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The Blood Covenant

God’s relationship with us is described throughout scripture in terms of “covenant”. By understanding God’s covenant with Abraham, we learn about how God wants to us to live in a covenantal relationship with Him.

1. The history of a Covenant

• God wants to fellowship with us, but he needs a vehicle to do it, the covenant, cause we cant approach God
• gen 15:18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram
• Gen 17:7 This covenant will be between you and I
• Asiatic Countries know Covenant agreements, western culture is every man for himself
• Galatians 3:15 “Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.”
• One of the largest themes in covenant agreements is BLOOD
• Blood represents life It involves testimony Lev 17:11 “For the life (the animal soul) is in the blood, and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].”

Then Noah Gen 9:8-13 We still see the symbol of the covenant a Rainbow-

• Then Abraham Gen 15
• Then Moses (Israel)  Exodus 34:27 “The LORD said unto Moses, Write these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” speaking of the 10 commandments
• Covenants were binding agreements that could not be broken even if you wanted too
• 2 Sam 9:1 READ The covenant extends to your house and your offspring
• Two Different kinds of Covenants One is a Peer covenant and one is a Greater and lesser

• The equal one joins strength makes you more powerful to defend and have more stuff-
• The greater one is so that the greater one helps one that is less, There is nothing the lower can offer
• Jonathan and David joined forces together they were equal
• Genesis 24:8-11 Abraham and his servant The servant was the lesser

1. Parts of a covenant agreement

• You will not find all of them together, but pieces of them intermixed
• Remember this when you read the bible: They were writing to an audience that was in the same cultural time that they were in, so they didn’t have to have something explained to them, they knew the concept
• We do not have to explain “politically correct” people in this day and age understand it

NOT A PROCESS, But PARTS

1. Coat or armor exchange 1 Sam 18:3-4 Represents who you are
2. Belt weapons and strength Gen 15:1 Lord said ” I am your shield”
3. Animal sacrifice Genesis 15:9,10
4. Slashing of wrists, Shedding of personal Blood (External Sign) tie wrists together
5. Scar rolling up sleeves to see who was in covenant with
6. The parts of the covenant or the Conditional Blessings for obedience

The condition of this covenant was that Abraham should leave his country, kindred, and his father’s house to follow God into a land which he would show him. The promise was a four-fold-blessing: Abraham would increase into a numerous people; blessing of material and spiritual prosperity; his name would be exalted; God promised not only to bless Abraham, but this blessing was to be extended to others, implicitly by the coming of the Messiah through his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3).

1. Witness Genesis 31:50 Or a token as in a heap of stones, so that others could confirm the covenant
2. Changing of names– God’s name was YHWH Abram’s name changed to Abraham God changed his name to the God of Abraham.  

• Pakistan Christians change their name in order to identify with Christ to the Muslim domineering world they are surrounded by.
• YHWH or Adonai- God Almighty, the name for God before He made Himself personal to Abraham.
• It represents the idea of His majesty that calls for reverance, loyalty and personal devotion.
• God became known as “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, He wanted to be known as a personal God- Gen 17:7
• The very essence and reality of the Abrahamic covenant was God giving Himself to Abraham and his descendants.
• God’s promise “to be a God unto you” is the greatest promise in Scripture.
• It is the first and fundamental promise on which all other promises rest.
• It means that God unreservedly binds Himself to His faithful people to be our God, our shield and our reward. It also means that God’s grace, pardon, promises, protection, guidance, goodness, help and blessing are given to us in love. We have inherited this promise through Christ!

1. Finally They would have a covenant meal Same as a wedding, Exchange rings, say vows, dance, drink from each others glass, feed each other food,

it is a Law to have a witness, as long as you both shall live, blessings and curses

• Gen 31:54 READ vs. 44-54

Prophetic of Jesus and his body and his flesh John 6:47-51

1. The Passover

• The Passover was when in EX 12 When the Israelites would Sacrifice a lamb, sprinkle blood over their door so that the Lord would save them
• blood over the door would be the sign that the Lord would “passover”
• The Passover was only one time, but the Jews commemorate it every year with a Passover meal SADER
• Part of this Sader was having a meal but everything had meaning
• you had to recline and you had to dip and you had to say this and that
• They were doing it for thousands of years, and Jesus shows up on the eve of the Passover

• 3 Pieces of Bread, The “matzo”

• the three pieces of bread would be put in a 3 chambered napkin
• READ

There are any number of traditions about this. One tradition holds that they represent the three classes of  people in ancient Israel: the Priests, the Levites, and the Israelites. Another tradition teaches that they symbolize the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet another explanation is that it is a depiction of the “Three Crowns”: the crown of learning, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of kingship.3 And a fourth option is that two of the matzos stand for the two weekly loaves of Exodus 16:22, and the third matzoh represents the special Passover bread called the “bread of affliction.”4 And if those are not enough to keep one’s imagination running, here’s another. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Sperling suggested that the three matzos stand for the three “measures of the fine meal” which Sarah prepared for Abraham’s angelic guests (Genesis 18). The reason for this interpretation lies in the rabbinic tradition that this event occurred on the night of Passover! 5 Out of all these explanations, how can we decide which is the right one, or is there yet another? If any of these explanations are correct, why is the matzoh hidden away, buried under a cushion, and then taken out and eaten by all, as the Sephardic ritual puts it, “in memory of the Passover lamb Jesus was explaining that he was this passover lamb, he was the Isaac, the Crown of kingshop, the angel that visited sarah, he was all of the the Alpha and the Omega What happens to the bread, it is broken, wrapped in a cloth and brought back Then he took the Cup The “Last Supper” was a Passover meal and seems to have followed much the same order as we find in the Mishnah.

Also at this meal they would have Four Cups of Wine

God uses four expressions of redemption in describing our exodus from Egypt and our birth as a nation (Exodus 6:6-7):
1. “I will take you out…” Cup of Blessing
2. “I will save you…” Cup of Sanctification
3. “I will redeem you…” Cup of Redemption
4. “I will take you as a nation…” Cup of Praise or Acceptance

In the New Testament accounts, we find reference to the First Cup, also known as the Cup of Blessing (Luke 22:17); to the breaking of the matzoh (Luke 22:19); to the Third Cup, the Cup of Redemption (Luke 22:20); to reclining (Luke 22:14); to the charoseth or the maror (Matthew 26:23), and to the Hallel (Matthew 26:30) PSa 118:24.

In particular, the matzoh (Broken) and the Third Cup (redemption) are given special significance by Jesus:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,

“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took  the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20).

1. So what Does it all Mean?

• 1 Cor 11:23-26 How we take communion 1 Cor 11:27-31 The heart condition Unworthy
• You are having a covenant meal, a communion with Jesus you are not just eating bread and juice
• UNDERSTAND THIS-Jesus was sitting at a Passover meal, partaking it as they had for 2000 years- and he starts to talk about how the meal is what he’s about

• The Jews knew what a covenant was (they did these all the time)
• They knew what the Passover meal was ( it was symbolic of what God did for them) But Jesus brought the two together,
• the PASSOVER BECAME A COVENANT MEAL WHEN JESUS SAID THAT IT WAS HIS BODY AND HIS BLOOD THE SAME THAT TWO PARTIES WOULD DO IN A COVENANT MEAL THIS IS WHY HE SAID A NEW COVENANT.
• The old covenant was commemorated through the Passover, now the NEW covenant is commemorated through communion.
• But really, how do we know that this is part of a covenant? Where is some of the other parts of it
• The covenant is only binding until the person or their bloodline dies but JESUS NEVER DIED and Abraham never walked in the pieces   GEN 15 God alone established the promises and obligations of the covenant; Abraham had only to accept them.
• We are agreeing to the conditions of the new covenant when we take the covenant meal with Jesus.
• Hebrews 12:24 “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

• This is why you shouldn’t take communion if you don’t feel as though you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ already. You can Give your life to him today if you want
• we must not be in an unworthy state, get the sin out of your life, cause this is a chance to reaffirm
• If you do not get the sin out, you bring damnation on yourself

• You affirm that Christ was the atoning Passover Lamb
• You affirm that You can and are in covenant with God- the God of Abraham that wants to know you PERSONALLY.

• This covenant is a Greater-Lesser covenant which provides for you and your material and spiritual blessing
• You are having a covenant meal, a communion with Jesus you are not just eating bread and juice
• It is symbolic of his flesh in you and his blood in you Just in the same that two families would do it
• His sign is the mark of the Holy Spirit
• Hebrews 7:22 Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
• It is an everlasting covenant Gen 17:7 It is an EVERLASTING covenant it has already been secured through Jesus passing through the pieces on your behalf Gen 15:9.10

• JESUS ALREADY ESTABLISHED IT FOR YOU

• covenant is only binding until the person or their bloodline dies but JESUS ISN’T DEAD GEN 15:1
• You are just reaffirming it
• The covenant meal doesn’t save you, it doesn’t put you in heaven- but its a ceremony that we do to recognize the blood covenant between you and God
• This is the NEW Covenant. It brings it all together, Adam, Abraham, Moses, the lamb, the sacrifice, the shedding of blood, the atonement, the washing of sins. You are letting God change your heart and enter into that covenant agreement.
• Now everything you have is his, and everything he has is yours. It is a two way street THIS IS THE BLOOD COVENANT- A covenant that cannot be broken!
• John 14-17 If you remain in me, you may ask whatever you want.
• Deuteronomy 28 Blessings and curses- you are the seed of Abraham you are the people of Israel
• has redeemed you, saved you, and provided for your sins, if you enter into this covenant agreement without a right heart, you can bring damnation upon yourself.
• God alone initiated the promises and obligations of His covenant, and humans are expected to accept them in obedient faith. At no time are we allowed to bargain with God about the stipulations of the covenant.

The Blood Covenant