Blood part III

Noah's Altar, Sacrifice and Covenant, Gen. 8-9

The universal flood and its aftermath introduced a number of new elements in man's relationship to God. The destruction of an entire generation apart from one family is the greatest natural disaster in recorded history. Man's sin and departure from God outlined in Genesis 4-6 was so deep and widespread that the only remedy was destruction and then a new start. In the period prior to the flood, God had His faithful followers like Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah. The Bible tells us that the last two "walked with God", but there is no scripture detailing their offering a blood sacrifice. It is possible that they followed the faithful example of Abel, but the Bible is silent on this point. Enoch was miraculously taken up to heaven out of an increasingly troublesome generation, read Gen. 5. 21-24; Heb, 11. 5; Jude 14-15 for the details.

The next revelation of God was to Noah. "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." Heb. 11:7. Think about it, as Noah was building the Ark he preached without making a single convert apart from his family. The ark, made of cypress wood and painted inside and out with tar or pitch. The Ark had a single entrance door and an upper window for light and ventilation. The design of the Ark is a great picture of God's salvation. It sheltered those inside from the elements of God's judgment and landed them safe on a dry ground, a new beginning.

It was God who invited Noah and his family into the ark, "The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." and it was God who closed them in “The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in” Gen. 7:16. After the flood, it was God who gave the command to leave the ark, "Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.” Gen 8:15-16. As the leader of a new race, Noah emerges into a new world, under new conditions. It is a new start for mankind.

“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” Gen 8:20-21. Noah’s first act is worship and construction of an altar. Genesis 8:20-21 records four terms that occur for the first time in the Bible concerning blood sacrifice:

1.) An altar

2.) The distinction between clean and unclean animals

3.) The burnt offering

4.) The sweet odor of the sacrifice.

Associated with these terms is the first mention of a covenant and the sanctity of blood.

The Hebrew word for altar is mizbeach, a slaughter place. Another word found in Ezra 7:17 is madbach that has a similar meaning, a slaughter place. In Greek the word for altar is thusiasterion, meaning a place of sacrifice. The altar construction materials consisted of:

1.) Earth or of unhewn stone, Exod. 20:24
2.)The brazen altar of the tabernacle, made of shittim (acacia) wood covered with bronze, Ex 27:1-3.
3.) The altar of incense in the holy place, made of shittim wood overlaid with pure gold, Ex 30:1-6.
4.) A false altar of brick, Isa. 65:3.
5.) It was prohibited to have steps up to the altar, Exod 20:26.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob built altars at critical points in their lives. When the tabernacle was constructed and the temple built, there was to be only one place where an altar was erected; the place where God had placed His name (Lev 17:1-9; Deut 12: 5-6, 11, 13-14).

"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it." Gen. 8:20. In this verse we now understand why the clean animals were taken into the ark in sevens and the unclean only in pairs, male and female. In the aftermath and in the renewed earth the unclean pair could thrive and survive. The seven clean animals are required for sacrifice in the new order. The terms "clean and unclean" are defined in Lev 22:17-30. The birds suitable for sacrifice, two turtle doves or two young pigeons are mentioned in Lev 1:14-17; 5. 7. All of these details about the altar and the suitable animals for sacrifice points us to the ultimate atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

In Gen 8:20 the term burnt offering is used for the first time in Scripture. It is the highest and most expensive of the offerings, in terms of cost it speaks of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. For deeper study:

1. Read the book of Exodus to find the meaning of the Passover Lamb

2. Read the book of Leviticus to understand the development of the five great sacrificial offerings on the altar.

3. Study the word lieth found in Gen 4:7 which basically means wild beast crouching and ready to pounce and how it relates to Cain and really us today.

The phrase “An Odor of a Sweet Savor” is another feature of Noah's sacrifice which is mentioned for the first time in Gen 8:21. It is called a "savor of rest" to God in which He finds His rest and delight. The word is apparently a play on Noah's name which means rest. This also speaks to the sacrifice of Jesus where we too can find rest (Eph 5:2)

At this point we can see three types of the death of Christ in the Bible.

1. Genesis 3 sets forth the provision of a covering for the guilty sinner.

2. Abel's offering in Gen 4, teaches us the way to approach to God.

3. Noah's burnt offering is a sweet odor to God, indicating His acceptance and satisfaction.

Linked with the blood sacrifice, is a promise given to us at the end of Genesis 8, and a covenant in Genesis 9. The flood that lasted over a year meant that among other things that the change of season had stopped. God promised that this would never happen again and confirmed by the presence of rainbow.

The word covenant is one of the greatest keywords of the Bible. The English word covenant is defined as "an agreement between persons or parties" or a coming together, a pact or a treaty. The Hebrew word "berith" in the Old testament, and the Greek word "diatheke" in the New Testament, have a richer and fuller meaning. W. E. Vine writes regarding diatheke, "In its use in the Septuagint, it is the rendering of a Hebrew word meaning a covenant or agreement from a verb signifying to cut or divide, in allusion to a sacrificial custom in connection with covenant-making” The word covenant appears for the first time in Genesis 6:18, "But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives". Covenant is repeated six times in Genesis 9. The context in Genesis 9 is not just for Noah but for us as well.

The terms of the covenant with Noah and future generations:

1. It is based on a blood sacrifice, Gen 8:20-21.
2. The curse on the ground would never be repeated, Gen 8:21.
3. Promise of continuing natural forces, Gen 8:22.
4. Human government would be committed to man, Gen 9:1-6.
5. There would be flesh instead of a vegetarian diet, Gen 9:3.
6. The sanctity of blood means that it was not to be eaten, Gen 9:4.
7. There would be capital punishment for murder, Gen 9: 6.
8. The token of the covenant would be the rainbow, Gen 9:13-17.
   

The sanctity of blood is outlined for us nicely in Gen 9:4-6 "But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it. And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image"

The rule of not eating blood is reinforced in Leviticus 17:10-14. “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood—neither you nor the foreigners living among you.’ “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth. The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.

A quick note on blood in the New Testament, the Jerusalem council as recorded in Acts 15, when the question about the relation of the Gentile believers to circumcision and the Mosaic law was discussed by the apostles, James response was: “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” The basic first pass interpretation of this is, being that we are not under law but under grace, Gentile believers were to show grace by abstaining from the practices offensive to Jews. Looking deeper we see that immorality, idolatry and the eating of blood was offensive to God, and contrary to the covenant God had made with mankind in Genesis 9 and long before the Law of Moses was given. In the Bible as the eternal purpose of God in redemption unfolds, the importance and preciousness of blood is more and more emphasized. The main reason for writing these blogs about blood is to help us more fully understand this preciousness and to draw us into a deeper appreciation of God’s plan and the sacrifice of Jesus.

Blood part II

This is the first of several planned blogs on the subject of blood and its meaning in our faith. I have been researching several commentaries and authors on the topic of blood sacrifice. What I am attempting to accomplish is to meld several sources into one common sense body of work that will help us further understand the deep significance of what was accomplished through Christ’s atoning work.

One of the most vital and fundamental doctrines of Holy Scripture is that of blood sacrifice. It is the scarlet thread that stretches not only across time, but reaches from eternity past into eternity future. It is the eternal God's remedy for man's sin. It is the solemn yet joyous theme of psalmists, prophets, and New Testament apostles, as well as of the Savior Himself. I am going to trace its development as recorded in the Bible to help understand fully the significance of blood sacrifice.

Consider these verses from 1 Peter 1:18-20 that reach back into eternity past. First, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.” The sacrificial Lamb and His atoning work in salvation was not an after-thought in God's plan for the reconciliation of man. There are three things recorded that took place or existed before the foundation of the world:

1.) The love that the Father had for the Son

a. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! John 17:24

2.) The believer chosen in Christ

a. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Eph 1: 4

3.) The sacrificial Lamb foreordained

a. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. 1 Peter 1:20

The great plan of salvation originated in the mind of God before the creation of the universe.

Speaking of the followers of the first beast in Revelation 13:8, we read, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world", from the creation, and onward from the fall, the details of the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus are gradually unfolded until it was consummated at Calvary. Peter tells us that the angels were vitally interested in this gradual unfolding, as well as the prophets who did not fully understand what they were writing as they were led along by the Spirit of God, 1 Pet. 1:10-12 tells us “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.”

In Genesis 2:7, 18 & 21-25 there is a very prophetic preview of the sufferings and death of the Savior and its glorious results. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him", "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, and were not ashamed". Paul comments in Ephesians 5:32, "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church, That deep sleep and wounded side produced a bride for the first Adam, and it points forward to the deep sleep of death and the wounded side from which the blood and water flowed of the last Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Next in Genesis comes the fall in the Garden of Eden, and its tragic consequences for all mankind. Eve was deceived by Satan's lie, but Adam acted deliberately in disobeying God and, in accordance with the warning given by God, spiritual death and ultimately physical death was the result. In passing sentence on Satan and on the guilty pair, God made a glorious promise. It has been called the Protoevangelium. It is one of the great key-promises of the Scriptures. Speaking to the serpent, God said, "And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Gen. 3:15. This tremendous prophecy and promise speaks of a mutual hostility, a twofold seed, and a twofold bruising. These few words in Genesis 3:15, gives us an epitome of the great work of salvation and redemption.

The twofold hostility would indicate the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The two seeds of the serpent and the woman indicate the children of unbelief heading up in the Antichrist, and the children of God and of faith, consummated in the Messianic line and the incarnation of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. The twofold bruising points forward to the mighty contest at Calvary. In anticipation of it, our Lord said, "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die ", John 12: 31-33. It was at the cross that the serpent's head was crushed, a fatal blow. "Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying", Heb: 2. 14-15. But in doing this, the Savior Himself was bruised: "But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled", Isa. 53:4-5. In the death of Christ, the power of Satan was broken, and His triumphant resurrection and ascension ensure His final victory over all the powers of darkness. The immediate result of the fall was, "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons", Gen. 3:7. Before the guilty couple were expelled from Eden's paradise, God gave them an adequate covering. "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them" v. 21. The inference is that the sacrificial animal had to die and its blood had to be shed, in order to provide the covering. This should be compared with the doctrinal teaching in Romans 5:12-21 concerning the spotless robe of imputed righteousness which has been graciously provided by a loving God for the guilty sinner who puts his faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Isaiah 64: 6 declares that in our sinful condition before conversion, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags". The clothing of our first parents in the Garden of Eden anticipates that which God in His grace does for the sinner today who believes in His Son.

Genesis 4 provides us with a graphic and tragic picture of the right and the wrong way to approach the presence of God. Abel was a shepherd and Cain a tiller of the soil. There does not seem to be any doubt that Adam had taught his sons the details of what had happened in Eden. They must have known the facts and the meaning of their parents' disobedience and its results. Adam and Eve had been driven out of paradise, and there was a barrier consisting of the cherubim and the flaming sword at its gate to prevent any access to the tree of life. Sin had entered, and communion with God had been broken. But there must be a way back to God. Cain, the older son, brings his offering, the fruit of the ground and the result of his own labor. It could have been very beautiful and attractive, with the sweet odor of a skillfully arranged bouquet. But it was the product of a cursed earth, and consequently it was refused. Then Abel, the younger son, brings his offering, the firstlings of his flock and the fat. The fact that fat is mentioned indicates that the animal or animals had been slaughtered and the blood shed. The record reads, “Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift" Gen. 4. 4. The solemn lesson is that the only and correct way of approach to a holy God is by a blood sacrifice. The sad sequel is that Cain, the first man who had a brother, in an outburst of passion and rage murdered his brother. In dealing with the crime and sentencing Cain, the Lord said to him, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!" v. 10. Significantly, this is the first time that the word "blood" occurs in the Bible. It was innocent blood, the blood of the first martyr who died on account of his testimony.

Cain and Abel are typical characters. Jude 11 speaks of those who have gone in the way of Cain, those who have deliberately rejected the divine way of approach to God, ending in the ultimate crime of the murder of Messiah. Abel, on the other hand, is the first name in the noble line of the men of faith recorded in Hebrews 11. There are two references in Hebrews that add to our knowledge of the meaning of Abel's sacrificial offering. One of these reads, "it was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith" Heb 11:4. Here we learn three things: (i) the offering was by faith; (ii) the offerer was a righteous man, that is, a regenerated man in the Old Testament sense of the word; (iii) God sealed his offering with His acceptance and approval. The second reference is in Heb 12:24 “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel”.

Today we approach God by a blood sprinkled way, " And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. ", Heb. 10. 19-22.

Blood

Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.

An average adult has about 14 to 18 pints of Blood.

One standard unit or pint of Blood equals about two cups.

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all of the body.

Blood carries carbon dioxide and other waste products back to the lungs, kidneys and liver for disposal.

Blood fights against infection and helps heal wounds.

One unit of donated whole Blood is separated into components before use (red Blood cells, white Blood cells, plasma, platelets, etc.)

There are four main Blood types: A, B, AB and O.

Each Blood type is either Rh positive or negative.

The three main types of cells making up our Blood are the White Blood cells, Red Blood cells and Platelets:

White Blood Cells (WBCs) are the largest of the three types of cells and are responsible for fighting infections or germs. White Blood cells have a rather short life cycle, living from a few days to a few weeks. One drop of Blood can contain from 7,000 to 25,000 white Blood cells. If an invading infection fights back and persists, that number will significantly increase.

Red Blood Cells (RBCs) make up approximately 40% of Blood volume, carry oxygen to the cells of your body and return to the lungs to excrete carbon dioxide.

Platelets, the smallest of the Blood cells; make up 5% to 7% of total Blood volume. Platelets form a 'mesh' net to form clots in the Blood to help stop bleeding.

There are about one billion red Blood cells in a few drops of whole Blood.

Red Blood cells live about 120 days in our bodies.

Red Blood cells can be stored under normal conditions for up to 42 days.

Frozen red Blood cells can be stored for ten years, and more.

Platelets must be used within five days.

Platelets are small Blood cells that assist in the process of Blood clotting helping those with leukemia and other cancers, controlling bleeding.

Plasma, the fourth major component of Blood, is a sticky, pale yellow fluid mixture of water, protein and salts. It is 95% water. The other 5% is made up of nutrients, proteins and hormones.

Blood Plasma constitutes 55% of the volume of human Blood.

Plasma helps maintain Blood pressure, carries Blood cells, nutrients, enzymes and hormones, and supplies critical proteins for Blood clotting and immunity.

Plasma can be collected from a normal healthy donor twice weekly (max. every 48 hours) and is the most frequently donor paid-for component of Blood. Plasma is often referred to as "the college students beer money."

Type AB plasma has been considered as the universal Blood plasma type, and therefore AB plasma is given to patients with any Blood type.

Frozen Plasma can be stored for up to one year.

Human Blood; red Blood cells, white Blood cells, plasma and platelets are made naturally by the body in the bone marrow.

Two million red blood cells die every second.

There are approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.

Seven percent of a humans body weight is made up of blood.

In the early nineteenth century some advertisements claimed that riding the carousel was good for the circulation of blood.

Each day 400 gallons of recycled blood are pumped through the kidneys.

By donating just one pint of blood, four lives can be saved.

Blood is such a good stain that Native Americans used it for paint.

The kidneys filter over 400 gallons of blood each day.

The average life span of a single red blood cell is 120 days.

Blood accounts for about 8% of a human's body weight.

A woman has approximately 4.5 liters of blood in her body, while men have 5.6 liters.

Your blood takes a very long trip through your body. If you could stretch out all of a human's blood vessels, they would be about 60,000 miles long. That's enough to go around the world twice.

Half your body’s red blood cells are replaced every seven days.

If all the blood vessels in your body were laid end to end, they would reach about 60,000 miles

OK, we have a nice list of science details about blood to help us understand more about blood. What about an understanding of blood from an Old Testament perspective? I can see your eyes crossing as I write this! With that said I am going to step into the waters of explaining what blood is from an Old Testament perspective, all done with the question in mind of why did Jesus die for us? The plan is to have this series wrapped up by Easter Sunday to help us further understand how awesome Jesus is and what he accomplished on the cross.

Random quotes

Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted into management.

No one is listening until you fart.

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.