Drawing Near To A Throne

When we look at the picture above as Americans living in AD 2025, we notice the Star Spangled Banner, and understand the setting is America. The round office, then, signals the Oval Office of America’s President. The donkey, the Democratic party. The elephant, the Republican party.

* * * 

If you are a Jewish Christian living in AD 65, what might you notice when you hear this? 

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16).

You might notice the term “high priest,” and remember one of the key roles of the high priest — as opposed to the other priests — was to enter the innermost section of the tabernacle in the desert, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to present the sin-offering (Lev. 16). You might notice the term “draw near” is one often used to refer to priests approaching God in the tabernacle (e.g., Lev. 9:7). You might notice the reference to a “throne,” a seat on which a king sits, and recall Exo. 25:17-22  that reads:

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. … And you shall make two cherubim of gold…on the two ends of the mercy seat. … The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark…. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel” (see picture below).

Did you notice how the “mercy seat,” found in the innermost section of the tabernacle, actually refers to the lid of the ark of the covenant? And how God says he will meet the high priest from above this “mercy seat” as if he will sit on this lid? And what do we call the seat on which a king sits?

A throne.

* * * 

Thanks to Jesus the new high priest, we can now directly approach the very presence of God seated on his throne in his throne room. We don’t need any human high priest to be the go-between. We don’t need to wait for the annual Day of Atonement. (We don’t even have to go to the physical tabernacle or the temple as we see in Heb. 8 since God is in the “true” tabernacle in heaven.)

But how do we, 21st century Northern Virginians, actually approach him, meet with him and speak with him?

Maybe we can ask E. M Bounds? He said “prayer is seeing God,” and I might add, “seated on his throne.”

---

Sam serves as one of the elders at ODPC EC. Please feel free to contact him at sam.kwon@odpcec.org with any questions or comments. Please join him and fellow brothers and sisters for the monthly study of Hebrews by signing up here.