Rendezvous With Deity

“And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee…” Exo. 25:22

We like to say that you can have access to God anywhere, anytime, but the truth is, God the Father and God the Son both said that there are times when Deity will be inaccessible (Prov. 1:28; Jno. 7:34). This is not to say that God is elusive, only that He is exacting. In our pluralistic society we are told that there are many ways to God, but Jesus said there was only one: Himself. The broad way “that leadeth to destruction” is not only broad because of its many travelers, but because of its many beliefs; just as the narrow way “that leadeth to life” is not only narrow because it is less traveled, but because it must be traveled single file with a single belief (Matt. 7:13-14).

God is neither aloof nor forbidding. On the contrary, He invites us over and over, “Come unto me” (Isa. 55:3; Matt. 11:28; Jno. 7:37;). It’s just that He reserves the right to choose the time and place. In the Old Testament Tabernacle, that place was the Mercy Seat.

The only piece of furniture in the section of the Old Testament Tabernacle designated as the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Testimony, a chest in which a pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and most important, the broken tables of the Law given to Moses, were placed. On top of this wooden chest laden with gold was a lid made of pure gold, embellished by two golden cherubim on either end. This was the Mercy Seat. Without this holy covering, the Law would lie open, in full view, with all its stark accusations against us. But the Mercy Seat, where the blood of an innocent lamb was sprinkled yearly, stood as a barrier against the unmerciful Law. To quote Matthew Henry: “This propitiatory covering… was a type of Christ, the great propitiation, whose satisfaction fully answers the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve. Thus he is the end of the law for righteousness.”

In addition, as the verse indicates, the Mercy Seat was where God met man. In short, it was God’s throne on earth. As the Bible says, God dwelled “between the cherubims” (2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; Psl. 80:1). From here, Moses heard God speak: “And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak to him [God], then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the tow cherubims: and he spake unto him” (Num. 7:89).

This is where you and I must meet Him, as well.

The only answer to the condemnation of the Law, saved or lost, is our Blood-sprinkled Mercy Seat: Jesus Christ. This is where God calls us to meet Him and where He promises to commune with us. The only ground of communication with the Father is the Son. God has only one Door of admittance (Jno. 10:9), and if you knock on any other, someone may be there, but it won’t be God.

I joyfully and gratefully count myself among those who meet at this place of blessing regularly. It’s not my “rendezvous with destiny,” but my Rendezvous with Deity.

You have one too; don’t miss it!