#262 Bloody Good

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying,

3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,

4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:

5 To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord.

6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord.

7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,

9 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.

10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.

14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

15 And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17 KJV

My mother would have us say a blessing before each meal, and the people here could not for themselves do in such a manner. They would bring the animal to be consumed to the priest and the meal following would be a peace offering. When Christ tells the crowd, "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.…, it is no foreign teaching to them, but it is God's interpretation and not their own John 6:55-57. I take the bull to the priest because I am not fit of my own; I am unclean. The priest does what God has told him to do and blesses the meat, which is consumed by me. This is the reflection, the image in the old of Christ, for He was no new teaching to them either. I dare say that none of these things ceremonial are of any value unless they are temporary. The meat does me no good unless I consume it. Unless Christ comes then we are caught in a perpetual death, sacrifices that cannot last for they are not of an eternal nature nor offered by that which is infinitely holy and opposed to sin. So for good reason, I do not go to a human priest, my Priest has come and offered Himself as a sacrifice and become my peace offering by faith. God no longer dwells in man made structures, my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and I have access to the throne room. My Priest is Christ, my offering is through Christ, my acceptance is in Him. For myself, I see revealed here the importance of doctrine. It is clear that the people still held much to the idolatries they had learned in Egypt and would be quick to pick up more from their new neighbors. The penalty could be so severe as to have oneself cut off, and there was no "during the week" sort of course and a simple apology on the Sabbath. You could not adapt the practices of your neighbors, and so Israel was, for the most part, greatly cut off from such intimacies as the breaking of bread with those around them. It was not impossible, they could have company but they could not change their practice. You would have to prepare in advance for travel, present the reason and or go without. There was the lower crime here when an animal had been killed by another animal, one could eat this meat, but be considered uncleaned until washed. If you chose not to wash then you chose to bear the iniquity of your sin, and how many times have we chose to justify our sin rather than to confess it to the Lord. 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 1 Peter 1:1-10 KJV

The blood, and how precious it must be, but not the teaching blood of bulls and goats, rather the blood of eternal ramifications. It is the blood of Christ that diminishes the ideals of gold and silver, which these people held so high. It is His blood that atones and washes us clean. Nothing that happens in this world or that people suppose is decided in this world changes who God has called me to be as a believer. Nothing that the "super prophets" say changes what God's intent is, and so the blood and the practices of the world, calling good evil and evil good, only keeps us unclean, bearing our iniquities. Tell the truth in love and be willing to walk away. Pray, because it is more important for them to hear God's voice than for you to win an argument. 

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:26-29