The mercy seat is an important concept in the Bible that refers to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, which was a sacred chest that contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The mercy seat was made of pure gold and had two cherubim (angels) facing each other with wings spread above it. According to Exodus 25:17-22, God would appear in a cloud above the mercy seat and speak to Moses from between the cherubim. This emphasized the mercy seat as the place where God’s presence dwelled and where atonement was made between God and His people.
The key purpose behind the mercy seat was that it served as the location for the Day of Atonement ceremony described in Leviticus 16. During this ceremony, the high priest would sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat to make atonement for the sins of the people. The blood covered the tablets of the law that were contained inside the Ark, showing that God’s justice had been satisfied and the covenant relationship between God and Israel was restored. This was the only time during the year that the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place and approach the presence of God above the mercy seat.
Theologically speaking, the mercy seat points to the need for atonement and foreshadows the work of Jesus Christ as the ultimate sacrifice for sins. The mercy seat was the place of atonement and the meeting place between God and man, but the blood of animals could only temporarily cover sins (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus’ death on the cross fully accomplished what the Old Testament sacrifices could not, reconciling sinners to God once and for all. Just as the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat to atone for sin, Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross cleanses mankind from sin and restores the broken relationship between God and people (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:11-15).
Some key points about the mercy seat:
- It was located in the innermost part (Most Holy Place) of the tabernacle and later Solomon’s temple, above the Ark of the Covenant.
- It was made of pure gold and had cherubim facing each other with wings spread on either end.
- The mercy seat represented God’s throne and His divine presence among His people.
- It was where the high priest sprinkled blood on the Day of Atonement to make atonement for the people’s sins.
- The mercy seat pointed to Jesus as the final atonement for sin through His sacrificial death on the cross.
The Design of the Mercy Seat
The mercy seat was designed by God with specific details for its construction. Exodus 25:17-22 provides the instructions given to Moses:
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.
So the mercy seat was to be made of pure hammered gold, with dimensions of 2.5 cubits long (about 45 inches) and 1.5 cubits wide (about 27 inches). It formed the top of the Ark of the Covenant. At each end of the mercy seat, God instructed that cherubim should be fashioned out of the same piece of gold. These angelic figures faced one another with wings outstretched vertically. According to 1 Kings 8:6-7, the cherubim together stretched from wall to wall inside the Most Holy Place.
The significance of the cherubim forms a connection between the earthly mercy seat and God’s heavenly throne. In Scripture, cherubim are angelic beings who serve and surround God’s throne (see Ezekiel 10). By spreading their wings over the mercy seat, the cherubim created a covering that represented God’s glory and presence enveloping the place where His law was kept and where atonement occurred. Yet God made clear that He was not contained or limited to the mercy seat; it merely marked the place of meeting between God and Israel.
The Day of Atonement Ceremony
The mercy seat played a vital role on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the most sacred day of the year for Israel’s worship. Leviticus 16 gives instructions for the rituals the high priest was to perform on this day to atone for the sins of the people.
First, the high priest sacrificed a bull as a sin offering for himself and his household (Lev 16:6, 11-14). Then two goats were chosen; one was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people, while the other (the scapegoat) had the sins of the people confessed over it before it was released into the wilderness, symbolically carrying those sins away (Lev 16:7-10, 20-22).
The blood of the sacrificed bull and goat was sprinkled by the high priest on and in front of the mercy seat to make atonement for the people’s sins (Lev 16:14-16). This annual ceremony purified the tabernacle from any ritual impurity and atoned for the sins that had defiled the people over the past year. The sprinkling of blood demonstrated that the penalty of sin – death – had been satisfied, enabling God’s holy presence to continue dwelling among His people.
Without the shedding of blood and sprinkling it on the mercy seat, there could be no atonement and no relationship with God (Hebrews 9:22). But on the Day of Atonement, sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the tablets of the law beneath the mercy seat, showing that the covenant requirements were fulfilled. The mercy seat was the divinely designated place where God’s holy justice and perfect law converged with His mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
Foreshadowing Jesus Christ
Beyond its immediate function in Israel’s worship, the mercy seat powerfully symbolized the coming work of Jesus Christ to atone for sin. There are clear connections between the mercy seat and Christ’s death on the cross:
- Jesus is the ultimate and perfect sacrifice whose blood cleanses us from sin and reconciles us to God (Hebrews 9:14, 22-26).
- Jesus’ death satisfied the holy justice and wrath of God against sin, as did the sprinkled blood on the Day of Atonement (Romans 3:25).
- Jesus is our mercy seat, the place where God’s holy justice and mercy meet, and where we find forgiveness and restoration (Romans 3:23-25; Hebrews 4:16).
- Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can confidently enter God’s presence with our sins fully atoned for (Hebrews 10:19-22).
The mercy seat gives us a vivid picture of God’s response to human sin. Although He is fully just and must punish sin, He has also provided a means of atonement through the blood of an innocent sacrifice. As Hebrews 4:16 declares, we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence” because Jesus Christ has secured our forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
1. Located Atop the Ark of the Covenant
The mercy seat was the lid or cover for the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred chest containing the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 25:10-22). The ark was kept in the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and later the temple, which only the high priest could enter once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:2). The mercy seat served as the “seat” or throne for God’s presence and glory dwelling in the midst of His people above the ark and between the golden cherubim with outstretched wings.
2. Made of Pure Gold
The mercy seat was constructed out of pure gold, as were the Ark of the Covenant, lampstand, altar of incense, and other items within the tabernacle’s inner sanctuary. The use of gold emphasized the immense value, significance, and sacredness of the mercy seat as the place of atonement where God’s holy presence dwelled (Exodus 25:17). Gold also symbolized its divine origin and Kingly nature.
3. Flanked by Cherubim
At each end of the mercy seat stood a cherub, a mighty angelic being, facing one another. The cherubim formed a throne for God, the Divine King, with their wings outstretched as a covering above the mercy seat (Exodus 25:18-20). Cherubim guarded the divine presence (Genesis 3:24), and were associated with the glory, holiness and righteousness of God – all crucial aspects of the mercy seat.
4. Place of Atonement for Sin
The key purpose of the mercy seat was to be the location where atonement was made for the sins of the people of Israel once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The high priest would sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals on the mercy seat to purify it from the sins and impurities of the people (Leviticus 16:14-16). Blood covered the broken law beneath the mercy seat and satisfied the demands of God’s justice against sin.
5. Represented God’s Throne
The mercy seat was symbolic of the throne of God in the tabernacle, where His glory dwelled and from which He ruled (Psalm 80:1). Sitting enthroned between the cherubim, God ruled His people and met with the representative high priest there to make atonement for sin. The imagery connected heaven and earth, God’s dwelling and Israel’s worship.
6. Place of God’s Presence
During Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God’s presence manifested visibly as a cloud above the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:2). The mercy seat marked the central place of meeting and communication between God and His people through Moses (Exodus 25:22). It vividly testified to God’s faithfulness in dwelling among His people despite their sin and rebellion.
7. Jesus Fulfilled Its Purpose
While the blood of animals provided ceremonial cleansing, only Jesus’ sacrifice could truly take away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4). Jesus is the ultimate mercy seat, where God’s justice and mercy converge perfectly to make forgiveness possible. Through faith in Christ’s atoning death, believers can confidently enter God’s presence with the guilt of their sins fully paid for (Hebrews 10:19-22).
8. Foreshadowed Messiah’s Sacrifice
Beyond its immediate function in Israel’s worship system, the mercy seat powerfully symbolized the coming Messiah. Jesus’ death fulfilled what the mercy seat foreshadowed – the shedding of innocent blood to make atonement for sin (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:11-15). As the ultimate High Priest, Jesus’ sacrifice reconciles sinners to holy God.
9. Pointed to Need for Atonement
The purpose behind all the meticulous prescriptions for the mercy seat underscored humans’ dire need for blood atonement for sins before a holy God. The mercy seat’s role in the Day of Atonement rituals highlighted the reality of God’s wrath against sin, anticipated the Messiah, and showed the costliness of making sinners right with God (Hebrews 9:22).
In summary, the mercy seat was the sacred place where sinful humans could approach a holy God and find atonement, forgiveness and restoration. This foreshadowed Jesus’ sacrificial death to reconcile sinners to God once for all. The mercy seat gives us hope that we can boldly approach God’s throne through Christ, our ultimate mercy seat.