Exodus 37:1-9

¹ Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half cubits, and its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits; ² And he plated it with pure gold inside and out, and made a border of gold around it. ³ And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. ⁴ And he made poles of acacia wood and plated them with gold ⁵ and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark for carrying the ark. ⁶ And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ⁷ And he made two cherubs of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, ⁸ one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. He made the cherubs as a unit with the mercy seat on its two ends. ⁹ The cherubs spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubs.

hidden masterpiece

This amazing and beautiful masterpiece, crafted by the chief artisan himself, was destined to be hidden from view to almost everyone in the community. Only Aaron (then the high priests who succeeded him) was to see it, and then only once a year, on the Day of Atonement. [1] The golden cherubs face toward the ark, not to guard it from outsiders, but to be the symbols of the only other witnesses to its function: the angelic beings.

Because one day in history, God would fulfill the symbolism of this hidden ritual. He would sacrifice his most prized One: his only Son. The angels would watch as this sacrifice would take place – not in a glorious temple, but on a tragic hillside.

None of us have ever seen this event. We might have seen paintings or drawings depicting it, or video representations of it, but we did not actually witness it. It was the most important event in our lives, yet we did not see it. We were not even born yet. But just like the ritual of the Day of Atonement, we believe that what took place that day made a difference in our relationship with God.

LORD, thank you for the cross that Jesus died on. Thank you for the love that sent him to die in our place. Thank you for the day that made all the difference.

[1] Leviticus 16.