Message 86
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:17-22; Lev. 16:14-15
In the two foregoing messages we considered the materials of the ark, the dimensions of the ark, and the rim of gold around the top of the ark. We have also considered the four rings of gold and the two poles used for the move of the ark. In this message we shall consider from 25:17-22 the propitiatory cover which was put on the ark.
Exodus 25:17 says, “And you shall make a propitiatory cover of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its width.” This propitiatory cover was the lid of the ark. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made before the time of Christ) the word hilasterion is used to translate the Hebrew word for propitiatory cover. This Greek word is a noun form of the Greek verb hilaskomai. Hilaskomaimeans to appease, to reconcile two parties by satisfying the demand of one upon the other, that is, to propitiate. According to Hebrews 2:17, the Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God’s righteous demands on us.
Suppose a certain party is indebted to another party. However, he is not able to fulfill the demands of the second party. There seems to be no way to settle this problem. Then a third party comes on the scene and, on behalf of the first party, fulfills the requirements of the second party, thus appeasing the second party. In this way, the first party is reconciled to the second, for the demands of the second party have been satisfied. The Greek word hilaskomai refers to such a transaction in which reconciliation is brought about through the appeasement of a particular party and the satisfaction of his requirement. Christ has reconciled us to God by satisfying God’s demands on us.
The Greek word for propitiation, hilasterion, is different from hilasmos in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10. Hilasmos denotes that which propitiates, that is, a propitiatory sacrifice. According to 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, the Lord Jesus is the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. Christ is not only the One who reconciles us to God by fulfilling God’s requirements and appeasing Him, but He is also the propitiatory sacrifice. He sacrificed Himself that we may be reconciled to God.
We have seen that Christ is the One who makes propitiation to God for us as well as the One who is the propitiatory sacrifice. In Romans 3:25 Paul says that Christ is our propitiation-cover. God has set forth Christ to be our hilasterion, our propitiatory cover. This means that as the hilasterion Christ is also the very place where God is able to meet with us, His redeemed people, and talk to us. Therefore, Christ is the One who propitiates, He is the propitiatory sacrifice, and He is the propitiatory cover, the place where God and His redeemed people meet together.
As the propitiatory sacrifice and as the One who has made propitiation to God on our behalf, Christ is also the place, called the propitiation-cover in Romans 3:25, where we can meet with God. The Septuagint uses hilasterion for the lid, or cover, of the ark. Paul uses this word to refer to Christ as the propitiation-cover. No doubt, when Paul was writing Romans 3:25 he had in mind a picture of the propitiatory cover placed on the ark of the testimony. (See note 251 in Romans 3, Recovery Version.)
As we study the description of the propitiatory cover in Exodus 25:17-22 and seek to understand its significance for our spiritual experience, we need to receive light through the Word and not mere knowledge. Our goal in reading the Bible should be to receive light and not simply to gain objective knowledge. Therefore, we need to guard against unnecessary questionings and thoughts which interfere with the shining of the light through the Word. On the one hand, we need to ask meaningful questions concerning what we read in the Bible. On the other hand, we need to avoid useless questions, questions which have no answers. When we read the account of the propitiatory cover in Exodus, we may be snared by such questions. For example, some may ask if the cherubim on the ark are angels. Others may want to know the weight of the cherubim or how many faces they have. Some may try to figure out the thickness of the propitiatory cover, realizing that the length and the width are given, but not the thickness. Some readers may ask if the cherubim and the lid of the ark were all one piece of gold. Other readers may wonder how the cherubim can have their faces toward each other and also toward the lid of the ark. In this message we shall not be concerned with questions such as these. Rather, our aim is to consider those matters crucial for our spiritual understanding and experience. Thus, we come to these verses not to find answers to unnecessary questions, but to obtain light from the Lord.
The propitiatory cover signifies Christ as the cover of God’s righteous law. It also signifies Him as the place where God speaks to His redeemed people in grace. Hence, the propitiatory cover equals God’s throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).
Verse 17 says that the propitiatory cover was made of pure gold. Gold here signifies Christ’s pure divine nature.
The size of the propitiatory cover was “two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its width.” The dimensions of the propitiatory cover signify a testimony.
Exodus 25:18 says, “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work you shall make them, from the two ends of the propitiatory cover.” The cherubim signify God’s glory (Ezek. 10:18; Heb. 9:5). We do not know whether or not the cherubim are angels, but we do know that they are related to God’s glory. Hebrews 9:5 speaks of the cherubim of glory, and Ezekiel 10:18 says that God’s glory left the temple and stood above the cherubim. Thus, the cherubim are related to God’s glory and signify His glory. The cherubim on the propitiatory cover indicate that Christ expresses God’s glory, that God’s glory shines out from Him. The cherubim were on the cover, and the cover is Christ. This means that the glory of God shines out of Christ and upon Christ.
The cherubim were made of gold, of Christ’s divine nature, and they were made of beaten work, indicating Christ’s sufferings.
Verse 19 says, “And make one cherub from this end, and one cherub from that end; from the propitiatory cover you shall make the cherubim upon its two ends.” The cherubim on the two ends of the propitiatory cover signify testimony. The fact that the cherubim were one with the propitiatory cover indicates that God’s glory comes out of Christ being the propitiatory cover to be a testimony.
Verse 20 says, “And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, covering over with their wings the propitiatory cover, with their faces each toward the other; toward the propitiatory cover the faces of the cherubim shall be.” The wings of the cherubim covered the propitiatory cover. This means that God’s glory is expressed in Christ to be a full testimony. The faces of the cherubim were toward each other and toward the propitiatory cover. This signifies that God’s glory watches over and observes what Christ has done.
Verse 21 says, “And you shall put the propitiatory cover upon the ark from above, and into the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give you.” Here we are told that the propitiatory cover was put upon the ark from above. This signifies Christ as the propitiatory cover covering the law within the ark.
The first part of verse 22 says, “And I will meet with you there.” This indicates that God met with His people in the propitiating Christ.
In verse 22 God also says that He “will speak with you from above the propitiatory cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, all that I shall command you concerning the sons of Israel.” This means that God speaks to His people from the glory expressed in the propitiating Christ as His testimony.
We have seen that the cherubim signify God’s glory shining out from Christ. Thus, for God to speak to His people from between the cherubim means that He speaks to us in the midst of His glory. God does not meet with His redeemed people in any place other than the midst of His glory. God cannot meet with us in any other place or in any other condition. Whenever God meets with us, that meeting must take place in the midst of His glory. We can testify of this from our experience. Whenever we meet with God, we sense that we are in the midst of glory, a glory like that signified by the cherubim on the cover of the ark. On the day we repented and believed in the Lord Jesus, we were brought into a realm of glory. God never meets with us in darkness. On the contrary, He always meets with us in glory and speaks to us from between the cherubim of glory.
When we listen to someone speaking in a meeting, as long as that speaking is the word of the Lord, we should have the sense that we are in glory. Whenever the word of God is spoken in the ministry, we sense glory within us. Many preachers today are eloquent. But when you hear them speak, you do not have any sense of God’s glory. You may admire their eloquence and appreciate their knowledge, but there is no sense of God’s glory. However, when you listen to the genuine ministry of the Word, you are attracted, not by eloquence or knowledge but by a sense of God’s glory. After you return home, the glory may follow you. Years later, you may still recall the glory you sensed in that meeting. From our experience we know that God meets with us in the midst of His glory and speaks to us in His glory. Even when God speaks to a sinner, God speaks to him in His glory.
The glory in which God meets with us and in which He speaks to us is the shining of Christ. The cherubim signify Christ shining. We may use electricity to illustrate this shining. The meeting hall is illuminated by the shining of lights, which are actually the shining of electricity. Hence, in the meeting hall we meet together under the shining of electricity. In like manner, the cherubim are Christ shining, or the shining of Christ.
What kind of Christ is this shining Christ? We have pointed out that the ark was made of acacia wood overlaid within and without with gold. Acacia wood typifies Christ’s humanity, and gold signifies His divinity. The propitiatory cover was made of pure gold; it did not contain any acacia wood. This indicates that the shining of Christ, who is the effulgence of God’s glory, is divine. However, Christ’s divinity is not the base for this shining. Rather, the base for His shining is the acacia wood used to make the ark. It was not the gold which bore the acacia wood; it was the acacia wood which bore the gold. With His humanity as the base, Christ expresses divinity. In our experience today, we need the humanity of Jesus in order to express Christ’s divine nature.
Exodus 25:17 tells us the length and width of the propitiatory cover, but it does not tell us the thickness of the cover. Therefore, we do not know the weight of the lid of the ark. The fact that the thickness is not given and that the weight is not known indicates that the weight of Christ is immeasurable. No one can say how weighty Christ is. Experientially speaking, His weight is according to what we are able to bear. If you are able to bear a lid of one pound in weight, then Christ to you weighs one pound. But to someone else who is able to bear more of Christ, Christ may weigh fifty pounds. How heavy Christ is to us depends on how much of Him we are able to bear. I am concerned that some saints are able to bear only an extremely small amount of Christ.
Furthermore, we are not told anything in Exodus 25 about the form, size, or weight of the cherubim. This indicates that the glory of Christ’s shining is immeasurable. It also indicates that Christ’s glory is unexplainable. Just as we cannot describe the cherubim, so we cannot explain the glory of Christ’s shining. However, we know from the fact that the cherubim had faces and wings that this glory is not lifeless, but is something living. Christ’s glory is living. We may even say that this glory has a face, eyes, and wings. From our experience we know that when God meets with us and speaks with us, we have the sense that glory is watching over us and that this glory is living. Actually, this glory is the very Christ Himself. Thus, the general concept of the propitiatory cover in Exodus 25 is that it signifies that Christ is the shining of the divine glory and that God meets with us and speaks with us in this glory. As we consider the account of the propitiatory cover in 25:17-22, we need to center our attention on this crucial point and not be distracted by questions which have no answers.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the propitiation-cover with the cherubim signifies Christ shining. It also signifies that the glory of God as the shining of Christ is living. It is something with a face, eyes, and wings. To have a proper understanding of this, we need light from God and also a certain amount of spiritual experience. Apart from being enlightened by the Lord, we may read these verses again and again without seeing anything of their significance. But when the light shines upon us, we realize that the propitiatory cover with the cherubim is nothing less than our dear Lord Jesus Himself. Whenever God meets with us and speaks with us, this precious Christ is present. Actually, it is in this shining Christ that God meets with us and speaks with us. When we realize this, we may say, “Lord, You Yourself are this very propitiatory cover. Without You, Lord, there is no place where God can meet with me or I can meet with Him. Lord, without You as the propitiatory cover God cannot meet with me or speak with me in glory.”
At this point we need to consider an important question: How can we, who are so sinful, natural, and full of offenses, meet with God in the glorious Christ? We have offended God, and we have offended other people. How, then, can we meet with God in the shining Christ? In 25:17-22, a record which describes the propitiatory cover of the ark, nothing is said which can answer our question. For the answer we need to turn to Leviticus 16:14 and 15. Speaking of the high priest on the day of atonement, these verses say, “And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the propitiatory cover eastward; and before the propitiatory cover shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the propitiatory cover, and before the propitiatory cover” (lit.). As we shall see, the crucial matter here is the sprinkling of the blood upon the propitiatory cover.
On the day of atonement sacrifices were offered on the altar in the outer court. The blood of the animals shed on the altar for atonement was a promissory note of the true redemption accomplished by Christ. When Christ came to accomplish redemption by shedding His blood on the cross, the promissory note was then set aside. What we have today in New Testament times is not atonement, but redemption. In Old Testament times blood was shed on the altar for atonement. This typifies the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for redemption. In the Old Testament we have the altar and atonement; in the New Testament we have the cross and redemption. The blood shed on the altar for atonement was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the lid of the ark, the propitiatory cover. In fact, the blood was sprinkled on the lid seven times, signifying completeness. Through the sprinkling of the blood, the golden lid became red in color. Because of the blood sprinkled on the propitiatory cover, sinners could have fellowship with the righteous God. Therefore, because of the blood of redemption, we today can have fellowship with the righteous God in the glory of Christ.
The propitiatory cover of the ark covered the law, the Ten Commandments, which had been placed in the ark. Then on the day of atonement this cover was sprinkled with the blood. This indicates that when God speaks to sinners in the glory of Christ, He does not see the righteous law — He sees only the blood on the propitiatory cover. Without the cover with the blood sprinkled on it, God would see the Ten Commandments. As a result, we would be condemned, for we have all broken the law of God. God would have no way to meet with us or speak with us. Instead, according to His righteousness, He would have to condemn us to death. But when God comes to us in the glory of Christ, He does not see the requirements of His righteous law, and He does not see our sins. Instead, He sees the redeeming blood on the propitiatory cover.
Many of us can testify that this matter of the blood on the propitiatory cover is not a mere doctrine. It is very real in our experience with the Lord. When we repented, God met us and spoke to us. At that time we had the deep sense that we were washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now whenever we meet with God in glory, we have the sense deep within that we are washed by the blood. This is the propitiatory cover in our experience.
We have pointed out that the propitiatory cover was made of pure gold. It did not contain acacia wood, which typifies the humanity of the Lord Jesus. However, the blood of Jesus certainly was derived from His human nature. Christ’s humanity is for redeeming and His divinity is for shining. The cherubim on the propitiatory cover signify Christ’s shining with His divinity, and the blood sprinkled on the cover signifies His humanity for redeeming. Therefore, we have here a picture of Christ not only as God, but also as man, even the God-man. As God, Christ shines in His divinity, but as man, He accomplished redemption in His humanity, signified by the blood. Now, because of Christ’s divinity and humanity, we and God can meet together and talk together in the redeeming and shining Christ. This is Christ as the propitiatory cover, as the place where God and we meet together.
The King James Version speaks of the “mercy seat” instead of the propitiatory cover. The word seat implies that the lid of the ark was the place for God to sit when He talks with us. The word mercy indicates that God showed mercy to people. Actually, the lid of the ark is not a mercy seat; it is a propitiatory cover with the shining of Christ’s divinity and the redeeming of Christ’s humanity as the place where we can meet and speak with our righteous, holy, and glorious God. This place is Jesus Christ Himself, the One who is both God and man. In His humanity Christ shed His blood to redeem us, and in His divinity He shines with God’s glory. Today He is for us the redeeming and shining Christ as the place where the righteous, holy, and glorious God can meet with fallen sinners.
The propitiatory cover in Exodus 25 mentioned by Paul in Romans 3:25 must be considered part of the central vision of Paul’s completing ministry. Paul is the one who speaks of the propitiatory cover, of the cherubim of glory, and of Christ making propitiation for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). Paul presents Christ as the hilasterion, the propitiatory cover, with His shining divinity and redeeming humanity. Here, upon the propitiatory cover and in the midst of the shining of His glory, God can meet with us and converse with us. This is the place where we hear His voice and learn the desire of His heart. No doubt, this was the place where Paul received the revelation of the completing ministry. In our experience day by day we also need to meet with God at the propitiatory cover and in His glory.
Without the propitiatory cover, there is no way for us to enjoy the ark. The ark can become our enjoyment only because of the lid which covers it. If the ark did not have the propitiatory cover as a lid, we could not come to God, and God could not come to us. The ark would still exist, but there would be no way for us to have contact with it. The propitiatory cover is needed by both God and us for the ark to become our enjoyment. Now because of the propitiatory cover, we have a way to meet with God and speak with Him.
The propitiatory cover is also related to the testimony. The more God meets with us and speaks with us, and the more we meet with God and listen to His speaking, the more of the testimony of God there will be in our experience. The function of the ark of testimony depends on the cover. The ark’s usefulness as the ark of testimony is altogether dependent on the cover. Because of the cover on the ark, the ark becomes our enjoyment and God’s testimony.
May we all look to the Lord and pray that He will give us light concerning the propitiatory cover and its significance for our spiritual experience. We should not be satisfied simply to interpret the types in Exodus in a doctrinal way. By the Lord’s mercy, we need to see the significance of these types for our experience. On the one hand, the light confirms our experience of the Lord; on the other hand, it causes our experience of Christ to increase. Praise the Lord for the glorious, wonderful Christ who is the propitiatory cover! We do not have the utterance adequate to describe such a Christ, but we have seen Him, we have experienced Him, and we are enjoying Him.
