The main theme of Scripture is redemption and the restoration of covenant with God that it makes possible. Accordingly, there are many different earthly pictures of redemption that God uses to communicate to us this spiritual reality. One of the most beautiful metaphors for redemption is the pervasive concept of covering. Covering is also one the most ancient pictures of redemption, dating back all the way to our first parents. In Genesis 3 we read the story known as The Fall. Adam and Eve reject the command of God and partake of the forbidden fruit, leading to a new awareness of their nakedness. After rebuking them for their crime, God covers them with clothing made from animal skins. He covers their nakedness. He hides their shame.
The theme continues in Exodus 25 where we read of the construction of the Ark of the Covenant. Verse 17 records God's instruction to build a mercy seat. Now, mercy seat is an unusual translation for an unusual word. The term itself refers to covering over sin and the piece being built literally acted as the cover for the ark. This mercy seat was where God's presence rested in the Tabernacle/Temple in visible form and it was here that Atonement was made. Leviticus 16 tells us about the annual command for the High Priest to enter the Most Holy Place in order to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation. How was this accomplished? By sprinkling the blood of the sacrificial animals upon the mercy seat.
We pick up this theme in Psalm 32 where David cries out, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The Hebrew word translated "cover" literally refers to putting on clothing. By extension it refers to concealing something, especially shame or guilt. David is declaring the happy state of the man whose sin has been concealed from the eyes of God, which Psalm 103:12 tells us is something God Himself accomplishes.
When we jump to the New Testament, we find, predictably, that our theme is present there as well. In Matthew 22 we read the Parable of the Wedding Feast. This is a parable about how Christ saves the unloved rabble of the world, but it ends on a rather shocking note. One of the guests, being found without the wedding garments that had been given to each of the attendees, is cast into utter darkness. These clean, white garments picture the righteousness of Christ that covers our filth.
Perhaps the most powerful illustration is in the New Testament authors' use of the word "propitiation." Paul uses it in Romans 3:25, the author of Hebrews uses it in Hebrews 2:17, and John uses it twice in his first epistle (2:2 and 4:10). The term translated "propitiation" in all of these passages is a form of the Greek word used in the Septuagint to translate "mercy seat." Jesus is our mercy seat. He is the place where we meet God. He is the reason that our sins can be covered. You see, God cannot simply wink at sin due to the holiness of His nature. He cannot simply cover sin and ignore it, which is why the Israelites were given a complex set of ceremonies that illustrated the need for a substitutionary atonement. Jesus, by taking our sin and giving us His righteousness, is the key to God covering our sins once and for all--the great Antitype to the Day of Atonement. As Romans 3:26 puts it, this enables God to be both just and the justifier of sinners. A few verses later Paul quotes Psalm 32:1.
We pick up this theme in Psalm 32 where David cries out, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The Hebrew word translated "cover" literally refers to putting on clothing. By extension it refers to concealing something, especially shame or guilt. David is declaring the happy state of the man whose sin has been concealed from the eyes of God, which Psalm 103:12 tells us is something God Himself accomplishes.
When we jump to the New Testament, we find, predictably, that our theme is present there as well. In Matthew 22 we read the Parable of the Wedding Feast. This is a parable about how Christ saves the unloved rabble of the world, but it ends on a rather shocking note. One of the guests, being found without the wedding garments that had been given to each of the attendees, is cast into utter darkness. These clean, white garments picture the righteousness of Christ that covers our filth.
Perhaps the most powerful illustration is in the New Testament authors' use of the word "propitiation." Paul uses it in Romans 3:25, the author of Hebrews uses it in Hebrews 2:17, and John uses it twice in his first epistle (2:2 and 4:10). The term translated "propitiation" in all of these passages is a form of the Greek word used in the Septuagint to translate "mercy seat." Jesus is our mercy seat. He is the place where we meet God. He is the reason that our sins can be covered. You see, God cannot simply wink at sin due to the holiness of His nature. He cannot simply cover sin and ignore it, which is why the Israelites were given a complex set of ceremonies that illustrated the need for a substitutionary atonement. Jesus, by taking our sin and giving us His righteousness, is the key to God covering our sins once and for all--the great Antitype to the Day of Atonement. As Romans 3:26 puts it, this enables God to be both just and the justifier of sinners. A few verses later Paul quotes Psalm 32:1.
So when you go before God in prayer to confess your sins, remember that He has covered them from view. They are hidden beyond reclamation--as far as the east is from the west. If you are united to Jesus Christ though faith, you have been clothed with the robes of righteousness and are a child of God. Your sins are covered--how blessed you are!
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