One Piece

Within the tabernacle stood the Holy of Holies, the place where the High Priest would enter once a year to make atonement for the sin of Israel. It contained the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat that sat upon it.

The Ark contained the sin and rebellion of the people represented by the tablets of stone (the law), the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod. The Israelites had rebelled against Moses when he was receiving the tablets of stone, they had rebelled against Aarons’s leadership, and they had complained about God’s provision through the manna (Ex 32:19, Ex 16:8, Num 17:10).

The Mercy Seat was the lid or cover of the Ark.  At each end of the Mercy Seat, and of one piece with it, were two hammered gold cherubim facing one another. Their outstretched wings overshadowed the gold lid and their faces constantly looked down upon it. They were made of one piece of gold that had been hammered into shape. (from Biblehistory.com)

Even though casting at that time was known to the Israelites, God’s instruction was (Ex 37:7) “And he made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy seat;
:8 one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at the two ends.
:9And the cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.”

 Once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of sacrifice for himself and the people. That blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat to atone for sin. It was sprinkled over the Ark in which the sin of the people was represented.
The cherubim, who were angels of judgment, looked down at the blood that had been sprinkled over the sin and were appeased. Judgment was satisfied through the Mercy Seat.
Jesus Christ is our Mercy Seat today.

 It has been commented that the one piece of hammered gold represented the beating of Jesus Christ as He went to the Cross. In thinking of the number of times the one piece of gold had to be struck to form the Mercy Seat, how many were those strokes? It was one solid piece of gold. How many strokes were needed to form the cherubim, with wings and faces looking down and being one piece with the base?

How many times was the one piece of gold struck? 

 How many times was our Savior beaten and struck to bear the sin of the world? The once and for all suffering that Jesus endured for me is the one time in all eternity the sin debt was paid for. (Hebrew 7:27)

He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way to know God.
Jesus was beaten, struck, and hammered to form the perfect all together lovely Savior that now reigns forever. His blood now offers redemption and the forgiveness of sin for all who will accept His perfect sacrifice for them.
 One piece of gold, one Divine Savior, so that we could be united and be one with a holy God.

Thank You, Father, for Jesus.