LIFE IN THE BLOOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.”

“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

Genesis 9:4-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After leaving the ark, constructing an altar and presenting burnt offerings to Lord, and then receiving a covenant from Him that mankind would never again be destroyed like it was in the flood, we see in today’s passage that Noah and his family received an important command that was to be followed, one centered on blood. Look again at those words here:

“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.”

“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” Vv.4-7

Just prior to these verses, we found God say this regarding to the food on the earth:

“Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.” v.3

So putting this together, Noah and his family could eat everything that “lives and moves about” however they couldn’t “eat meat” that still had “lifeblood still in it”. Anyone who was disobedient to this command would face punishment.

So what was so precious about blood?

We can fast forward to the Book of Leviticus for the answer. Look at these words from God found in chapter 17, verses 10 through 12:

“‘I will set My face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

Here, we find our Lord making it clear about the value of the blood for in it is the “life” of any “creature” and the Maker of all things values the life He gives. It’s of critical importance to Him and it’s to be important to us as well.

In regard to life and the blood, go back to Genesis chapter 4 where the sin of Adam and Eve found its way into the behavior of their children. You’ll remember that Cain, jealous that his brother received God’s favor over him for presented offerings, lured Abel into a field and killed him. After he tried to cover up what he had done, God said this to the killer:

“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10

Abel’s lifeblood, spilled out by Cain, cried out to God and revealed itself “from the ground”.

And this leads us to the greatest life of all, the eternal life that any sinner gains when they believe in Jesus as Savior. This life is sealed by the blood of the unblemished Lamb who came to be a living sacrifice and take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Here’s what Jesus had to say in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel:

“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Vv.53-54

Here, we are reminded of the beauty found in communion, the sacrament observed in the church in remembrance of Christ, as He commanded.

The bread is His body broken for us (1 Corinthians 11:24 NKJV) while His blood (the wine or juice) represents the “new covenant” in His blood (v.25). This new covenant was God’s promise of everlasting life through the One who shed His lifeblood so we could have life forever.

Indeed, the scriptures declare that there is unique and special power in blood and it is to be cherished and honored, especially when it comes to the blood of Jesus. For it is the life of a creature, a life given first and foremost by the Creator of all living things.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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