Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3)
Message Two
The Expiation Cover—the Propitiation Place
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Readingthe verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above the cover, covering the expiation cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the expiation cover… And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the expiation cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel — Exo. 25:20~22.
Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help — Heb. 4:16.
Word of Appetizer
The most crucial part of the ark of the testimony was its cover; what does it mean?
The expiation cover, the propitiation place, was the sin-covering lid on the Ark; Romans 3:25 says that Christ is our propitiation place.
Christ made propitiation for our sins, and He has also become the place, where we enjoy propitiation before God.
Spiritual Burden
The expiation cover, the place of propitiation, is also the place where God speaks to His redeemed people in grace; hence, the place of propitiation equals God’s throne of grace; this throne of grace, the place where God gives us grace, is actually the shepherding Christ Himself who is enthroned between the cherubim and dwells in our spirit.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The expiation cover, the propitiation place, was the sin-covering lid on the Ark; Romans 3:25 says that Christ is our propitiation place.
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work you shall make them, at the two ends of the expiation cover. And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the expiation cover you shall make the cherubim on its two ends.
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the expiation cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
The Experience of Life
Upon the expiatory cover and in the midst of the shining of His glory, we can hear God’s voice and learn the desire of His heart; thereby we are infused with God as grace and receiving vision, revelation, and instruction from Him to control their daily life.
Practice and Application
The more time we spend with the Lord, having the realization of His precious blood and shining glory, the more He infuses Himself into us; to be a Christian who receives God’s infusion in the Holy of Holies and walks according to it is to be a Christian in the most wonderful sense of all.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outlines
Key Verses (1)
Whom God set forth as a propitiation place through faith in His blood, for the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred—Rom 3:25.
The Expiation Cover, the Propitiation Place
The expiation cover, the propitiation place, was the sin-covering lid on the Ark; Christ is our propitiation place:
By the lid of the Ark, with the propitiating blood sprinkled on it on the Day of Expiation, the entire situation on the sinner‘s side was fully covered.
The Hebrew word for the lid of the Ark is kapporeth, from a root meaning “to cover“; hilasterion, which means “the place of propitiation” (implying to forgive and to give mercy).
Key Verses (2)
And you shall maketwo cherubim of gold; of beaten work you shall make them, at the two ends of the expiation cover. And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the expiation cover you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above the cover, covering the expiation cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the expiation cover. And you shall put the expiation cover on top of the Ark, and into the Ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you—Exo. 25:18~21.
III. IV. V. The Two Cherubim
The cherubim signify God’s glory.
That the two cherubim were one piece with the expiation cover indicates that God’s glory shines out from Christ and upon Christ as the expiation cover to be a testimony.
The faces of the cherubim were toward each other and toward the cover, signifying that God’s glory watches over and observes what Christ has done.
pure gold signifies that the shining of Christ as the effulgence of God’s glory is divine.
Key Verses (3)
Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help—Heb. 4:16.And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the expiation cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel—Exo. 25:22.
The Throne of Grace, Meeting with Us, Speaking to Us
The place of propitiation, signifies Christ as the cover of God’s righteous law and also the place where God speaks to His redeemed people in grace; hence, the place of propitiation equals God’s throne of grace.
VII.And there I will meet with you:
God met with His people and spoke to them from above the expiation cover and between the cherubim.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The function of the expiation cover (Exo. 25:21; Rom. 3:25, footnote 2; Outline I)
(Please describe the function of the expiation cover according to Rom. 3:25.)
T2 The place of propitiation equals God’s throne of grace (Heb. 4:16; Psa. 80:1; Outline II)
(Please narrate that the expiation cover, the place of propitiation equals God’s throne of grace)
D2
T1 Christ is the One who propitiates (Heb. 2:16; 1 John 2:2; Heb. 9:5)
(Please explain Christ is the One who propitiates, He is the propitiatory sacrifice, and He is the propitiatory cover.)
T2 The differences between the blood sprinkled on the altar and the blood sprinkled on the expatiation cover (Exo. 29:11-12, Lev. 16:14-15)
(Please explain the differences between the blood sprinkled on the altar and the blood sprinkled on the expatiation cover)
D3
T1 The type of the cherubim (Heb. 9:5)
(What do the cherubim signify?)
T2 The throne of grace is in our spirit (Heb. 4:16; Phil. 4:23)
(Please explain according to our experience that the expiation cover, the place of propitiation is the throne of grace, which is now in our spirit.)
D4
T1 God met with His people and spoke to them (Exo. 25:22)
(What does that God met with His people and spoke to them from above the expiation cover and between the cherubim signify?)
T2 Experience meeting with God and speaking to God (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18)
(Please narrate your experience of meeting with God and speaking to God in your daily life.)
D5
T1 The form, size, or weight of the cherubim (Exo. 25:22; cf. 3:24)
(The form, size, and weight of the cherubim are not given in Exo. 25. What does this indicate?)
T2 The experience of the expatiation cover with cherubim (Exo. 25:22)
(Please narrate you experience of the expatiation cover with cherubim.)
D6
T1 The types of the blood sprinkled on the expatiation cover and cherubim (Lev. 16:14-15; Exo. 25:20)
(Please explain what the blood sprinkled on the expatiation cover and cherubim each signify)
T2 To be a Christian who receives God’s infusion is to be a Christian in the most wonderful sense of all (Phil. 1:19-21a; 2 Cor. 3:18)
(How can we experience “to be a Christian who receives God’s infusion in the Holy of Holies and walks according to it is to be a Christian in the most wonderful sense of all”?)
