Exodus 25:17-22 (ESV)

“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 breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

The curious thing about the lid to the ark is that it’s impossible to sit on the mercy seat; it’s blocked by the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings.

God specifically says that He will be above, not on, the mercy seat. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. So, the mercy seat is not a mercy chair.

This is useful. It helps correct a huge error. God is not some guy with a beard, like in the Michelangelo painting of the creation of Adam. The truth is something very different. In fact, seeing His face is fatal.

Exodus is filled with references that imply that the LORD cannot be visualized, yet we cling to a silly image of Him. God doesn’t sit on His throne the way a man would. The design of mercy seat reminds us that He isn’t that much like us, even though we’re created in His image.

The Bible is a finite book about an infinite subject. It touches on a lot of things that we can never really understand this side of eternity. We need to recognize our limitations.

That should humble us.

People are not naturally humble, especially nowadays. Life is too easy. Everything’s under control.

And in a way it is. People don’t get eaten by wild animals any more. Diseases aren’t mysterious the way they used to be. We haven’t eliminated our physical challenges, but at least we comprehend them.

That’s a problem. We have a tendency to bring God down to our level and think we’re “pals.”

But He’s our Lord, not our buddy. Yes, He loves us. Why do we tend to think He admires us?

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies