Exodus The Lesson 43 Exodus 25:10-22 022821

Review 1 Six weeks ago we began an eight-week teaching series on the of Moses which is found in the . The tabernacle was the mobile tent-like worship structure that God commanded Moses and the Israelites to build following their exodus from Egypt.

2 The Tabernacle was surrounded by a large rectangular linen fence that formed a courtyard which measured 150 x 75 feet. The courtyard had one entrance on the east end and two furnishings, the bronze altar and the bronze basin.

3 Beyond the bronze altar and bronze basin in the courtyard was the Tabernacle itself. It was a tent 45’L x 15’W x 15’H and was divided into two sections by a thick veil; the first larger section was called the holy place and the second smaller section the most holy place.

4 Inside the holy place were three furnishings made of wood overlaid with gold; on the left the golden lampstand, on the right the table of bread and to the rear the altar of incense which was positioned just outside of the most holy place against the veil. 5 In the most holy place was one furnishing, the ark of the covenant, which we will be taking a look at today. 6 The Tabernacle had two purposes.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 1

a Firstly, to be a place where the Israelites would meet with God and God would dwell with his people. Secondly to be a picture or foreshadowing of the person and work of Jesus Christ. b God used the tabernacle and all of its furnishings to show the Israelites what kind of Savior would come. We are looking back on it to be reminded of what kind of Savior Jesus is and how he saves us. 7 When we began this series, we started from the outside of the Tabernacle at the entrance gate on the east side. From there we went into the courtyard and considered the bronze altar and bronze basin. Then we entered the holy place of the tabernacle and studied the golden lampstand, the table of bread and the altar of incense. 8 Finally, we have arrived at the most holy place and the ark of the covenant. a But in the book of Exodus this is actually where God began. Before he gave Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle tent or any furnishing in it, he told Moses how to construct the ark. b It was the first piece of furniture God told Moses to build because it was the focal point of the entire tabernacle. In other words, the entire Tabernacle was built to house the ark of the covenant. So this morning we are going to look at its 1) construction, 2) cover 3) contents and 4) communication.

Construction of the Ark 10 “Have them make a chest of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. 16 Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you (Exodus 25:10–16)

1 The ark was a rectangular chest, three 3 ¾ feet long and 2 ¼ feet wide and high. a Like all the other furnishings it was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold inside and out. Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 2

b Like the table of bread and the altar of incense it had a gold molding around the top edge. 2 At the bottom of the ark were four feet to keep it from resting directly on the ground. Fastened to the feet were gold rings, two on each side of the ark. a These rings were for the poles used to move the ark on the shoulders of the priests like the other furnishings of the tabernacle. b What was unique about the ark’s poles was that they were permanent and not to be removed apparently to lessen the chance of accidentally touching the ark itself. 3 Remember, the ark was the place of God’s holy presence. a It was sacred … not because it was some kind of magical box with mysterious power inside as in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. b It was sacred because God manifested his presence over it. Not in it but over it. He did not dwell in the ark but manifested his presence in the space above the ark. And because of the ark’s association with the presence of God it was not to be touched! 4 After telling Moses how to build the box God gave him instructions for making the cover.

The Cover for the Ark 17 “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites (Exodus 25:17-22). 1 The ark was covered with a gold lid, called the atonement cover or mercy seat. a Seat doesn’t mean chair but rather location, as in the phrase “the county seat or where the governing officials are located. b Therefore, the mercy seat was the place where God’s mercy for the forgiveness for sin was found.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 3

2 On top of the mercy seat and connected to each end, were two golden cherubim angels, wings stretched out, facing each other bowing down looking at a point just over the mercy seat. God said there is where my presence will dwell. 3 These golden cherubim in the Tabernacle were representative of an actual class of angels mentioned nearly one hundred times in the Old Testament. There are at least three classifications of holy angels: a Archangel (Michael - Jude 9 and probably Gabriel). Archangels are involved in major events like announcing the birth or return of Jesus (1 Thess 4:16). b Seraphim “burning ones” (Is 6:1f). c The last group are the Cherubim which seem to be the highest ranking ( 4 Living creatures – Rev 4:6 & Lucifer). 4 Unlike other angels, the cherubim are not messengers for God but rather protectors of God’s holy presence from anything unholy. They are the palace guards for the King of kings. They are the guardians of God’s presence. a They are first mentioned in Genesis 3, when following Adam and Eve’s sin and removal from the garden they were charged with the responsibility guarding the way back into the garden of God’s presence and the tree of life. b Ezekiel described the cherubim as exceptionally glorious creatures that were like coals of fire and burning torches with lighting flashing out from them (Ezek 1:14). c The Psalmist, in both Psalm 80 and 90, tell us that God sits enthroned above the cherubim in heaven. d In 2 Kings 19, King Hezekiah inspired by the Holy Spirit prayed, “O Lord, God of , enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth” (2 Kings 19:15). e 9:5 calls them the “cherubim of the Glory.” 5 All these passages and more tell us is that the ark of the covenant in the most holy place was an earthly symbol of a heavenly reality. a It was a picture of God’s throne in Heaven, where God is surrounded by his holy angels.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 4

b And the most glorious of the angels are the cherubim beneath and beside the throne of God, bowing in his presence. 6 The ark not only had a cover with cherubim, it also had contents within it. There were eventually three items in the ark summarized in Hebrews 9.

The Contents of the Ark The ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Hebrews 9:4b 1 Stone tablets of the covenant a These were the stone tablets upon which God inscribed the ten commandments and gave to Moses otherwise known as the Testimony. • In Exodus 25:21 God said to Moses, Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony which I will give to you (Exodus 25:21). • In Exodus 31 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). b So the stone tablets of the covenant/the Testimony refer to the ten commandments and are representative of all the commandments, the Ten (Ex 20) and the commands in the Book of the Covenant (Ex 21-23). • The commandments were basically the terms of the covenant that God had made with Israel to establish his relationship with them. • God said I will be your God and you will be my people and here are the commandments you must follow to remain in covenant with me. • And when the people were presented with the commandments they unanimously responded to God, we will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey (Exodus 24:7) c The problem was that the Israelites could not keep the terms of the covenant. Not long after proclaiming we will obey, they used the gold they had given to build the tabernacle to make an Egyptian idol to worship named Baal. They never kept the covenant. • They served other gods, worship idols, dishonored their parents, they lied, they took things that didn’t belong to them and the list goes on. They were covenant breakers. • So the commands that were intended to maintain their covenant with God actually became the cause of breaking their covenant with God.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 5

2 Aaron’s staff that budded a God appointed Aaron, who was from the tribe of Levi and the brother of Moses, to be the first . • Furthermore, God ordained that only the descendants of Aaron’s family be appointed as priests to serve in the Tabernacle. • Other Levites were involved in offering the sacrifices and transporting the tabernacle but only Aaron’s family could be priests. b Not long after leaving Mount Sinai a few of the Levites, Korah, Dathan and Abiram became disgruntled about the extra authority given to Moses and Aaron (Num 16). It developed into a national rebellion against Moses, Aaron and God. • And so God judged them by causing the earth to open up and swallow up these three men and their families and possessions. • You would think the people would have repented but instead the rebellion only grew. • To quell the rebellion God sent a plague which killed over 14,000 of those who rebelled against God and his choice of Moses and Aaron. c Finally, to put an end to the unrest (Num 17:5), God commanded Moses to have the leader of each tribe of Israel inscribe his name on his staff and set it before the Lord in the tabernacle. • A staff was a symbol of authority. The staff on which almond buds sprouted would indicate the man that God has chosen as the one authorized to be the priestly family. • In the morning “Aaron’s staff had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds” (Num 17:8) thus establishing God’s choice. And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” (Numbers 17:10) 3 Gold jar of manna a Manna was a food that was given by God to the Israelites to sustain them during their time in the wilderness wanderings for 40 years (Exodus 16:35). • It was white like coriander seed and after it was ground and baked it tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31).

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 6

• It miraculously appeared on the ground each morning and the Israelites were only allowed to gather enough for one day and enough for two days on the day before the Sabbath. • In order to remember God’s provision God told Moses to place a jar of manna before the Lord in the Tabernacle as a testimony of his provision to later generations (16:32). b At a certain point in their journey they got tired of eating manna and began to crave eating other food. They began complaining and wailing, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4b–6) c By this time in the journey Moses had put up with so much complaining he said to God, “I can’t take this anymore …just kill me.” God tells Moses tomorrow you will eat meat. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” (Numbers 11:19-20)

The Communication of the Ark 1 So in the most holy place you had the presence of the Lord over the ark of the covenant and in the ark you had the ten commandments (law), the staff of Aaron that budded and the golden jar of manna. All three of these items were symbols of the Israelites sin against God. a The Ten Commandments symbolized the people’s rebellion against God’s law and breaking the terms of the covenant. b The staff of Aaron symbolized the people’s rejection of God’s appointed leadership. c The golden jar of manna symbolized the people’s rejection of God’s provision. 2 And this is why in the description of the ark over half the text is dedicated to explaining the cover for the ark of the covenant. a In between the presence of holy God over the ark and sinful people represented by the tablets, Aarons staff and jar of manna … you have the cover of the ark or mercy seat.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 7

b In between a God who is deserving of absolute joyful obedience and a people plagued with unbelief concerning God’s commands, rebellion concerning God’s authority and ungratefulness concerning God’s provision … is the covering of the mercy seat. 3 This is why on the Day of Atonement each year, the high priest, after offering a sacrifice to atone for his own sin offered a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the entire nation by sprinkling its blood on the mercy seat. a Above the mercy seat was God, in all his holiness. b Underneath was the tablets, staff and manna that exposed Israel’s sin. c In between came the blood of the atoning sacrifice that covered transgression and turned away the penalty of judgment they deserved and therefore reconciling the people to God. 4 The blood on the mercy seat provided a way for holy God to dwell with and bless sinful people. a When God came down to dwell with his people, he would not see the law that they had broken, he would not see their unbelief, rebellion or ungratefulness … he would see the saving blood of an atoning sacrifice. b A substitute had borne the penalty of their sin. God’s justice that called for a penalty for sin had been satisfied. The people’s sin was atoned for. 5 Hebrews 10 tells us that these yearly sacrifices never took away sins but were a shadow of the good things to come with Jesus death and resurrection. Scripture says … For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might … make atonement for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood (:25a). This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). 6 The Greek phrase translated “sacrifice of atonement” or “atoning sacrifice” is the same Greek word that is translated “mercy seat” (Heb 9:5) which means the cross of Christ is our mercy seat. a The cross is the place where the blood of the ultimate atoning sacrifice reconciles us to God by coming between his holiness and our sin. The cross is the place where sinners can find mercy.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 8

b And when we embrace the cross in humble faith God no longer sees our sin … the law we have broken, or our refusal to be under his authority or our lack of thankfulness for his grace … he sees the sacrifice of his Son that has once and for all reconciled us to Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as “mercy seat” for our sins (1 John 4:10). 7 In Luke 18 Jesus told the story of the pharisee and the tax collector. Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the hated Roman government by collecting taxes and in doing so became rich by extorting their own people. As a result, they were completely rejected by everyone and considered the worst of sinners. Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ Luke 18:10-13 NASB a Apparently, God was at work in this tax collector’s heart which is revealed in the words of his prayer at the temple. He calls himself “the sinner” not just a sinner like others but the sinner as if he were the only sinner in all the world. b He prayed to God be merciful to me. Merciful comes from the same Greek word translated mercy seat. Literally he said be mercy-seated to me the sinner. He was standing in the temple courtyard and apparently understood what the ark and mercy seat symbolized. • So he addressed his prayer to holy God whose presence was in the most holy place above the ark. • He ended his prayer with himself, the sinner who had broken God’s law which was inside the ark. • But in between holy God and sinful man was the mercy seat. And so he prayed, God be mercy-seated to me. c This is the basis for salvation, relationship and fellowship with God. And that is why we call out to God for mercy to be saved and come to a throne of grace to receive mercy in prayer.

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 9

8 The mercy seat had two carved golden cherubim angels, one at each end, bowed down and facing the middle. God said there between the angels I will meet with you. a On the first Sunday following Jesus crucifixion Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. Thinking someone had stolen the body she ran to inform Peter and John who returned with her and saw the tomb empty with grave clothes neatly folded. b The disciples, who didn’t yet understand that Jesus had risen from the dead, returned to their own homes but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. c John 20 tells us that as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot (v11-12) … just like the mercy seat.

d Jesus is the fulfillment of the Tabernacle and every furnishing in it … especially the ark and its cover, the mercy seat. Jesus is our mercy seat. He is how sinful humans meet and come into relationship with Holy God. • This is why Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6.) • This is why Paul said, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). • This is why Luke said, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 10

Discussion Questions 1 What is the main thing you got out of today’s message?

2 Why was the ark the focal point of the tabernacle? [Leader: It is where atonement for Israel’s sin was made over the mercy seat.] Follow up: What is the focal point of Christianity? [Leader: the cross of Jesus] 3 What were the three contents of the ark and how were they symbols of Israel’s sin? [Leader; help your group recall the stories of Israel’s failure to keep the covenant (Baal), rejection of God’s appointed authority (Aaron) and be grateful for God’s provision (manna).

Follow up: In what ways are we like the Israelites? [Leader: We do the same thing. Just like the Israelites we fail to always keep God’s commands, always submit to authority and always gives thanks for God’s provision. Just like the Israelites we need the same mercy of God.]

4 What does the parable of the Pharisee and Tax collector (Luke 18:10-13) teach us about approaching and relating to God?

Exodus / The Ark of the Covenant / Lesson 43 / Exodus 25.10-22 11