THE BLOOD
Gen.3:5-7
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And 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 3:21
"21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
We will come back to these verses later...
Exodus 12:12,13--
"12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
God didn't kill the first-born of those who had blood on their door posts of their houses by reading...
Exodus 12:5-7
"5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it."
Heb. 9:22--
"22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
John 1:29
"29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Reading Ex. 12:5 now and making a few comments....
"5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:"
"Without blemish" (unblemished)-- flawless, inviolate, absolute, consummate, impeccable, exact, exemplary, ideal, pure, sheer, unadulterated
So we see this fits Jesus, a lamb without blemish, without spot... And we can cee that it is verified to be Jesus in...
I Peter 1:18,19
"18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
Now let's go back to the story of Abraham and Issac and pick-up some insight from it...
Gen. 22:1-19
"1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba."
First we see that God told Abraham to offer Issac, his only begotten son whom he loved very much as a burnt offering to God and we see in Heb. 11:17-19 that Abraham knew that God could raise his son from the dead which was a picture of God offering up his only begotten son Jesus Christ for the world's sins.
Heb. 11:17-19
"17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure."
Also in
Gen.22:7
"7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the burnt offering was.
In v.8 Abraham said, "...My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together."
In v.13,
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
We see that God provided a ram for the occasion but the lamb that God offered up was Jesus Christ when God himself came in human flesh a few thousand years later... Once again we see that the natural falls apart in the supernatural. The type (Isaac) wasn't sacrificed, the reality (Jesus Christ) was.
I see in v. 13 that Abraham lifted up his eyes to look, God gives us eyes to see whether in the natural or the super-natural... The Almighty God gives us eyes to see!
MORE DEFINITIONS:
Goat-- (1) any of various hollow-horned, cud-chewing, wild or domestic mammals closely related to the sheep. Goats are stronger, less timid, and more agile than sheep.
lamb-- (1) a young sheep (4) a young, dear or innocent person.
sheep-- (1) any of the group of cud-chewing mammals
Goats are more independent than sheep. They tend to trust more in their own strength, courage, and ability.
BUT REMEMBER
Jer. 17:5--
"5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."
It's like we are all goats until we are born again and then we are transformed from goats unto sheep (depending on the Shepherd to survive, to truly live). I don't want to be one of the goats again. Check the judgment of the nations in ...
Matt. 25:31-46...)
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
;We have seen that Jesus is the lamb of that takes the sins of the world. In John 10, Jesus Christ is the shepherd of the sheep (ck. John 10:11) . But John 10:7,9 shows that he is the door of the sheepfold. The goats must come in through the him to be one of his sheep.
John 6:53-56--
"53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."
COMMENTS:
CHECK verse 35,
"35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
These are spiritual words of life. To come to Jesus Christ is to eat and to believe on him is to drink.
AND verse 63
"63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
(Cf. Luke 22:17-20...
"17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
& Matt. 26:26-30).
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
I can't see Jesus separating the death of his body with the shedding of his blood.
(Cf. Mark 14:22-25)
"22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
So far we see that Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, and in John 10, he is the shepherd of the sheep (ck. John 10:11) but I also see John 10:7,9 that he is the door fo the sheepfold. The goats have to come in through him to be one of the sheep.
A THOUGHT: Some say that he didn't drink the cup of wine (grape juice) here at the Passover but he did at the cross, it was the wrath of God poured out on him for the sins of the world. I'm not sure why they say that he didn't drink of the wine (grape juice) here because his disciples did and they had to drink of the genuine cup of sufferings too. Matt. 20:22,23.
I want to get a little deeper into the importance of the blood of Christ by showing the importance of blood to God and his plan in the Old Testament by comparing Old Testament sacrifices with the one ultimate, bloody sacrifice.
Going to Ex. 30:10 where we see that the high priest didn't dare go into the holy place without the blood.
Exodus 30:10
"10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD."
DO YOU THINK THE PERFECT HIGH PRIEST WOULD GO IN WITHOUT HIS BLOOD?
CF. Acts 20:28.
"28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
FIRST LET'S READ Heb. 9:6-28 (EXCELLENT)...
Heb.9:6-28
"6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
KEEP IN MIND,
Heb. 9:22, It is the key verse in this entire teaching.
"22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
SIN OFFERINGS
Exodus 30:10
"10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD."
Let's look at
Lev. 4:5,6,18, 25, 30 concerning sacrifices for sin...
Lev.4:5-7
"5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary.
7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."
By looking at this sin offering, we see that the blood was sprinkled 7 times before the veil and at the bottom of the altar of brunt offerings
Lev.4 cont.
"18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."
"25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering."
"30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar."
AND
Lev.8:15
"15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it."
It shows that we walk sanctified and purfied as we walk covered in the blood..
Lev.9:8,9
"8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:"
Exodus 29:12
"12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar."
How do these verses speak to you? It is like we are covered from head to foot with blood... We must be totally covered by the finished work of Christ and all Old Testament sacrifices were just a shadow, a type of him and his finished work.
Ex. 24:5-8
"5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words."
The blood seals the covenant that God made with his people.
Zech. 9:11
"9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water."
We see another blood covenant here too... The first two verses talk about Jesus Christ coming to set up an everlasting kingdom...
Matt. 26:28
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
The New Testament is the new covenant and it is sealed by the Lord Jesus Christ's blood too...
When I started this teaching I read Gen. 3:5-7 and Gen. 3:21. Let's read them again...
Gen.3:5-7
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
The work of man's hands, his accomplishments but God did something else...
Gen.3:21
"21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
I hope by now, you see clearer why the blood is so important...
Adam and Eve tried to hide their own sin with their own seft righteous works, the work of their hands. When we try to justify our actions, wrong doings and cover it over with the works of our hands, the sin is still there and we downplay the tremendous, evil act of sin that we have lived in, To show that the Lord didn't accept their self-righteous act, God killed animals, shed their blood to clothe, hide Adam and Eve's sin until the perfect sacrifice would come along and he did in these last days... The animals worked until the proper time. Jesus came to finish it and NOW "It is finished!" The Lord Jesus Christ cried those words from the cross and he meant what he said. We cannot add anything to his finished work. Look at...
John 19:30...
"30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
Romans 11:6 says,
"6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
CLOSING WITH
Rev. 12:11 which I have shared many times before...
"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."
Praise him for his awesome work for our salvation.
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