The Ark of the Testimony:
An "ark" was something like a safety deposit box. Noah built an "ark" in order to save the animals and his family from the flood. Moses' mother hid him in an "ark" of bulrushes in order to save his life.
God told Moses to make an "ark" for the children of Israel. The national treasures of the people would be kept safe inside that ark. The ark was also known as the ark of the testimony because it contained the ten commandments. As the Bible says, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:18
But the ten commandments, written on those two tables of stone, were not the only things in the ark. Altogether there were three things inside the ark. The writer of the book of Hebrews says,
...in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; Hebrews 9:4
These three things were strange national treasures indeed! They were kept inside the ark as reminders of Israel's rebellion - and of God's grace upon them! For the people of Israel had rebelled against God continuously.
- The people had rebelled against the ten commandments, God's right standard of living.
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God - had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way (God's right standard of living), which the LORD had commanded you. Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. Deuteronomy 916-17 (parenthesis mine)
- The people had rebelled against God's provision:
And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."
Numbers 21:5 (or read the whole story of the fiery serpents in Numbers chapter 11) italics mine
- The people had rebelled against God's representatives, His priesthood:
And the Lord said to Moses, "Bring Aaron's rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die." Numbers 17:10So God told Moses to make an ark, and to put the symbols of Israel's rebellion inside the ark. However, the idea was to put away the sins of the people of Israel. (see verse above) God wanted to have mercy upon the people. That's why the ark had to be covered with a "mercy seat." Then the things inside the ark became a reminder of God's grace.
God placed a very special lid, or "covering," over the ark in order to prevent His wrath from breaking out against the children of Israel. That lid was called the "mercy seat." A better translation would be "seat of mercy" or "location of mercy."
The Mercy Seat:
The mercy seat (seat of mercy), was about 45 inches long by about 27 inches wide. There was a cherub at one end, and another cherub at the other end. The cherubim faced each other with their wings raised up over the mercy seat. There was a cloud that hovered between the cherubim, just above the mercy seat. God said He would appear in that cloud above the mercy seat. (see Leviticus 16:2) And in fact, God did appear in that cloud above the mercy seat, or at least His "form" appeared. As the Bible says,
"I speak with him (Moses),
face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark
sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD.
Numbers 12:8 (parenthesis mine)
The ark of the testimony, with the mercy on top of it, was placed in the most holy place. There it remained for almost 500 years until the time of King David. Then it was moved into the tabernacle that David built. David spent a lot of time there. It is apparent that the LORD spoke to David somehow from above the mercy seat. Jewish scholars say that's how the book of Psalms was written. Many, many of those Psalms were Messianic, foretelling the coming of the Messiah. In other words, David also saw the form of the LORD and declared Him. Or at least the form of the LORD was revealed to David, and David declared that.
There were two cherubim woven into the roof of the most holy place, thus making four cherubim in the holy place. (see Exodus 26:1) Other cherubim were woven into the roof of the holy place. Remember that Moses' tabernacle had a tent or "curtains" for a roof.
When Solomon built his temple, he made two cherubim to stand in the most holy place next to the ark. Thus there were four cherubim in Solomon's temple. (see 1 Kings 6:23-28)
The cherubim are mighty angels that surround the throne of God. In the book of Revelation there are four of them, called "living creatures." They do not rest, day or night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come." (see Revelation 4:8) And they... give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. (Revelations 4:9) So God is always surrounded by their praise and thanks.
The temple Solomon built came to be known as Solomon's temple, and the ark was moved into it. But the Babylonians came and destroyed that temple. At that time the ark of the testimony was captured, destroyed, or lost. No one has seen it since then, although some people think it is in Ethiopia.
When the people of Israel returned from captivity in Babylon they rebuilt the temple. But the most holy place was left empty. The ark of the testimony was never rebuilt or replaced. (see Jeremiah 3:16) Yet Haggai prophesied that the "Second Temple" would have greater glory than the Solomon's Temple.
"The glory of this later temple shall be greater than the former," says the LORD of hosts. "And in this place I will give peace," says the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:9
Bible scholar's say the second temple (or "Herod's Temple), had more glory than the first one because Jesus came to the second temple, and fulfilled all of its types and foreshadows.
In the New Testament, Jesus is our mercy seat. The Bible says,
... Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth as a propitiation (seat of mercy), by His blood. Romans 3:25
(see Strong's 2435) (parenthesis mine)
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