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The Tabernacle with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimo- ny, of all things which I will give thee in command- ment unto the children of Israel" (Exod. 25:22). From this and related passages of Scripture, it is clear that the mercy seat was God's throne, the place where He met with the representative of His people, and communed with him. This truth becomes increasingly clear to us as we examine, in some detail, the significance of this mercy seat of pure gold. It was: 1. The Only Seat in the Jewish Tabernacle. There was no chair for the priests. Their work was never done. They continued to stand "daily ministering and offering often- times the same sacrifices, which" could "never take away sins" (Heb. 10: 11) . The only seat in the tabernacle was God's throne, where "mercy reigned." It reigned because our holy God had planned, from all eternity, to offer Him- self a perfect Sacrifice for sin "once for all." "When the fu!ness of the time was come," He let wicked men crucify Him on the cross. Having paid the penalty for sin, He cried out in triumph, "It is finished." Then He yielded His Spirit up to the Father. Three days and three nights He lay in Joseph's new tomb, but His "flesh" saw "no cor- ruption." And then He arose, victorious over death and the grave. For forty days He showed Himself alive to those w~o l_ov~d Him, "by many infallible proofs" convincing His disciples that He was alive forevermore. He ascended into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. That is why the Holy Spirit wrote of Him, in Heb. 10:12, saying, "This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for eve!.', sat down on the right hand of God." His redemptive work was forever finished; therefore, He
246 The Tabernacle Because He delighted to do His Father's will, because He c~uld not sin, _He was worthy to be a perfect Sacrifice, the smner's Substitute upon the altar, which is Calvary's cross. Thus He became the heavenly Manna to our heart- hungry souls; and thus He became in His death and resur- rection our ever-living Priest. This is the message of the golden-covered ark of the covenant. The Mercy Seat-A Type of Christ, Our ''Throne of Grace" The mercy seat was made of "pure gold," two and one-half cubits long and one and one-half cubits wide-- just to fit the top of the ark of the covenant. "In the two ends of the mercy seat" were two cherubim of gold "one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on th; other end." These angelic figures of gold were "beaten out of one piece," from the mercy seat itself; indeed, they were a part of this precious covering for the ark of the covenant. (See Exod. 25:17-22; 37:6-9.) Thus the cher- ubim were not separate from, or attached to, the mercy seat in an artificial union; they were "beaten out of one piece," even out of the mercy seat itself. All was one piece of pure gold. The cherubim faced each other- and with their wings stretched forth "on high, cover~g th; mercy seat with their wings," they were looking down upon the sprinkled blood; for we read the God-given instructions concerning them: "Their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be" (Exod. 25:20). Moreover, God said to Moses, "There will I meet with thee, and I will commune
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