The Purpose of the Ark (Exodus 25:15-22).
a Into the Ark was to be put the Testimony which Yahweh will give them (Exodus 25:15).
b A mercy-seat or place of propitiation was to be made to cover the Ark as a kind of lid, and on it, made as one piece with the lid, were to be two cherubim of gold at each end of the mercy-seat (Exodus 25:17-19).
c And the cherubim were to spread their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat, with their faces facing each other and facing the centre of the mercy-seat (Exodus 25:20).
c And the mercy-seat was to be put over the Ark and in the Ark was to be the Testimony that Yahweh had given them (Exodus 25:21).
b And there Yahweh will meet with Moses, and commune with him from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:22 a).
a Which are on the Ark of the Testimony, concerning all the commandments which He will give him for the children of Israel - compare Numbers 7:89 (Exodus 25:22).
Note how in ‘a' the Testimony (the covenant) was to be put into the Ark and in the parallel it is called the Ark of the Testimony, containing all the commandments given through Moss to the children of Israel. In ‘b' the mercy-seat or place of propitiation is to be made, on which are set, at each end, the two cherubim looking inward, while in the parallel Yahweh will meet with Moses and commune with him from the mercy-seat or place of propitiation, from between the two cherubim. And in ‘c' the cherubim were to ‘cover' the mercy-seat, and in the parallel the mercy-seat was to cover the Ark.
The first and central object in the Tabernacle, although only known to the people by description, was the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh with its covering mercy seat. It represented the throne of Yahweh both for mercy and judgment, and confirmed the covenant that as their Overlord He had made with His people. It was the outward evidence of their unique position as His ‘holy people', which they were required to live up to (when they finally failed to do so the Ark was finally destroyed).
It is to us a reminder that our God is enthroned in Heaven, the High and Lofty One, enshrouded in splendour, Who inhabits eternity Whose name is Holy, surrounded by a multitude of heavenly beings, and yet is One Who dwells among the humble and contrite (Isaiah 6:1-4; Isaiah 57:15). And it is a reminder that to those who trust in Him He offers mercy and forgiveness, and to be their God, to watch over them and keep them, and be perpetually among them.
That the Ark should be mentioned first emphasises its supreme importance. It represented the essential realities between Yahweh and His people. As His throne it declared Him to be their king, as His Mercy-seat (place of covering of sin) it declared His offer of continual mercy and propitiation (making satisfaction for sin), as containing the covenant tablets it declared that His people's portion in Him lay though the covenant. Only by receiving and being bound by His covenant could they approach Him as their sovereign and merciful Lord.
“And you shall make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you will put the staves into the rings on the sides of the chest, to carry the chest by them. The staves shall be in the rings of the chest. They shall not be taken from it.”
The staves for carrying the chest were made of the same wood as the chest, providing strength, and overlaid with gold, demonstrating overlordship and holiness. For Yahweh all was to be the very best. The staves ensured that the Ark never needed to be touched and were to be kept in the rings permanently although it would appear that when the Ark was being elaborately prepared for travelling they would be temporarily removed and then immediately replaced (Numbers 4:5-6) by the priests. It was holy to Yahweh, as Mount Sinai had been (Exodus 19:12-13). The staves were long enough to protrude into the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies) (1 Kings 8:8). One purpose therefore of keeping them permanently in the rings was so that they would be seen through the veil as a permanent reminder of the presence of the unseen Ark. Another was that having touched the Ark they were not to be treated casually by being stored away.
“And you shall put the Testimony which I will give you into the chest.”
The chest was to contain the stone tablets written by ‘the finger of God' (Exodus 31:18; Exodus 32:16), later to be replaced, due to Israel's sin, by tablets written by Moses (Exodus 34:28). These were called ‘The Testimony', for they testified to the solemn covenant between Yahweh and His people. This was why the chest is regularly called ‘the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh'.
Exodus 25:17-20 “And you shall make a mercy-seat of pure gold. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, and its breadth one and a half cubits. And you shall make two cherubim of gold. You shall make them of beaten work at the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one cherub at the one end and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one towards the other. The faces of the cherubim shall be towards the mercy-seat”
The gold slab which covered the chest was to be of solid gold, and moulded on it at either end were to be two figures of cherubim, looking inwards towards the centre, with their wings outspread stretched over the mercy-seat.
“A mercy seat.” The ‘kapporeth', literally the place of propitiation, the place where reconciliation and atonement was finally performed. This was a solid gold slab on which were the two cherubim at either end looking inward. It was the same size as the chest. It comes from the root ‘kpr' (to cover) and the conjugation used signifies the place where sins are ‘covered' so that they are no longer seen by God and held against the sinner (Jeremiah 18:23). It is the place of propitiation and expiation, the place where the punishment for sin was met by the application of the shedding of blood, the place of atonement, of reconciliation, where he and His people were made at one.
“Pure gold.” The most precious physical thing that the world could offer. In the Tabernacle it represented what was most holy.
“Cherubim.” These were only previously mentioned in Genesis 3:24 where the ideas of a storm wind (along with the ‘flaming sword' of lightning) and acting as guardians were very much in mind. They are connected elsewhere with the wind. Thus in 2 Samuel 22:11 and Psalms 18:10 God ‘rode on a cherub and did fly, yes, He was seen on the wings of the wind' (compare Ezekiel 1:3-4). But it was a divine wind. Their ‘likeness' was clearly well known to the children of Israel. They represented celestial beings, and unlike angels were seen as having wings, and therefore very mobile. Yahweh is described as ‘dwelling between (or on) the cherubim' (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1 etc.), no doubt with the Ark in mind, sometimes explicitly. In Ezekiel 10 they appear as bearers of the travelling throne of Yahweh and in Ezekiel 1, as the ‘living creatures' and bearers of the throne, they were closely connected with a stormy wind (verses 3-4) and bore the throne wherever it went.
The idea behind their presence here was as a reminder that all heavenly beings were totally subjected to Yahweh and under His command. Not only the whole world but heaven itself was at His feet.
They were also later connected with the animal world. Thus in Ezekiel 1:10; Ezekiel 10:14 each had the faces of man, lion, ox and eagle, and they had the hands of a man (Exodus 1:8; Exodus 10:8) and feet like calves' feet (Exodus 1:7). In the Temple they were represented on curtains along with lions (1 Kings 7:36) and lions and oxen (1 Kings 7:29) and palm trees and open flowers (1Ki 6:29; 1 Kings 6:37; 1 Kings 7:36). They were two-winged (1 Kings 6:27). If we see the wings as the wings of an eagle we have here a parallel combination to that in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 of lion, ox and eagle. In Ezekiel 41:18-20 they were connected with palm trees and had the faces of a man and a lion.
On the Ark they would seemingly have one face each (unless they have four faces facing in the same direction, which seems unlikely). And the later descriptions might suggest that their shape was somewhat similar to those found in excavations at Samaria and in Phoenicia with human face, lion body, four legs and two conspicuous and elaborate wings. This would explain where Ezekiel got his ideas from. At Byblos such beings were found supporting the throne of the king. The idea behind the presence of the cherubim would then include the fact that Yahweh is attended by those who represent the whole of creation, man, wild beast, domestic beast and bird. The later palm trees and open flowers on the curtains would represent the inanimate creation. They are not quite so closely connected with Yahweh.
But none of this is actually stated about the Tabernacle. There only the cherubim are spoken of, without description apart from their having wings.
We are not to take the descriptions as referring specifically to literal beings (contrast Revelation 4:7-8) for they could also be depicted as having six wings, of which four were to hide face and feet in the presence of Yahweh (Isaiah 6:2 of the seraphim; see also Revelation 4:8 of the living creatures, the latter with both human and animal features). They are symbolic rather than literal representations. Revelation 4 seems to borrow features of both seraphim and cherubim. They incidentally demonstrate that what the commandments forbade were graven images intended to be worshipped or venerated, not graven images themselves.
It would appear therefore that the Mercy-seat was seen as the throne of the invisible Yahweh, from which He dispensed mercy, and that the position on the Ark of the cherubim suggests that they act as symbols of a greater reality as attendants and guardians, representing both all heavenly beings and the whole animate creation, and protecting and guarding the holiness of Yahweh as in Genesis 3. They were a reminder that there were other beings besides God and man who enjoyed God's immediate presence.
“And you shall put the Mercy-seat above on 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 commune with you from above the Mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the Ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
The Mercy-seat is not only a place of atonement, it is a throne where the Great Overlord meets and speaks with His people, through their representative, on the basis of the covenant. So the Ark is Mercy-seat and Throne and Testimony and Judgment Throne combined. It represents all that Yahweh is to His people and expects from them.
“I will commune with you --- of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” The Great Overlord will reign over them and dispense mercy from the Mercy-seat on which His throne is established, as agreed in the covenant. In Numbers 7:89 we are told that ‘the Voice (of Yahweh) spoke to him (Moses) from above the Mercy-seat that was on the Ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim'.
Note. Gold overlaid wooden receptacles and portable shrines are known from the ancient Near East in pre-Mosaic times, although not as containing treaty records. Among certain Arabic tribes are objects similar to some extent with the Ark which still survive. In time of war they accompanied the tribe into battle and guided them in their wanderings. They stood near the tent of the chief and often contained sacred stones or were seen as the dwelling-place of a god. The idea may well go back into the mists of time and would explain why the significance of the Ark, superstitiously speaking, was recognised by enemies (1 Samuel 4:7). But in Israel superstitious objects were replaced by the words of the covenant, and the chest was made into a throne for the invisible God. All superstition was done away.
End of note.