Mercy Seat (Kapporeth)
Crafted of pure beaten gold and resting upon the ark in the holy of holies, the Mercy Seat marked the appointed place where the high priest sprinkled the blood of atonement once each year. There the Lord met with man through the mediator, His glory dwelling between the cherubim as sins were covered and justice satisfied by the offered life. In this way the golden lid foreshadowed Christ as the true propitiation, the mercy seat where God and sinners are reconciled through His own atoning blood.
Details
- Significance
- Where the blood of atonement was sprinkled once a year. The very place where God met with man - a picture of Christ as our propitiation.
- Materials
- Pure beaten gold
Key Passages
Instructions
Exodus 25:17-22
17nd thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Day of Atonement
Leviticus 16:14-16
14nd he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
Christ Our Propitiation
Romans 3:25
25hom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Did You Know?
The mercy seat was made of pure gold. The most valuable single object in the tabernacle.
Two cherubim faced each other with wings touching. Creating God's earthly throne.
The High Priest sprinkled blood on it once a year. The blood came between God's holiness and the Law beneath.
The Hebrew word 'kapporeth' (mercy seat) is related to 'kippur' (atonement). As in Yom Kippur.