The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover. – Exodus 37:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 11, 2015): Exodus 37

Richard I of England apparently lived for the fight. From the beginning of his reign until the end all we really know of Richard is that he was a military mastermind that seemed to not know how to run away from a good fight. In fact, nineteenth century historian Steven Runciman (or more properly Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman) comes to this conclusion about the king - "he was a bad son, a bad husband, and a bad king, but a gallant and splendid soldier" (History of the Crusades Vol. III). He loved to fight.

His desire to fight actually made him a very bad king from the beginning of his reign. Violence perpetrated by the king early in his reign prompted the Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Forde, to remark that “if the King is not God’s man, he had better be the devil’s.” But Richard repented of all of this in order to be considered worthy of participating in the Third Crusade and use his talents to fight for God. But the truth is that the lure for Richard had very little to do with God, and absolutely nothing to do with conquest – he simply desired and focused himself on the battle, and the victory that came after the battle was well fought. This was the only thing that the king wanted to know.

Here Moses describes the Mercy Seat, literally the cover that was placed on top of the Ark of the Covenant. And on top of the mercy seat were two angels (cherubim). These angels covered the entire mercy seat with their wings which touched in the middle of the seat. And the angels faced each other, or maybe more precisely they faced the center of the seat. As a whole, the Mercy Seat with the angels stretching out over the top of it signified the presence of God. And some have suggested that the angels were there as military protectors of God’s realm; that they were maybe there for the fight. But there is a problem with that interpretation. If this is true, then the angels should have been facing the other way, ready to fight, just like King Richard, any evil that came near to the realm of God. But the angels aren’t pointing outward toward the source of the problem, but rather inward toward the source of the solution – God’s mercy. Whatever evil might come, God was big enough to extend mercy to those in need of it.

For the Christian, Jesus has become our mercy seat. And our focus was never supposed to be on the fight, although you might not know that from listening to some Christians. Our focus is on the mercy that extends from Jesus and covers all who stand in need of it. Christians have never really needed the soldier for which King Richard stood; we have always been in need of the forgiveness and mercy for which Jesus stands. God’s mercy and grace has always been the solution for the world’s problems. We have just sometimes gotten so excited about the King Richard’s in our midst that we have forgotten that one fact.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 38