We see, then, that there were three elements in the Ark of the Covenant:

Aaron's rod that budded (resurrection life operating in God's chosen priesthood).

The memorial jar of manna (daily provisions of grace from God).

The two stone slabs on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments known as the "testimony" (the transformed moral personality of the victorious saint).

The Mercy Seat (Lid of Reconciliation)

Although we are treating the Mercy Seat as a separate furnishing, and it was made separately, it was placed as a lid on the Ark of the Covenant and was regarded as a part of the Ark so that the whole made one unit—the Mercy Seat resting as a cover on the sacred chest, the Ark of the Covenant.

The golden Cherubim of Glory made a shelter with their wings over the Mercy Seat (the Propitiatory; Hebrew, MI>kap-PO-reth—lid of appeasement, atonement).

The Mercy Seat was the place of appeasement and reconciliation, of atonement, of mercy, of pardon, of covering. It fit exactly the top of the Ark, being three feet nine inches by two feet three inches in dimension.

The winged creatures, the cherubim, were beaten out of the one piece of gold along with the Mercy Seat itself. The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of casting metals, and parts of the furnishings were cast. They could have cast the Mercy Seat into its form much more easily and quickly than was possible by the technique of beating it into shape with a hammer.

Sometimes God has good reasons for accomplishing His purposes in a difficult, painful manner. Have you found this to be true?

The refined gold of the Tabernacle represents Divinity. The Divine Substance in us has to be beaten into shape. Have you ever wondered why the Spirit of God hammers, hammers, hammers away at you? Christ in you not only has to grow in you but also must be beaten into shape through the multitude of pressures on you each day.

There is a part of each saint, in the holy of holies of his being, the deepest part of his personality, that has been born of God. It is "solid gold." There is nothing of humanity in it. This is true of every person who has been born again.

The Divinity in each believer must be subjected to the fashioning processes of the Holy Spirit until the mercy seat, to speak symbolically, is created at the core of the being of the Christian. Human nature (wood) cannot be "hammered" into shape. Divine Nature (gold) can be "hammered" into shape.

Perfection in the Christian experience is the possession of God Himself rather than any assortment of techniques, spiritual secrets, power with God, or any of the other things set forth from time to time as being goals of the Christian life.

Jesus is a person and He wants us to be occupied with Himself rather than with concepts, experiences, persons, or things related to Him. He who possesses the Person of the Lord Jesus possesses everything of value in Heaven and on the earth. He who does not possess the Lord Jesus is bankrupt—deprived of everything of worth.

To be continued.