I am always impressed with the ways God chooses to reveal Himself to us. Psalm 119 lets us know that "the heavens declare the glory of God". Anyone who has observed a sunrise or a clear night when the stars shout His praise would have to agree. Hebrews 1:1 reminds us that, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets." God's prophets brought us the Word of God. There are numerous passages like 1 Corinthians 2:10 that tell us the Spirit of God also reveals who God is and what He requires of us. We have His Creation, His Word and His Spirit to show us who the Lord God is. However, these are not the only tools God uses to help us understand things about Him and His purposes. God likes to use illustrations that reveal much about Himself in terms we can see and even touch. If you have ever raised grapes the vine and branch illustration of John 15 comes alive. Many of us have had experiences with seeds and soil, maybe even a sheep or two. And very few of us have never seen a door. Divine object lessons abound that bring the realities of God down to our level. It seems God's fingerprints are everywhere.
I appreciate the tangible object lesson the Lord gave to Israel many years ago. Unfortunately, it is an object that has been lost, thankfully, we have the Biblical record to provide a mental picture of this treasure. It is the Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 37 gives the details as to its construction. A very fine crafted box with an ornate top and the means to transport without coming in direct contact with it. The cover served as the mercy seat. This is where the blood was sprinkled on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a covering for the sins of the nation of Israel. A place of grace and forgiveness. It was a significant article in Israel's history and worship.
However, the mercy seat is only a part of the Ark of the Covenant. It is the top, the covering of the box that is the Ark. Hebrews 9:4 tells us what was placed into the ark, "which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant." Manna, bread from heaven to give food, to provide life for the children of Israel for forty years. Bread unearned and undeserved yet provided by the grace of God. The Rod of Aaron, representing the priesthood which would provide the way to fellowship, forgiveness and worship of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Finally the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountain. The Law of God, the basic instructions and directions for the nation to follow as they walked with God. The Law was a gracious gift of God to a new nation that had only known slavery and needed God's direction. For many Law and Grace are like oil and water, they can never mix. The difference between the Old and New. The pre-Christ instrument of death and the post-Christ deliverance by grace. However, God unites the Law of the Ark together with the mercy seat of grace. They are combined in the same illustration.
As many work to separate God's Law and God's grace the Lord reminds us that they are an integrated gift from Him. Consider Exodus 25:22, “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 Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel." It is from the mercy seat that God will give Moses the commandments, Torah, the Law, which is then to be given to Israel. A gift of grace from the God of grace and mercy so God's people will know how to best live. Without these instructions from the Lord Israel would be left to borrow and adapt the cultural norms of the neighboring pagan nations. Cultural norms that devalued life, grounded in the fear of a variety of demanding and ever changing gods and goddesses. Torah brought truth, stability and a relationship with the God of all creation. It is an amazing and blessed place to be.
If the Lord God intended for us to separate His Law and His grace, why does He combine them at the very beginning of His relationship with His people? Godly boundaries and directions have always been and continue to be a gracious gift of God. As is true with any loving father, our Heavenly Father shows us His love, His grace, His mercy now as He did for Israel. Just look at the illustration He made in the Ark of the Covenant. Law and grace together at His mercy seat.
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