One of the most beautiful features of the Bible is that within the text we find constant reminders of the amazing plan G-D established from the moment of creation. His plan is told to us over and over, as we read through the text, page by page. The more one reads the Scriptures, the more these drop-in prophecies are revealed, and the more our faith in G-D is established line upon line.
Many of these prophetic clues were placed within some of the sections of Scripture that many of us skim through on our way to the more exciting portions. It is also important to remember that the Bible was not meant to be read as if it were a linear timeline, but as a cyclical experience. With this in mind, every page we turn connects with those pages that come after and with those that came before.
I refer to these clues as drop-in prophecies. They seem to simply be a part of the text being spoken or written as we first read them, but when we add them to the fullness of the Scriptures, they become hints of promises and fulfillments of promises. One who was familiar with the Scriptures could see the connections as if they were breadcrumbs dropped for one to follow.
One such drop-in prophecy is found within Exodus 25. The chapter begins with the telling of the instructions given to Moses on how to collect the materials required to build the tabernacle and the instructions on how to build each of the sacred items that would make up the tabernacle and its holy furnishings. In Exodus 25:18-20, we read the following instructions about the ark of the covenant:
You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end and the other cherub on the other end. From the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall stretch forth their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another. The faces of the cherubim are to face toward the mercy seat.
The description provides details about this beautiful piece of furniture: the ark. The ark of the covenant is one of, if not the main, focal points of the tabernacle, and later, the temple. The top of the ark was called the atonement cover and, as we read, on both sides of the ark were cheruvim (cherubim). Just to imagine how beautiful this golden ark would have been is pretty amazing. However, the beauty of these words doesn’t stop with the ark itself. The ark was part of a greater even more beautiful drop-in prophecy that we only understand once we enter the New Covenant writings. In John 20:11-14, we read:
But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Notice that here we find the place where Yeshua, our atonement, was placed on top of, and two angels who stood one on one side and one on the other. What a beautiful fulfillment of the purpose of the ark of the Covenant picture noted in Exodus 20! To understand more fully, remember the purpose of the ark was to carry the Testimony of G-D.
Now think about this. Just as many of the people of Israel didn’t recognize Messiah’s sacrifice that provided atonement, Miriam, didn’t recognize the very scene she entered into that morning as being the fullness of the purpose for the Tabernacle and the ark of the Testimony. It was only when Yeshua spoke the words, “Who are you looking for?” and then called her by name.
Miriam, like many others, was too caught-up in the tragedy of Yeshua’s death to see the fullness of G-D’s plan of redemption. She stood in the middle of that tomb looking directly at the place where our atonement was placed and where two angels stood facing each other and still didn’t see what was in front of her eyes, until she was asked point blank, “Who are you looking for?” Many, many drop-in prophecies were placed in the Scriptures so that as events took place, the people of Israel would recognize the plan of G-D being fulfilled before their eyes. Unfortunately, too many people were so caught-up in their own situations and understandings that they missed G-D’s perfect plan being brought forth in front of their eyes. Like so many today, they needed to be asked again, “Who are you looking for?” so they would be able to see the One they were supposed to be looking for: Yeshua.
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