There are exactly seven articles of furniture in the Tabernacle, two in the court, three in the Holy Place, and two in the Holy of Holies. It has seven pieces of furniture, exactly seven, and no more. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection.
The seventh and final rung, called “Divine Faith”, is represented by the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The purpose of divine faith is to receive the full trust and faith of God in your life.
It is through this life application on the Mercy Seat that the blood is applied, and you receive victory and an anointing.
“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith [emphasis mine] of Yeshua the Messiah might be given to them that believe [emphasis mine]” (Galatians 3:22 KJV).
The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of the throne of God. The broken tablets of the law lay in this ark, the throne of God. The ark, by itself, was a throne of judgment.
The veil before the ark barred anyone from coming to God, and the broken law threatened death to all that dared to approach the throne. A provision had to be made for man to be protected from God’s Shechinah pillar of holiness and fire. That provision, given to Moses on the mount, was the Mercy Seat.
The Mercy Seat was made of beaten gold. The Mercy Seat was between God and the broken law. Over the Mercy Seat, with wings stretched out, stood the cherubim, which were symbols of the holiness of God.
Without the Mercy Seat, they would be looking down on the broken tablets of the law, and God’s holiness would demand the death of the sinner.
On the Mercy Seat, which also served as the cover of the ark, was sprinkled the blood of a slain animal from the Altar of Sacrifice.
Once every year, after offering a sacrifice for himself, the priesthood, and the sins of the people, the High Priest took the blood in a basin, went past the veil, and entered the Holy of Holies.
He sprinkled the blood upon the Mercy Seat, over and above the broken law, which called for the judgment of death.
Now, when God came down in the Shechinah cloud over the ark, instead of seeing the broken law, He saw, instead, the blood of atonement, and could not exercise the judgment of death because of the broken law.
He, Himself, had promised: “When I see the blood, [emphasis mine] I will pass over” (Exodus 12:13 KJV). By the sprinkling of the blood, the throne of judgment became the throne of mercy.
When the priest killed the red heifer, he dipped his finger in the blood and sprinkled it seven times toward the door of the Tabernacle (Numbers 19:1-10), and seven times on the Mercy Seat.
Yeshua shed his blood seven times during His suffering:
* In the Garden of Gethsemane,
* At the whipping post,
* When they placed the crown of thorns on His head,
* When they beat His face,
* When they pierced His feet,
* When they pierced His hands, and
* When they pierced His side.
Without the blood, you will invite immediate death. “And He [God] smote the men at Beth-Shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the Lord, [emphasis mine] even he smote of the people 50,070 and the people lamented because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter” (1 Samuel 6:19 KJV).
When the blood is removed, the seat of mercy becomes the seat of judgment.
When the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, he needed to do nothing except to present and apply the blood.
Neither the Bible nor the Talmud records that the High Priest ever spoke a single word as he stood in the presence of God. The blood was enough. The blood speaks for us. God says, “When I see [emphasis mine] the blood, I will pass over” (Exodus 12:13).
You, as a believer, are “in Yeshua.” You can now come to the throne of grace, not demanding, but boldly, and without fear because of your fixed position and His blood sacrifice.
Hebrews 4:16 reads, “Let us, therefore, draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need” (ASV).
This is also repeated in Hebrews 10:19-22. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Yeshua (Jesus), by the way, which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water.”
Where is the dwelling place of God now?
He dwells in two places: in heaven and in us.
The Temple in Heaven
When Moses was on the mountain to receive the instructions for the Tabernacle, God gave him specific directives: “And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount” (Exodus 25:40 ASV).
This is also repeated in the Brit Hadashah (New Testament): “who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount” (Hebrews 8:5 ASV).
The reality of the “pattern and shadow” was the temple in heaven, where God is dwelling now. Where the heavenly temple is, there is the ark. “And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail” (Revelation 11:19).
The Temple in Us
God also dwells in a temple on earth. Scripture says you are God’s temple. “Know you not that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are you” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
The items missing in your ark were replaced through Yeshua. Yeshua gave you back salvation, represented by the bowl of manna. He also gave you back the resurrection life and the power of the Ruach Hakodesh, represented by Aaron’s rod.
The tables of the covenant have been changed. They no longer are written in stone but written on your heart. Does this mean you no longer have to follow God’s Instructions - the law? God forbid, NO!
Your past can prevent you from reaching the Holy of Holies. Your inability of forgiving yourself will keep you from experiencing the fullness of God’s presence. God has forgiven you. He desires your fellowship and will Tabernacle with you.
You must forgive yourself and change by the renewing of your mind. One of the best examples of this process in Scripture is the parable of the prodigal son, as recorded in Luke 15.
This parable had a profound effect on an artist named Rembrandt. When he was a young man, he painted a picture called "The Prodigal Son". It was a self-portrait. There were things in his young life he could not forgive, so he painted himself as the prodigal son.
Later in his life, he painted another picture called, "The Return of the Prodigal Son". In this picture, he again created a self-portrait. This time he was the father. He had learned to forgive himself. Because of it, he was able to forgive others. If you were Rembrandt, which picture would be your self-portrait?
This is the last rung on the ladder of trust. On this rung, your trust has grown to the point where you receive your reward. It is called “Divine Faith”, or the “Faith of God.” It is on this rung that you receive victory and the anointing because of your trust in God.
It is here, at the Mercy Seat, where you meet the presence of God. It is here where God’s priorities become yours. His priorities are the honor of His name, the love for His Word, and the advancement of His kingdom.
Now, let me ask you some questions:
Are these priorities yours?
If yes, how are you doing it?
You developed the trust, but whose faith climbed the ladder?
Grace always flows downward, never uphill, and grace is always followed by mercy.
It is God’s grace and mercy that enables your trust to grow and allows you to go “from faith to faith”. Left on your own, you would have no reason, or desire, even to go to the first rung of the ladder.
Shalom