The Mercy Seat

Are you ever surprised by what you read in the Bible?

Often the biggest surprises are come from reading some of the least interesting bits of the bible. For example who would have thought that there was anything interesting about the ancestry of Jesus, yet upon closer inspection we find children produced from incest, a series of kings, the son of an adulterous relationship, a prostitute, and several non-Jewish ancestors (not something you would have bragged about in that culture).

While reading through one of the very detailed sections of Exodus recently, although I was searching for something else, I discovered this passage and it grabbed my attention:

Exodus 25: 17-22: 17Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. 18You shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim at its two ends. 20The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings. They shall face one to another; the faces of the cherubim shall be turned toward the mercy seat. 21You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I shall give you. 22There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant, I will deliver to you all my commands for the Israelites.

Truth be told I very nearly skipped right over the passage.

It was the reference to the mercy seat that grabbed my attention. In The Salvation Army we often refer to the Mercy Seat as the pew looking thing at front of the hall. It is here that we call people to step forward to and pray at as a sign of their response to what God is calling them to do.

I don’t know if I was just mucking around and making too much noise with my mate Andrew that day in Junior Soldiers where this was explained to me, but I now have a new appreciation for what the Mercy Seat is.

To me this passage speaks of God coming to us, of how God meets with us somewhere special and shares some of himself with us.

The first thing that I notice is that the angels are facing toward the Mercy Seat and their wings are overshadowing the Mercy Seat as though they are watching over the proceedings that take place there and providing protection for those who approach it.

I also notice that the Mercy Seat covers the covenant that God made with the Israelites. I think of the covenants that I have made with God, as a Junior Soldier, a senior Soldier and most recently as an officer of The Salvation Army, they were all made at the Mercy Seat, in the very clear presence of God. This passage reminded me that every time I meet with God, I can renew the covenants that I have made with Him, and he will renew the covenants that He has made with me.

But what I love the most is the last verse in this passage: 22There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant, I will deliver to you all my commands for the Israelites.

God speaks to us in a variety of ways and places, but there is something very special that happens when we kneel at the Mercy Seat and open ourselves up to God. One of the most significant moments in my Christian faith occurred because I knelt and opened myself fully to God. It changed my life and I have never been the same since. At the Mercy Seat, when we open ourselves up to God we clear away all of the clutter that seems to fill our life and we can hear God more clearly.

For the Israelites the Mercy Seat was in the most Holy of Holy places, accessible to only the very select few. Only this select few were able to meet with God like this. The good news is that after the crucifixion of Jesus, the heavy curtain that separated the masses from this Holy of Holy places was torn in two from top to bottom, allowing us all access to God and to hearing His commands for our lives.

This week, I encourage you to find your own Mercy Seat. It doesn’t have to be the one at the front of the church, it could be a quiet place outside in nature, or a place you set aside in your home to retreat to and meet with God, but I encourage you to open yourself up to God and listen to His voice in your life. You never know it may change your life forever!!!

Who Is God To You???

I've been reading this book lately called Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer. I think it has become my new favourite book. Basically it is semi-autobiographical and recounts various stories from the authors life and shows how everyday people can impact and transform lives.

In one Chapter Jim talks about his traumatic childhood and the severe depression he suffered during and because of that. it is quite a provoking chapter and really forced me to consider a few things I had not really thought of before.

One thing that really stood out to me was when Jim started talking about how he pictured God. Jim spoke about how he slowly learned to see God in a different light, a shift from a condemning God who was waiting in judgement to deal with him, to a God who loved him deeply, who grieved over the pain and tragedy in Jim's life and wanted so deeply to show Jim His love.

This got me thinking, I wondered what my picture of God is.

I think that I have had different pictures or ideas of God's identity at different stages in my life. I guess at times I have seen God as some kind of Super-Santa, there to fulfil my every wish - just as long as I am a good boy. At other times I guess that I have seen God as a Judge balancing my life against a set of rules and regulations. And at other times I have seen God as the supreme Creator, loving merciful and faithful to His creations.

More and more now though, I am beginning to see God in a new light. I am beginning to understand that God cannot be pigeon-holed into one thing. Yes god gives blessings and gifts to us, yes God judges us, yes God created us, is merciful and loves us beyond anything we could comprehend. But I think God is much more than that.

As we approach Youth Event and look at the theme of Guess Who, maybe it is a good time to consider who we see God as. The bible presents God in so many ways, and I am sure God has more characteristics than we can fully comprehend at any one time. But maybe it would be good for us to examine who we think God is and then maybe take a bit of time to consider if this is who God really is??!!

I wonder if sometimes we get who God is a bit distorted by our own experiences and situations.

I would be interested to hear from you who God is to you?

What characteristics of God especially appeal to you?