i love word pictures

propitiation is only used four times in the bible. here is the word picture i just learned. propitiation is another word for the mercy seat on the arc of the covenant. the arc was a gold covered wooden box about 3 feet long that held the tablets of the law given to moses. on the ends of the arc were cherubims with their wings spanning over the arc to where they were almost touching each other. God hovered over the arc and His presence was between the wings of the cherubim looking down on the mercy seat. and what He saw was the tablets of the law inside the arc which everyone in israel had broken. once a year on the day of atonement the high priest would enter the holy of holies to make atonement for the people. He entered to make propitiation. the word propitiation in greek means to be satisfied. what the high priest did was take a basin of blood from a sacrificed animal and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat so now when God looked down thru the cherubim wings He did not see the law inside the arc He saw the blood which covered that law which could not be kept by anyone. this was symbolic of the blood of Jesus that would be shed on the cross and that blood would be enough to cover our sin no matter who we were or what we had done. when God sees the blood of His Son Jesus He is satisfied and we are not considered guilty grace is accomplished thru propitiation. just like when the israelites placed the blood over their door posts in egypt God promised them that when He saw the blood He would pass over them. when He sees the blood on the doorposts of our hearts He says I am satisfied and we are forgiven. thank you dr. david jeremiah i think i'll remember this. (september 20, 2007 broadcast)