The Ark of the Covenant
It is within the Holy of Holies that we find the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold inside and out. The wood symbolized Christ’s human nature. Pure gold covered the wooden box, symbolic of His divine nature. The gold and wood together represented Christ’s two natures: His humanity-(the reason He called Himself “the Son of Man), and His deity.
When the ark was placed in the holy of holies; the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled, and the incense burned, before it, by the high priest; and above it appeared the visible glory, which was the symbol of the Divine presence. It measured 3.75 feet long, 2.25 feet wide and 2.25 feet high (1100 mm x 700 mm x 700mm).
The ark contained within it the two tablets of the Testimony which are the Ten Commandments. The author of Hebrews adds that it contained a golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9: 4). These tablets are called the testimony; God in them testified His will.
This law was a testimony to the Israelites, to direct them in their duty, and would be a testimony against them, if they transgressed. This ark was not to be touched by human hands.
That is why when Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen stumbled, the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7) Two wooden poles, overlaid with gold, were used to transport it and were not to be removed from the ark.
The mercy seat, or atonement cover, was a solid golden slab that fitted perfectly on top of the ark. This was a type of Christ in His sinless nature, which saw no corruption, in personal union with His Divine nature, atoning for our sins by His death. The Psalmist says:
Give ear, (Hear us) O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You Who sit enthroned upon the cherubim of the ark of the covenant, shine forth (Psalm 80:1).
It was covered with a covering of gold, called the Mercy Seat. The blood-sprinkled Mercy Seat testified that a death had occurred. Once the blood was applied to the Mercy Seat, God’s holiness was satisfied, and His mercy was extended. God is said to dwell or sit between the cherubim, on the Mercy Seat. There He would give his law, and hear supplicants, as a Prince on His throne.
We are told to fearlessly, confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it) (Hebrews 4:16).
The fact that Jesus sat down is proof of His finished work. With judgment for our sin behind us and the mercy of God behind before us, The Lord hears us when we ask for intimacy with Him. Because without this intimate relationship with Him in prayer and intercession, all our programmes and prayers are meaningless, and if at all the presence of the Lord is not resting on a church, it operates in the strength of the flesh and becomes a mere empty façade (Hebrews 10:19-23).
The presence of God made the Ark of the Covenant the most significant piece of furniture in the tabernacle. Likewise, His presence should be the center of all our worship both individually and corporately.
In the book of 2 Chronicles 5:14, we are told that a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord and the priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.
The Golden Cherubim
The golden cherubim, which were hammered out of the same piece of gold, had wings outstretched over the mercy seat and faces that looked downward in reverent worship. It denotes the angel’s attendance on the Redeemer, their readiness to do His will, their presence in the assemblies of saints, and their desire to look into the mysteries of the gospel. This is where Moses was to speak to God intimately of all the instructions he would give to the Israelites:
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel (Exodus 25:22).
Again we read in the Book of Numbers that Moses had to enter the Holy of Holies to be in God’s presence and to hear God speak. And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke to Moses (Numbers 7:89 AMP).
It is here in the presence that God says, “I will speak intimately or commune with you there” It is here that the Third Person of the Godhead comes into your heart and you are transported into another realm, within that sacred veil, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit live. It is here that the deepest form of intimacy with the Lord takes place. It is here that you give up your will for His will to be done in your life. It is here that we see an abundance of holy gifts, fruit, incense, holiness, mercy, authority, and the sovereign rule of God in the bounds of covenant love.
Suddenly you become aware of the Lord’s presence and you then you sense that God is drawing you toward Himself. The key in all of this process of intimate prayer is waiting. When you wait upon the Lord, you begin to experience His presence and to feel after Him. Isaiah says:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).
After you have submitted your soul to God you now cooperate with the Holy Spirit by waiting upon Him. The Lord sees that He can trust you and that you desire only His presence, not just His benefits. A wonderful peace that surpasses all understanding liberates you from all the cares of the world and you experience the intercession of Jesus. At this time the presence of God usually overwhelms you.
Remember the Lord has a way of giving us the part of Himself that makes us long for more. When His glory comes during intimate intercession, you lose all thoughts of time. You may experience intense weeping which you can’t explain or you will travail with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance (see Romans 8:26). It is the most glorious place!
The Life Of God in Soul of Man
The Lord will draw us into His presence and reveal Himself until we see that nothing else on this earth compares to being with Him. It will be hard to live a moment without knowing He is right beside us. Until we are drawn by the Holy Spirit, we don’t have it in us to seek God, that is why David says…Then will we not depart from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name…Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? (Psalm 80: 18; 85:6).
In the natural, hunger means we are alive and well, but when we lose this hunger, we are prone to sickness which results in loss of appetite. The Lord draws us into His presence through the hunger He places in our hearts.
God knows that the human heart is incapable of seeking Him so He is the one who gives us the strength to do it. We don’t have the desire or hunger to seek God. But it is the Lord who places the hunger and thirst in us. Listen to what David says:
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42: 1-2)
In the Most Holy Place, you will only hear the language of the heart where the Psalmist says “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me”(Psalm 42:7). This process may happen in an instant. It may take 10, 20 minutes or 2 hours, no matter how much or how little you experience, the point is just to enjoy communion with the Lord. You cannot find the right words to express this kind of intimate fellowship with the Lord. It is too scared to talk about.
St. Augustine said a long time ago that “God loves every man or woman as though there were no one else to love – O God! Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless, searching, till they find rest in Thee.’’
Another old saint Gerhard Tersteesgen (1697-1769) wrote:
The secret of God’s presence is actually believed by very few, but are you aware, that if each one truly believed it, the whole world would at once be filled with the saints, and the earth would be truly Paradise? If men really believed it as they should, they would need nothing more to induce them to give themselves up, heart and soul, to this loving God. But now it is hid from their eyes.
Let us pray, my beloved, that God may be made known and manifested to many hearts, and thus in the light of His divine presence, the darkness of mere human life may be dispelled, and all things cast away, both without and within the heart, which hinder the growth and life of the soul, and which this light alone discovers and unveils. In all Christian practice there is nothing more universally needful, nothing simpler, sweeter, and more useful, nothing which so sums up in itself all Christian duties in one blessed act, as the realization of the loving presence of God.
You are a child of God. God’s nature is in you. It has only become overclouded. Withdraw from outward things. Pray, and you will make contact again with God, the source of your being. Forget yourself. Forget your selfish desires. Look to God. Die to your own will, live for God’s will and you will know true life. Every Christian without exception is called to have an intimate relationship with the Lord which is based on a personal experience with Him.
Everyone is called to prayer except those without a heart, for there must be a heart before they can be love. But who is without a heart? This intimate relationship with Him means a very personal and private relationship characterizing one’s deepest trust and nature marked by close association, contact, and familiarity.
We need revival but it has to start in our private communion with the Lord in the secret place. As Alice Smith has clearly said,
Revival begins in the prayer closet! It happens as a result of intercession! The reason why few of us accept God’s call to intimate intercession is that we don’t understand His original purpose nor are we committed to it. We have become so busy living out our own agendas that we are unwilling to take time to get to know Him intimately. And it is only out of an intimate relationship that intercession will flow. When we get serious about prayer, then tears, fasting and travail of intercession will cause the golden bowls of incense to heaven to overflow. (Revelation 5:8)
Intimacy and communion with the Lord is the foundation of our spiritual authority especially as we approach the challenges foretold in Scripture for these last days. We will need more spiritual authority which means more and more intimate fellowship with the Lord. The Book of Daniel says that those who know their God intimately will be strong and do strong exploits.
Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits (Daniel 11: 32).
