This light has been referred to as the "Shekinah Glory" of God. "Shekinah" does not appear in the Bible, but over the years Jewish rabbis created it to mean the mystical "presence of the Lord." Being in the Shekinah glory of God is a privilege we should hunger for.
What is "mercy?" Mercy is being compassionate and kind to someone who doesn't deserve it. When the holy, righteous, and sinless God forgave man of their sins, it was an act of kindness the people didn't deserve. When blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, the Israelites received mercy instead of death.
When Jesus died on the cross, and shed His blood for us, and forgave our sins, He was being compassionate and kind to us, and we didn't deserve it either. We had deliberately disobeyed and rebelled against God. But He forgave us anyway. That's mercy.
The Mercy Seat was a symbol, or a type and shadow, of the cross. When the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place to sprinkle blood on the altar, he was merely a prophetic symbol of the day Jesus Himself would enter into the Holiest of All as the ultimate Lamb of God and offer His own blood on the Mercy Seat.
Ordinary people could not enter the Holiest of All themselves. The High Priest had to go in as their representatives. In the same way, you and I cannot go into the Shekinah glory of God on our own, because our own sins prevent us. We needed someone to go to God on our behalf. Jesus became our ultimate High Priest through His death on the cross and entered into the Shekinah glory for us.
He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus is the better High Priest because He has given a better sacrifice‘His very own life and blood. There was no place in the Holiest of All for the High Priest to sit down, because his work was never done.
But after His sacrifice, the Bible says Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father having finished the job He was sent to do.
by Becky Fischer
Excerpt permission granted by Kids In Ministry International
