What happened on the so-called Mercy Seat, and what does it have to do with Jesus?
The Greek word kapporeth refers to one thing–the lid on the Ark of the Covenant, which we usually all the “Mercy Seat.” In the Ark, Moses placed the tablets upon which God had written the Ten Commandments, which summarized and symbolized the Law. When He looked at the tablets, He would see His standard for the people–the standard they broke. However, once a year, on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), the high priest would sprinkle blood on the kapporeth. When God looked at the Law, He would see the blood as a reminder that the animal had died in place of the people.
When the Old Testament was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), the Greek word hilasterion was used for kapporeth. Hilasterion means “an expiatory” or a “propitiation.” The word hilasterion also appears in Hebrews.
…and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat [hilasterion]. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Hebrews 9:5)
It gets real interesting when Paul used hilasterion to refer to Jesus.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation [hilasterian] by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, (Romans 3:23-25)
Jesus was the ultimate hilasterion, or kapporeth. He stood between a holy God and sinful man. It is His blood that God sees when He looks at the broken Law. The blood on the kapporeth, or hilasterion, allowed God to be temporarily reconciled with His people. The blood of Jesus makes it permanent.
