There I will Meet with You!

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”.

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!

Levitical law required that the blood of the sacrificial animal be sprinkled on this mercy seat, once every year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It was to be sprinkled towards the east side of the mercy seat. Interestingly, the location of Calvary was east of the section of the temple called the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark with its mercy seat.

Gospel Message

You might be asking, “What does all this have to do with me today?” The answer is in the sprinkled blood. In order for there to be atonement (propitiation) for sins, God always requires the shed blood of an innocent substitute. The innocent animal was a substitute for the nation of Israel. Instead of God’s just wrath (punishment) being directed towards the sinners, it fell upon the innocent animal.

Of course, the animal’s life was not sufficient for the forgiveness of sins. However, it was symbolic of what the Lord Jesus would do on the cross of Calvary in paying the penalty for our sins. Remember the rather odd declaration by John the Baptist, when he introduced the Lord Jesus to the people that were coming to John to be baptized in the Jordan: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

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.” Only the High Priest of Israel was allowed to sprinkle the sacrificial blood on the mercy seat, on the Day of Atonement. In this verse, Jesus is not only the high priest officiating the sacrifice He is also the sacrifice itself.

Believe in Jesus

Scripture tells us that the Ark of the Covenant contained, among other things, the stone tablets of the law given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. On each side of the lid of the Ark (mercy seat) were fashioned two angels (Cherubim) made of gold (Exodus 25:18). These angels, with outstretched wings, are pictured looking down at the mercy seat. They represent the judgment of God.

Picture the scene; the judgment of God looking down and the Ark below containing the Law of God. The people of Israel, by their sin, failed to meet the perfect standard of God’s law. As such, there could only be judgment and punishment. But wait, in comes the high priest sprinkling the blood of the spotless sacrificed animal on the lid of the Ark – coming between the demands of God’s Law and the judgment of God. The blood was an intervention to satisfy God’s wrath towards sin, temporarily. This procedure would have to be repeated every year to assuage God’s wrath towards sinful Israel.

The Penalty of Sin

When the fulfillment of this symbolic act of atonement was manifested by the Lord Jesus’ sacrificial shedding of His blood and death on the cross, we read these words: “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)

The Law of God condemns every person of sin and therefore, subjects all of us to the wrath of God. This wrath finds its fulfillment in every person going to hell for eternity. But wait, in comes the High Priest having shed His blood for the redemption of mankind. It was the shed blood of an innocent substitute: “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.” (1Peter 2:24)

So, how is this atonement applied to a person who seeks salvation and forgiveness of sins? What must they do? They must do as God told Moses; go to the Mercy Seat and “There I will Meet with You.” In order for someone to be saved, God will only meet him or her at the Mercy Seat (the Cross). We don’t travel there literally. We go to the representation of Calvary, found in the Scriptures. We read the account of Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, trusting fully that He paid the penalty for our sins. (John 3:1-18)

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. It’s the only place where the blood of the innocent substitute was shed (sprinkled) 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!

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)

 

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