2011-09-02
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Up to now, we have been examining the issue of entering into a covenant relationship with God, pledged unto death. That is no longer a statement to bring fright, because a covenant with the Lord brings so many huge benefits- ones we can enjoy right now on earth. Marriage, for example, brings us stability when it is carefully considered and with the right person. Our covenant relationship with the Lord brings us freedom from being alone, help with our challenges, salvation through His grace, and so much more. We have also learned that through the shedding of blood, there is forgiveness. Now, we will look at where life is.
LV 17: 11, “For the life of a creature is in the blood and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar. It is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” There is nothing accidental about the fact that God designed us with blood. We all know from scientific study that without blood, many of the body’s primary functions wouldn’t be possible. For there to be life, for example, there must be red blood cells that carry hemoglobin, the compound necessary for oxygen to be taken in and distributed and carbon dioxide to be excreted from the body. This is the basic function of inspiration and exhalation, parts of the respiratory cycle. The same respiration cycle produces energy in tiny bodies called mitochondria in each cell in the body, which are responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation and strength. That is only one tiny part out of many systems the body has. Blood also carries nutrients from the digestive progress to cells where it is needed. The physiology of the human body is fascinating; it is a series of servo mechanisms, i.e. a lower level of one essential substance, sets off the body’s efforts to replenish it. And when a substance is in excess, then the body acts to stop replenishing it, until a need for more arises. All of this goes on involuntarily, so our minds can be on other things, unless something goes wrong like illness or break-down of some part of the complex mechanism.
Now you might ask, where is God in all of this? To begin, He is the Creator of this amazing human body. But, of course, it doesn’t end there. HE 9: 22, “In fact the law requires nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Can we guess where the first instance of this principle appears in the Bible? Stop and think about it, then go on reading….We get a real view into God’s heart of compassion and goodness in GN 3: 21. Let me set the scene. Adam and Eve had just leveled huge disappointment to God by giving in to the temptation of the serpent [devil] [GN 3: 1-6] and ate of the fruit of the tree of life that allows them to know good and evil. God had earlier told them, they may eat any other food in the garden except that. Adam and Eve now felt shame at their nakedness, so they were trying to cover themselves with fig leaves. God knew this and was very disappointed. Yet, now read GN 3: 21, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Think about it. An animal had to have been killed and its blood shed for such a material as skin to be available! Through His goodness, God was hinting that despite expulsion from the Garden of Eden which would follow, there would be future forgiveness for the descendants of this first couple. Believe me, God is all over this thing! Forgiveness would wait till the shedding of Christ’s blood happened for all who repent of their sins and embrace Him is their personal Savior. Yes, blessed forgiveness, not just for one year as it had been under the Covenant of the Law [LV 16: 34], but forever, as it is under the Covenant of Grace instituted by Christ’s blood shed [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 34-35].
Mingling of blood was often a part of establishing a covenant in the ancient world. Clay Trumbull writes about this in his book, In The Blood Covenant. While this might be considered gross in today’s time, wrists were cut and blood was exchanged by the clasping of hands to seal the covenant. Today, such a practice would be very dangerous, because of the chance of passing HIV or some other infection to another person. That’s why police investigating a crime scene or medical personal working in an ER or operating theater wear rubber gloves, for example. In ancient times, when such a covenant was sealed in blood, the participants from thence forward considered themselves blood brothers. A “oneness” was instituted between them and their entire families. Such was the case when David and Jonathan made their covenant of friendship [1 SAM 18: 1-4]. God was indeed a Partner in that covenant, albeit a tacit One. Interestingly enough, this practice of a blood exchange has been seen in many cultures as a way to seal an important two-way promise.
Blood represents life, and a receiving of blood signifies a receiving of life. The wine of communion is a sort of renewal and regeneration with the wine representing Christ’s blood. We should remember, 1 COR 11: 23-25, the words of institution of the sacrament, said each time by the pastor. “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘The cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” These were His words in the Last Supper, and they are the same words said to us before we take communion every time. We are renewing our covenant with Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, just as You were a Partner in the covenant of friendship between the house of Saul and the house of David in ancient times, You are also a Partner in any covenant that we should make and renew by taking Communion in our lifetime. Your very presence in our lives blesses us. IS 16: 11, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We are so very grateful for Your leadership and help in our lives. PS 63: 6-8, “As I lie in bed, I remember You; all night long I think of You, because You have always been my Help. In the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. I cling to You and Your hands keeps me safe.” You make us secure by giving us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. PS 40 1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit; out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a Rock and made me feel secure.” We are forever grateful to that You kept us from certain spiritual death, the punishment that comes to those who reject You and wallow in unbelief. PS 46: 1, “God is our Shelter and our Strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” You give us power, through Christ, to battle the devil and to have victory in His name- the same power You used to raise Christ from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]. You warned us to not let the devil get a foothold in our lives. JAS 4: 7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We thank and praise You forever for Your heart of love and compassion, help and strength. In Christ’s mighty/holy name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will look at the significance of taking communion, engaging in the covenant represented by the shedding of Christ’s blood for us. We will see it as a co-mingling of divine and human beings. I always think of how God breathed life into Israel as represented in EZK 37: 9-10 when I think of the life is in the blood. “Then He said to me [Ezekiel], ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live’. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.” The same principle applies to the word of God, as we learn from 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” What Christ was doing by the shedding of His blood on the cross was to breathe life into our faith, our salvation, our receiving of the Holy Spirit, our eternal forgiveness, our new way of loving our fellow humans and Himself, our justification [being deemed acceptable in God’s sight], and our taking up of His purposes to make them our own. And to think, all we had to do is to repent and believe in Christ! By giving us His word with instruction to pray and to study His word daily, Christ is giving us new life, a life that is going to be eternal. For what more could we ask? He shows us His heart and breathes life into our hearts with His wisdom, love, perspective, and compassion. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15