Mercy Triumphs over Judgment (James 2:13)
Mercy…small word, big topic. In fact, I’m momentarily paralyzed with overwhelm about God’s mercy, both in my life and in how much there is to say about it. So, remembering all I know about how to overcome overwhelm, I’ll focus on one tiny snapshot.
Throughout the Old Testament God leaves Hansel and Gretel crumbs to lead the way to important concepts we need to understand. The Mercy Seat, or atonement cover, is one of those crumbs. (Theologians call them types.) The mercy seat is the name given to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. (Pic courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)
Watch this trail, this symbolism. God said He would meet the Israelites above the cherubim of the mercy seat. The seat represented the fact that a Holy God was willing to live among a sinful people.
However, the mercy seat was located behind a curtain in the inner room called the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest was supposed to enter and that only once a year… on the Day of Atonement. With the smoke of incense concealing the mercy seat so he would not die, he entered the room to sprinkle the blood of a bull on the cover. You can read the details in Leviticus 16: 11-14. God’s presence stayed in the tabernacle (later the temple) in the midst of the people, but no one could enter His presence.
Now fast forward to the resurrection of Jesus. In Beth Moore’s study, Jesus the One and Only, page 227 she asks the question, “When Mary Magdalene looked inside the tomb, how were the angels positioned according to John 20:12?”
“She saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” John 20:12
Picture it. It’s the same position as the angels on the Mercy Seat. It rather sounds like the Mercy Seat was intended to be a picture of Jesus death and resurrection. And put together the fact that Luke 23:45 tells us that the curtain in the temple was torn in two. The barrier that kept people away from the presence of God has now been torn in two. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to come to the throne of God with confidence, so that we may receive mercy.
Mercy, undeserved favor, pictured by the mercy seat.
- Showing a Holy God who died to no longer just cover, but to wash away, our sin.
- A gift that overcomes the judgment of God whereby our sin stands between Him and us.
- No more barrier, no more curtain.
- Just free access to a loving God.
