Before the beginning of time, God knew that mankind would need mercy and grace. He did not cause man to sin, but he knew he would. From before time began, He had a plan to show mercy to the one created in His image. Mercy is God withholding what we deserve. It is extending compassion, pity, or clemency to someone who has done wrong. The central theme or meaning of mercy is not receiving the bad things or judgment that we deserve. We are sinful people, a rebellious people against a holy God. We deserve Hell, but God extends mercy. The next piece of the tabernacle we will see is the Mercy Seat.
The Mercy Seat sat directly atop the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies, hidden behind the thick veil of the Tabernacle. It was made from a single piece of pure gold and guarded by two overshadowing cherubim. In Exodus 25:22, God tells His people that this is where He will meet with them. It was the specific place where God’s visible presence dwelt among His people.
Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
Under the pure gold Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Covenant were the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were a constant reminder of human sin and the fall of mankind. God designed the Mercy Seat to cover those tablets completely. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, known as Yom Kippur, the High Priest entered this sacred space with a blood sacrifice, sprinkling it upon and before the Mercy Seat to make atonement for the nation.
As with everything in the Tabernacle, this sacred fixture points directly to Jesus Christ. Through the death and shedding of his blood, Jesus provided a covering for our sins. The Law exposed our inability to meet God’s perfect standard, but the Mercy Seat covered the Law. Through His death, Jesus covered our transgressions, stepping between the demands of God’s justice and our wrongdoing.
In Romans 3:25, Paul describes Jesus as our “atoning sacrifice” or “propitiation.” These terms come from the same Greek word, hilasterion, that is used for the Mercy Seat. While the priest would sprinkle blood from an animal over the golden Mercy Seat, Jesus offered His own blood as the ultimate sacrifice. With His death, we have a complete sacrifice. He is our living propitiation, meaning He was the atoning victim to cover our sins.
Year after year, the High Priest would approach the Mercy Seat under strict boundaries. When Jesus died, the Veil of the Temple was torn in two, signifying a way for every believer to approach God’s presence anytime without fear. He gave us unhindered access to God’s grace.
Because of Christ, the place of judgment has been transformed into the throne of grace. Our High Priest has experienced temptations without giving in to them. He has suffered beyond anything we could imagine, and this High Priest invites us to come boldly unto the throne of grace. We are invited to draw near with confidence, knowing we will find mercy and grace to help in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
For us to be right with God, we must stop relying on our own merit. We must rest fully in the complete mercy offered at the cross. Only Jesus can extend grace and mercy, allowing us to stand in the presence of God. Only His righteousness applied to our lives will grant us a home in Heaven when we die. Have you been relying on your own righteousness? If so, it is time you understand that nothing we can do will merit us eternal life. Isaiah 64:6 teaches us that all our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s eyes.
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
