Every time you pray through the Temple, you end up in one place: the ark in the Most Holy Place, covered by a lid of pure gold. That lid is the mercy seat. The gate, the altar, the laver, the lampstand, the bread and the incense all lead here. And when you arrive, you find the mercy seat was never just furniture. It is a Person. It is Jesus, and through His blood God still meets you there.
What is the mercy seat in the Bible?
God gave Moses exact instructions for it (Exodus 25:17-22).
“You shall make a mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony which I will give you. There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:17-22 AMP)
Notice three things.
The law was covered, not thrown out. The tablets of the Testimony stayed inside the ark. God's standard did not change. But between that law and God's presence above it sat a lid of pure gold. That is the gospel in shape before it was ever preached.
The cherubim were part of the lid. They were hammered out of one piece with the mercy seat (Exodus 25:18-19). Their wings covered it and their faces looked down toward it.
God chose this spot to meet. “There I will meet with you.” Not at the place of human effort. At the place of mercy.
What happened at the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement?
Even the high priest could not walk in whenever he wanted. Aaron “must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil (the Holy of Holies), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat” (Leviticus 16:2 AMP).
Once a year he went in with blood. He was to “sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times” (Leviticus 16:14 AMP). Then the blood of the people's sin offering was brought within the veil and sprinkled “on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat” (Leviticus 16:15 AMP). You can read the whole chapter in Leviticus 16.
God's holy law below. God's glory cloud above. And in between, on the gold, blood. Where God's holiness met Israel's sin there was no bargaining. There was a substitute. A life was given, and the blood spoke for the people.
How is Jesus our mercy seat?
When Paul explains how sinners are made right with a holy God, he goes straight to the Day of Atonement.
“since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, and are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly [before the eyes of the world] as a [life-giving] sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation (propitiation) by His blood [to be received] through faith.” (Romans 3:23-25 AMP)
In the Tabernacle the mercy seat was hidden behind a veil, and one man saw it once a year. Paul says God “displayed publicly [before the eyes of the world]” His Son. The cross is the mercy seat brought out from behind the curtain and set on a hill for anyone to see. And the blood on it is not from a bull or a goat. It is His own.
God did not lower His standard to forgive you. He did it “so that He would be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26 AMP). The law stays in the ark. Justice is satisfied. Mercy is given. Both meet in Jesus. John says it simply: “He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2 AMP).
What does Hebrews 9:5 say about the mercy seat?
Hebrews walks through the furniture and stops at the ark: “above the ark were the [golden] cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but we cannot now go into detail about these things” (Hebrews 9:5 AMP).
The writer does not explain every detail. He goes straight to Christ, who entered heaven itself, not a man-made holy place, by His own blood, once for all (see Hebrews 9:11-12, 24; paraphrased). The earthly mercy seat was a copy. Jesus is the real thing. That is a good lesson for us too. We study the shadow so we can love the One in whom it finds its fulfillment. For the bigger picture, see Jesus and the Tabernacle and The Tabernacle is an Eternal Reality.
What do the cherubim teach us about prayer?
Dr. Elmer Towns, in his teaching “Worship Prayer Lesson 3”, draws devotional lessons from the cherubim. These are applications, not the plain words of the text. Scripture does not say why there were two cherubim, but Towns sees agreement in prayer, the principle of two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). He also sees the hammered gold as a picture of God shaping each worshiper by His own hand, and the spread wings as a posture of worship.
One thing stays right with the text. The cherubim faced each other, but their faces looked “downward toward the mercy seat” (Exodus 25:20 AMP). They show you where to look. In prayer it is easy to look at yourself: your record, your feelings, how well you said it. The cherubim keep their eyes on the place of the blood. So should you. You don't come in by your gold. You come in by His blood.
How do you come to the mercy seat in Temple Prayer today?
Under the old covenant the mercy seat was the most dangerous place for a sinner to approach. Under the new covenant it is the safest place there is. The veil is torn (Matthew 27:51). The blood is applied. “We have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19 AMP). “Let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God's gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 AMP).
So when your Temple Prayer reaches the ark, don't rush and don't perform. Stop. Remember the law you could not keep. Remember the glory you could not approach. Then look where the cherubim look, at the blood of Jesus in between. Let the Holy Spirit remind you that the Father meets you here, not because you arrived well, but because Christ already came. You can pray it step by step with the Holy of Holies prayer and the Veil prayer on Learn, or use the Temple Prayer Guide.
This is not a technique. It is a Person, and He meets you in the kitchen, in the car, at a bedside, in the quiet before the day starts. Begin there.
A prayer at the mercy seat
Father, I come to You not on my record but through the blood of Jesus. Thank You that Your law is not set aside but fully satisfied in Him. Lord Jesus, You are my mercy seat, my covering, my meeting place with God. Holy Spirit, keep my eyes where the cherubim looked, on the mercy of Christ and not on myself. Speak to me here, as You promised Moses. I receive mercy for my failures and grace for today. In Jesus' name, amen.
Questions about the mercy seat
Is the mercy seat the same as the ark of the covenant?
No. The ark was the gold-covered chest that held the tablets of the Testimony. The mercy seat was the pure gold lid on top of it, with the two cherubim, where the blood was sprinkled (Exodus 25:21).
Why is it called the mercy seat?
The Hebrew kapporet comes from a root meaning to cover or atone. It was the place where atonement was made with blood on the Day of Atonement, so English translations call it the mercy seat.
Can I come to the mercy seat today?
Yes. Because of the blood of Jesus, every believer can enter with confidence (Hebrews 10:19-22). In Temple Prayer the ark is the last station, where you rest in His mercy and listen.
Go deeper: walk through every station with the free Temple Prayer Bible Study on Learn.
Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
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