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4. God Appeared Above the Ark of the Covenant
God's presence "shone forth" above the Ark and upon
the Mercy Seat between the two cherubim. The Bible reveals that it
was here that God appeared when he spoke to Moses "face to face as a
man speaks unto his friend" (Ex 33:11). God's glory appeared to
Moses on Mount Sinai with smoke, great darkness, and thunder and
lightning. God's glory also appeared to Moses in the Holy of Holies
above the Ark and he would speak with Moses about his plans. Besides
Moses, only the high priest could enter the room where the Ark was,
but it was much different. There was great ceremony when Aaron the
high priest came into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. He
first took two handfuls of incense and poured them on hot coals
which were in a censor that he was carrying. A cloud of thick smoke
would fill the holy of holies as Aaron sprinkled the blood on the
Mercy Seat between the cherubim, he also sprinkled the floor seven
times in front of the Ark. God's presence would shine forth above
the Ark, and the glory cloud would appear above the Tabernacle for
all of Israel to see. It was on the Mercy Seat that God's glory
appeared, and this is always where God's glory appears, at the place
of mercy. When Solomon built a resting place for the Ark and
dedicated the Temple, he offered a sacrifice and said a prayer and
suddenly fire came down and consumed the sacrifice and the glory of
God filled the Temple so that the priests could not enter, and all
of Israel fell down and cried out unanimously "Praise the LORD for
he is good, and his mercy endures forever." (See
Ex.
40:35,
Lev
16:2,
Num 7:89,
2 Chr 7:3, and
Ps 80:1)
The Cloud Appeared above
the Tabernacle