IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BLOOD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding. " 'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood." 'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.' " Leviticus 12

"…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

In Chapter 12 of Leviticus, the Lord gives Moses guidance regarding childbirth and the matter of uncleanliness. You’ll notice in the scriptures that there isn’t an instance when a woman gave birth that she wasn’t considered unclean. Notice as well that it wasn’t the child being born that made the mother unclean. It was all about the blood which was compared to the blood a woman would discharge during her menstrual cycle…yet another time of uncleanness.

Notice that in the case of a boy, the period of uncleanliness would last 40 days, thirty-three days after the son was circumcised. For a girl, the time of uncleanliness was longer…spanning 80 days. Regardless of the time duration, it’s clear that the deadline for being unclean was dictated by when the mother would stop bleeding. Note as well that during this time, the mother was prohibited from touching "anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over." In a way, the time required to stay away from the sanctuary was a blessing to mothers who were able to stay at home, recover properly and regain strength after the birth, bond with their new baby and keep the child from being affected by potential illnesses that could be contracted if out in public.

So why was the blood considered unclean? Well, actually the people saw menstrual blood in a woman and semen in a man as life giving because they represented important parts of reproduction. However, if life didn’t emerge from the blood or semen, then they were considered dead and dead matter was considered unclean. There were also some schools of belief that demons inhabited menstrual blood and the post-partum bleeding after childbirth was compared to it.

Fast forward now to the New Testament and Jesus Christ. Yesterday, we saw how Jesus took an Old Testament custom of clean and unclean foods and made a major course correction for society. For remember that He said it isn’t what one eats that makes them unclean but rather the evil sinfulness of their heart…or it’s not what comes into the body by way of the mouth but what comes out that makes one unclean. Today, Jesus offers us another course correction. And it’s all about the blood.

For when we think of blood and Jesus, we only see one thing: purification. Consider the second scripture from First John. Jesus is the Light and He expects us to walk in His light. When we do this, we will be in communion with Him and can be "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) just as He defined us. We can only truly be the light if we walk in His light…and we can only walk in His light of we share fellowship with Him. And we can only share fellowship with Him if we purify our sinful selves as we enter into relation with Him…and we can only purify ourselves from our sinfulness through the shed blood of Jesus…the Lamb of God who truly did come to be slain as a living sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. His Blood flowing down from Calvary’s cross cleansed us and sanctified us to go forth and do His work in accordance with His will while walking in His light.

I’ll close this devotional with the chorus from one of my favorite hymns:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Indeed friends, it’s all about the blood…the purifying, cleansing blood of Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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