Lessons from the Tabernacle of the Wilderness Pt. 3 by Chris White

“And there I will meet with you and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in the commandment for the sons of Israel.”    Ex. 25:22

The ark of the covenant was essentially the throne of God on earth that furnished His kingly presence chamber in the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies or the Holiest Place.  This presence chamber was not open to the Israelites or priesthood.  Only the high priest could attend the holiest place and that only once a year to bring a blood sacrifice in atonement for the sins of the nation to God.  The ark itself was a box made from a common wood found in the desert and overlaid with gold.  The lid was known as the mercy seat and it was made of pure gold.  At each end were cherubim facing one another reminding us of the angels that surround God’s throne in heaven and minister to Him in purity and holiness.  Inside the box were the table of the 10 commandments, the rod of Aaron, and a pot of manna.  Each of these speak to how Christ would fulfill with His life that which humanity cannot do in his fallen nature.  Man cannot keep the law of God except in fits and starts because he is enslaved to sin.  The manna pot is testimony to God’s provision in the wilderness, but also a testimony to our failure to do God’s will.  Israel’s disobedience to God made a short purposeful pilgrimage into 40 years of wasted time until a generation passed.  Finally, Aaron’s rod speaks to God’s appointed leadership and our rebellion against it.  We resist submission to authority because we desire autonomy.  But these three things were surrounded by the gold overlaid box which is a type of Jesus Christ—fully human as seen in the common wood, fully God as symbolized by the gold.  Christ was able to fully keep the law, fully obeyed the will of God, and was fully submitted to the Father.  As Christians we are joined to this life and forgiven for the failures of our old life.  The mercy seat was made of solid gold and was therefore imperishable unlike the ark.  On top of this seat blood was sprinkled for the sins of Israel each year.  Just above this seat was the shekinah or presence of God.  What this pictures quite perfectly is standing between a holy God and a fallen, condemned humanity is an imperishable covering made possible by the sacrificial death of the God-Man Jesus Christ.  Next time: The Table of Showbread