this blows my mind, i can’t believe i havent noticed this before…
okay, first of all, in the Old Testament, the Israelites were to build a tabernacle with an ark that would represent the LORD’s presence. In Exodus, God gives Moses these instructions
“Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. You shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the mercy seat…” Lev. 25:17-19
stay with me, i know the law is boring. and i remember i always though it was kind of cheesy that there were “cherubs” on the ark, but anyway, so the mercy seat was the place for the High Priest to put the blood of the sacrifices to atone for Israel’s sins. keep in mind that only the High Priest could go in to make these sacrifices also.
fast forward to John, after Jesus has died and is buried in the tomb.
“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’” John 20:11-13
” …we have an advocate with the Father , Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for ths sins of the whole world” 1 John 2:1-2
I knew that Jesus was a sacrifice for us and our sins, but I didn’t realize how deep the symbolism went. The LORD keeps track of every little detail…it is insane!