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.