Hebrews 9:5

And above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; and of which things we cannot now speak severally.

Although the author of Hebrews was in a hurry to move forward to the extensive deductions to be made from the mention of the various sacred things, perhaps it would be well to borrow a little time to glance at the surpassingly marvelous symbolism of the mercy-seat. Compare with note on the ark of the covenant, above.

THE MERCY SEAT

We have already noted the heavenly emphasis upon the ark of the covenant and the preference that pertained to it, as to location, cost, contents, etc.; and it can only be imagined, therefore, what must have been the astonishment of Moses when he was instructed to make a mercy-seat (Exodus 25:17ff) of the same lateral dimensions, to adorn it with intricately carved figures of cherubim facing each other with wings arched upward and forward, posing in an attitude of worship, and peering intently downward into the mercy-seat, and to place it ABOVE AND ON TOP OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT! There, in the location of that mercy-seat, was revealed the key fact of all God's dealings with the race of Adam, namely, that by God's eternal will, his mercy stands enthroned even above his law; and no more significant truth was ever made apparent under the types and symbols of the old covenant. Generations of people beheld the wonder of God's mercy-seat above God's law; but neither men nor angels understood it, nor could they understand it, until the Christ ascended Golgotha. That this typical elevation of mercy above law in the economy of God was a matter of wondering amazement even to the angels is depicted in the symbol itself, in the attitude of the cherubim, peering intently downward and straining their eyes, so to speak, to behold what the mystery was. It was probably of that very thing that Peter spoke these words, "which things the angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:12). Every mortal man, prone to sin, mired in the inevitable guilt associated with all human life, and conscious of his own helplessness to save himself - every man should thank God for the Father's mercy, forever elevated even above his law, and for the salvation provided in that mercy through the blood of the Saviour.