17 "Now make a lid of pure gold for the Chest, an Atonement-Cover, three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide. 18 "Sculpt two winged angels out of hammered gold for either end of the Atonement-Cover, 19 one angel at one end, one angel at the other. Make them of one piece with the Atonement-Cover. 20 Make the angels with their wings spread, hovering over the Atonement-Cover, facing one another but looking down on it. 21 Set the Atonement-Cover as a lid over the Chest and place in the Chest The Testimony that I will give you. 22 I will meet you there at set times and speak with you from above the Atonement-Cover and from between the angel-figures that are on it, speaking the commands that I have for the Israelites. The Table
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 25:17-22
Commentary on Exodus 25:10-22
(Read Exodus 25:10-22)
The ark was a chest, overlaid with gold, in which the two tables of the law were to be kept. These tables are called the testimony; God in them testified his will. This law was a testimony to the Israelites, to direct them in their duty, and would be a testimony against them, if they transgressed. This ark was placed in the holy of holies; the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled, and the incense burned, before it, by the high priest; and above it appeared the visible glory, which was the symbol of the Divine presence. This was a type of Christ in his sinless nature, which saw no corruption, in personal union with his Divine nature, atoning for our sins against it, by his death. The cherubim of gold looked one towards another, and both looked downward toward the ark. It denotes the angels' attendance on the Redeemer, their readiness to do his will, their presence in the assemblies of saints, and their desire to look into the mysteries of the gospel. It was covered with a covering of gold, called the mercy-seat. God is said to dwell, or sit between the cherubim, on the mercy-seat. There he would give his law, and hear supplicants, as a prince on his throne.