In order to understand what Jesus wants from us today, I believe we can look back at the Old Testament to see what God expected from the Israelites back then. We often speak of God's mercy today when thinking about repentance from sin and the abounding love of Christ. And well we should, because it is through His sacrifice that we are both humbled and saved. The mercy seat is something that doesn't get talked about often in modern worship services, but its impact has been influential to Christianity for over three-thousand years.
Gotquestions.org is a valuable online tool for people wishing to find information about anything related to orthodox Christianity. I have in fact used excerpts from that site in this article to help illustrate the importance of our topic today. While scholars may disagree on the fine points related to some aspects of Biblical history, by and large they have done an excellent job detailing what the mercy seat is, and what it means for us conceptually today.
The writer in the book of Hebrews talks about the arrangement of the tabernacle from the Old Testament accounts. The tabernacle was the portable sanctuary used by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt, to the building of the temple in Jerusalem. Within the tabernacle was the ark of the covenant which included the mercy seat.
I have always enjoyed the portrayal of the ark in television and movies. Most notably in the first Indiana Jones film 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' In this film, the hero and protagonist Dr. Jones manages to discover the location of the lost ark, and together with the help of his arch-nemesis, removes the lid containing the mercy seat itself. It was an interesting and imaginative portrayal of what that spectacle might look like.
At any rate, Hebrews 9:3-5 says, "And behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail."
The ark of the covenant, the chest containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, was the most sacred object of the tabernacle. And later in the temple in Jerusalem, it was placed in an inner area called the Holy of Holies. Readers of the Bible might remember that the ark was transported from place to place during different times by God's people as well. Also within the ark, was the golden pot of manna, such as was provided by God in the wilderness wanderings and Aaron’s almond rod. On top of the ark was a lid called the mercy seat on which rested the cloud or visible symbol of the divine presence. Here God was supposed to be seated, and from this place He was to dispense mercy to man when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled there.
And mercy is what we are really after, isn't it? Any honest examination of our own lives will reveal the great need for God's mercy and forgiveness. Try going one week for example, without saying or doing something for which we might later need forgiveness (or at least grace). It is no easy task.
In a manner of speaking, the mercy seat concealed the people of God from the ever-condemning judgment of the Law. Each year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of animals sacrificed for the atonement of the sins of God’s people. The priest had to be dressed and made ready for this special event. This blood was then sprinkled on the mercy seat. The point conveyed by this imagery, is that it is only through the offering of blood that the condemnation of the Law could be taken away, and violations of God’s laws covered.
Some think that the act of blood sacrifice is too archaic and antiquated to apply today. But keep in mind, it is only due to Jesus' sacrifice and the spilling of his own blood on the cross that we are reconciled to God in the first place. Without sacrifice, there would be no atonement and forgiveness for sins.
The Greek word for “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9 is hilasterion, which means “that which makes expiation” or “propitiation.” It carries the idea of the removal of sin. In Ezekiel 43, the brazen alter of sacrifice is also called hilasterion (the propitiatory or mercy seat) in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). This is because of its association with the shedding of blood for sin.
What is the significance of this? In the New Testament, Christ Himself is designated as our propitiation. The Apostle Paul explains this in his letter to the Romans: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”
What Paul is teaching here is that Jesus is the covering for sin, as shown by these Old Testament prophetic images. By means of His death, and our response to Christ through faith in Him, all our sins are covered. Also, whenever believers sin, we may turn to Christ who continues to be the propitiation (or covering) for our sins so that we might repent and be forgiven. This ties together the Old and New Testament concepts regarding the covering of sin as exemplified by the mercy-seat of God.
And it is God's mercy that often drives our faith. Scripture says that without faith, we cannot please Him. And faith of course, requires us to humbly ask Christ into our lives so that we might be saved. And once saved, would it not be prudent to pass along the same type of grace and mercy that He showed us?
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