The Blood Series

Although I said that the Blood Series is complete, I had mentioned that if the Lord reveals something new to me I would immediately put it up. Here I was studying and preparing for our new topic and my attention was drawn to the passage in Exodus where the Passover was instituted. I read the verse and realized what the Lord was saying and here is what I learnt.

8. It is a Sign:

We all know that the communion was instituted during Passover. We also know the sacrifice of Jesus coincided with the sacrifice of the Lamb during Passover. So in a way The Feast of Passover is a precursor to the Holy Communion. One has its origin in the Old Testament while the other in the New Testament. What role did the blood play during this feast?

The people were supposed to kill a sheep or goat of the 1^st year, take some of its blood and strike the doorposts and lintel with it Ex 12:6-7.

                                                            

The Bible states that the blood was to be a sign unto those in the House, which the Lord seeing as He passes over will not strike anyone therein Ex 12:13, hence the name Passover.  Now we will look at some of the key features that were to be observed prior to the application of the blood. The sacrificial animal as stated earlier was to be either a lamb/goat of the first year without blemish. After sacrificing it the blood was collected in a basin and then hyssop was dipped into the blood. The doorposts and lintel were marked using the hyssop as a brush. It is important to note that the blood was not applied to the threshold of the door, which is always present, to prevent dirt and water from getting in to the house.

                   The two door posts signify the body and soul of a man, while the Lintel represents his spirit. Jesus came to cleanse the body, redeem the soul and give life to man’s spirit. The blood covers our body, soul and spirit!! The Passover sacrifice is a picture of the sacrifice of Christ to give man eternal life, since the Angel of Death passed over every house which had the blood upon its door posts and lintel. The blood was a sign to the people inside to show them what saved them. It was not their ancestry, nor was it their works but rather the blood. The blood here is a symbolizes the shed Blood of salvation, God's provision and the value He places’ upon man.

Why was the blood not applied upon the threshold of the door?

During the ancient times, in Middle Eastern cultures there was a covenant called the Threshold covenant. It was a covenant that men made between themselves and their pagan deities. The covenant was made by cutting up animals and walking between the halves and the blood was poured on the threshold of the door. Anyone breaking the covenant would pronounce judgement upon himself, where he would suffer the fate of the sacrificed animals i.e.. to be cut into pieces (killed). The covenant lasted until one of the parties died. We see a similar act when God made a covenant with Abraham in Gen 15:17-18. 

               They key point here is that God did not allow Abraham to walk between the halves of the sacrificial animals, instead He put him into a deep sleep. So, we see the covenant being performed by a smoking oven and a flaming torch. 

What was God saying? 

Man can never uphold his side of the covenant and is bound to break it. Next if Abraham walked between the pieces it would not be an everlasting covenant because Abraham would one day die. Therefore God was going to hold both sides of the covenant, thus making it an everlasting Covenant (since God will never die). Even our unfaithfulness will not void the covenant because He is always faithful to His covenants.  

                The sacrifice of Christ would be redundant if man would still have to keep the requirements of the Covenant. This is why Jesus said that He came to fulfil the Law. God was not going to sacrifice His only begotten Son and then ask man to keep his end of the covenant and cause man to condemn himself. It is for this very reason that the blood was not applied on the threshold. To stamp this threshold would be indicative of trampling the blood of Christ underfoot and bring judgement upon them that do so Hebrews 10:26-30. Man being in his flesh is still bound to sin and God was not going to allow His precious purchase to be lost.

                    No child of God is set to suffer His wrath because he was unable to keep his end of the covenant. Jesus set everyone who was captive free. This is the power of the shed blood of Christ, which has made no provision for our fall but rather has made all provision for life eternal in Christ. However, it does not mean that we continued to live a life of sin but rather give place for the Holy Spirit to move in us and direct us in the right path according the good will and pleasure of God the Father in Christ His Son. 
                     
                    Today this Blood is a sign to us that salvation is by the grace of God and not by the works of man. It is the free gift of God, with all the provisions to protect us from the wrath that will fall on the world. Amen