Blood Covenant

What do we mean by a Blood Covenant? A covenant sealed by Blood.

         Luke 22: 19, 20 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Blood :– Without blood human and animals would have no way to circulate the necessary oxygen. Blood is needed for survival. Hemoglobin found in the red blood cells carries oxygen to the brain, which in turn uses that oxygen to allow it to control the entire body. Blood makes all of the functions in the body possible. God gave very specific laws in the Old Testament about the blood. Blood is the agent that gives life to the flesh and it's considered sacred and precious by the Lord. In the Old Testament God established a very specific law concerning the blood. No one could eat blood or they should be cut off from fellowship. Leviticus 17:10 "If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. V. 11 for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement.

Covenant :– is an agreement between two or more parties. Whenever God deals with people He loves and makes a covenant. This is something that He arranges. Jesus initiated the new covenant when he initiated the last supper. This was an everlasting covenant. Why did He say new covenant? If the first covenant was faultless, there is no need of a second one. But there was a need for a new covenant. Hebrews 8: 7, 8 what was the old covenant? Hebrews 13:20

Covenant Broken:- There was a covenant made between God and Adam where Adam would have everlasting life based upon obedience to God. Gen 2:16, 17.  This covenant was broken and so it was not everlasting.  The Lord god commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” If he would have kept it there would be life everlasting, but if not the penalty was death. The condition was perfect obedience. This covenant was broken and it ended the relationship. Also, in Hebrews 8:9, 10 our fore-fathers did not continue in the covenant and God disregarded them.

God also made covenant with several people in the Bible, who kept their covenant

1.  Noah - This covenant was God’s promise to Noah to never again destroy the world with a flood. After Noah and his family came out of the ark, God promised Noah that He will not destroy the world again. Genesis 9: 9, 11, 13. He put a rainbow in the sky and this was a sign of the covenant that God.
2.  Abraham - God promised a land and descendants to Abraham, who was commanded to "keep" the covenant (Gen 17:9, 14) and was given circumcision as the sign (Gen 15:8-18; 17:1-14). On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates" (Gen 15: 18). God promised a land and descendants to Abraham, and was commanded to "keep" the covenant. Gen 17: 1-4. After this, Gen 17: 10, 11 God tells Him about circumcision and this would be the sign of the covenant. Abraham preserved the covenant and passed this to his generations.
3.  Moses - God wanted the Israelites to be Holy before Him and was given conditions to fellowship with God. Exodus 24: 6-8. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.  7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people.  They responded, ‘We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.’  8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words’".

We see that in the Old Testament, selected people were chosen by God, to represent Him to the world. But in the New Testament, the covenant people are those who choose God, and we are called to represent Christ to a world that does not know Him.
The Lord’s Supper is a sign of God’s new covenant.  As we read in 1 Corinthians 11:23-30, we are to take part in the Holy sacraments in remembrance of Him. Also, in Ephesians 2:13, 14 we read “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.    Verse 14, For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
God deals with you and me this day still by covenant. If we have surrendered and accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, you have made this covenant. By His grace, we have this covenant whereby Christ purchased us, and secondly, through the covenant we have given ourselves to Him.   We need to remember that Christ purchased us with His precious blood through the covenant we made years ago. Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of-their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death”. If we regard His precious blood as unholy, our soul will be lost eternally (Hebrews 10: 26-29).

To ponder: Are we standing steadfast in the covenant we have made to the Lord? Have we completely have crucified our sinful nature on the cross to have this everlasting relationship? Many times, we have broken the covenant like Adam did. We have strayed in our ways, like the Israelites.  Let us confess of our shortcomings and renew the covenant that Jesus has made for us.

Prayer :– Thank you for the new covenant that was given by your Son Jesus. Help us to always be true to the covenant. Help us not to break the covenant on any account.  Forgive our shortcomings, cleanse and make us whole.

Shared by:Viji
5/29/2014