The ark and the mercy seat form one piece, and yet they must be viewed separately (Ex. 25:10-2210And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19And 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. 20And 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 cherubims be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:10‑22)). The law — “the testimony that I shall give thee” — was to be put in the ark, and the mercy seat was to be put “above upon the ark.”
The Ark
We may ask, Of what was this ark a type? To use the words of another, “If we want to understand Scripture, we must have the same object before our hearts that God had before His, and that is Christ.” Keeping this in mind, we may readily see a type of Christ in the ark. This may be seen both in its composition and in its object. It was composed of shittim wood, and was overlaid with pure gold. These two materials fitly symbolize the humanity and the deity of Christ our Lord who is both God and man. The wood, which is mentioned first, having natural life and growth, would speak of His humanity. The character of this wood, so firm and enduring as to be supposed by some to be the imperishable acacia, would make it a suitable emblem of the Holy One who was not allowed to see corruption. The pure gold which covered all would speak of His deity — gold as a symbol being constantly used to bring before us what is divine. We have thus the outshining of God in Christ beautifully pictured; and the perfection of One, who in His pathway here below was both God and man, is manifest to those whose eyes are opened.
An impenetrable mystery veils the Person of that Holy One. The Son has revealed the Father to man, but none may know the Son save the Father (Matt. 11:2727All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)). The “fullness of the Godhead,” as also the dignity and sympathy of the perfect Man, may be traced in His life on earth; but in His thoughts, feelings, words, ways, and actions, there is an invariable blending of the two. The One who in weariness of body slept amid the tossing of the billows was the One who could fearlessly tread the angry waves, and at whose voice they cowered at His feet; the One who wept in human sympathy at Lazarus’ grave, was the One who had power over death and the grave, and could release whom He would; the One who was “crucified through weakness” was the mighty God who ruled the universe. Who can fathom the depths of that wonderful God-man! None save the Father.
May our hearts bow in holy adoration before Him; and may we be preserved from seeking to discriminate between the humanity and the deity of Christ, as many have done.
Not only is this blessed Person brought before our hearts as one both human and divine in this type, but something additional is mentioned. A crown of gold was to be placed around the top of the ark; this would speak of the One who was rejected by man on earth, but now is crowned with glory and honor in God’s own presence.
Two Tables of Stone
The law, written on two tables of stone, was placed within the ark, which was a safe place for the law of God to be kept. Man could not keep the law, but the Lord Jesus Christ kept it in every respect. He could say, “Thy law is within My heart” (Psa. 40:88I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)).
Looking down from heaven upon the children of men, God said, “They are corrupt.” “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Looking through the opened heavens upon Jesus, He said, “Thou art My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
The Staves
The staves by which the ark was carried are next mentioned (Ex. 25:12-1512And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. (Exodus 25:12‑15)). These were made of the same materials as the ark itself and would therefore symbolize Christ again. These staves were not to be taken from their rings in the ark. This gives a most comforting thought, for it speaks of the presence of the Lord with the children of Israel in all their wilderness wanderings. It was Jehovah Himself who led them “in fire by night” and “in a cloud by day” that they might know the way they should go (Deut. 1:3333Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. (Deuteronomy 1:33)). This is seen again in Numbers 10:3333And they departed from the mount of the Lord three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. (Numbers 10:33) where the ark went before them to search out a resting place for them, and it is blessedly true now that Christ accompanies His people in all their path. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” May we follow Him, even as Israel followed the cloud, moving when it moved, and resting when it rested. When, for Israel, the settled place for rest in the promised land was reached, the staves were drawn out of their rings because their journeyings were ended. We learn from 2 Chronicles 5:99And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. (2 Chronicles 5:9) that the staves when drawn out were left in “the holy of holies,” and so were not seen from without. Rest was obtained, but the remembrance of the wilderness was still before them.
The Mercy Seat
Having considered the “ark of the covenant,” we may now look at that which completed it as God’s throne; namely, the mercy seat (Ex. 25:17-2117And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19And 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. 20And 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 cherubims be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. (Exodus 25:17‑21)). Its composition differs from that of the ark, there being no wood used. It was made of “pure gold.” Again, we have before us that which is divine. God’s righteousness is what is told out in this type of His throne. Notice the contrast God makes between His own and human righteousness; the latter He terms “filthy rags,” for without faith, the good works of man have neither beauty nor merit in God’s estimation. But when He uses a symbol to express His own righteousness, He chooses that which is pure, precious and enduring.
The Cherubim
The cherubim on either end of the mercy seat speak of God’s judicial power. This judicial character may be seen from cherubim being placed with flaming sword to guard Eden after man was driven out; in the “beasts” or living creatures of Revelation 4 these creatures are connected with a throne which was a throne of judgment; seraphim were also there, for praise to God is connected with judgment in this case, and seraphim celebrate His praise (Isa. 6:2-32Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6:2‑3); Rev. 4:88And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:8)). In connection with this throne of judgment, we get in the living creatures the strength of the lion; the stability of the ox, seen in the energy of youth in the calf; the intelligence of man; the swiftness of the eagle, which in Scripture symbolizes swiftness and endurance in flight. Thus the throne is characterized by strength, stability, intelligence, and swiftness of execution; in other words, these qualities are attributes of the throne of God, and the cherubim over the mercy seat give, in type, the judicial character of the throne. But righteousness also characterizes that throne (seen in the gold), and this would lead to the guilty sinner getting his just desert — death. But here mercy intervened and judgment is stayed, for the blood is there, and the cherubim are looking down upon the sprinkled blood. That slab of gold has now become a seat of mercy; atonement has been made. As in Egypt the people were secure under the shelter of the blood of the slain lamb, so here the blood of the victim is accepted in lieu of the guilty. This speaks blessedly of the death of Christ as the only means of escape from coming judgment.