There I Will Meet With You: Finding Salvation at the Mercy Seat

How often do we say to someone, “I’ll meet you there” when arranging a get-together? God used this very same expression, There I Will Meet With You, some 3,500 years ago when He gave Moses the directions for building the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:22). More specifically, these words referred to the lid of the Ark, which is called the mercy seat. God still desires to meet His people there, just as He promised Moses.

The Mercy Seat and God’s Presence

The dimensions of this mercy seat (lid) were roughly 3¾ feet by 2¼ feet and it was made of pure gold. The Hebrew translation for “mercy seat” is the word “kapporeth” and its Greek equivalent in the New Testament is “hilasmos”, which is our word for “propitiation.” A simple definition of the word “propitiation” is one who bears the wrath of God. In 1 John 2:2, we read: “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mercy Seat, the sin-bearer! Through Him, we can come to the mercy seat and encounter God personally.

The Sprinkled Blood and Propitiation

Each year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Levitical law commanded the priest to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat. He sprinkled the blood toward the east side of the mercy seat. Interestingly, Calvary rose to the east of the temple’s Holy of Holies, the sacred place that held the Ark. This act foreshadowed how God meets us at the cross, fulfilling everything the Old Testament sacrifices symbolized

Gospel Message: God Meets Us Through the Blood

In order for there to be atonement for sins, God always requires the shed blood of an innocent substitute. The animal sacrifices were temporary, but they pointed to Jesus, the perfect Lamb who bore our punishment. As John the Baptist declared: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Hebrews 2:17 explains that Jesus became a merciful and faithful high priest to make meeting with God at the mercy seat possible for all who trust in Him.

Consider this verse in Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest of Israel alone sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the mercy seat, Jesus is not only the high priest officiating the sacrifice He is also the sacrifice itself.

Believe in Jesus and Meet God at the Mercy Seat

The Ark of the Covenant contained the stone tablets of the Law given to Moses. Two angels (Cherubim) of gold stood on each end of the lid (Exodus 25:18). These angels symbolized God’s judgment, watching over the mercy seat. The people of Israel, by their sin, could not meet the perfect standard of God’s law. But the high priest sprinkled the blood of the spotless sacrificed animal on the Ark’s lid, temporarily satisfying God’s wrath. This annual ritual foreshadows how God meets us today through Jesus Christ, fulfilling the promise, “There I Will Meet With You.”

The Penalty of Sin

The Law condemns every sinner, and God directs His wrath toward sin. Jesus bore it for us on the cross: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Salvation requires coming to God’s appointed place — the mercy seat — by faith. God calls us to come to Him at His appointed place and to place our full trust in Christ.

This verse says it all: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:11-14)

Understanding Grace & Scripture Truths

Calvary is the place where judgment and propitiation took place. It was here that Christ bore our judgment and the wrath of God fell on Him instead of you and me. The innocent substitute shed His blood there for the sins of the world.

Mankind strives to meet God in various places and ways but to no avail. Why? Because they only go to places of their choosing and on their terms. God will not meet with anyone for salvation apart from the place He has designated – the mercy seat. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

What do you do when you meet with God at the mercy seat? Simply, bow down before Him and confess that you are a sinner without any meritorious standing before Him. Tell Him that you trust in the finished work of His beloved Son on the cross. Tell Him you trust that the Lord Jesus bore your sins and bore your punishment for those sins. Sincerely thank Him for His kindness (grace) in providing a way for you to escape eternal punishment and, instead, receive His free gift of eternal life. He promises to meet with you there. Don’t look for Him anywhere else! Don’t keep Him waiting!

Come and Meet Him There

Bow before God, confess your sin, and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. At the cross — the mercy seat — God promises to meet you and grant eternal life. Don’t look for Him anywhere else. Through faith in Christ, believers fulfill the promise of “There I Will Meet With You.”. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Share God’s Revelation

If you enjoyed this blog, share it with someone who needs to know God’s revelation of Himself. You might also like to read: The Great Deception and What is the Mercy Seat? Through this message, others can encounter God at His appointed place and receive the gift of salvation.

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

 

Be sure to forward this blog to someone that needs to know God’s revelation of Himself!