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presents "Light from the Old Testament"
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Lesson 10 (Part 3)
Of all the types of Christ in the Old Testament, none is more remarkable than the Ark. The Ark was made of strong, indestructible acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold. As always, this speaks of Christ's holy, sinless humanity and His deity. In Christ we see perfection in manhood and the setting forth of all that God was in a man. The Bible says,
"For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." Colossians 1:19
The Ark points to Christ in three wonderful aspects:
Christ is the One in whom is all of God's satisfaction and delight.
The first two tablets of stone on which God wrote the Ten Commandments were broken. This speaks of man's sin and rebellion. But the second two tablets, the unbroken tablets, remind us of Christ's perfect obedience.
Christ is the One of whom it is said,
"I delight to do Your will, O My God: yes, Your law is within My heart." Psalm 40:8
Of Christ, and Him alone, can it be said that He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, and soul, and strength, and mind, and that He did so continuously throughout His life.
Christ is the One in whom God is perfectly revealed.
Before Christ came, men of faith knew God as the Almighty God, and they knew Him as Jehovah, the faithful God of Israel. But Christ is the One in whom the love of God is made known.
Can anyone tell how much God valued the life of His Son? But God gave Him up that we might know God in all His wondrous love. The Bible says,
"God commends [shows] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Christ is the One in whom all the purposes of God will be accomplished.
In the counsels of the Godhead, the Father is the Originator—the One who originated the plans and purposes of the Godhead. Christ, the Son, is the Accomplisher of all the plans and purposes of the Father. This is His distinctive glory.
The Ark preserved all that was put in it. Christ is the Ark, and God has put all of His plans and purposes for man in Christ. God has revealed to us that He is going to have a universe of joy and happiness, headed up by His Son.
The promises of God are numbered in the thousands, and they all express the love and goodness in the heart of God for us. Christ is the One who came to give fulfillment to all that was in the heart of God.
All the promises of God, all the purposes of God, will be perfectly fulfilled in Christ and by Him. He is the true "Ark of the Covenant," which the Ark in the Tabernacle symbolized. The Bible says,
"For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen [it shall be done], unto the glory of God by us." 2 Corinthians 1:20
The Ark and the Mercy Seat were the most important of all the vessels in the Tabernacle. The Ark with its Mercy Seat was the throne of God. Here God dwelled in the Shekinah glory above the Mercy Seat. (See this Scripture passage: Exodus 25:17-22—click link).
The basic meaning of the words "mercy seat" is "a propitiatory covering." "Propitiatory" means "that which satisfies God's righteous wrath against sin."
God has wrath against sinful men because they have transgressed and broken His law. The Bible says that Christ is our "propitiation." He is the One who satisfied God's righteous judgment against sin by His death on the cross. Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son to be our "propitiation" or "Mercy Seat." The apostle John wrote,
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [Mercy Seat] for our sins." 1 John 4:10
The Mercy Seat was a covering—it covered something. What did the Mercy Seat cover? It covered our sins.
Imagine that you are in the Holy of Holies in heaven itself. The record of all your sins is placed in the Ark. God's holy and righteous law is there, and you have broken it countless times. The broken law calls for judgment and death.
Imagine that there is no lid on the Ark. Everything is open and exposed. Every sin that you have ever committed is recorded there. From above the Ark, in the Shekinah glory, God is looking into the Ark. He sees what is in it.
Would you not want something to come between the eye of God and the record of your sins, something that would take away your sins forever?
You see an angel bring the Mercy Seat of pure gold. He places it on top of the Ark. Then you see our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus, entering the Holy of Holies in heaven itself. The blood which He carries is not the blood of goats or calves; He is carrying His own precious blood. The Bible says,
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:12
Our great High Priest sprinkles His own blood on the true Mercy Seat in heaven. His blood takes away our sins forever. You hear Him say, "Father, forgive him and receive him for My sake."
Would this not cause your heart to praise and worship God for such a great Savior, who loved us and redeemed us with His own precious blood?
What would have been a throne of judgment for us is now a throne of grace. Why? Because Christ Himself is our "Mercy Seat." He has taken away our sins forever.