C
The Ark of acacia wood overlaid with gold signifies the pneumatic Christ as the embodiment of God and as the mingling of divinity with humanity, the building of God with man, dwelling in our spirit for us to contact God and enjoy God—2 Tim. 4:22; 2 Cor. 3:17; Col. 2:9; Heb. 9:4:
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Acacia wood signifies Christ's humanity, strong in character and high in standard, as the basic substance for expressing God—Exo. 25:10; Matt. 3:16; 4:4; 8:20; 9:12-13; 11:29; 12:19-20; 17:27; 20:28; 27:12, 14; Mark 1:35; 6:39-41; John 6:12; 7:6; cf. Acts 16:7.
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The acacia wood being overlaid with gold both inside and outside signifies the divine nature penetrating the human nature and resting on the human nature so that it may be expressed through the human nature—Exo. 25:11; Rev. 3:18a; 2 Pet. 1:4; cf. Rev. 17:4.
D
The propitiatory cover of the Ark signifies Christ as the meeting place of God and His redeemed people—Exo. 25:17-22:
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Christ is the One who propitiates (Heb. 2:17), the One who appeases the relationship between God and us, the One who reconciles us to God by satisfying God's demand through Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice (1 John 2:2; 4:10).
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Christ is also the propitiatory cover with the shining of His divinity and the redeeming of His humanity, the place where we enjoy propitiation before God and where we can meet and fellowship with our righteous, holy, and glorious God to receive Him as grace—Rom. 3:25; Heb. 4:16:
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The two cherubim of gold on the propitiatory cover indicate that God's glory shines out from Christ (Exo. 25:18-20); the blood of the propitiatory sacrifice being sprinkled on the propitiatory cover of the Ark signifies that because of the blood of Christ's redemption, we can have fellowship with the righteous God in the midst of His glory (Lev. 16:14-15).
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The more God meets with us and speaks with us, and the more we meet with God and listen to His speaking, the more of the testimony of God there will be in our experience.
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 25:10-11 And they shall make an ark of acacia wood… And you shall overlay it with pure gold; inside and outside you shall overlay it…Rom. 3:25 Whom God set forth as a propitiation place through faith in His blood, for the demonstrating of His righteousness…
The Ark was not made of gold. It was made of acacia wood, which signifies Christ’s humanity, strong in character and high in standard. Christ’s humanity is the basic element, the basic substance, for Him to be God’s testimony. Christ became the embodiment of God’s testimony in His humanity.
The acacia wood was overlaid with gold both inside and outside. This signifies the divine nature mingled with the human nature—God and man becoming one. This also signifies that the divine nature penetrates the human nature and also rests on the human nature so that it may be expressed through the human nature. If only the outside of the Ark had been overlaid with gold, this would have signified joining instead of mingling. Mingling is signified by the fact that the acacia wood was overlaid with gold both inside and outside. The acacia wood was between two layers of gold. This is mingling. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 988, 990)
Today’s Reading
Exodus 25:17 says, “And you shall make an expiation cover of pure gold….” This expiation [propitiatory] cover was the lid of the Ark…. The Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God’s righteous demands on us [Heb. 2:17]…. The Lord Jesus is [also] the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins [1 John 2:2; 4:10]. Christ is not only the One who reconciles us to God by fulfilling God’s requirements and appeasing Him, but He is also the propitiatory sacrifice…. In Romans 3:25 Paul says that Christ is our propitiation place…. This means that…Christ is also the very place where God is able to meet with us, His redeemed people, and talk to us. Therefore, Christ is the One who propitiates, He is the propitiatory sacrifice, and He is the propitiatory cover, the place where God and His redeemed people meet together.Exodus 25:18 says, “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work you shall make them, at the two ends of the expiation cover.” The cherubim signify God’s glory (Ezek. 10:18; Heb. 9:5)…. The cherubim on the expiation cover indicate that Christ expresses God’s glory, that God’s glory shines out from Him. The cherubim were on the cover, and the cover is Christ. This means that the glory of God shines out of Christ and upon Christ.
The blood shed on the altar for atonement was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the lid of the Ark, the expiation cover…. Through the sprinkling of the blood, the golden lid became red in color. Because of the blood sprinkled on the expiation cover, sinners could have fellowship with the righteous God…. Because of the blood of redemption, we today can have fellowship with the righteous God in the glory of Christ.
Actually, the lid of the Ark is not a mercy seat; it is a propitiatory cover with the shining of Christ’s divinity and the redeeming of Christ’s humanity as the place where we can meet and speak with our righteous, holy, and glorious God. This place is Jesus Christ Himself, the One who is both God and man. In His humanity Christ shed His blood to redeem us, and in His divinity He shines with God’s glory. Today He is for us the redeeming and shining Christ as the place where the righteous, holy, and glorious God can meet with fallen sinners.
The propitiatory cover is also related to the testimony. The more God meets with us and speaks with us, and the more we meet with God and listen to His speaking, the more of the testimony of God there will be in our experience. The function of the Ark of Testimony depends on the cover. …Because of the cover on the Ark, the Ark becomes our enjoyment and God’s testimony. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1007-1008, 1010, 1014-1017)
Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 86-89