Commentary - Exodus 25:10-22

Bird's-eye view

After the thunder and lightning of Sinai, after the giving of the law, God now gives instructions for His dwelling place. This is not some afterthought. The great themes of Exodus are deliverance, law, and God's presence. God does not save His people to leave them to their own devices. He saves them for fellowship. He delivers them, He instructs them, and He accompanies them. And so here, in the blueprints for the tabernacle, we begin with the central piece of furniture, the very throne of God on earth: the Ark of the Covenant. This is not just interior decorating for a tent. This is a detailed, symbolic revelation of the gospel. Every piece of this furniture preaches Christ. The ark is the throne, the law is the foundation of the throne, and the mercy seat is the nature of the throne. This is where God will meet with man, and it is a picture of how He meets with us now, in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Outline

Context In Exodus

Having established His covenant with Israel at Sinai (Exod 19-24), God now provides the means by which He will dwell in their midst. This section (Exod 25-31) details the construction of the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary. It is a sort of artificial, mobile Eden. Just as cherubim guarded the way to the tree of life in Eden, so cherubim will guard the way to God's presence here. The instructions begin not with the outer curtains, but with the very heart of the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, and with the most important object within it: the Ark. This shows the priority. God's presence, His rule, and the basis for fellowship with Him are the central realities around which everything else is to be constructed. The worship of Israel is not to be a vague, sentimental affair; it is to be centered on the very specific terms God Himself lays down.

The Ark of the Testimony (vv. 10-16)

(10-11) “And they shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it.”

The instructions begin with the materials. First, acacia wood. This is the wood of the wilderness, a hard, durable wood. It represents humanity, but a perfected and incorruptible humanity. Then, this wood is to be completely overlaid with pure gold, inside and out. Gold in Scripture represents that which is divine, glorious, and royal. What we have here is a perfect picture of the two natures of Jesus Christ. He is fully man (acacia wood) and fully God (pure gold), and these two natures are inseparably joined in one person. The God-man. The gold molding, or crown, around the top indicates that this is a royal object. This is a throne, a seat of government.

(12-15) “You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet...You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.”

God's throne is not stationary. He is not the god of a particular mountain or city. He is the God who travels with His people. The ark was designed for a pilgrim people. The poles were to be made of the same materials, acacia wood and gold, and were never to be removed. This signifies a constant readiness to move. The people of God are a people on the march. The church is the church militant, and we are always to be ready to follow the pillar of cloud and fire. We are not settled here. This world is not our home; we are heading toward the promised land, the heavenly city.

(16) “You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.”

What goes inside this royal chest? The testimony. This refers to the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the law of God. This is profoundly significant. The law is placed at the very heart of God's dwelling place. His throne is founded upon His righteousness. His rule is not arbitrary or capricious; it is a rule of law. God's character, His perfect standard of righteousness, is the foundation of His kingdom. Grace, as we will see, does not nullify the law; it satisfies it. The law is not set aside; it is enshrined.

The Mercy Seat (vv. 17-22)

(17) “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.”

The lid for the ark is given a special name. It is the kapporet, the mercy seat, from the Hebrew root word for atonement. This is the place of propitiation. It is made of solid, pure gold. There is no wood here. Mercy is entirely a divine act. It is God's provision from start to finish. This mercy seat, this place of atonement, will sit directly on top of the ark which contains the law. The dimensions are identical, meaning it provides a perfect covering.

(18-20) “You shall make two cherubim of gold...at the two ends of the mercy seat...The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be toward the mercy seat.”

On either end of this golden lid are two cherubim, hammered out of the same piece of gold. Cherubim are throne guardians, attendants of the divine majesty. We first met them at the edge of Eden, guarding the way back to the tree of life with a flaming sword. Here, they guard the presence of God. Their wings are spread, overshadowing the mercy seat, and their faces are turned downward, gazing at it. What are they looking at? They are looking at the place where the blood of the sacrifice will be sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. They are peering into the mystery of the gospel, where God's perfect justice (represented by the law inside the ark) is satisfied by His perfect mercy (represented by the blood on the mercy seat). This is what the angels long to look into, as Peter tells us (1 Pet. 1:12).

(21) “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you.”

Here the assembly is commanded. The law goes inside, and the mercy seat goes on top. This is the gospel in miniature. The law cries out for justice. It testifies against the sins of the people. But God provides a covering, an atonement, that sits above the law. Mercy triumphs over judgment. The blood sprinkled on the mercy seat answers the demands of the law within the ark. This is what Christ did. He did not set aside the law; He fulfilled it. He satisfied its demands by His atoning death, our true mercy seat.

(22) “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all which I will command you for the sons of Israel.”

This is the ultimate purpose of it all: fellowship. God is making a way for sinful people to meet with a holy God. And notice where the meeting takes place. It is "above the mercy seat." God does not speak to His people from a position of raw, unmediated justice. He speaks from the place of atonement. His commands, His guidance for our lives, flow from the cross. The basis of our relationship with God, and the source of all His communication to us, is the finished work of Christ. It is from the mercy seat that He governs His people in grace.

Key Words

Ark (aron)

The Hebrew word aron simply means a box, chest, or coffin. It is the same word used for the coffin in which Joseph's bones were placed. But here, it is the container for the very law of God, making it the most sacred object in Israel. It functions as the visible throne of the invisible God.

Mercy Seat (kapporet)

This word is related to the verb kipper, which means "to atone" or "to cover." It is not just a lid; it is the place where atonement is made. The Septuagint translates it as hilasterion, which Paul uses in Romans 3:25 to describe Christ as our "propitiation" or "place of atonement." Christ Himself is our mercy seat.

Testimony (eduth)

The law is called the testimony because it bears witness to God's holy character and His righteous requirements. It testifies against sin and points to the need for a savior. The ark is often called "the ark of the testimony" because its primary function was to house this witness of God.

Application

First, we must see Christ in all this. The ark is a picture of His person: fully God and fully man. The mercy seat is a picture of His work: the perfect atonement for our sins. We do not approach God on the basis of our own righteousness, but only through Christ, our mercy seat. The law is not our enemy, but it resides at the heart of God's throne, and it must be satisfied. Christ has satisfied it for us.

Second, we are a pilgrim people. The poles were never to be removed from the ark, and we too must be ready to follow God wherever He leads. We should not get too comfortable in this world. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we are on the move, following our King.

Finally, all of God's communication to us flows from the mercy seat. When we hear God's commands in Scripture, we must hear them as people who are in Christ, covered by His blood. The law does not come to us as a list of demands for earning our salvation, but as instructions for grateful living, given from the throne of grace by the God who has already saved us.