Propitiation

	Most of the words that we have discussed so far have been familiar ones that we might use in every-day conversation.  There are some biblical words, though, which are not quite as common. One such word is "propitiation."
	Some of the terms which we might use to describe "propitiation" are not very useful, since they are at least as obscure. For example, one who provides propitiation is called propitious. To offer propitiation is to expiate.  But what do these words mean?
	"Propitious" means to be "favorably inclined."  It relates to winning or regaining the good will of someone.  "Expiate" means to make amends for wrongdoing or guilt.  So propitiation is an appeasement.  There is a severed relationship which is repaired through propitiation.
	There are some related words which might be more familiar.
	"But the tax-gatherer," we read in Luke 18:13, "standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'"
	What the publican literally says is, "God, be propitious to me."  Propitiation is associated with God's mercy.
	"Now all {these} things are from God," 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 explains, "who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
	Propitiation involves a reconciliation.
	"And not only this," Romans 5:11 notes, "but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
	Some translations use the word "atonement" instead of "reconciliation," since both words have the same meaning.  Atonement means exactly what it says.  It makes two parties "at one."
	We find an example of propitiation in Genesis chapter 32.  Jacob is returning to see his brother Esau after a long separation resulting from Jacob's deception.
	"And he commanded the one in front," Genesis 32:17-20 records, "saying, 'When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, "To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these {animals} in front of you belong?" then you shall say, "{These} belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us."'  Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, 'After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and you shall say, "Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us."'  For he said, 'I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.'"
	Jacob tries to appease his bother by presenting a gift of reconciliation.  He offers a propitiation.
	What, then, is spiritual propitiation?  It involves the atonement which God, through His mercy, provides to reconcile us with Him.  The biblical word involves a covering.  In fact, the Old Testament uses the word to describe the object which was both the literal and symbolic covering for the ark of the covenant.
	"And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide," Exodus 25:17-22 charges.  "And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.  And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim {of one piece} with the mercy seat at its two ends.  And the cherubim shall have {their} wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be {turned} toward the mercy seat.  And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel."
	This "mercy seat" was literally called the "propitiatory."  It formed the physical covering for the ark.  But it also provided a symbolic covering.
	"Moreover," Leviticus 16:14-16 instructs regarding the high priest Aaron, "he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle {it} with his finger on the mercy seat on the east {side}; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.  Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.  And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities."
	The Ten Commandments were kept inside the ark.  Two cherubim were placed above the ark, facing downward toward the stone tablets.  Their job was to carry out the justice required by the Law.  But, once a year, the high priest sprinkled blood on the propitiatory, which was located between the cherubim and the Ten Commandments.  The blood on the propitiatory symbolically covered the tablets so that the cherubim were not required to execute God's wrath.  Thus there was an atonement or reconciliation between God and His people.

	The propitiatory was a very important element of the Old Law.  But what does propitiation mean for those of us living in the christian era?  
	"But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry," we read in Hebrews 8:6-12, "by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.  For if that first {covenant} had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.  For finding fault with them, He says, 'Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.'"
	Our new covenant with God also involves a propitiation.  And our propitiation is far superior to that of the Old Law.
	"But now apart from the Law {the} righteousness of God has been manifested," Paul points out in Romans 3:21-26, "being witnessed by the Law 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. {This was} to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, {I say,} of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
	Jesus is our propitiation.  And why is He such a great propitiation?
	"Since then the children share in flesh and blood," Hebrews 2:14-18 states, "He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."
	Propitiation involves the atonement which God, through His mercy, provides to reconcile us with Him.  Jesus is this propitiation.  God offers the blood of Jesus to cover our sins.  And why is God willing to do this? 
	"Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith," Romans 3:25 says of Jesus.  "{This was} to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed."
	We deserve punishment for our sins.  But, because of His righteousness and forbearance, God provides a propitiation.
	"In this is love," 1 John 4:10 explains, "not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins." 
	We deserve punishment for our sins.  But, because of His great love, God provides Jesus as our propitiation.  How must God feel when we reject His offer of reconciliation?
	"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth," Hebrews 10:26-29 promises, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on {the testimony of} two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 
	Let's not let God down.  Let's not continue along our old path after receiving the knowledge of the truth.  Let's accept God's propitiation and be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."