The Dwelling Place of God with man - The Mercy Seat (part 2)
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Intro: In our last lesson we began a study on the mercy seat. How it is a symbol of Christ our propitiation. We spoke of the cherubim’s being beaten out of the gold and how together they stood for His deity and omnipotence. To separate the cherubim from the mercy seat you would ruin the mercy seat. To separate the deity of Christ from His humanity would destroy the scriptures. During His earthly ministry Jesus displayed all aspects of Who He is and became the fulfillment of the promises showed and pictured in the Tabernacle!
A. At the well of Sychar in Samaria: John 4:5-7
“…Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well...” and what does He ask the sinful women who came there? “…Give me to drink...” Can there be anything more human that that? But then you have verse 10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Jesus just declared unto her the “____________________” to be the gift of God, and then declares that He is the one that is able to give it! Who can give the gift of God but God Himself?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
We have clear understanding of His humanity and the weakness of it, coupled with His deity. He is here in need of water and at the same time declares Himself as God, and declares Himself as the One Who has the power to give everlasting life!
B. Jesus wept: John 11:35-44
Is there anything more human that Jesus weeping for His friend and then groaning in Himself? He then stands and does what only an all powerful God can do! He calls that which was dead to life! Showing Himself as God, and the One Who has power over death and the grave!
C. Jesus asleep on the sea of Galilee: Matthew 8:23-27
Asleep in the midst of the storm in Galilee, asleep from His weariness, yet arising and with a word He causes the mighty storm to stand still. In doing so, He declared not only as God but as the One Who had power over creation itself!
Thou rulest the raging of the sea:
When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
No one can separate Who He is! There is not knife whose blade is thin enough and sharp enough to separate Christ! We must accept all of Him, because in rejecting part of Him, we have indeed rejected Him...
The ark, and the mercy seat represent One Person! The Son of man, the Son of God, the Man Christ Jesus seated upon the throne!
The Mercy Seat was covered with the blood of the atoning sacrifice:
Immediately after the sacrifice was offered on the Brazen Altar the priest took the blood of the victim in a bason, went within the vail and sprinkled it upon the Mercy Seat. In this our Lord fulfilled the type and symbol exactly.
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
All of the blood of the sin offering was to be poured out at the bottom of the altar, to where there is no blood left int eh body of the victim.
And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Our Lord Jesus was the true sin offering.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
The Cross of Calvary was the Brazen Altar. It was then on the cross that Jesus poured out all His blood.
As many were astonied at thee;
His visage was so marred more than any man,
And his form more than the sons of men:
His blood poured from the scurgings He had recieved, from the crown of thorns driven deep into His brow, from the nail driven through both His right and His left hand and the nail driven through His feet. Then finally the spear that was thrust deep into His side, piercing His heart, and out of flowed blood and water, a witness to the fact that He was already dead.
The blood of Jesus poured out of His body and it fell like rain into the altar which was the bottom of the cross. It is in this that He fulfilled the sin offering for you and for me.
I don’t know that I have ever seen this before but I believe now that He declared it that Sunday evening before His disciples.
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
This is very different then the way that one would describe themselves and different from the way that Christ spoke previously.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
If he had described Himself as being flesh and blood He would have taken away from the value of the precious blood of God that was spilled on our behalf. The reason I believe that Jesus describes Himself here as flesh and bones is because all His blood had been spilled out on the cross.
Now let us picture for a moment the process as described in Leviticus.
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
Now remember:
Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
What Jesus did for us that day is in entering within the vail, He changed the throne of God from that of Judgment to that of Grace!
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.
The ark was a chest, the tables of the law were placed within it, the mercy seat like a golden lid covered the ark exactly, it covered the law that it contained exactly, it met every point, and in a sense hid it from view. When the priest approached the mercy seat he saw the blood thereon, and he knew in that moment that the blood of the sin offering had met and settled(ceremonially) all claims of the law against him. He knew in that moment that the judgments against for that year were gone.
When the Lord looked at the blood, He knew it had met (ceremonially) all His claims against the sinner. He had no judgment against him. Where there is no judgment there is grace.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
At the blood stained mercy seat, God would meet those and commune with those who approached Him on the basis of that blood.
All of this has been fulfilled through Christs atoning sacrifice on the cross for us. His blood is applied to the throne in Heaven, the throne of God has been sprinkled with the blood of God. When we look up by faith we see the blood. We know the blood is between us and all the claims, not only of the law of Sinai, but all of the law given, both in spirit and in word. All of the law that is essential to a righteous God has been covered by the blood of Christ.
We know all claims against us have been “covered” complete satisfaction has been rendered to God, the voice of judgment that the world will one day hear, has been silenced on behalf of all believers. When God looks and sees the blood, He knows all the claims against us have been met! No longer is there any judgment against us. It is because of this that the throne of God is the throne of Grace! On the basis of blood, He now invites us to draw near that we may hold communion with Him and He with us.
This is the privilege of all believers, to ascend by faith to Him who is on the throne, both as Mercy Seat, and Priest, and He will meet us there.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Sprinkled with the blood that was shed for us, blood that has met our case, blood that tells us He Who shed it, Who died for us, is a live upon the throne for us, immortal, glorified, omnipotent man, our living and eternal interceding priest.
Wondrous Mercy Seat! May we draw near and listen while He talks to us there? When we draw nigh in Spirit and in truth, when His word is dwelling richly in us, by and through that very word He will speak to us, our hearts will burn within is as we hear His gracious and hope inspiriting voice!
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.