Psalm 65:2–3: “O You who hear prayer, / To You all flesh will come. / Iniquities prevail against me; / As for our transgressions, / You will provide atonement for them.”

March 11th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Our God is the God who hears our prayers and provides atonement for our sins. The Hebrew word for atonement, kaphar, literally means to cover over, as with a lid. It is found 3 times in the Book of Psalms, and is the word used for the top covering of the Ark of the Covenant. It is also where we get the name for the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. In this psalm, it describes how God covers over sin and its effects. We find, in this one word, the love of God meeting the holiness of God. God’s perfect holiness requires that the law be upheld by the prescribed payment—death. And God’s perfect love paid that price by Jesus’ death on the cross.

This concept is captured in the story of a little boy and his father, who were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. A bee suddenly flew in the car window, and the boy, who was allergic to them, was terrified. His father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let the bee go, it buzzed by the boy and he became frantic again. The dad pulled over and reached out his hand, pointing to his palm. There, still stuck in his skin, was the stinger of the bee. “You see this?” he asked. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting for you.” In the same way we do not need to be afraid of death anymore because Jesus Christ has already taken the sting for us. By placing our faith in His death and resurrection, His atonement covers over our sin.

“Jesus, we are forever grateful for Your atonement applied to us, and ask You to give us an opportunity and courage to share Your love with others this day.”