The Mercy Seat Part 1

The Mercy Seat I.

“to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed.”
- 1 Chronicles 13:6

This is an absolutely fantastic statement, and worthy of profound meditation. Lest any of us imitate the irreverence of Uzza, I urge the reader to join me in removing your sandals, for the ground we approach is terribly holy.

It is clear that this statement refers especially to the mercy seat, which rested beneath the wings of the cherubim (cf. Exodus 25:20), those angels who were made to gaze down into that wonderful object. Here we learn the reason why they are so obsessed to see it and consider its glories: there “His name is proclaimed.”

To clarify the meaning, consider Jeremiah 9:23-24:

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight.’ ”

The angels of God might have great cause to glory in their wisdom (they knew ancient wonders no man has thought to consider), their might (a single angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, 2 Kings 19:35), or the riches of their great position before the throne of God. Instead they gaze with eternal longing into the mercy seat. Why? That they might understand and know the LORD, who exercises lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth.

But we should ask: Why would such exalted beings, dwelling in the immediate presence of the LORD Himself, have need to supplement their understanding and knowledge of God? Does the wife or child of a great man read his biography, hoping to learn something new about him? Why then do these angels look away from God Himself, to some terrestrial project, hoping to gain some fresh insights into the glories of the King?

This indeed is the profound mystery of godliness. I speak with reverence, but even standing face to face with God is an inadequate revelation of His glories. All virtues are perfected through their natural exercise. Love is perfected in sacrifice; righteousness is perfected in just decisions; bravery is perfected through heroic action; power is perfected in mighty feats of strength. If we want to truly appreciate who God is, the best place to look is the place where He has demonstrated His attributes through real, historical actions.

And that’s why the angels look to the cross, the mercy seat. All of the divine attributes are most perfectly displayed and expressed and exercised at Calvary. God demonstrated the great love with which He loved us by sending the Son of His love to perish as our substitute (Romans 5:8); He demonstrates His righteousness by pouring out His wrath once and forever on Christ, who became sin for us (Romans 3:25, 2 Corinthians 5:21); He demonstrates at the cross that He can be just and the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26; 1 John 1:9). The cross is the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; 24); the faithfulness of God (Luke 22:20); the truth of God (John 1:17, 14:6); the grace of God (John 1:17, Romans 5:17); the mercy of God (Ephesians 2:4); the forgiveness of God (Ephesians 1:7). Any true statement you can make about God is stated most excellently and most completely in the cross of Christ. Only at the cross can the cherubim truly consider the lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness of God. The host of Heaven worshiped Christ in the beauty of holiness in unknown ages past. Even so, they asked with longing, “Who is this King of Glory? (Psalms 24:8)” It was only when the risen Christ reentered the gates of Heaven, reclaimed His eternal throne as the Son of David, His blessed wounds radiating with might and excellence, that they could cry with awesome voices, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”

Are you profiting from the Word?

Well, this is my first post, but I hope to write more in the future when I get the free time. I've set a goal for myself this summer to read through the entire Old Testament and it puts me at about 13 chapters a day, 5 days a week. First, I'd like to encourage you to try to set a goal like this that might seem daunting but has great benefits at the same time. It's hard to really sit down and ponder each section because you have so much to read everyday, but it does give a great overall picture of what the themes are in a book, what message the author is trying to convey, what truths are repeated across different books, and so forth. I'm also reading along with the Old Testament a book by Mark Dever called The Message of the Old Testament. The book is a collection of sermons preached by Dever giving the same broad-brush stroke approach at reading the Old Testament. I highly recommend the book.

The real reason I felt led to write this article is that I'm also reading a book called "Profiting From the Word" by A.W. Pink. Pink asks the question: are you reading the Scriptures with the right mindset, for the right reasons, and are you truly getting out of it what is intended? (In other words, are you profiting from the word?)

I've only just started the book, but I have already learned a great lesson from the first chapter. The chapter is entitled "The Scripture and Sin" and talks about your relationship with sin and what the Word should be making you think and do about it. Are you reading the Scriptures in a way that attacks your sin?

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, italics added.)

"the Holy Scriptures are given us not for intellectual gratification and carnal speculation, but to furnish unto "all good works," and that by teaching, reproving and correcting us" (Pink, 10.) Are you reading the Word to impress your parents or friends with your knowledge? To impress yourself with your own wisdom? To impress God with our observance of the law? Or, are you reading the Word to grow in godliness and out of gratification with what we were given?

Pink correctly makes the argument that we are only truly profiting from the word if it convicts us of our sin, makes us sorrowful of it, leads us to confession of it, invokes a deeper hatred of it, leads us to forsake it, fortifies us against it, and ultimately causes us to practice the opposite of it.

In reading the Old Testament I confess that at times I look at these characters and think "What are you doing you sinful Israel? Can't you see that God will bless you if you serve him? How can you forget how He saved you out of Egypt?" Pink's book has led me to see that thinking like this is hypocritical. We ought to relate to the people of Israel who turn from God and serve other gods. Are we not the same? Like the people of Israel who forgot God's hand in saving them from Egypt, if you're a Christian, you forget the amazing work God has done in your life when you sin. Or perhaps you don't forget, you just have such a small view of God that you say "God, you're not enough for me, I need more pleasure than you can offer." God did a miracle at your salvation, He made dead bones live, and yet you (and I) neglect Him and trample on the blood of Christ every time you yield to your lusts.

So my prayer is that we all would read God's Word with the specific intent of seeing sin for what it is and to be moved to see Christ for what He is. Christ took our sins upon himself so that we could put away these childish things and live in true freedom. If this fact isn't motivation enough, then nothing is.

Adam