fungus,

and it can get

infected,

and it's usually

smelly.

And in the hot

and dry climate

of the Middle

East,

where people wore

open-toed shoes,

not only did their

feet get sweaty,

it also got dirty,

got caked with

dust.

So it was even

dirtier than ours.

So for this

reason,

people in the

ancient Near

East,

they did not

voluntarily sit

at anyone's

feet.

And that's why

the footstool

became a symbol

of subjugation

and submission.

For example,

Psalm 110,

Psalms 110:1

verse 1,

has a prophecy

where Yahweh,

God the Father,

promises the

messianic king,

the coming king

Jesus,

sit at my right

hand until I

make your enemies

your footstool.

To make your

enemies your

footstool is to

subdue them so

thoroughly under

your feet so that

they're completely

surrendered and

helplessly submitted

to you.

This was a common

motif in ancient

Near Eastern art.

Archaeologists have

found many sculptures

of monarchs with

their feet,

with their foot on

their subdued enemy.

So it's not

surprising that one

of the Hebrew

words actually for

footstool that's

used to describe

Solomon's footstool

in 2 Chronicles 9

18 is derived

from the Hebrew

verb that means

to subdue or to

bring into bondage.

The footstool is

in short where the

king rests his feet

while he's seated

on his throne.

His enemies have

been subdued under

his feet.

And it's God's

footstool that

contains the terms

of agreement of

our servitude to

God.

as a perennial

reminder that we

are his servants,

his slaves.

Remember the refrain

of Exodus throughout

chapter 7 to 10.

Yahweh repeatedly

said, let my people

go that they may

serve me.

That they may not

be Pharaoh's

servants, but that

they may be my

servants.

The Lord freed the

Israelites from their

slavery in Egypt so

that they might serve

him.

If the Israelites

had earned their

freedom by paying

their Egyptian

overlords for their

freedom, it would be

a different story.

If the Israelites

had earned their

freedom by fighting

for themselves, going

into battle against

the Egyptians, that

might be a different

story, but that's

not what happened.

The Lord God

himself delivered

them.

The Lord God

himself fought on

their behalf.

The Israelites

received everything

for free.

They did nothing

but obey him.

So the Israelites

are not free

persons with rights

and entitlements.

They are not free

agents who can

negotiate the terms

of agreement with

the Lord.

They are slaves of

Yahweh.

They are subject to

him and they ought

to submit to him.

And that's the same

for us as Christians.

The apostles in the

New Testament refer

to themselves as

slaves of God or as

slaves of Christ.

Christ.

We are under God's

authority.

In Matthew 8, 5 to

13, Jesus commands

the faith of the

centurion, who was a

military officer, who

sought him out so that

Jesus might heal his

paralyzed servant.

And Jesus tells the

centurion, okay, I'll

come and heal him.

And then the centurion

replies this way.

He says, Lord, I am not

worthy to have you come

under my roof, but only

say the word and my

servant will be healed.

For I too am a man

under authority with

soldiers under me.

And I say to one, go

and he goes and to

another, come and he

comes and to my

servant, do this and

he does it.

What does the

centurion mean by all

of that?

The centurion is

saying, I am a

soldier.

I'm an officer in the

army.

I understand what it

means to be subject

to authority.

I understand what it

means to give

unquestioning obedience

to your superiors out of

complete trust for them.

I understand that.

And I also have people

under my charge,

soldiers who will do

everything I tell them

to do.

If I tell them to go,

they go.

If I tell them to come,

they come.

If I tell them to jump,

they ask how high.

That's what it means to

be under, completely

under someone's

authority.

And he's saying, Jesus,

I know you are a man

with God's authority.

You don't need to come

yourself to my place.

Just say the word.

And the paralysis will

leave my servant.

As subjects under God's

feet, that's what it

looks like for us to

live in complete trust.

As servants under the

perfect and absolute

authority of God, it's

not our place to seek

concessions, to seek

compromises.

It's not our place to

question the wisdom of

God or to negotiate with

God or to ignore God and

do our own thing.

our posture should be

simply only say the word.

Only say the word, God.

If God says, speak for me,

then we speak whether that

means we get applause or

boos.

If God says, suffer for me, then

we suffer for him.

If God says, die for me, then

we die for him with honor

because it would be our

privilege and joy to do so

because he is our Lord, because

he's our God.

God says, don't we?

That's the attitude that's

fitting for servants of God

who worship at his footstool.

But if the Ark of the

Testament teaches us about the

holiness of God, the glory of

God, the atonement cover

teaches us about the mercy of

God.

By the atonement cover, I'm

referring to the mercy seat.

Mercy seat is really a

misnomer because God doesn't

actually sit on top of the

Ark and the mercy seat.

Let me show you from verses

18 to 20.

Follow along with me.

Chapter 25, verse 18 to 20

says this.

You shall make two cherubim

of gold, of hammered work

shall you make them on the

two ends of the mercy seat.

Make one cherub on the one

end and one cherub on the

other end.

Of one piece with the mercy

seat shall you make the

cherubim on its two ends.

The cherubim shall spread out

their wings above, overshadowing

the mercy seat with their

wings.

Their faces one to another

toward the mercy seat and

the faces of the cherubim be.

Toward the mercy seat shall

the faces of the cherubim be.

So the cherubim are made of

one piece with the mercy

seat and that's on its two

ends of the mercy seat, but

they are not the mercy seat.

A cherub is an angelic being

and cherubim is the plural

form of that word, cherub.

In ancient Near Eastern art,

the cherubim are often

depicted as lion-like

four-legged creatures

with a human face and wings.

But scripture tells us no

details besides the fact that

they had wings and that they

had faces, which means it's not

important for us to know exactly

what they look like.

They are not chubby baby angels.

They're warrior guardian angels.

We know that because after

expelling Adam and Eve from the

garden of Eden, God posts the

cherubim and a flaming sword to

guard the entrance of the

garden so that people may not

come to get access to the tree

of life after having sinned

against God.

The cherubim are sentinel

angels, the guardians.

And the way the cherubim are

positioned on the mercy seat is

very revealing.

According to verse 20, their

wings are spread side to side

over the, do we have the,

overshadowing the mercy seat as

if they are covering or hiding

something, their faces are

similar.

They are facing each other, but

their faces are turned downward

toward the mercy seat as if

they're bowing before God who is

seated above because they do not

dare to look up at the face of

God.

It says in verse 22, God says,

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.

But he's not saying he will be

under the wings of the cherubim

between them.

He's saying he'll be above them

between them.

The scriptures, throughout the

scriptures, God is repeatedly

described as being enthroned on

or upon or above the cherubim in

a lot of places.

For example, he says in first

Chronicles 13 verse six, that

David and all Israel went to

Kirith-Jerim to bring up from

there the ark of God, which is

called by the name of the Lord

who sits enthroned above the

cherubim.

This is also consistent with many

ancient Near Eastern parallels of

the wings of the cherubim forming

a throne for a king or a deity.

So the mercy seat is not the

throne, but a part of the

footstool.

And God is seated in the

heavenly places on the heavenly

hosts, the angelic beings that

attend to him and serve him.

That's why God says heaven is my

throne and the earth is my

footstool.

And when Solomon is dedicating the

temple with the ark and the

mercy seat inside it in first

King, a 30, he asked God to

listen to their plea, listen to

their prayers when they pray

toward the temple, toward the

ark and the mercy seat.

And then, but then he says he

then listen in heaven, your

dwelling place.

And when you hear, forgive

Solomon understood this.

When the people pray toward the

ark and the mercy seat, God

hears from heaven and answers.

The ark on earth is a footstool

of God, the footstool of God

that is connected to the throne

of God in heaven.

It's the meeting place of heaven

and earth.

That's why mercy seat is a

misnomer.

I prefer the new international

versions translation, which

calls it the atonement cover.

That's apt for two reasons.

One, you may have noticed in

chapter 25 or 17 that the

length and breadth of the

atonement cover matches the

length and breadth of the

ark exactly.

The height is not given because

it's a flat slab of pure gold.

The reason why the dimensions

match the ark, it's because as

verse 21 says, you're supposed

to put the mercy seat on top of

the ark.

So pragmatically it functions as

a lid, a cover.

So the atonement cover is quite

appropriate.

But there's a second reason why

the atonement cover is accurate

because the actual Hebrew word

behind the translation means

atonement.

That's what the mercy seat means.

It's atonement.

It comes from the verb that

means to cover sin.

It's sometimes translated

propitiation, referring to the

appeasing or pacifying of God's

righteous wrath against sinners.

That's where we get the word,

the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur,

comes from the word Kippur,

which is a day of atonement.

That's what the mercy seat means.

That's what the atonement cover

is.

Once a year on the day of

atonement, the high priest would

kill a bull as a sin offering

and kill a bull as a sin offering

for himself and kill a goat for the

sin offering for the people of God,

the Israelites.

And then he will take the blood from

both of those animals and go into

the most holy place and he will

sprinkle it.

Where?

On the atonement cover.

On the mercy seat.

That's where atonement is made

and that's why it's called the

atonement.

And this is amazing.

Remember what I told you earlier

that the word for Solomon's footstool

in 2 Chronicles 9.18 means

subjugation or domination.

That's what a footstool represents.

But the footstool of Yahweh is

called mercy.

It's called atonement.

It's called covering for sin.

A propitiation.

Before he was a Protestant reformer,

Martin Luther was a scrupulous

Catholic monk.

He once quipped that if ever a monk

got to heaven by monkery, I ought to

have gotten there.

But despite this, Luther had a deep

soul struggle.

A profoundly disturbed conscience

and a spiritual angst that made him

ever doubtful of his own salvation.

He often despaired of salvation,

knowing full well that he was a sinner

at the root.

At one point, Luther's mentors sent him

off to seminary to get a doctorate

just to distract him from his obsessive

preoccupation with the state of his soul.

This is how Luther described his own state.

He says,

Do I live as a monk without reproach?

I felt that I was a sinner before God

with an extremely disturbed conscience.

I could not believe that he was placated

by my satisfaction.

I did not love.

Yes, I hated the righteous God

who punishes sinners.

And secretly, if not blasphemously,

certainly murmuring greatly,

I was angry with God and said,

as if indeed it is not enough,

that miserable sinners eternally lost

through original sin are crushed

by every kind of calamity,

by the law of the Decalogue,

without having God add pain to pain

by the gospel and also by the gospel,

threatening us with his righteousness

and wrath,

thus I raised with a fierce

and troubled conscience.

But as he read Paul's letters

in the original Greek,

and as he read Augustine's interpretation

of Paul's epistles,

he realized that the righteousness of God

is not revealed by the law,

but that the righteousness of God

is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ

for all who believe.

As it says in Romans 3, 21 to 26,

for all have sinned and fall short

of the glory of God

and are justified by his grace

as a gift through the redemption

that is in Christ Jesus,

whom God put forward

as a propitiation by his blood

to be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness

because in his divine forbearance,

he had passed over former sins.

It was to show his righteousness

at the present time

so that he might be just

and the justifier of the one

who has faith in Jesus.

How does God demonstrate his righteousness?

He had been forbearing in the past.

He had passed over sins

instead of punishing them

as the sinners deserved.

So how can God still be righteous?

Because Jesus in our place,

by offering himself

as a propitiation by his blood,

satisfied the wrath of God.

Because Jesus satisfied the justice of God

by bearing the punishment

and he satisfied the wrath of God

by appeasing him, placating him.

So that God is both just,

one who upholds justice

by punishing the wicked,

and he is the justifier,

the one who declares

the guilty sinner righteous.

And Luther finally made that connection

that is in the Greek translation

of Exodus 25,

our passage for today.

The word that is used,

the Greek translation

of the Old Testament,

the word that it uses

to translate the atonement cover,

the mercy seat,

is propitiation.

Since Jesus is the propitiation

by his blood,

then the mercy seat,

where the blood of propitiation

is sprinkled,

represents,

and points to

Jesus' ultimate sacrifice

on the cross.

God said,

there I will meet you.

There I will meet you

and I will speak with you.

That place is Jesus.

That place is his cross.

And that may be

what John 20,

12 has in mind

when it reports

Mary Magdalene

witnessing the empty tomb.

She goes to find a tomb

and where Jesus' head was

and where Jesus' feet were,

guess what's there?

The cherubim,

the two angels,

one at his head,

one at his head,

and one at his foot,

just like the mercy seat

or the atonement cover.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

we are sinners

who have violated

the terms of our agreement

with God,

our covenant.

We are rebels

guilty of treason

against the king of kings

and we deserve

to be crushed

underneath God's feet

to be made his footstool.

We are enemies of God

that should be reduced

to his footstool.

Do you feel weighed down

by guilt and shame?

Are you a fornicator,

an adulterer?

Are you a slanderer,

a drunkard,

a gossip,

a thief,

a liar?

Are you someone

who hates your neighbor?

You and I

deserve to be crushed

underneath God's feet.

But remember this,

his footstool

is not called subjugation.

It's called propitiation.

The very place

where we should be crushed

for our sins

is where we receive

mercy and forgiveness.

Why?

Because someone else

was crushed

in our place there

on the atonement cover.

Because someone else

has poured out his blood

and sprinkled it

upon the atonement cover.

because Jesus

died on the cross

for our sins

and was raised

from the dead

as we who have put

our faith in him,

we have been cleansed,

covered.

Instead of being

vanquished,

we are vindicated.

Instead of being

crushed,

we are covered

over by his blood.

It's amazing.

This is why

we don't need the ark

or the atonement cover

anymore.

Too many people

waste precious time

speculating about

the possible

whereabouts of the ark,

which in all likelihood

was destroyed

during the Babylonian

conquest of Jerusalem.

In fact,

Jeremiah,

before that

even happened,

prophesied already.

Jeremiah 3, 16, 17,

already prophesied

of a day

when the ark

of the covenant

of the Lord

shall not come to mind

or be remembered

or missed.

It shall not

be made again.

At that time,

Jerusalem shall be

called the throne

of the Lord

and all nations

shall gather to it

to the presence

of the Lord.

We don't need

the ark anymore.

We don't need

the atonement cover

because Jesus

was laid upon

the atonement cover

for our sins

on the cross

once and for all.

And when Jesus returns,

it says in Revelation 20,

what is this

holy city,

Jerusalem,

that replaces

the ark of covenant?

John reports

this vision.

He says,

he saw the holy city,

Jerusalem,

coming down

out of the heaven

from God.

And that Jerusalem

is us.

And it says

in verse 22,

and I saw no temple

in the city

for its temple

is the Lord God,

the Almighty

and the Lamb.

And the city

has no need

of sun or moon

to shine on it

for the glory

of God gives it light

and its lamp

is the Lamb.

There will be no temple

because we will have

direct access

to God

and we will be

in his immediate presence.

And as we look forward

to that day,

that's what Jesus

has won for us.

And as we look forward

to that day,

we can now,

today,

with confidence

draw near

to the throne of God.

Why?

Because we know

that we will find

mercy there

because the blood

of Christ

has been sprinkled.

Let's pray together.

Father,

we deserve

to be crushed

underneath your feet.

But how can it be

that our Lord,

your perfect

only Son,

was crushed

in our place?

He who should be exalted,

crushed.

How can it be

that we profit

from our Savior's death?

Father,

thank you for your love.

Thank you for your mercy.

Thank you for sending Jesus,

putting him forward

as the propitiation

by his blood.

So that wrath is gone.

the penalty is paid.

And we get to dwell

with you forever.

We love you, Father.

In your Son's precious name,

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.