Exodus 37:2 says of the Ark, “And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside.” Christ not only manifests God Himself outwardly, but what is within Christ is also God Himself. Both what Christ manifested without and what Christ is within are God Himself. God dwells within Christ and fills Him. At the same time God is manifested upon Christ. Christ is filled with God on the inside, and Christ is “overlaid” with God on the outside.
However, the form of the Ark was not of the gold. The form, the shape, of the Ark was of the acacia wood. The wood formed the shape of the Ark. The manifestation was the gold, but the form was the wood. In the Gospel of John we may see both the form of Christ and the manifestation of Christ. The form of Christ in this Gospel is of a real man, signified by the acacia wood. As a man He was thirsty; He came to a woman, asking for a drink of water (John 4:7). As a man He was wearied on His journey (v. 6). Once He wept (11:35), and once He washed others’ feet (13:5). He was altogether in the form of a man. He has the form of the acacia wood.
However, in the Gospel of John the manifestation of Christ is not of a man. The manifestation of Christ is God. He was God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). As a real man, in the form of a man, He came to a woman, asking for a drink of water, but the manifestation of this man and the content of this man was something not merely human. Someone very unique came to that woman that day. This very Someone was God manifested. On the one hand, He was in the form of a man, but on the other hand, He was the manifestation of God. He was filled with God. He is the Ark made of acacia wood and overlaid inside and outside with gold. He is the unique One, the wonderful One, with the real form of real humanity, but as the manifestation of God and with the content of God. What He is filled with is God Himself, and what He manifests is God Himself, yet in the form of a man. The form of the Ark was of the wood but the appearance and the content of the Ark were of gold.
The Ark was the unique content of the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was ten cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high (Exo. 36:9-15; cf. 1 Kings 6:20). It was a cube of ten cubits. This means in type that it is something altogether perfect. Within this perfect place there was the Ark as the testimony of God. This testimony is a living person as the embodiment of all that God is. This living person is composed and constituted with the human nature as His form and with the divine nature as His content and manifestation. Within Christ as the testimony of God are the very constituents of God, represented by the Ten Commandments of the law, and upon Him is the appearance of God.
Exodus 37:6-9 tells us that upon the Ark there was a cover which was called the expiation cover. It was the cover, but it was also a seat. This seat, this cover, was the very spot where man could meet God and God could meet man. God and man met together at this seat as the cover of the Ark.
If the Ark were uncovered and one were to come into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the very presence of God, he would immediately find the Ten Commandments which would show him where he was and testify what he was. He would find the commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (20:12). This commandment would right away testify what he was. He may immediately be condemned by this commandment because he may not have been one who honored his parents. The open Ark would condemn him.
However, what is depicted in these verses is not an open Ark. All the commandments were covered by the expiation cover, and this cover became the seat where God could meet man and man could meet God. The blood of the sin offering was brought into the Holy of Holies to be sprinkled on the expiation cover (Lev. 16:14, 15). Without the covering and without the shedding of blood to redeem us from our sins, the testimony of God, which is Christ Himself to testify what God is and to show us what we are, would be a condemnation to us. But, praise the Lord, there is a covering, there is a redemption. He died on the cross, shedding His blood to redeem us and to provide a cover. By this cover we could meet God and God could meet us, with all the problems between man and God having been resolved. With this cover, with this seat of mercy, there is the reconciliation between God and man.
Upon the expiation cover there were two cherubim (Exo. 37:7-9), signifying the glory of God (Heb. 9:5). The glory of God is the manifestation of God. God manifested is glory. We may compare glory to the shining of electrical lights, which is the glory of the electricity. When God shines Himself out, He becomes the glory. God is manifested in Christ, so upon Christ you can see the glory of God.
The two cherubim signify the glory of God, that is, the manifestation of God. This manifestation, this glory of God, is the testimony. Exodus 37 tells us that there was not only one cherub but two cherubim. Two is the number of testimony. The glory of God becomes the testimony of God, and the testimony of God becomes the glory of God. Upon Christ and with Christ there is the manifestation of God which is the glory of God, and this manifestation as the glory of God is the testimony of God. This truth is very rich and very deep in thought and meaning.
With the Ark there are three requirements which must be fulfilled in order that we may meet with God. The first requirement is the glory of God. If one would come into the Holy of Holies, he would immediately see the two cherubim, representing the glory of God. The second requirement is the holiness of God, signified by the gold. The cherubim were made of gold. The Ark was covered with the golden expiation cover, and the Ark itself was overlaid with gold. Gold represents the holy nature of God. The third requirement is the righteousness of God. If one looked into the Ark, he would see the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments represent what God is, and they become the requirement of God toward us. The requirements of the Ten Commandments are simply the righteousness of God.
The glory of God, the holiness of God, and the righteousness of God become the requirements which must be fulfilled before we can meet with God. Without meeting these three requirements, we could never meet God and stand before Him. Rather, we would die before Him. God is a God of glory, a God of holiness, and a God of righteousness. At the Ark, the two cherubim require something of us, the golden nature requires something of us, and the Ten Commandments require something of us.
Praise the Lord that upon the Ark is also the expiation cover, upon which the redeeming blood is sprinkled. This settles all problems and meets all the requirements. The seat of God, in principle, is a seat of judgment (Rev. 20:11-12). But at the Ark, the seat of judgment becomes a seat of mercy. Without the shedding of blood, the Lord Himself as the testimony of God with the glory of God, the holiness of God, and the righteousness of God, could only be a judgment seat to us. But because of the shedding of His redeeming blood, His redemption for us, He became an expiation cover to us. Therefore, at the expiation cover, by His redemption through the shedding of His blood, we can meet God, we can fellowship with God, we can come into contact with God, and we can even become one with God.