The more one looks into the word of God, the more one sees the love of God from the beginning, couched in shadows and symbols, all leading ultimately to Christ, who is the express image of God and His love to man.
The emblems in the Ark tells a story, the story of man his rebellion, his sinful nature. But rather than being meted with judgment, man was placed under the mercy seat till the sacrifice for sin is fulfilled.
The Ark was overlaid with gold within and without, just like God covered the first man with animal skin after the fall to provide a partial atonement till the Lamb of God, even Christ Jesus was made manifest and die for the sinful man; so was the gold overlay a type of atonement for man.
It also depicts the purity which man is supposed to have, a godly nature. Such is the purity we are to have like Him, the purity of the fine gold. The purity of the fine gold represents the character of God, which is to be the standard that we must fashion ourselves after as we behold Him, who sit enthroned in our lives.
The articles within the Ark, the rod that bud, the Manna and the Tablets of stone upon which the law was written are a testimony of who we were, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The rod that bud signifies our rebellion against God’s authority;
The Manna was a testimony of our murmur and lack of faith in Him, our enmity with God, the often times that we provoke God with our incontinence;
And the law was a reflection of the sinful nature in us, the motions of the flesh that is ever present with us.
Yet, in spite of who we are, the Lord God, who is the Judge of all, demonstrated His love and righteousness towards us in the forgiveness of sins He granted us by making His only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ a propitiation for our sins.
The two Cherubim covering the mercy seat are witnesses to the righteousness and the mercy of God to men, and this they proclaim towards one another in their cry Holy, Holy Holy. For the love of God, which He demonstrated to man is nothing short of this, the Holiness of God. The righteousness of God was manifested in Christ Jesus, who was the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world. The Lord our God in His love never compromised His righteous standards, His Holiness, we also having received His forgiveness, should follow and serve Him in same spirit, in Holiness to the Lord. For in this is a proof of our love for Him.
