Exodus 24-25 | The Mercy that Makes Access Possible

“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark and in the ark, you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”

(Exodus 25:21-22, emphasis mine)

When God led His people out of Egypt’s bondage, He initiated the building of a moveable tabernacle so that there would be a recognizable place where He would meet and speak to them. Every single thing about this tabernacle was by His design and each part had perfect meaning and purpose.

In the holiest, inner portion of this tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred piece of furniture built. And on the top was what God designated as the "mercy seat." Literally, the word means the "propitiary or atonement seat." Big word. massive meaning.

GRACIOUS MERCY

"Atonement" means to "cover over, propitiate, pacify." It means that our sins which were once seen and that created our true guilt are covered by God.

It is fascinating and instructive that this was the place where God says, "There I will meet with you." God is everywhere, but in the legal sense for God and His people, this is the only place where we can encounter Him ... at the place of His mercy, at the place of His atonement. There our sins are covered. There we are clean before Him. There we are covered. There we receive mercy.

Because of Christ, the veil was torn from that holy of holies and now we can enter and experience the presence of Christ all the time. Our sins are covered and atoned for by His sacrifice forever for all of His followers.

In fact, He has now given us His Spirit to live in all true believers. Our hearts literally become the “Holy of Holies” where He dwells and is constantly accessible to us.

NEVER FORGET

We take meeting with God as a nice little opportunity and treat it lightly. We try to waltz in and out of His presence with little thought of what has happened to allow us to enter this holiest place.

Remember, each moment you approach Him, and come in humble gratitude. It cost the life of God’s Son, the sacrifice of the sinless Lamb of God, for this to occur ... and it is an amazing act of His mercy that it happens at all.

Father, thank You for Your mercy towards me and for the sacrifice of Your Son that made it possible for me to live in You and You in me eternally. Thank You for covering my sins on Calvary so that I could be seen as righteous before You. Remind me, when I am tempted to sin, of the price that was paid and help me turn from sin with gratitude.