The Mercy Seat and Divine Order of the Ark of the Covenant

Ark of the Covenant and the House of God
Today’s Focus: The Mercy Seat and the Divine Order with the Ark of the Covenant
Scripture: Numbers 3:29-31; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 9:1-3

Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Now as we stated before we know that the mercy seat was placed on top of the Ark of the Covenant and two cherubims were placed on either side with their wings outstretched towards the mercy seat. Now the first thing we must take away is the myth about the mercy seat. The mercy seat is NOT the Throne of God. The mercy seat is the place God sits to extend mercy. Now the question is, to who and how? Mercy is extended to those who abide and live by the principals within the Ark of the Covenant. We know based in Hebrews 9:1-3 that inside of the ark was the Golden Pot of Manna, Aaron’s Rod and the Tablets of the Covenant. Now notice I said principals. So the objects within the ark carry an eternal principal that we are to abide by and if we abide by those principals then mercy will be extended towards us.

These three principals were essential for a variety of reasons and I would like to point out three important ones and I will give scriptures and for the sake of time:
1. Worship (Leviticus 16:1-14; Numbers 7:8,9; 1 Chronicles 15:1,2)
2. Must be Lead by the Ark (Numbers 10:30-36; Joshua 3:1-3; Joshua 4:1-7)
3. Spiritual Warfare (Joshua 6:1-8)

Now God is the God of Order and even when it came to carrying the Ark of the Covenant, there were specific people who could do that. Many would say, yes it was the Levites and that is true, but it was a particular family of the Levities that could and that was the family of Kohathites. Kohath was the second son of Levi.

Numbers 3:29-31: The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. And their charge shall be the Ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

The family of Kohath was responsible for carrying the vessels and treasures of the temple which included the Ark of the Covenant. Now understand, they were only charged to carry it, not touch it.

Numbers 4:15: And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

This is why the ark of the covenant has 4 staves coming out of it for transport on the shoulders of the family of Kohath. Now this is not a coincidence that they were selected instead of Gershon or Merari (Numbers 3:17). Watch this:

The name Kohath means in Hebrew “Assembly or Congregation”. So we have the “Congregation” that is charged to carry the ark of the covenant. Now they did not just carry it any particular way. They carried the ark on their shoulders. This is representing a governmental responsibility when one carries something on their shoulders. Isaiah 9:6a: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:” Now to carry the ark of the covenant on your shoulders was not a burdensome task but one of privilege. So who do you think is the congregation or assembly that is called to carry the ark? How about the ekklesia? The church, the sons of God are called to carry the ark and in carrying the ark we carry and abide by the very principals contained within the ark.

In the next message we will begin to look at the various items within the ark and see the eternal principals they represent.

Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.