Jesus' Blood On The Mercy Seat Covers Your Sin

Leviticus 16:14
14He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

If you have watched the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, you would remember that when the lid of the ark was lifted, strange-looking creatures floated out and destroyed the people around it. This, however, is biblically inaccurate. What things were inside the ark then?

God’s Word tells us that there were three items in the ark — the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod and two tablets of stones on which God wrote the 10 commandments. (Hebrews 9:4)

These items are symbols of man’s rebellion. The golden pot of manna represents man’s rejection of God’s provision. The rod of Aaron represents man’s rejection of God’s leadership and the two tablets of God’s commandments represent man’s rejection of God’s standard of holiness.

But because God delights in mercy, He had all these items put inside the ark and covered with the mercy seat, which had two cherubim above it. (Hebrews 9:5) This means that God’s eyes, represented by the cherubim, did not see the symbols of man’s rebellion because He put the mercy seat over them. And once a year, the high priest would enter the holy of holies where the ark was and sprinkle the blood of the animal sacrifice on the mercy seat. God is saying that He does not see man’s rebellion. He sees only the blood and accepts the people.

Today, Jesus is our High Priest who sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in heaven — the throne of grace. (Hebrews 9:23–26) Even the number of times that the Old Testament high priests sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat speaks of His perfect work. The seven times that the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat speaks of our perfect standing forever before God through Jesus’ blood.

So today, as you come to God, you don’t have to worry about falling short of His commandments or standard of holiness. God does not see your rebellion of His leadership or your breaking of His laws. God only sees the blood of His Son on the mercy seat, giving you perfect standing before Him!