This has to do with the construction
of the tabernacle in the wilderness. Moses is receiving instructions
from God how all things are to be made. And one thing that we
want to look at this morning is the mercy seat in that tabernacle. And in Exodus 25 verse 17, reading
down through verse 22, of pure gold, two cubits and
a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth
thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims
of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends
of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one
end, and the other cherub on the other end, even of the mercy
seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch
forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings,
and their faces shall look one to another. Toward the mercy
seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. and thou shalt put the mercy
seat above the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony
that I shall give thee." Listen to verse 22, "...and there I
will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon
the ark of the testimony, of all which I have given thee in
commandment unto the children of men." Now you have to notice
the first part of verse 22. I will meet with thee, I will
commune with thee from the mercy seat and from between the two
cherubim. Now the Hebrew writer has written
in chapter 9 and verses 1 through 5 of this matter, then verily
the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly
sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle which is called the holiest of all. which had the
golden candlestick, the ark of the covenant overlaid round about
with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, Aaron's rod
that budded, and the tables of the covenant, and over it the
cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot
now speak particularly. Now, my subject today is the
mercy seat. And there are two events in Exodus
that take up a considerable space out of the book. Many chapters
are devoted under them. And in both of them, Moses is
summoned into the mouth. there to be with God and receive
divine revelation, which He is to reveal unto the people. Now,
the first great event is the giving of the law, where in Exodus
19 and verse 20, God had summoned His servant Moses and instructed
him that he might prepare the people for the giving of the
law at Sinai. Bishop Joseph Hall was of the
opinion that this incident occurred about seven weeks after the exodus
out of the land of Egypt. And now the Lord would give unto
his people or nation a law from heaven, and he would make a covenant
with that people, And giving the law was one of the most awesome
times in their wilderness experience. They saw Mount Sinai all on smoke
and on fire. And they heard thunder. And they
heard the voice of God, as it were, rumbling out of the heaven,
speaking to them out of the midst of the fire on Sinai. And it made them afraid. that
they actually would die at that holy manifestation of God. And when the law was given unto
them, and the ten laws or letters, then God called Moses again,
and He gave him in the mount laws for the people. The very
experience of the original ten laws and various expressions
of the original law. And you can see that expanded
in Exodus 21-24. And the people agreed, and they
entered covenant with God, and they said, all that you have
said we will do and keep. So beginning with chapter 25
of the book of Exodus, Moses then is summoned before the Lord,
and there in the mount, He is given instruction for the gathering
together of the material. He is given the pattern and the
sizes of the making of what we call or know as the tabernacle
in the wilderness. In Exodus 25 and verse 8, And
let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Here is the purpose. of this sanctuary. Let them make
me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." And then, all of
the materials were to be gathered from the people as free offering,
and they were to be fashioned into the various compartments,
materials of the tabernacle proper that made up the whole, so that
Jehovah might dwell there among them. And they follow the command
to establish the Levitical priesthood. For this conglomeration will
require a priesthood for the administering of it. And the
priests are ordained then to serve in the worldly sanctuary
and to make the offerings and to make the sacrifices in behalf
of the people. Now this tabernacle, though we're
looking only at one part, was a very unique and a very ornate
structure, consisting, as it did, in many materials. It had various wonderful colors
about it. It had various precious metals
of which some of the parts were made. It had specific furniture. It had an altar of sacrifice. It had veils, too, in number. It had a table of showbread there. and it had a candle stand. It had curtains and it had an
altar of incense, where incense, beaten small, constantly waved
up to perfume the tabernacle. Now, we want to notice the first
two things that were made. We might think that the whole
outward structure might be the first part that is put together
or constructed. But the first two things to be
made actually were the heart, the core, and the center of the
tabernacle and the whole system of worship. And you have those
two things beginning in Exodus 25 and from verse 10 down through
verse 22. These two things were first made. And the rest of the tabernacle
was fashioned later and fashioned around or built around. For to repeat, this was to be
the central part of the worship of God. This was to be the most
holy place in all of the tabernacle in the wilderness. And those
two things are put forth for us here in this passage of Scripture,
Exodus chapter 25. They are, number one, in verse
10 and following, they shall make an ark of sheetum wood. Now this is often referred to
in the Scripture as the ark of the covenant. The ark of the
covenant. It was a chest. Or should we
call it a coffer? A coffer is a chest in which
valuables are put and are kept. And according to the scripture,
it measured two and one-half cubits in length, one and one-half
cubits in its depth, and one and one-half cubits high. So that was the dimensions of
it. Now, a cubit is an ancient measure. I think approximately to 18 inches
in our present measuring system. So, this ark was about 4 foot
long, 27 inches high and wide, and the measurements are given
in Exodus 25.10 and again in Exodus 31.37 and verse 1. Then
the ark, this ark of the covenant, was to be overlaid with pure
gold, within and without. It was to be overlaid. Then four
rings were to be attached to it, one to each corner of the
Ark of the Covenant, fastened to the side, and then wooden
staves or boards or handles were made And they were to go in those
rings, and by that the priest would carry the Ark of the Covenant
when it was moved from one place unto the other. Now inside of
that Ark of the Covenant was, according to Exodus 25 and verse
16, put in the Ark the testimony which I will give you." Again,
in Exodus 16 and verse 34, Hebrews 9 and verse 4 that we read, Exodus
40 and verse 20 also speaks of that being in the ark of the
covenant. That was the first thing that
was to be made. A four-foot-long chest overlaid
with gold, golden rings, and shoot-em-wood to carry it about.
Now, the second thing that was to be made is our text for this
morning, beginning in verse 17 through verse 22. They were to
make a mercy seat, as it is called. Its dimensions were exactly the
same as that of the ark. It was to be, in fact, the covering
or the lid of the ark of the covenant. was therefore the same
size as the ark or the chest, and it too was to be made of
absolutely pure gold. Oh, and by the way, let us not
forget the two things concerning the rearing up of the tabernacle,
eh? Where did all these materials
come from out in the wilderness? How is it that they made such
an assemblage? of materials to make the tabernacle
in the wilderness? And the answer is, they were
the free will offerings of the people given from their heart. Then, B, in Exodus 31, 1 through
11, the Spirit of God especially chose men and endowed certain
men with special knowledge and abilities to make the cunning
works that were to be graven for the tabernacle. You can see
that in Exodus 35, verse 30-35, a man named Beelzebub was evidently
the leading architect of this. And these men are especially
endowed by God with skill, wit, and wisdom to make all of these
things. Now concerning the golden mercy
seat, the slab of absolutely pure gold as a covering for the
ark which contained the tables of the law, they were to make
two cherubim angels on the mercy seat. These two cherubim angels
were to be attached unto the mercy seat, one on each end made
also of gold, covering their wings spread so as to cover the
mercy seat, and their faces looking toward the mercy seat. And when
both the ark and the mercy seat were finished, then the mercy
seat was put up on the top or the lid of the chest." Exodus
20, 25. twenty-six, thirty-four, and
again in forty and twenty. And when the whole structure,
all of it, inside and outside, had been finished, when it was
assembled according to the commands of God and sanctified for their
use by God, then the ark with its mercy seat above it was placed
in that second compartment known as the holy of holiest, or the
holiest of all. Note in Exodus 25 and 22 what
the Lord told Moses one more time. Quote, There will I meet
with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy
seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the
testimony for all which I give you in commandment unto the children
of men." In other words, all the revelation that I have for
you to take to them will be given here His fourth in this place. Here and here alone will I commune
with you and make My purpose known. In Deuteronomy 30, 6 and
verse 36, And in Numbers 17 and verse 4,
multiple times we read that it is where the Lord would meet
Moses face to face and would speak to him His revelation unto
the people. Now, some important things about
the mercy seat, such as when the tabernacle proper in its
entirety had been built and consecrated and had put in service, and the
services there began, when it was ready to begin the services
that would be accomplished there, then in Exodus 40, verse 34 through
38, we read that the glory of the Lord filled that tabernacle. All things are ready. It is now
a place of worship, and God has sanctified it. and put His name
there and fill the tabernacle. In Exodus 29 and 43, sanctified
by my glory. And in Leviticus 16 and 2, I
will appear in the cloud upon or above the mercy seat. In other words, the mercy seat,
this little chest with gold on the top of it, the mercy seat
was the holiest of all the places in the tabernacle. For it was
right there on that four-foot-something little chest that God put His
typical presence in the tabernacle in the wilderness. There He put
His presence, or there He put His glory, represented, as it
were, by a cloud. It's in Exodus 40, 34 through
35, and I'd like to turn there and read that because
it is so important as the tabernacle begins to be the place of worship. Verse 34 and 35, all things are
ready. They're all put together. Then
a cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle and Moses was not able to enter
into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode their
own, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Again,
only here did God meet with Moses. Only here did he come to receive
the will of God. Before the mercy seat, out from
among or between the cherubim, with their wings spread and their
faces toward the golden lid. Please consider that only here,
now this means this, only here in all of the earth did God dwell
and put His typical presence and glory. And by the way, you
know this was a portable tabernacle that it was taken down, moved,
put up again many times in their journey in the wilderness. It
was moved from place to place. And it was the priest of God
only that were to move that ark. And they were never to look upon
it, covering it with a veil so that they did not look upon it
and die. This just gives us an idea of
the holiness of God and how He would impress that upon us. But then came the time, no longer
was it a portable, in the days of Solomon, Solomon built a temple,
what he called a settled temple in 1 Kings 8 and 13, a permanent
tabernacle or temple, and he built it in Jerusalem. When it was finished, the ark
again was brought and put in a specially prepared place for
the first time in the temple by the priests of God. So when
that occurred in 1 Kings 8, we read this, if you'll allow me
to turn. 1 Kings 8, it will be 6-11 when
I find the place. 1 Kings 8, and verses 6-11. Listen
to what happened when Mosolomon erected that temple. in verse 6, please. And the priest brought in the
ark of the covenant of the Lord into his place, into the oracle
of the house, to the Most Holy, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth
their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims
covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew
out the staves, that the ends of the stave were seen out of
the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without,
and there they are until this day. There was nothing in the
ark, save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb,
when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when
they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass when
the priests were come out of the holy place, having put the
ark in." When they were come out of the holy place, that the
cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could
not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of
the Lord filled the house of the Lord." There is something
else that is unique about this mercy seat that we are considering
in that it was the only place upon all the face of the earth
where atonement could be made. It was the place where the blood
was sprinkled there upon the mercy seat. It was there that
the high priest entered in once a year with the blood of sacrifice,
sprinkling it there upon the mercy seat, making atonement. Now this was the arrangement
that the Lord imposed upon the people and the nation. Atoning
blood was brought by a high priest into the holy place. It was put
then upon the mercy seat a pure goal, and their typified propitiation
was accomplished as the blood was brought before the presence
of the Lord and put there in that proper place. Another thing
about the mercy seat, and that is that no one, not another single
person beside the high priest could bring the blood into the
Holy of Holies and put it there upon the mercy seat. We need
to get this, that individuals could not bring their own sacrifices. They could not come by themselves
and in their own stead and in their own person. They could
not make their own atonement. They could not bring their blood
and apply it to the mercy seat, for they were not allowed in
the holy place. If they went there, it would
mean sudden death unto them. For God ordained the high priest
for this unique service. They had a high priest who was
called of God, chosen and ordained of God, who did the service in
their behalf. He slew the sacrifice. He caught the blood. He brought
it in and put it upon the holy place. There are two things to
consider in regard unto this matter. Number one, the veil
was a separating veil between God and the people. In other
words, it kept the people out of that holy place. They could
not go there. In Exodus 26, verse 33, the veil
did divide between the holy and the most holy place. The people
knew not to enter into this place. In fact, they were afraid to
do so. It would have been a presumptuous,
foolish individual who rushed into this holy of holies. It would be sudden death. And
because of that, the people were afraid to enter there. For they knew that it was the
high priest that watched for their interests. and represented
them there in that particular place. Now consider, even the
high priest himself, how holy was this place, even the high
priest himself would die if he entered in the veil at certain
times not appointed. Leviticus 16 and verse 2. Even the high priest Aaron could
not casually enter. Just once a year did he go into
this place. Leviticus 16 and 34, Exodus 30
and 10, Hebrews 9 and verse 9 says the same. Not only did he go
once a year, but he went alone once a year. He and none other. No helper to go with him, no
assistant. Hebrews 9 and 7. He took no other
priest or friend or neighbor or kinsman with him. Now sometimes
we have heard the rumor over the period of church history
that they tied a rope on the leg of the old high priest as
he went in. The little bells on his robe
tinkled as he moved about, rattled and tinkled, in case the man
died within, they could get him out in a safe way without some
of them dying. But as Owen said, in this the
high priest was to be alone in that none of the lesser priests
were to be in attendance or were to assist or even accompany him
or be a part of that holy service. It was Owen's contention too.
It was Owen's contention that no lesser priest was to be in
any other part of the sanctuary while the high priest was making
the yearly atonement, much less any of the people. For in Leviticus
16 and 17, it is clear as it can be, there shall be no man
in the tabernacle. Now, the second thing here involved
was a writing by Moses called the law, and which in Deuteronomy
31, 24-27 was to be laid up, I don't guess in the ark, but
near unto the ark, that it may be there for a witness against
you. Moses wrote extensively and at
length and laid it up near the ark. Even after his decease,
For he knew that they would be rebellious. And he says to them,
I know that you will be rebellious against your God. Probably the
greatest and highest day under the Old Testament economy was
the yearly atonement. This day that came once a year. I have a book by J. H. Kurtz
entitled sacrificial work of the Old Testament. And he called
the yearly atonement, quote, the complete and all-embracing
expiation, unquote. And he also wrote this, and I
quote, it was the highest, the most perfect, and comprehensive
of all the acts of expiation. It was unique in that it took
place once a year only, And it applied to all the sin and all
the uncleanliness of the whole year, and was to be performed
by the high priest alone, in whom consisted the fullness of
the dignity of the whole Levitical priesthood." You have it fully
laid out in Leviticus chapter 16, where the yearly atonement
and all that was to be done. Matthew Henry wrote on the yearly
atonement that it had about as much gospel as any other appointment
under the ceremonial law." Gospel truth is typified here again
and again. Here it is condensed in a nutshell
for our consumption. Number one, This is the only
day that Aaron entered into this place. Verse 1 and verse 2. Secondly, in verse 3, he brings
a young boy. Thirdly, he is dressed in his
priestly garment, and he hath bathed himself cleanly and diligently. Verse 4. And then, fourthly,
in verses 5 through 10, I mean Leviticus 16, He brings two goats,
one for the Lord and one to be carried away into the wilderness,
never to return. Now He brings the blood first
of the bullock, then the blood of the goat, and sprinkles the
blood of both of them on the mercy seat within. In this He
makes an atonement, a yearly atonement. This is what it consisted
of And it was repeated once again every year. Now, this Old Testament
mercy seat, let's look at it further. As in Leviticus 16 and
verse 2, is the word kaporit. It is a word meaning a covering
or a lid. This is the meaning of the word. It comes from the root word kofar,
which means to cover, then to expiate, then to cancel, then
to placate. So that this Old Testament mercy
seat was indeed a close type of something done by our Lord
Jesus Christ. Thus, the only day of atonement. Jehovah says again in Leviticus
16 and 2, I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat, or
above the kippurah. This was the place, the only
place, where Aaron was to sprinkle the blood of atonement that he
had gathered from the slain beast out at the altar. In the very
presence, Aaron stood, of the typical presence of God, and
except for the special provisions and dispensation of a just and
a holy God, Aaron himself would have died. But God allows him
to enter in his capacity as a high priest, and by the command and
ordination of God, and not die. At the time appointed, coming
with a proper atonement, bringing the proper blood to put upon
the mercy seat. Now, of course, these things
were very highly Typical. The mercy seat. The Holy of Holies. The priest officiating and entering
in with the atonement blood sprinkled over the mercy seat under which
was the broken law of God. Now, of course, we understand
that. So coming to the New Testament, and two places in the New Testament
where a particular word is used, And it will be Romans 3.25 and
again Hebrews 9 and verse 5. In Hebrews 9 and 5, the word
is actually translated in our version's mercy seat. In Romans 3 and verse 25, it
is in many, most, or some versions, translated propitiation. But in both of those places,
the Greek word is exactly one and the same. In Romans 3.25,
Hebrews 9 and verse 5. Hebrews 9.5 makes a direct reference
to the type of the cherubims of glory overshadowing the mercy
seat. And this type represents what? represents our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Christ who at one and
the same time is our priest, is the offering for our sin,
and is the mercy seat, or the one that covers. Now this word
you'll find back in Genesis 6.14, Moses pitched the ark within and without, a kippurath,
or a covering. The ark was pitched, covered
within. The mercy seat was what John
Owen called a covering mercy seat, in that it covered the
law, the table of the law, which was a witness and stood against
the people. And in the case of Christ, He
is set forth a propitiation. Romans 3 and verse 25. By the way, there's another word
that closely resembles and related to the word in Romans 3, 5 and
Hebrews 9, and John has it as a favorite. It is twice used
by John. In 1 John chapter 2, you remember
what John said, he is the propitiation for our sin. And again, in 1
John chapter 4 and verse 10, God sent His Son, the propitiation
for our sin. And what was done typically at
the Old Testament mercy seat was done actually and literally
in the death of Christ when He as the expiator made a propituary
sacrifice to God in behalf of all of His people, whereby through
that atonement, that death, God is conciliated, God is merciful,
God is propitious unto His people for the propitiation made by
Christ. It has fulfilled the curse of
the broken law, and it has received It's punishment in Christ. Upon
that ground, therefore, we have a perfect atonement accomplished
in the Lord's death and His entering in. Paul said in Romans 3.24,
we have redemption in Jesus Christ. Then in verse 25, we have some
wonderful terms related to the redemption. For example, the
opening whom. of verse 25, refers to Jesus
Christ back in verse 24. And Paul says, whom Jesus Christ,
God set forth. And while this could signify
purpose, it also means to publicly and openly put on display and
manifest, to exhibit to public view. And that's what God did
in His Son. Shedd shows that in secular language,
The phrase, set forth, in Romans 3.25, is used by Plato to describe
the laying out of the carps of Socrates, the putting on display
of silver and gold utensils. This word was used in secular
Greek. The setting forth of Christ by
God principally relates to the crucifixion of Him at the cross
for He is speaking of His saving death. Paul says this setting
forth was a propitiation by grace through faith. Faith in His blood
that believing in Christ saved as He has been set forth as a
propitiation which in regeneration then It's sealed up in the heart
of God's elect. Now let's focus on the blessed
and a unique part of the beginning of the middle of verse 5, Romans
3, going to verse 26. To declare His righteousness. We notice not only has the propituary
death of Christ a purpose towards sinners, most wonderful one at
that, but Paul also declared the setting forth of Christ as
a propitiation, also has a prominent design toward or with regard
unto God in relation to God. Or as Murray put it, the propitiation
has a God-word reference to, which Paul takes time to explain,
the setting forth of Christ as a propitiation. was a demonstration,
a showing forth, a vindicating of the righteousness of God in
a certain thing or action, which Paul also takes time to explain
that it was in relation, get this now, to the remission of
sin that had passed through the forbearance of God. Twice, in
verse 25 and verse 26, Paul speaks of his righteousness All else,
in verse 26, that he might be just. This righteousness here
is not the imputed righteousness that God gives as He gave unto
Abraham. It is that righteousness inherent
in God whereby He is just, and every sin receives a just recompense
of reward. The death of Christ, therefore,
manifested the righteousness of God in regard to sins that
are past, or for the remission of sins that are past, or that
God has passed over. Hebrews 9 and verse 15, He let
them go unpunished, and He even spared the Old Testament saint
from the wrath before the great propitiation was made by Christ
at Calvary. The righteousness such is manifested
in setting forth Christ as the propitiation. Please notice the
two periods of time that Paul mentioned. The past, verse 25,
and in verse 26, at this time, Romans 3. The present time to
declare the righteousness of God because in His forbearance
He let the sins of the Old Testament saints pass through the full
barrens without the just and proper propitiation because it
was certain to be made in Christ. Now to put the final touches
on the benefits of the mercy seat, the mercy seat was the
only place where atonement could be made and there only was one
way of approach. There was one entrance that led
in. And it must come with blood.
And the season appointed must be observed yearly." Notice how
much gold was used in the Holy of Holies. Can this stand for
the deity of God and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ? Aaron,
who was a sinner, but Christ, our High Priest, is very God. And while Aaron brought the blood
of beasts, Our Lord Jesus Christ entered in by His own blood,
Hebrews said, into the Holy of Holies. Aaron went into an earthly
tabernacle. Our Lord went into a heavenly.
Aaron made repeated trips a year at a time. Our Lord entered once
and only one time. His one death is sufficient to
save forever and forever. Conclusion Only Christ, only
Christ is the way to God, and only Christ can bring us to God. Only Christ can perfect the worshipper. Only His blood can purge the
conscience from dead works, as Hebrews said, and none can come
to God apart from Christ. He is the only mediator between
God and man. And if you learn nothing else,
learn this. You do not treat with God directly. That is, you do not act as your
own priest. You might go to court and act
as your own lawyer. You might try to act as your
own doctor. But you cannot act as your own
priest. It must be Christ that brings
one to God. And this He does by His propituary
death, which He died upon the cross. In doing that, has won
for the elect the favor of God. He has won for us God's favor,
who will look favorably, kindly upon us for what Christ has done. In the second service, I want
to preach on Paul's expectation and preparation for death. 2 Timothy chapter 4, God willing,
in the second service. All right, let's stand for a
word of prayer, please.