The Covering Part One

This article is part of my “why Jesus died” series in which I explore different aspects of Christ’s death and resurrection. Basically, as I gain the understanding of something I pass it on to you and hope that, over time, these short messages will build one on top of the other to create a bigger, broader understanding of the topic.

What is the covering and what does it cover?

Let’s begin in Leviticus 16

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 

Under the old covenant, animals were regularly sacrificed as a sin offering. However once a year, Aaron the high priest, took the blood of the sin offering within the veil, meaning into the holy of holies and sprinkled it seven times upon the mercy seat, which was the golden lid of the ark of the covenant.

He did this to make atonement for all the congregation of Israel.

The Hebrew word for atonement kaphar kaw-far means to cover

Why did Aaron sprinkle the blood seven times upon the mercy seat? 

Because the number seven represents, among other things, completion.

Gen. 2

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made…

In sprinkling the blood seven times the sins committed by Israel were completely covered.

Remember this was the old covenant which has long been abolished.

Under the old covenant people were justified by works such as animal sacrifice.

Under the new covenant we are justified through faith in Christ by which we receive his Spirit. 

With that in mind let’s go to Hebrews 9:11-14

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Notice in these verses how Jesus is both our high priest and our sin offering. He entered the “tabernacle not made with hands” on our behalf, with his own blood. For what purpose? To purge our conscience.

Now Leviticus 17:11 tells us that 

The life of the flesh is in the blood…

So just as physical life is in physical blood, spiritual life is in the Holy Spirit thus the blood of Christ represents his Spirit.

Hence it is the Spirit that  purges our conscience meaning through the indwelling of the Spirit the law is written in our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10, Heb. 10:16) transforming us into a “new creature” who obeys God from a heart of love. Love works no ill (wrong) therefore love fulfils the law (Rom. 13:10).

2 Cor. 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

On the basis that our “old man” has passed away through repentance and we’ve been transformed into are a new creature by the Spirit, God forgives and forgets our past sin.

It’s in this sense that the blood of Christ makes atonement for our past sins.

James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Convert means “turn to” but it could also be seen as “turn into” because a synonym for “convert” is “metamorphose”, like how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. 

It’s through metamorphosis that our past sins are “hidden”

Acts 3

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…

It’s through metamorphosis that our past sins are “blotted out”

Let’s go back to the Hebrew Word for atonement kaphar kaw-far. It means to cover but it also means to coat or cover with pitch.

Of course this takes us to the story of Noah’s ark.

Genesis 3

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 

Noah and his family were saved from the flood waters by abiding in the ark. Similarly we are saved from spiritual death by abiding in a covenant relationship with God via his Spirit.

Noah’s Ark was water-proof due to the generous amount of pitch covering it inside and out.

The blood of Christ, representing his Spirit, is our “covering”, for through it we abide in his body, the church, thus we are saved from eternal destruction.

1 Peter 3

20 …when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

By participating in Christ’s death and resurrection we are “baptised” into his Spirit resulting in a good conscience towards God.  

Of course this harps back to Hebrews 9:14 also Heb. 10:22

…having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience…

In receiving a “good conscience” through the Spirit we are “saved” from Spiritual death.

In conclusion:

Once a year Aaron the high priest, went into the holy of holies on behalf of the people and sprinkled the blood of the sin offering seven times upon the mercy seat, which was the lid of the the ark of the covenant.

Why? To make atonement for “all the congregation of Israel” in other words to completely  “cover” their sins.

Jesus our high priest, entered the “tabernacle not made with hands” to sprinkle his own blood upon the mercy seat. Why? to purge our conscience thus make atonement for our past sins. 

The blood of Christ represents his Spirit and the Spirit purges our conscience in that it transforms into a new creature. 

Through metamorphosis our past life of sin is “hidden”, “blotted out” and “covered”, meaning it is forgiven and forgotten by God.

This covering also implies protection.

Since the word atonement means not only to cover but to coat or cover with pitch, the blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat is connected to the “pitch” that was generously applied inside and outside Noah’s ark to save eight people from the great flood.

Both the ark of the covenant and Noah’s ark represent the fact we must abide within a covenant relationship with God, through his Spirit, to be both forgiven from sin and protected from the “wages of sin” which is spiritual death.

In my next article I will speak more of the conditions that surround this “covering”.

Please leave comments below. You can also contact me via my email 

crystalriver053@gmail.com

Let us each work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, God bless.