Text: 1 Kings 8:1-66
King Solomon has finished building the temple, and he now brings in the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the symbol of God’s throne, His presence where He met with His people. The Ark is a box which contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark was covered by a lid called the mercy seat. It represented the throne of God, where God had mercy and forgiveness for His people. It would be sprinkled with the blood of the annual atoning sacrifice, which was slain on the altar, thus symbolically satisfying the wrath of God against His people that break His laws.
At the time Jesus was crucified, the symbols of the temple, ark, sacrifice, and mercy were ended by the reality. Our guilt and sin were placed upon Jesus, and He took our punishment, He paid our penalty for our law-breaking. The blood in-death and the death of Jesus was taken to the real heavenly throne of His Father, the real mercy seat; and the death of Jesus fully satiated the wrath of God. That is why we can receive the forgiveness of God. If you trust that Jesus did all that for you, then you are safe. Thanks be to God!
Meditate on verse 15. How are you going to apply it to your life?
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I bless Your name for many good things You have done for me, especially the substitutional and saving death of Your Son in my place. Amen.