The Life of Moses (15)

The Israelites were led to Sinai. There the holy and righteous God would give them His law. They would experience their great need of a Mediator. We read in Exodus 20:19, “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die .” Moses received many instructions on the mountain during the forty days and nights he was there. In Exodus 24:18 we read, “And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” Moses was to tell the Israelites that they were to bring an offering. This offering would be a means to gather the materials necessary for the building of the tabernacle and its service (Chapter 25:1-9).

The objects in Israel’s ceremonial worship were thus determined down to the smallest detail by the Lord’s pattern and instructions. A divine plan was the basis of the ceremonial ministry of reconciliation. The ceremonies were the blossom of the tree: when the fruit would be ripe, the blossom would fall. So now, we are speaking of this blossom.

The first item in the divine place was the tabernacle or the tent of witness. It is the throne on which Israel’s king would reside in the midst of His people.

The meeting place

An ark or chest had to be made. The original word often meant a chest in which spices or food are preserved; so Christ provides the true nourishment for hungry souls. The chest had to be made of acacia wood. This wood is durable, beautiful, and has a pleasant smell. This was a picture of Christ’s human nature which would not be corrupted: “For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). This would be overlaid with pure gold, not gold mixed with another element. This is a picture of Christ’s holy, divine nature. In the ark the testimony or the ten commandments were placed. This is a declaration of God’s will; it is Israel’s constitution.

Moses had to make an atonement cover, also from pure gold. The root meaning of the Hebrew verb for “atone” is to cover or to hide. This atonement cover fit perfectly on the ark.

The meaning of this atonement cover or mercy seat is:

1) To cover the law, the testimony of witness which must not be visible for human eyes

2) To be a cover of atonement on which the blood would be sprinkled

3) To be a seat or throne of mercy and grace

There God would reveal Himself with His gracious presence. This mercy seat was laid upon the ark as a cover of grace and mercy. The cherubims point to the presence of the Lord; between them the Lord dwelt, and they had to be made of hammered gold to provide a protective covering for the mercy seat. There, the Lord would meet and commune with sinners.

The Holy of holies was the dwelling place of the Lord of lords—a picture of the heaven of heavens where the angels dwell, where Christ is, and where the triumphant believers are. It is also a picture of the heaven of glory coming upon the new earth, New Jerusalem. “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3b). In the Holy of holies was the ark of the testimony with the two tables of the law of love. It was the ark of the covenant, the glory and honor of Israel. When the ark was gone to the land of the Philistines it was said, “Ichabod…the glory has departed.” The ark had the shape of a box: it was the treasury of salvation. Of Christ we read in Colossians 2:3, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The ark might not be touched by a human hand, and no one was allowed to look into it. There was the cover of atonement, the mercy seat where the Father rested in the work of His Son. There, He would meet sinners.

The Mediator

It is in Christ alone that sinners can approach a holy and righteous God. We cannot stand before God alone; the meeting is only possible in Christ the Mediator. When a sinner learns to know that God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity and that the sinner himself is unholy and leprous, then there is no way from him to God. What a blessing if we may be brought to bow under God’s just sentence, but also, it is a blessing that there is a meeting place between a holy and just God and an unrighteous sinner. What a blessing it is if the eyes may be opened for Him who is the Son of Righteousness, when it may be given to behold Him and to learn to know Him in His all-sufficiency and His suitableness as a complete Saviour. In Him all our needs may be met.

What a wonder when the Lord also speaks to the soul from above the mercy seat, “I have found a ransom.” Nobody can come to Christ except he is drawn to the Father: “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” (John 6:44a). God the Father here reveals the thoughts of peace, the eternal covenant which He has made, of which Christ is the Head and Mediator and which He has confirmed with His own blood and sacrifice. Here is portrayed not only the work of the Father but also the Son, who is typified by the ark. Here is also the work of the Holy Spirit, for God will come and commune; that means He will come together and speak together. Communion with God has been broken by sin; this is now restored, and the Holy Spirit will apply and seal what Christ has merited. What a wonder that a holy God and a fallen sinner can come together and that broken communion can be restored.

A blessed testimony

Here in the ceremonial worship is a preaching of what Christ’s sacrifice will purchase. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to glorify Him. He leads to the mercy seat; He opens the ear to hear what God speaks when He communes with them. He says, “Thou art My people,” and they say, “LORD, our God.” He says, “Thou art My bride,” and they say, “Thou art our Bridegroom.” He says, “Thou art My child,” and they may say, “Abba, dear Father.” It is by the testimony of the Holy Spirit, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Here the three Persons come together with us and also dwell in us, in our heart, which is made a temple of the Holy Ghost. There is also a place of rest and fellowship. Here on earth that is mostly of short duration and imperfectly experienced. Sin makes separation, but the Lord may give foretastes of what He has prepared for them who were no children. It is the work of a Triune God to bring together that which never could come together and which is only possible through the one perfect offering of God’s dear Son in whom He is glorified.

(To be continued)

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