Title: The Bloodline of a Champion – 2
“The Covenant of Blood”
Text: I Peter 1:18-19
Verse 1
So many years, so many lambs were offered up
But all the blood that was spilled, could never filled that bitter cup
Till one spotless lamb, in the form of man gave His life on Calvary
This was the only blood that could ever set me free
Chorus:
For His blood was not just blood of another spotless lamb
But His blood was precious blood, for it wash the sins of men
And His blood it heals my body, and it sets my spirit free
And I'm so glad this precious blood still flows from Calvary
Verse 2
No other blood could heal my broken body
And no other blood could save my sin sick soul
And no other blood could conquer death and win the victory
No other blood, but the blood Jesus shed for me
We started talking about this precious blood of Calvary last week. Last week we touched on the subject of Adam and Eve and them losing the covenant that was set up between them and God. I didn’t get a chance to finish this subject so I want to keep going on it this evening. Last week we talked about the blood restoring fellowship with God and man. The loss of fellowship started with Adam and Eve and the restoration of fellowship was found in the second Adam.
THE BLOOD COVERS
When Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation of the devil, Genesis 3:7; “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” As soon as Adam and Eve fell, they immediately saw their need for a covering. Before the fall Adam and Eve did not see their physical nakedness as shameful because they were literally covered with the glory of God. They were accustomed to being covered with God’s glory and when that glory lifted they saw their need for a covering. As soon as they saw themselves as they truly were, verse 8 says, “They even hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the Garden.” The instant they yielded to temptation they lost God-consciousness and gained self-consciousness. They lost sight of God and His glory. At that point they tried by their own works, in replacing God’s glory with a bunch of fig leaves.
We have to remember, Adam lived in a perfect world. He had authority over God’s creation and a personal relationship with God. Adam and Eve knew God intimately, for they had fellowshipped with Him regularly. As they walked and talked with God, they were given very simple instructions for living. They were told, “You can eat freely of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of that tree, they you will die.”
Adam had everything he needed to exist. And he had authority over everything except that one tree. Although the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to do wrong, he could not force them to do anything against their will, it was their choice to sin. They were warned in advance of the consequences of disobedience. God said, “If you eat of the tree you WILL die.” They knew what was going to happen.
As soon as they disobeyed, God pronounced five separate curses and judgments.
God cursed the serpent. Genesis 3:14; ¶ “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
God pronounced judgment of Eve. Genesis 3:16; ¶ “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
The Lord judged Adam and sentenced him to a life of toil. Genesis 3:17; ¶ “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”
God cursed the ground. Genesis 3:18; “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”
Then the Lord sentenced Adam to death, both spiritual and physical. Genesis 3:19; “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
This sounds extremely harsh. God did not tolerate disobedience and rebellion and still doesn’t. But in the midst of these judgments I find it interested to find that God gives a wonderful promise of redemption. Not at the beginning of the judgments, nor at the end but right in the middle of pronouncing these judgments He gives a promise:
Genesis 3:15; “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
God was saying that even those these judgments are on man for now, they will not last forever. God says, “I am going to send the second Adam and his seed will be put into the woman and He will bring deliverance from all these curses.” We know that promise was fulfilled on the Cross of Calvary when Jesus shed His blood.
Saying all of this I want us to notice that when all these events took place in the garden, God did something that is very important to notice. He initiated the first ever blood sacrifice. Remember, after Adam and Eve sinned they ran from the presence of the Lord. They were once clothed with His glory and now they stand naked and ashamed. In desperation they attempt to cover themselves with leaves. This never works, even to this day. There is nothing that we can do to cover our own sins.
In their attempt to cover themselves, God selects some animals, probably lambs and kills them.
Genesis 3:21; ¶ “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
He covers Adam and Eve with the skins of the slain animals. How do I know this? Well, He didn’t take the skins of man to cover them, so He must have taken the skins of animals to cover them, truth be known, the skins were probably still wet with blood because from the beginning of time God has required blood to atone for sin. Blood had to be shed to cover man’s nakedness and sin from the beginning of time. Without jumping ahead to far, we all know that the final sacrifice didn’t just cover our sins, but washed them away. Under the law God even stated in:
Leviticus 17:11; “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.”
OTHER INSTANCES OF THE BLOOD COVENANT
From the time of Adam to the time of Christ, Scripture is filled with numerous accounts of how God entered into a blood covenant. Here are just a few examples:
Noah: Noah’s first act after coming out of the ark when the flood waters went down was to make a blood covenant with the Lord. He did this by offering a sacrifice. Genesis 8:19-20; “Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. 20 ¶ And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
Abraham: Abraham was told by the Lord, Genesis17:10-11; “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” In order for there to be a covenant, there had to be a cutting of the flesh and the shedding of the blood.
Moses: Moses, after God delivered the commandments, he gathered the people together and offered young bulls as a sacrifice. Exodus 24:7-8; “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” There is no agreement, there is no relationship, there is no covenant without the blood. This is why every other religion, other than Christianity is not enough.
Abraham and Abimelech: I don’t want to take the time to read the whole Scripture, but according to Genesis 21:22-32, Abraham and Abimilech sealed their relationship by covenant and the shedding of blood of seven ewe lambs.
Jacob and Laban: The covenant between Jacob and Laban was sealed when: Genesis 31:54; “Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.”
Accounts of blood covenants are not only found in Scripture, but also all throughout history. It is still practiced by many tribes Africa and societies in Asia, South America and the Middle East. This blood covenant is entered into for a variety of reasons, from joining into a business deal to protecting a weaker tribe from a stronger one.
Before we get into detail of what the blood does for us in this study, we must understand the necessity and the power of that blood covenant. There is nothing that is done in this Christian life apart from the blood. Our whole relationship with Jesus Christ hinges on the blood. Your receiving or rejecting the blood determines whether we go to heaven or hell.
For His blood was not just blood of another spotless lamb
But His blood was precious blood, for it wash the sins of men
And His blood it heals my body, and it sets my spirit free
And I'm so glad this precious blood still flows from Calvary
