We look at the word, propitiation and think it meant the bridge between something and the work that Jesus did. But this is incorrect. In this text, it means a mercy seat, Jesus Christ. A place where the atonement is made.
In Exodus, we see the instructions for creating a temple. Christ truly is the place, not just the atonement.
Hebrews 9:1-5
Christ is the mercy seat. The mercy seat is within the Holiest of holies. It was behind a veil. Only the high priest was allowed behind the veil. Now, we don’t need a high priest because Jesus Christ ripped the veil into giving us the ability to go directly to Him.
Before the high priest would go behind the veil, he would take the coal of fire and the incense and go through the veil sideways. He would never look at the mercy seat because he would be fearful of God. He would then pour the hot coals into the censor with the incense and it would begin to smoke. Now, we do not have to do that. If you’ve been born again then the fire of God lives inside of you. A broken heart and contrite spirit get thrown onto the fire of God and a sweet-smelling fragrance is released.
Prayer doesn’t do or mean anything. Many people think this to the point that they don’t pray as they should. Don’t go to God and play games with Him. He slew two men because they brought God an unwanted sacrifice. Just like them, don’t bring God an unwanted sacrifice.
The mercy seat resides in your heart. You take the mercy seat everywhere you go. In the temple, everything behind the veil represents Jesus.
The priest would go through the veil sideways and go directly to create the smoke with the incense. He would then back, back out through the veil. Once outside he would take the blood sacrifice and go back in through the veil. He would then splash the blood up high, then seven times below all the way back out as he left.
The Ark of the Covenant was made out of pure gold. Just like Jesus, He is pure and sinless. Jesus doesn’t have to continue bleeding for the sins of the people. He gave His blood once and for all. On top of the ark, there were two cherubim’s facing each other with their wings overshadowing the top of the ark. For Christians, Jesus is where they are. He goes wherever they are, with them. Jesus goes with you and meets you where you are.
The purpose of the mercy seat created a place where God would meet them. It also covered some stuff that has your needs covered. The golden pot contained a daily provision of manna. The problem with manna is that it rotted within 24 hours. God sustained them one day at a time. The manna in the Ark never went bad.
Aaron’s rod that budded was also in the ark. The “stick” was alive yet it was not planted or watered. Death, God’s got that covered. Being born again means you pass from death to life.
What about our sins? The law was contained in the ark and that was the Ten Commandments. If the law wasn’t checked off and covered then you would have sin. You wouldn’t be able to get to the place where He is with sin.
If Christ is the mercy seat then He covers all of those things. So if you go unto Jesus and ask for forgiveness, then He is faithful to forgive you because He covers the law, and He kept the law. This mercy seat can be visited every second instead of once a year. Why is it important that Jesus is the mercy seat? Because we need a place to take our burdens.
A lot of people will pray to God, but they don’t pray to Jesus. A lot of people believe in God, yet they don’t believe in Jesus. There is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus. Jesus said that no one goes to the Father (God) unless they go through Jesus. One way!
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