ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
themselves capable of obedience. They were in a hopeless state. God had to punish disobedience. Even though Israel was so ignorant, God showed how necessary it was to do away with the law. How thankful we should be that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4) ! And even to sin-blinded Israel. hundreds of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God was teaching this eternal truth. For example, the golden-covered ark of the covenant was a type of Christ, and wonderfully illustrates the believer's death to the law. It was made of acacia wood illustrating Christ's humanity; and it was covered with gold, typical of His deity. The mercy seat, or lid, was of solid gold. The ark was kept out of sight. Only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies, where the ark was kept; and only once a year could he enter there; for God dwelt above the mercy seat in the Shekinah Glory, which was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. Moreover, the high priest could enter into the presence of God only on the ground of shed blood, which he sprinkled on the mercy seat. The ark was a type of the Lord Jesus, who was eternal God and perfect Man. The blood of the animal sacrifice was a foreshadowing of His own blood, shed for the atonement of sin. And the law. the two tables of stone, were hidden in the ark! The high priest could enter God's presence because, between him and the law, there were the mercy seat and the sprinkled blood! Surely you see. my friend. what God was teaching sinful man. He alone in the Person of His holy Son. could keep the law. He came to bear the awful curse we incurred because of disobedience. For thirty-three and one-half years He demon- strated that He could; keep both the spirit and the letter of the law. God's broken law demanded death; but He Himself died to bear the awful penalty of sin on our behalf; for nothing less than a perfect sacrifice would satisfy the law's demands. [Page 113
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