The Ark of the Covenant Bible Study | Plans for the Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat

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EXODUS 25:10–15

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

 

“They shall make an ark of acacia wood: two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside, and make a molding of gold all around it.


You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four corners—two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side. And 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, that the ark may be carried by them.

The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.”

 

OTHER NAMES USED IN THE BIBLE FOR THE ARK OF THE COVENANT:

 

The Ark (Exodus 40:20)

The Holy Ark (2 Chronicles 35:3)

The Ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 6:1)

The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD (1 Samuel 4:3)

The Ark of the Testimony (Exodus 40:3)

The Ark of God (1 Samuel 14:18)

The Ark of the Covenant of God (Judges 20:27)

The Ark of the LORD your God (Joshua 4:5)

The Ark of the God of Israel (1 Samuel 5:8)

The Ark of the LORD God of Israel (1 Chronicles 15:14)

The Ark of Thy Strength (2 Chronicles 6:41; Psalms 132:8)

The Ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherumbims,

Whose name is called on it. (1Chronicles 13:6)

 

EXODUS 25:17-22

PLANS FOR THE MERCY SEAT

 

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of one piece with the mercy seat you shall make them on its two ends.

Make one cherub on one end and the other cherub on the other end. The cherubim shall face one another, with their faces looking toward the mercy seat, and their wings stretched out above, covering it.

You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.


And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the Ark of the Covenant, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

 

The Mercy Seat — The Meeting Place

 

The mercy seat was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, made entirely of pure gold. It was the most sacred place in the tabernacle.

 

This is where God said:
👉 “I will meet with you.”

 

It was not just a covering—it was the meeting place between God and man.

 

The Cherubim — Guardians of God’s Holiness

 

The cherubim were formed from the same piece of gold as the mercy seat, facing inward and looking down.

 

They represent:

  • The holiness of God
  • The guardianship of His presence

 

Their posture—looking down—suggests attention toward the place where the blood would be applied.

Where God Speaks

 

God did not speak from the altar, the lampstand, or the outer court.

 

He spoke:

·      From above the mercy seat

·      From between the cherubim

 

Numbers 7:89 confirms this: “When Moses went into the tabernacle… he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat… from between the two cherubim.”

 

The Fulfillment in Christ

 

The mercy seat is one of the clearest pictures of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.

  • He is our mercy seat
  • His blood covers our sin
  • Through Him, we meet with God

 

In Christ:
👉 Justice is satisfied
👉 Mercy is given
👉 God and man are reconciled

 

The mercy seat → where God meets man through the blood

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