Daily Devotions
Exodus
"Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of His holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth." Psalm 96:9
Text: Exodus 25 : 21-22
WHERE GOD MEETS MAN
It is amazing that God would have anything to do with sinful mankind! Israel’s sinfulness mirrors mankind’s propensity to sin. Nevertheless, God made provision for man to worship Him. More than that, God spoke of meeting up with man!
“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark,
and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you
from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim
which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything
which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
EXODUS 25:21-22
God could choose any venue to speak to man! He had now declared that He had chosen to speak at the Mercy Seat above the ark of the Testimony.
1. “And there I will meet with you”
Where would Moses find the Lord? He may find Him on Mount Sinai. But he may also find Him at the Mercy Seat! Moses would not need to make an arduous trip to Mount Sinai each time he wanted to meet up with the Lord!
2. “And I will speak with you from above the mercy seat”
The ark of the testimony represented God’s throne of mercy! Characteristic features of the throne room of God would include the following:-
a) Truth (Represented by the Testimony, that is, the word of God)
b) Mercy (Represented by the “mercy seat”)
c) Majesty (represented by the two cherubim)
God is not limited by spatial considerations. He could speak to Moses in the wilderness out of a burning bush. He could descend on Mount Sinai in the most awesome manner. He could also simply speak from the ark of the Testimony! But at all times, man must never forget who the Lord really is!
3. “About everything which I will give you in commandment”
God may choose to speak to Moses at the Mercy Seat, but at all times, Israel must know how to regard His word! Every pronouncement must be appreciated as an oracle and as “commandment” from the Lord!
The commandments of God were not to be limited to what He had spoken at Mount Sinai when He gave to Israel the Decalogue! Every word of God was to be regarded as a commandment to be revered and to be obeyed!