Funny how one little word can open up a huge path to understanding God's work in our lives even more. I grew up going to church. I know I've heard this word...propitiation...used many times before. But last week, as I was rereading the book of Romans in the Bible, I came across these verses,
"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Laws and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith." (Romans 3:21-25a, NASB)
There's that word that I've heard so many times and yet, have a very vague understanding of what it means...propitiation. Given the context of the verses and the surrounding chapters, plus the sermons in which I've heard it mentioned, I had come to the conclusion that it means an atoning sacrifice. While I think that is true, the research about the word that I felt Holy Spirit led me to undertake revealed that just assuming it could be defined as an atoning sacrifice only scratched the surface of how deeply meaningful this word is.
If you've read more than a few of my previous blogs, you'll know that I am not a Biblical scholar. I am not seminary trained. I am not a pastor, preacher or at this point even teacher of the Word. I consider myself a student...hungry for more of God, more of His supernatural Spirit in my life and full of a yearning to draw closer to Him so that He can transform my life into becoming the godly woman He intended for me to be since He first thought of me. So my disclaimer will always be that this is what Holy Spirit revealed to me about His Word. I can't always back up my thoughts with concrete evidence...but usually just with blind faith...blind faith that He's doing a good thing in me and will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6)
Okay, disclaimer aside...after reading chapter 3 in Romans, I wanted to investigate just exactly what this word, propitiation, means. First place I looked was in my Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The Greek word used for propitiation is "hilasterion"
hilasterion- An expiatory (place or thing), i.e. (concrete) an atoning victim, or (specifically) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple):--mercy seat, propitiation.
What? The lid of the Ark? Mercy seat?
Wow! The wheels were turning now! Everything I could remember about the mercy seat started to come back to me. I knew from a study of Hebrews (that also included studying some of the sacrificial requirements of Leviticus) I did with some ladies at church about 15 years ago that this is where the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled. Correlations and sacrificial requirements started to fit together like pictures of a puzzle in my brain. The word picture of this and all the meaning behind it was opening up to me like never before. So I dug deeper.
When I looked up the word, propitiation, this passage in Romans is the only place it is used in the Greek. BUT, when I looked up the word, mercy seat...hilasterion IS used a second time in the New Testament. It's found in Hebrews 9:1-5
"Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, but of these things we cannot now speak in detail."
Right there in verse 5...the "mercy seat". I hope I'm not making too big of a leap here, but this was how Holy Spirit was teaching me and putting this all together...if Jesus is our "propitiation" (Romans 3:25) and that is also the word for "mercy seat" (Hebrews 9:5) what exactly was the mercy seat? And as the "lid of the Ark" (Strong's definition) what did it cover or contain?
When I researched "mercy seat" in the Old Testament or Hebrew definitions, I came up with nada...nothing. Actually, in Strong's Concordance, it said to see also Mercy and Seat. Well, there are no uses of seat in the Old Testament that refer to this mercy seat. They're all found under the word, mercy. And every reference in the Old Testament to the mercy seat is defined by the Hebrew word, kapporeth.
On it's surface, it seems like a rather insignificant word...
kapporeth- a lid (used only of the cover of the sacred Ark):--mercy seat.
But it's a derivative of the word, kaphar- to cover (specifically with bitumen): figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:--appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-iliation)
I never dreamed that such a little word, kapporeth or lid, could be full of so much meaning! Go along with me here...
Jesus is our "lid", our protective covering that placates, cancels, appeases, atones for, cleanses, disannuls, forgives, pacifies, pardons, purges away, puts off and makes reconciliation for MY sin...not His...mine! Wow! He is my covering...my protection!
"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:11-12)
But in the Old Testament there are a few more references. Some are for how the mercy seat was to be made...very detailed specifications to what materials should be used, measurements for the size and instructions for how it is to be constructed. Exodus 25 gives the instructions of how it was to be built and Exodus 37:1-9 describes in detail what this mercy seat looked like. If you've ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark,
you've seen a duplication of how it appeared.
But this isn't all...there is so much more! In Leviticus 10, we're told "Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD." (verses 1-2)
Leviticus 10:1-15 describes in exhaustive detail how Aaron was to make atonement for the sins of his sons. Aaron's cleansing ritual, just exactly how the animal sacrifices would be selected, how one "scapegoat" would be sent out into the wilderness [Just remembered how our "scapegoat" spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) before He began his earthly ministry, but not sure that's a correlation that could be drawn at this point?] and how the animals would be slaughtered and the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. All of this was done to atone for the prideful sin of Aaron's sons and the sins of the Israelites.
But I still had one more question about the mercy seat.(see above) "And as the lid of the Ark (Strong's definition) what did it contain?" Refer back to Hebrews 9:4. Inside the Ark was a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron's rod which budded and the tables of the covenant. Am I making too big of a leap to say that ALL of these were embodied or "covered" by the sacrificial life of Jesus? He definitely lived out the perfection of the Ten Commandments or "tables of the covenant". He also told us that He is the "Bread of Life" (see http://writingabetterstory-ab.blogspot.com/2010/09/bread-of-life.html ) Wasn't the manna God's "bread of life" to the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? So can I somehow find a correlation between Aaron's staff that budded?
I actually was not very familiar with this story of the Exodus. I had to look it up. And honestly, I was blown away by the significance of all that was coming together in my mind.
Aaron's rod buds in Numbers 17, but you have to back up to chapter 16 to understand the story. It seems that Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On together with 250 "leaders of the congregation...men of renown" "assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'" (Numbers 16:3)
We're told that when Moses heard this, "he fell on his face". Moses knew the sin of pride and arrogance would not go unpunished by the LORD. He had already told them "I will have no other gods before Me." And Moses walked so closely with God that in that moment (not after serious contemplation or a month of fasting), he knew what God would have him say to these arrogant men. It was a test of sorts.
Each of the men were to take censers (instruments used in offerings), "put fire in them, lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy." Kohath was even a descendant of Levi...the tribe responsible for the care of the tabernacle. It wasn't like he was a lowly Benjamite looking to attain some glory. More accurately, he was probably a man with a "little" piece of the action...but he wanted to be the BIG Kahuna. Do you see how his heart was in this for himself and not for the glory of God?
Well, you can guess what happened, right? When Korah and the 250 assembled before the doorway of the tabernacle, they brought "all the congregation" to stand against Aaron and Moses as well. God told Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." (Numbers 16:19) But the two humble men fell on their faces before God and begged Him to not be angry with the whole congregation because of the sins of one man. So instead, God told everyone to get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. He opened up the ground around their dwellings, "and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households and all the men who belong to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly." (Numbers 16:32-33) Fire also came from God and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.
And can you believe it? The very next day it says, "all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD's people." (Numbers 16:41)
Now, I don't know about you...but I pray that I would have learned from the earth swallowing up people and fire consuming even more to not question God's choice of which man would serve Him in the tabernacle. But I know there are things over which I continually "grumble" to the Lord. Am I any different when I bring the same worries and concerns to Him over and over again?
Read through any of my previous posts and you'll see a pattern of doubt and worry over His provision. But if I read Matthew 6:19-34, and claim to seek first God's kingdom and God's righteousness, I should be able to put a stake in the ground and count on the fact that God will add "all these things" (food and clothing) to me. (verse 33) He even says only the Gentiles (or heathens) eagerly seek "these things" (food and clothing) and that my "heavenly Father KNOWS that I need these things" (food and clothing). Am I any less faithful than the Israelites when I worry about "these things"? You can bet that when I am worrying about them, I obviously am not 'seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness!'
But back to the story of Aaron's budding rod. (I know, this has been a long back story...but we're almost there!) When the Israelites grumbled this time, God again said, "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." Did Moses and Aaron agree? NO! Yet again, they fell on their faces. But this time, they didn't even have a chance to plead for the lives of the people.
"Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun! Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. But those who died by the plague were 14,700 besides those who died on account of Korah." (Numbers 16:46-49)
Did you see it? Did you get the little nugget of glory that has made this VERY lengthy blog all worthwhile? Did you drink in what Aaron did? Right there, in verse 48..."He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked."
Aaron was the high priest that stood between the dead and the living. Can't we make the leap to the conclusion that in the same way Jesus is our High Priest that stands between the dead and the living so that the plague of death is checked?? Absolutely! Scripture tells us He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizadek (Hebrews 6:20-7:22). [To read more about Melchizadek, go to Genesis 14]
Is it any wonder then that to prove once and for all, when God asked one man from each tribe to write his name on a rod and allow Him to choose which man would serve as His holy high priest that He chose the rod of Aaron? God wanted no doubt...He didn't just make the rod bud...the next morning, it had "sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds." (Numbers 17:8, emphasis mine)
I can almost hear Him say, "Any questions? I didn't think so."
And yes, let's put that in the Ark and cover it with My perfect gold mercy seat so if you ever wonder Who is the Bread of Life, Who perfectly embodies my testimony/commandments to you or Who was chosen as My perfect High Priest...the One who stands between your life and the plague of death (physical and spiritual)...you'll remember it's all contained in the life of the Perfect Covering that is as pure as refined gold...the only One that can "cover" it all with His blood sacrifice.
Jesus is the mercy seat...the propitiation. Amen!
**To get even more background on all of this...for I fear my words can never do justice to all that is contained within this lesson to my heart...read Genesis 14; Exodus 25, 26, 30, 31, 35, 37, 39, 40; Leviticus 16; Numbers 16, 17; Matthew 26, 27, 28; Romans 3, 4; Hebrews 9, 10**
"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Laws and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith." (Romans 3:21-25a, NASB)
There's that word that I've heard so many times and yet, have a very vague understanding of what it means...propitiation. Given the context of the verses and the surrounding chapters, plus the sermons in which I've heard it mentioned, I had come to the conclusion that it means an atoning sacrifice. While I think that is true, the research about the word that I felt Holy Spirit led me to undertake revealed that just assuming it could be defined as an atoning sacrifice only scratched the surface of how deeply meaningful this word is.
If you've read more than a few of my previous blogs, you'll know that I am not a Biblical scholar. I am not seminary trained. I am not a pastor, preacher or at this point even teacher of the Word. I consider myself a student...hungry for more of God, more of His supernatural Spirit in my life and full of a yearning to draw closer to Him so that He can transform my life into becoming the godly woman He intended for me to be since He first thought of me. So my disclaimer will always be that this is what Holy Spirit revealed to me about His Word. I can't always back up my thoughts with concrete evidence...but usually just with blind faith...blind faith that He's doing a good thing in me and will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6)
Okay, disclaimer aside...after reading chapter 3 in Romans, I wanted to investigate just exactly what this word, propitiation, means. First place I looked was in my Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The Greek word used for propitiation is "hilasterion"
hilasterion- An expiatory (place or thing), i.e. (concrete) an atoning victim, or (specifically) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple):--mercy seat, propitiation.
What? The lid of the Ark? Mercy seat?
Wow! The wheels were turning now! Everything I could remember about the mercy seat started to come back to me. I knew from a study of Hebrews (that also included studying some of the sacrificial requirements of Leviticus) I did with some ladies at church about 15 years ago that this is where the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled. Correlations and sacrificial requirements started to fit together like pictures of a puzzle in my brain. The word picture of this and all the meaning behind it was opening up to me like never before. So I dug deeper.
When I looked up the word, propitiation, this passage in Romans is the only place it is used in the Greek. BUT, when I looked up the word, mercy seat...hilasterion IS used a second time in the New Testament. It's found in Hebrews 9:1-5
"Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, but of these things we cannot now speak in detail."
Right there in verse 5...the "mercy seat". I hope I'm not making too big of a leap here, but this was how Holy Spirit was teaching me and putting this all together...if Jesus is our "propitiation" (Romans 3:25) and that is also the word for "mercy seat" (Hebrews 9:5) what exactly was the mercy seat? And as the "lid of the Ark" (Strong's definition) what did it cover or contain?
When I researched "mercy seat" in the Old Testament or Hebrew definitions, I came up with nada...nothing. Actually, in Strong's Concordance, it said to see also Mercy and Seat. Well, there are no uses of seat in the Old Testament that refer to this mercy seat. They're all found under the word, mercy. And every reference in the Old Testament to the mercy seat is defined by the Hebrew word, kapporeth.
On it's surface, it seems like a rather insignificant word...
kapporeth- a lid (used only of the cover of the sacred Ark):--mercy seat.
But it's a derivative of the word, kaphar- to cover (specifically with bitumen): figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:--appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-iliation)
I never dreamed that such a little word, kapporeth or lid, could be full of so much meaning! Go along with me here...
Jesus is our "lid", our protective covering that placates, cancels, appeases, atones for, cleanses, disannuls, forgives, pacifies, pardons, purges away, puts off and makes reconciliation for MY sin...not His...mine! Wow! He is my covering...my protection!
"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:11-12)
But in the Old Testament there are a few more references. Some are for how the mercy seat was to be made...very detailed specifications to what materials should be used, measurements for the size and instructions for how it is to be constructed. Exodus 25 gives the instructions of how it was to be built and Exodus 37:1-9 describes in detail what this mercy seat looked like. If you've ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark,
you've seen a duplication of how it appeared.
But this isn't all...there is so much more! In Leviticus 10, we're told "Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD." (verses 1-2)
Leviticus 10:1-15 describes in exhaustive detail how Aaron was to make atonement for the sins of his sons. Aaron's cleansing ritual, just exactly how the animal sacrifices would be selected, how one "scapegoat" would be sent out into the wilderness [Just remembered how our "scapegoat" spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) before He began his earthly ministry, but not sure that's a correlation that could be drawn at this point?] and how the animals would be slaughtered and the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. All of this was done to atone for the prideful sin of Aaron's sons and the sins of the Israelites.
But I still had one more question about the mercy seat.(see above) "And as the lid of the Ark (Strong's definition) what did it contain?" Refer back to Hebrews 9:4. Inside the Ark was a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron's rod which budded and the tables of the covenant. Am I making too big of a leap to say that ALL of these were embodied or "covered" by the sacrificial life of Jesus? He definitely lived out the perfection of the Ten Commandments or "tables of the covenant". He also told us that He is the "Bread of Life" (see http://writingabetterstory-ab.blogspot.com/2010/09/bread-of-life.html ) Wasn't the manna God's "bread of life" to the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? So can I somehow find a correlation between Aaron's staff that budded?
I actually was not very familiar with this story of the Exodus. I had to look it up. And honestly, I was blown away by the significance of all that was coming together in my mind.
Aaron's rod buds in Numbers 17, but you have to back up to chapter 16 to understand the story. It seems that Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On together with 250 "leaders of the congregation...men of renown" "assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'" (Numbers 16:3)
We're told that when Moses heard this, "he fell on his face". Moses knew the sin of pride and arrogance would not go unpunished by the LORD. He had already told them "I will have no other gods before Me." And Moses walked so closely with God that in that moment (not after serious contemplation or a month of fasting), he knew what God would have him say to these arrogant men. It was a test of sorts.
Each of the men were to take censers (instruments used in offerings), "put fire in them, lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy." Kohath was even a descendant of Levi...the tribe responsible for the care of the tabernacle. It wasn't like he was a lowly Benjamite looking to attain some glory. More accurately, he was probably a man with a "little" piece of the action...but he wanted to be the BIG Kahuna. Do you see how his heart was in this for himself and not for the glory of God?
Well, you can guess what happened, right? When Korah and the 250 assembled before the doorway of the tabernacle, they brought "all the congregation" to stand against Aaron and Moses as well. God told Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." (Numbers 16:19) But the two humble men fell on their faces before God and begged Him to not be angry with the whole congregation because of the sins of one man. So instead, God told everyone to get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. He opened up the ground around their dwellings, "and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households and all the men who belong to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly." (Numbers 16:32-33) Fire also came from God and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.
And can you believe it? The very next day it says, "all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD's people." (Numbers 16:41)
Now, I don't know about you...but I pray that I would have learned from the earth swallowing up people and fire consuming even more to not question God's choice of which man would serve Him in the tabernacle. But I know there are things over which I continually "grumble" to the Lord. Am I any different when I bring the same worries and concerns to Him over and over again?
Read through any of my previous posts and you'll see a pattern of doubt and worry over His provision. But if I read Matthew 6:19-34, and claim to seek first God's kingdom and God's righteousness, I should be able to put a stake in the ground and count on the fact that God will add "all these things" (food and clothing) to me. (verse 33) He even says only the Gentiles (or heathens) eagerly seek "these things" (food and clothing) and that my "heavenly Father KNOWS that I need these things" (food and clothing). Am I any less faithful than the Israelites when I worry about "these things"? You can bet that when I am worrying about them, I obviously am not 'seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness!'
But back to the story of Aaron's budding rod. (I know, this has been a long back story...but we're almost there!) When the Israelites grumbled this time, God again said, "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." Did Moses and Aaron agree? NO! Yet again, they fell on their faces. But this time, they didn't even have a chance to plead for the lives of the people.
"Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun! Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. But those who died by the plague were 14,700 besides those who died on account of Korah." (Numbers 16:46-49)
Did you see it? Did you get the little nugget of glory that has made this VERY lengthy blog all worthwhile? Did you drink in what Aaron did? Right there, in verse 48..."He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked."
Aaron was the high priest that stood between the dead and the living. Can't we make the leap to the conclusion that in the same way Jesus is our High Priest that stands between the dead and the living so that the plague of death is checked?? Absolutely! Scripture tells us He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizadek (Hebrews 6:20-7:22). [To read more about Melchizadek, go to Genesis 14]
Is it any wonder then that to prove once and for all, when God asked one man from each tribe to write his name on a rod and allow Him to choose which man would serve as His holy high priest that He chose the rod of Aaron? God wanted no doubt...He didn't just make the rod bud...the next morning, it had "sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds." (Numbers 17:8, emphasis mine)
I can almost hear Him say, "Any questions? I didn't think so."
And yes, let's put that in the Ark and cover it with My perfect gold mercy seat so if you ever wonder Who is the Bread of Life, Who perfectly embodies my testimony/commandments to you or Who was chosen as My perfect High Priest...the One who stands between your life and the plague of death (physical and spiritual)...you'll remember it's all contained in the life of the Perfect Covering that is as pure as refined gold...the only One that can "cover" it all with His blood sacrifice.
Jesus is the mercy seat...the propitiation. Amen!
**To get even more background on all of this...for I fear my words can never do justice to all that is contained within this lesson to my heart...read Genesis 14; Exodus 25, 26, 30, 31, 35, 37, 39, 40; Leviticus 16; Numbers 16, 17; Matthew 26, 27, 28; Romans 3, 4; Hebrews 9, 10**
Excellent work and study Angela, Shalom, CH at ch111n1trinity@yahoo.com
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