Mercy.
Did you know God has an endless supply of mercy available to you? Mercy. Grace. Forgiveness. Love. Peace. And rest.
Because of His mercy, we receive grace, which leads to His forgiveness. And all three stem from His great love for us, which when reciprocated, leads to a peaceful, restful life for His creation.
I’m amazed at how this big, big God has so great a grace towards us, His teeny-tiny creations.
That no matter the background, race, or social status, God has extended His seemingly unlimited supply of grace and mercy to every person who has ever come into existence.
God gives as much grace and mercy as we need for any situation.
Last year, I didn’t realize how often I was pushing and striving to enter God’s presence instead of simply trusting in Him to lead me there.
I desperately needed to draw near to God, but my flesh was so strong. I tried to fast, but I was too weary. I wanted to worship, yet I was too emotionally bogged down and sleep-deprived to enter in with thanksgiving and praise. As this battle went on for months, doubt began to settle in.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
Really, God? “Draw near to You and You will draw near to me?” Why didn’t that seem true any longer…
Enter God’s Mercy.
Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another.
The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. Ex 25:17–21
The Mercy Seat
The mercy seat, kapporet, also known as the atoning cover, is a lid made of pure gold which covers the Ark of the Covenant, where the presence of God dwelled here on the earth.
God’s presence hovered between the two cherubim, and it was here that He met with Moses. The ark itself is made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, with precise dimensions containing: “the golden pot that had manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.” Hebrews 9:4
It’s believed that the cherubim serve as gatekeepers to God’s presence. God placed cherubim at the entrances to the Garden of Eden, with flaming swords to keep out humanity.
I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites. Exodus 25:22
In the temple, the High Priest would enter the Most Holy place once a year to offer sacrifices for himself and the people. He’d come in with a censor of incense and coals so the smoke would cover the place above the mercy seat where God’s presence dwelled.
God’s dwelling place was hidden and covered. The Bible says when we seek God with our whole hearts, we will find Him. His mercy seat, sacred and holy, shouldn’t be approached half-heartedly or without reverence. I believe that’s why it’s sometimes hard for us to enter into the presence of God.
The High Priest would then sprinkle the mercy seat with the blood of a goat and bull to atone for the people’s sins and his.
A better covenant, an everlasting sacrifice.
This atoning act for the Israelites was a picture, a foreshadowing of the better covenant coming into the world. Jesus; the propitiation for our sins. Jesus is our High Priest forever.
Jesus entered into the Holy of Holies with His own blood to sprinkle on the Mercy Seat, once and for all.
He is our High Priest, He is the Mercy Seat, and He is our Perfect Sacrifice combined.
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4
God went to great lengths to show us His Son all through the Bible.
We see Jesus in the characters we study, the stories we read, in every feast and sacrifice required by law. God went to great lengths to make it plain that He is the God who saves.
He is the God who rescues His people. He is the God who delivers.
What we do in return is receive.
- We receive what God did in faith.
- We acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives.
- We trust the Holy Spirit to keep us.
- We no longer try to govern our lives, but recognize that we’re part of a Kingdom under a King who is ruling eternally.
We no longer carry our heavy burdens; we give them to our King.
How to Approach the Mercy Seat
You don’t have to fight to enter in and be with Jesus. Just come and rest. Come to the mercy seat and His throne of grace; broken, scarred, worried, confused, tired, and weary. God has an abundance of mercy and grace available for you.
Get away, go into your prayer closet, and talk to your heavenly Father. Sit with Him and worship. You may not even make a sound but trust that you ARE communing with God.
What’s on your heart?
What do you need to bring to the mercy seat and pour out to Jesus? Do you even have the words?
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
Precious one, you have access to a mercy and grace unending; no matter how many times you’ve struggled in your assignment, struggled to believe, or struggled to say yes. I encourage you to ask God to open your understanding of all that He’s done for you, recognize His great mercy, and respond.
Be encouraged.
