By a New and Living Way

The only furniture in the Most Holy Place, as it was designed by God, was the ark of the covenant, which was a box made of acacia wood and covered with gold. Its lid was called the mercy seat, or the place of propitiation. Inside were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, but these were covered up by the mercy seat, indicating that through Christ’s propitiation on our behalf, the broken law (the Ten Commandments that were broken) has been covered by His propitiation. On either end of the mercy seat was a cherub. The two cherubs faced one another, looking toward the center of the mercy seat with their wings stretched out over them and their wing tips touching over the center of the mercy seat.

The mercy seat was God’s throne—He sits on a throne of mercy that covers the broken law. The two cherubs with their faces turned inward toward one another, their wing tips touching, represent the place of fellowship. So, this is a place of mercy and a place of fellowship—but it is also a throne, the seat of God as King.

In that piece of furniture there was no representation of God Himself, which was forbidden for the Israelites. But God did come in and take His place on that seat in the form of the shekinah glory—the visible, sensory presence of almighty God. The Most Holy Place was in total darkness; it had no natural or artificial illumination. But when the shekinah presence of God came in, then God was taking His place on the throne.

In Hebrews 10 we are invited into the Most Holy Place to “draw near to God” (verse 22, NIV). We are invited to take our place with Christ on the throne. We are to come by “a new and living way” (verse 20, NIV). This new and living way is Jesus.