Mercy Seat: A Study of the Psalms

When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they carried with them a mobile sanctuary: the tabernacle. Every time they moved, the stakes were pulled up, the tent fabric was carefully folded, and the holy objects packed away to use again wherever they stopped next. God came with them in the form of the ark of the covenant, a golden box that held the sacred relics of their covenant with God. On the top of the ark was a lid, covered with hammered gold that must have been bright in the desert sun. On each side were cherubim, brilliant and shining angels that stood guard, protecting the tablets with the ten commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a small bowl of manna. Reminders of God’s presence even in the wilderness.

The lid of the ark is called the Mercy Seat, and it’s said to be the place where God’s presence physically dwelled. The Israelites carried with them a physical reminder that God was with them in the most no- words space-time of them all - forty years of frustration and what must have felt like aimless meandering. And yet! He was with them. That space where it seemed like nothing was happening: where the angel wings almost touched, that was where God was moving.

This study is a reminder that God’s presence is everywhere and that He is working on your behalf to bring you closer to Him, even in the no-words-spaces.