We are in chapter 32 of Genesis with our word for today used for the first time in the Bible. אֲכַפְּרָ֣ה the root word is כִּפֶּר smear, cover over, pacify, appease, make amends, make good. It is used 102 times in the Old Testament. It is used literally to cover over or coat. Genesis 6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ cover it inside and out with pitch. Most of the time it is used in a figurative sense to cover over or make amends for an offense. The idea is a gift that will turn away the anger caused by the offense or sin. A good example is when King Saul had tried to strike down the Gibeonites in the past and God was allowing a famine in the land because things needed to be set right. 2 Samuel 21:3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I אֲכַפֵּ֔ר make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” This concept is such a common one that it became a proverb. Proverbs 16:14 A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will יְכַפְּרֶֽנָּה appease it. It is used a lot in the sense of turning away anger that was created by sin against God. The sacrificial system in the Old Testament was set up for this specific reason where people presented a gift or offering to turn away God’s wrath because of their sin. Here is one example. Leviticus 1:4-5 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to לְכַפֵּ֥ר make atonement for him. Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. It is not easy for us to understand this concept of God being angry at us because of our sin because we are used to sin our own and those around us. So it is good to remind ourselves how set apart God really is. This is a great example.
Isaiah 6:1-7 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin תְּכֻפָּֽר atoned for.”
So let’s look at our word in our chapter for today to help us better understand this concept. Genesis 32:19-20 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may אֲכַפְּרָ֣ה appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” This is a great picture of what Jesus did for us. One of the main words God uses to help us understand how Jesus death in our places saves us is this very idea of a gift given that turns away his anger or wrath because of my sin against him. Be encouraged by these New Testament passages. Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God...no one does good, not even one.” Romans 3:23-25 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
