Exodus 25:10-22

The ark of the covenant 25:10-22

The ark was the throne of Yahweh where He dwelt in a localized way and met with the Israelites through their high priest. It was the seat of His sovereignty but also the place where He met with His people (Exodus 25:22). This is why directions for its construction come first. The testimony (Ten Commandments, Exodus 25:16; Exodus 25:22) lay inside the ark, which was a hollow box. God’s dwelling among His people and His relationship with them thus quite literally rested on the Ten Commandments. The mercy seat (Exodus 25:17) was the removable "lid" of this box and was solid gold. It was there that the high priest offered sacrificial blood once a year to atone for (cover) the sins of the Israelites as a nation. This offering made propitiation (satisfaction) for their sins for one year (cf. Leviticus 16).

The Greek word used to translate "mercy seat" here in the Septuagint (hilasterion) is another form of the word used to describe Jesus Christ as our propitiation in 1 John 2:2 (hilasmos). The mercy seat was for the Israelites temporarily what Jesus Christ is for all people permanently: the place where God found satisfaction.

"It [mercy] is a sweet word! A seat of mercy, baptised [sic] in mercy, from which mercy flows forth. Not wrath, not judgment, not indignation, but mercy is pouring forth from its original fountain in the heart of God." [Note: Meyer, p. 307.]

The cherubim (Exodus 25:18) were angels who "apparently have to do with the holiness of God as violated by sin." [Note: Unger’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. "Cherub," by Merrill F. Unger, p. 192.] They may have looked like winged human-headed lions. [Note: Youngblood, p. 122; cf. Kaiser, "Exodus," p. 455.] Josephus wrote that Moses saw these creatures around God’s throne when he was on Mt. Sinai. [Note: Josephus, 3:6:5. See John T. Bunn, "The Ark of the Covenant," Biblical Illustrator 9:4 (Summer 1983):50-53. Geoffrey Kind, "Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?" Prophetic Witness 8:2 (February 1984):9-10, suggested several possible answers to the title question. See also A. H. Tolhurst, "Whatever Happened to the Ark?" Ministry (June 1984), pp. 13-15.]

"The cherubim are connected with the throne as its guardians and/or bearers. In other cultures cherubim are minor deities protective of palaces and temple; in Israel they symbolized angelic guardians of the invisible throne of God." [Note: Waltke, An Old . . ., p. 460.]