Exodus 25:1-22

25:1-9 | The pattern (design and specifications) and all the regulations for the tabernacle came from the LORD Himself; Moses was simply His spokesperson and foreman.

25:2 | This instruction about the offering reflects the type of giving command in 2 Corinthians 9:7. Joyful, willing offerings have ever been God’s desire.

25:10-22 | The most prominent furnishing in the tabernacle was a small wooden chest (known as the “ark of the covenant”) that would contain the two tablets of the Law as the Lord’s Testimony. The ark was placed in the Most Holy Place and was to be transported on a frame with rings and poles. No human was to touch it.

25:17-22 | The mercy seat (Hebrew meaning “to cover over, to make propitiation”) was the ark’s lid, made of pure gold. Here – within the Most Holy Place (holy of holies), between the cloud of the Lord’s glory and the stone tablets of the Law – was the place of atonement where the Lord also promised to speak with and reveal His will for the people through Moses (Num. 7:89; Ps. 91:1). Today, God’s people have access to God’s presence through Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:19-25), our “mercy seat” (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2). Because of Christ’s shed blood, the throne of God is the believer’s throne of grace.