Possessing the Land - Pt 3

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. (Exodus 25:17-22 ESV).

Remember from yesterday that the Lord commanded the people to follow the Ark into the land. It was a command to follow His leadership; however, it was much more than that. On top of the Ark was a gold plate called the Mercy Seat over which two statues of cherubim knelt. It is described as the place where God is "enthroned upon the cherubim" (cf. Psalm 80:1; 99:1). The Ark was the OT equivalent to Immanuel, "God with us." When this chest led the way, it meant God was out in front. He would, so to speak, take the first steps into Canaan. Their task was to follow His lead, to pursue His presence, to come after Him. With this in mind, picture the scene. All Israel is encamped on a sloping hill beside the Jordan River. The Ark is positioned 1000 yards from them. Everyone in the nation would be able to see it. The priests would bear it by rods upon their shoulders as they stride toward the white water of Jordan. And everybody would understand the point that God intended for Israel to breach the Jordan with Him. But it could only be done if they focused on and followed Him. Centuries later, the true Ark of God would come among us, the living Immanuel. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments; Jesus fulfilled the Law (cf. Matthew5:17). The Ark preserved the manna by which God fed them in the wilderness; Christ is the bread of life (cf. John 6:31-46). The Ark held a symbol of God's power to bring life out of death; Jesus is alive from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father. No wonder the writer of Hebrews calls us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith (cf. Hebrews 12:2). We all are constantly entering the future, moment-by-moment. As we gaze ahead at the challenges, filled with words like cancer, creditors, and crisis, it's easy to conclude that we're stuck in the wilderness, away from the abundance of God. As we consider a change for the better, so many of us throw in the towel. Don’t! Fix your eyes on Jesus! He will lead the way!