The Mercy Seat

Exodus 25:22 “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”
     The mercy seat is the lid of the ark of the covenant. This is where He dwells. It says it’s between the cherubim. This is a miniature model of God’s throne room in heaven. He is seated, surrounded by angels. 
     It’s interesting that He describes the seat as a mercy seat. It could have been the the all powerful throne or the seat of excellence. He chose mercy. If it weren’t mercy, no one would be able to approach it. But it’s more than His desire to have friends. He cares about us and knows that He is the best relationship for us. 
     We can function without Him. A guitar can play while not in tune. He is the master musician. While we are in His hands, we are tuned to perfection and can produce a beatiful sound. 
     Unfortunately, we are fallen and seperated from Him. The angels played a part in this seperation. Gen 3:24 has them guarding the tree of life, so we wouldn’t eat that tree also. This would have cemented us in our fallen state forever. In His mercy, He protected us. But we were seperated. We may try to approach by our own means, but we’ll never get there. 
     As the animals were sacrificed, blood was sprinked on the mercy seat. This brought forgiveness and allowed people and God to meet. Jesus’ blood was the ultimate sacrifice, allowing us to approach God anytime. His mercy prompted Him to come and give Himself for us. 

     Now we can approach The Lord whenever we choose. Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
We no longer need to approach with reticence. 1 John 1:9 says we need to have our feet washed on occasion, but outside of that, we are to enter boldly.
     Lord, thank You for Your mercy and thank You for the great price You paid to give us constant access. It was very costly. Help us to always be grateful and to frequently enter within.