The Blood Covenant

12/18/2010 11:08:53 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	I recently picked up a book in the library about the blood covenant in the bible - I found something on the web by the author: BLOOD-COVENANT PART I COVENANT DEFINED: The Bible is divided into two (2) divisions: The Old Testament, and the New Testament. The word Testament comes from the Latin word – Testamentum. The more proper name for these two divisions; however, is “Covenant”. So the Bible is really the story of an Old Covenant and a New Covenant. For the remainder of this study, we will be using the word Covenant, rather than Testament. Now, in the Bible, a Covenant is a binding agreement between two people. The Hebrew word for covenant is Berith – Strong’s # 1285 – meaning: covenant, treaty, compact, agreement, an association between two parties with various responsibilities, benefits, penalties; “to cut a covenant” is “make a covenant”, a figure of the act of ceremonially cutting an animal into two parts, with an implication of serious consequences for not fulfilling the covenant. The Greek word is Diatheke – Strong’s # 1242 – meaning: covenant, a solemn agreement between two parties; will, testament, a legal document by which property is transferred to heirs, usually upon death (Hebrews 9:16). It actually means to “cut covenant”. By definition, it is an agreement to “cut a covenant by the shedding of blood and walking between pieces of flesh”. So the two divisions of the Bible are about an Old Blood Covenant and a New Blood Covenant. A blood covenant between two parties is the closest, most enduring, the most solemn, and the most sacred of all contracts. It absolutely cannot be broken. When you enter into Blood Covenant with someone, you promise to give him or her your life, your love, and your protection forever…’till death do you part. Marriage is a Blood Covenant. Society today doesn’t honor marriage as a Blood Covenant, but God says it is. (See Malachi 2:14; Proverbs 2:17) When the Bride and Groom feed each other the wedding cake, they are saying symbolically, “I am coming into you and you into me. The two of us are becoming one”. This symbolic union is made complete by the physical act of marriage when the Groom and Bride come together as husband and wife. When the marriage is consummated, the hymen is broken, and the shedding of blood now ratifies the marriage “covenant”. We see now why God says pre- and extra-marital physical sexual intercourse is a sin. (See Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:8; Galatians 5:19). The reason we wear the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand is because, man believed that the third finger had a nerve leading to the heart. And since the heart is the central part of the body that keeps the blood circulating, it became the symbol of life. We use the word “heart” to represent the total person. It stands for your whole being, your whole nature, and your whole life. When you love someone with all your heart, you love him or her with all your being. When you give your heart to someone, you are giving him or her your total life. This is the essence and spirit of the Blood Covenant, which God ordains in the Bible and that man has always recognized. THE HEBREW RITUAL: The Hebrews had a Blood Covenant ritual that was similar to the other nations around them. All nations practiced Blood Covenant, because man instinctively sought this relationship. So this practice was not unique to the Hebrews. When two Hebrew males entered into a Blood Covenant, they went through a very specific ceremony. To explain it you, I want to enter into this “Covenant” with you. You and I are now going to enter into a Blood Covenant, as two Hebrew males would have done it in the Old Testament of the Bible. There are nine (9) steps to the Hebrew, or Biblical Blood Covenant. They are: STEP #1: Take off Coat or Robe. The first thing I do is take off my coat or robe and give it to you. Now to the Hebrew, a person’s robe represents the person. By taking off my robe and giving it to you, I am symbolically saying, “I’m giving you all of myself. My total being and my life, I pledge to you.” And then you would do the same to me. STEP #2: Take off Belt. The next thing I do is take off my belt and give it to you. Now, I don’t use my belt to hold up my pants, but to hold up my weapons. My belt holds my armor together; my dagger, my bow and arrows, and my sword. So symbolically, I am giving you all my strength and pledging to you all my support and protection. And as I give you my belt, I’m saying, “Here is my strength and all my ability to fight. If anybody attacks you, they are attacking me also. Your battles are my battles, and mine are yours. I will fight with you. I will help defend you and protect you.” And you do the same to me. This is similar to a compact nations might make today. The only difference is that a “Blood Covenant” cannot be broken or nullified. Cont next post Meet singles at DateHookup.dating, we're 100% free! Join now!
12/18/2010 11:09:11 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	STEP #3: Cut the Covenant. The next step is to actually, “cut the covenant” by taking an animal and splitting it right down the middle. In the Bible, an animal is only cut down the middle and split in two in a covenant ceremony. After we split the animal, we lay each half to the side of us and we stand in between the two bloody halves of flesh, with our backs to each other. Then we walk right through the bloody halves, making a figure eight (8), and come back to a stop in the middle, facing each other. In doing so we are saying two things. First, we are saying that we are dying to ourselves, giving up the rights to our own life and beginning a new walk with our covenant partner unto death. You see, in this Blood Covenant, each half of the dead animal represents us. And second, since the Blood Covenant is the most solemn pact, we each point down to the bloody animal split in two and say, “God do so to me and more if I ever try to break this Covenant. Just split me right down the middle and feed me to the vultures, because I tried to break the most sacred of all compacts.” STEP #4: Raise the Right Arm and Mix Blood. Then we raise our right arms, cut our palms and bring them together. As we do, our blood intermingles. Then we swear allegiance to each other. As our blood intermingles, we believe our lives are intermingling and becoming one life. This is because our blood is our life, and to intermingle blood is to intermingle life. We are putting off our old nature and putting on the nature of our Blood Covenant partner. We two are becoming one. Man has always believed that intermingling blood is intermingling life. This symbolically shows the two of us becoming one. STEP #5: Exchange Names. Then as we stand there with our blood intermingling, we exchange names. I take your last name as part of my name, and you take my last name as part of your name. STEP #6: Make a Scar. The next step is to rub our blood together and make a scar as a permanent testimony to the Covenant. The scar will bear witness to the Covenant we have made. It will always be there to remind us of our Covenant responsibilities to each other. It is the guarantee of our Covenant. If anyone tries to harm us, all we have to do is raise up that right arm and show our scar. By that we are saying, “There’s more to me than meets the eye. If your coming after me, your also going to have to fight my Blood Covenant partner.” If the would be attacker has any sense, he’s going to back off. So the scar is our seal that testifies to the Blood Covenant. Henry Stanley, on his explorations through Africa, cut covenant 50 times with various chieftains. And we can certainly understand why. Anytime he would come across an unfriendly tribe, he would just hold up that right arm with those 50 scars and any would be attacker would take off running in the other direction. Today, when we meet friends, we don’t show scars, we shake hands. There are many trappings of the Blood Covenant in our modern society today; we’ve just eliminated the blood. STEP #7: Give Covenant Terms. Then we stand before witnesses and give the terms of the Blood Covenant. I say, “All my assets are yours. All my money, all my property and all my possessions are yours. If you need any of them, you don’t even have to ask. Just come and get it. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. And if I die, all of my children are yours by adoption and you are responsible for my family.” But at the same time, you also get my liabilities. If I ever get in trouble financially, I don’t come ask you for money, I come and say, “Where’s our checkbook?” We are in Blood Covenant. Everything I have is yours and all you have is mine, both assets and liabilities. So we stand there and read off, before witnesses, our lists of assets and liabilities. STEP #8: Eat Memorial Meal. Then we have a memorial meal to complete the Blood Covenant union. In place of the animal and blood, we have bread and wine. In the Bible, wine is called the “Blood of Grapes” (Genesis 49:11), and it represents our own lifeblood. The bread represents our flesh. We take a loaf of bread and break it in two and feed it to each other saying, “This bread is symbolic of my body and I’m now putting it in you.” Then we serve each other wine and say, “This wine is symbolic of my life blood, which is now your blood.” And now, symbolically, I’m in you and you’re in me. We are now one together with a new nature. STEP #9: Plant a Memorial. We now leave a memorial to the Blood Covenant. We want to always remember it. We do this by planting a tree that we have sprinkled with the blood of the animal. The blood sprinkled tree, along with our scars, will always be a testimony to our Blood Covenant. This completes the Blood Covenant Ceremony. From now on we are known as friends. In Bible times, one didn’t use the word “friend” loosely as we do today. You became friends only after you had cut Covenant, or entered into a Blood Covenant, even the unborn ones. They are in Blood Covenant because they are in us. Later, after they are born and come to the age of understanding about our Blood Covenant, they can choose to stay in it, or reject it. IDENTIFYING THE BLOOD COVENANT Now, anytime you see these happening or these words referenced in the Bible, either actually or symbolically, you know the parties are entering into Blood Covenant. You won’t find all the details spelled out step by step as I have given them to you here, because in Bible days everyone knew all the details and it wasn’t necessary to record all the intricate details. Get familiar with the nine steps and the lingo of the Blood Covenant, because this is the basic ritual and you will want to recognize it as you read on and see how it is applied throughoutScripture. If you are Born-Again, you have entered into Blood Covenant with Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Study to know your rights and requirements. From: http://hishumbleway.com/ [Edited 12/18/2010 11:09:45 PM ]
12/19/2010 10:43:19 AM	The Blood Covenant
dennyinmi Rochester, MI 58, joined Dec. 2010	An interesting read, for sure! In step #8 you seem to have added some wording though... When you say: This bread is "symbolic" of my body and I'm putting it into you.... When you say: The wine is "symbolic" of my life blood, which is now your blood... Dont you mean the "actual" wording which is: "Take and eat, this "is" my body....Matt26:26... "This "is" my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins". Matt 26:28 The actual wording drives the covenant home for me.
12/19/2010 4:26:50 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	Quote from dennyinmi: An interesting read, for sure! In step #8 you seem to have added some wording though... When you say: This bread is "symbolic" of my body and I'm putting it into you.... When you say: The wine is "symbolic" of my life blood, which is now your blood... Dont you mean the "actual" wording which is: "Take and eat, this "is" my body....Matt26:26... "This "is" my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins". Matt 26:28 The actual wording drives the covenant home for me. The wording is the authors not mine - but I tend to agree with him that the blood and wine is symbolic which is not the view taught by the rc church. More on the blood covenant: http://www.tbm.org/blood_covenant.htm The Blood Covenant By Tom Brown As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. —Zech 9:11 The basis of all deliverance, healing and salvation is the blood of God’s covenant. Understanding the blood covenant will strengthen your faith in a way that I believe few revelations from God’s Word will do for you. Unfortunately, the western branch of the body of Christ is woefully ignorant of the blood covenant. They are like the description Paul gives in Ephesians 2:12: “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” The concept of covenant is “foreign” to many believers. The reason is because they have been far removed from seeing covenants practiced in everyday life. They have witness “contracts” instead of “covenants.” A covenant is a contract, but it is ratified in blood and the agreement is all-inclusive—everything that belongs to one party belongs to the other party as well. There is no sub-dividing or limit of exchange on a blood covenant. In a contract you may purchase a car and in exchange you give a certain amount of money to the company, and in trade they give you use of the car. You do not own the company and they don’t own you. But in a covenant, you own everything the covenant party owns and they own everything you own; you take all their assets and liabilities and they do likewise. Jesus made a covenant with us, not a simple contract. At the Passover, Jesus took bread and wine and lifted it up and said, “This is blood of the covenant” (Matt 26:28). He did not sit down at a table and sign with ink an agreement. When you understand that you have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ, then you live with unlimited consciousness. You know if you lack something, then God is obligated by covenant to meet the need. I know the idea of God being obligated to do anything is very foreign to many Christians. The reason is most have been taught that God is a Sovereign God—He has the right to do anything He wants. While it is true that God is originally Sovereign, He has chosen to “bind himself” to us through a blood covenant. A blood covenant binds the parties together, so they are not free to do “anything” they wish; they must fulfill the obligations of the blood covenant. This is the only basis that we can have faith in God. If God was free to do anything He wishes, then there would be no solid foundation for our faith. We could not be sure what God’s will was if He had not bound Himself to a blood oath. God Remembered His Covenant God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them (Exodus 2:24). It was not enough that God heard their groaning—their pains, suffering, slavery—He only moved when He remembered his covenant. Prayer is powerful when we remind God of His covenant with us. Abram knew the implication of a blood covenant, so when God promised him all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, Abram asked God, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” (Gen 15:8) Abram knew God was Sovereign and was free to whatever He wished with Abram, so Abram wanted additional assurance from God that he would gain possession of the Land. He was basically asking God to make a covenant with him, and that is what God did: On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Gen 15:18). The Hebrew writer comments on this passage and says, “God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged” (Heb 6:17-18). There are two things God cannot do: He cannot lie and He cannot break a covenant. Abram had both God’s promise and the covenant to confirm the promise. Like Abram, we have two foundations for our faith: God’s promises and the covenant He made with us to confirm all His promises. There is no point to feign humility and tell God, “Oh, Lord, I do not want to hold you to anything, simply do what seems best to you.” Often people pray like this, thinking they are praying in faith. But this is not a faith-prayer. Praying in faith requires you to know what God has promised and to hold Him to the promise because of the blood of Jesus. Marriage Covenant Even though in our culture we have not seen the practice of blood covenants, there is still one institution where covenant is still the norm. It is marriage. Marriage retains the concept of covenant, though some have water-down the covenant to make it resemble more a contract; nevertheless most see marriage as a covenant not a contract. For example, in marriage, rings are exchanged. Rings are a “memorial” to a covenant made. Rings remind you on a daily basis that you are married. The blood covenant of Jesus is something we must remind ourselves daily, or else, the devil takes advantage of our memory lapse and brings discouragement. cont next post: [Edited 12/19/2010 4:28:01 PM ]
12/19/2010 4:27:21 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	The groom and bride at the wedding reception will feed each other cake. The cake speaks of their bodies. Basically they are saying to each other, my body is yours! You are free to do whatever you like with my body. Then they take the wine glasses and interlock their arms together and drink from the cups. By this act they declare that their lives belong to each other. We are not our own. We are owned by one another. We are not free to depart and go elsewhere. Do you see the resemblance of the Lord’s Supper? The best man and sometimes the maid of honor will toast the newlyweds. This toast is a symbol of the announcement of blessings and curses. Blessings if you keep your word and curses if you break it. Of course, now, in an upbeat climate, there are rarely any curses spoken over the couples, but only wishes for happiness. In some ceremonies there is a unity rope that is laid across the bride and groom. I’m from West Texas, and so with our cowboy history, the unity rope is often called the lasso. The wrong picture some have is of a macho-cowboy-groom who lassos his heifer-bride and ties her down and says, “She’s mine!” This is not what the rope symbolizes. Rather its origin is from an ancient soldier who carries weapons tied to his hip by a rope. By removing the rope and giving it to his covenant-partner, the person was saying that he will fight his partner’s enemies. “His enemies are my enemies!” The bride and groom are saying that they will fight together against any enemies that may come to break up their union. Coins are sometimes given in a wedding ceremony. The coins are easy to understand: this is the bride and groom’s way of saying that all their wealth belongs to each other. No one owns any money independently of each other. They are heirs together. Finally, a groom gives his last name to the bride. This means that the wife will be treated with the same respect as the groom. She can sign for any withdrawal from the bank. She is Mrs. Groom and has the use of Mr. Groom’s name. His name is her name and thus she has instantly becomes as rich as her husband. Stories in the Bible As I describe for you the marriage covenant, many of you, that are knowledgeable of the Bible, can immediately recall scriptures or stories that illustrate the covenant we have with God. For example, David’s utter confidence in God helping him defeat Goliath is based on David’s belief in the covenant. David begins by calling Goliath and “uncircumcised” Philistine. You see, circumcision is the cutting so blood flows. What David was saying to Goliath was “Goliath you do not have a covenant with God and I do! So the battle is not mine, but the Lord’s! He is on my side!” David also said, “You come against me with a sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Sam 17:45). Do you see his complete assurance in the covenant? Being covenant-minded caused David to have great faith, and the same will be true of you. Not only does this story illustrate the blood covenant, but there are many New Testament passages that we may be very familiar with but don’t recognize that these famous scriptures were based on the blood covenant. Here are some examples: The Last Supper is a memorial meal for us to keep until Jesus returns. This is why churches have crosses over their buildings. Many people often set up trees as a memorial to a covenant. In the same way, the cross is a memorial to a covenant. In the covenant, God has pronounced blessings upon us. It is not enough that God has saved us; He continues to bless us, all because of the covenant. The Bible says for us to put on the full armor of God. Why? It is because God has given us a promise to fight our battles. He gave us His armor so we can be assured of victory. The Bible says we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ (see Rom 8:17). Everything God has belongs to us, because we have a blood covenant through Jesus Christ. If we need wisdom, then God promises to give it to us. If we are weak, then He will be our strength. If we lack anything, then God promises to make it up to us. He does this because of the covenant we have with Him. Jesus gave us the right to use his name. “In my name you shall drive out demons and heal the sick. Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” Where did Jesus get the concept of giving us His name? It has to do with the covenant we have with Him. As our groom, He gives us His name. We are as rich as Jesus! Plead the Blood Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs (Exod 12:7). It is not enough that you have a covenant with God, but you must apply the blood of Jesus over you life. The reason many believers remain defeated is because they have not applied the blood for their lives. It is your responsibility to put the blood on your life. How do you do it? It is simple; the way the Israelites put the blood over the doorframes of their houses was by taking a “hyssop” and dipping it into the blood and like a painter, coating their doorframes with blood. A hyssop was a plant with water in its stems. The water speaks of the Word of God. Blood and water flowed down Jesus’ side. You are to take the water of the Word of God, and with your hyssop—the tongue—put the blood of Jesus over your life and family. In other words, you apply the blood by speaking the Word of God and pleading the blood of Jesus. The term plead is a legal term. A lawyer may plead a case. They plead not in the sense of “begging”, but in the sense of claiming their client’s “rights”. The blood of Jesus gives you rights over the devil and rights with God. You claim your rights by claiming the promises of God. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (Rev 12:11). You overcome Satan by two ways: first, the blood of Jesus and second, by you speaking the testimony that the blood provides for you. When a lawyer brings a case to court he brings to the stand “witnesses” to “testify.” Well, you are the witness to testify to what the blood has done for you. Testify that the blood cleanses you from sin. Testify that the blood frees you from Satan’s power. Testify that the blood heals all your diseases. Testify to the goodness of God because of the blood. Without your testimony, Christ, who is your advocate-lawyer cannot help you with your case. Your testimony is essential to winning the victory.
12/19/2010 10:23:10 PM	The Blood Covenant
missionaryrick Clarksville, TN 61, joined Sep. 2008	That's great stuff, Mindya! Thanks! And that's one label I've always gladly accepted: Convenantalist. Many here in North America, with our western, rational mentalities, confuse covenant with contract. We think everything is a contract with clauses, conditions, and loopholes for lawyers to decipher and enforce. Not so with God and His covenant with us. He gave us His all, unconditionally, except to believe on Him Who He sent.
12/28/2010 12:41:35 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	Quote from missionaryrick: That's great stuff, Mindya! Thanks! And that's one label I've always gladly accepted: Convenantalist. Many here in North America, with our western, rational mentalities, confuse covenant with contract. We think everything is a contract with clauses, conditions, and loopholes for lawyers to decipher and enforce. Not so with God and His covenant with us. He gave us His all, unconditionally, except to believe on Him Who He sent. Thanks Rick, I think this ties in nicely with the topic of the Eternal Security of the believer. [Edited 12/28/2010 12:41:59 PM ]
12/28/2010 12:52:07 PM	The Blood Covenant
blackhillsgal Sedona, AZ 60, joined Nov. 2009	has been completed.than he gave up the ghost.
1/9/2011 2:59:54 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	Bringing this up for some air
1/9/2011 3:31:13 PM	The Blood Covenant
mooniedoonie Greenville, SC 50, joined Feb. 2008	Taught me some things i didn't know.I knew a few things about the blood covenant but this shines a much brighter light! thanks Mindya.
1/9/2011 6:22:15 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	Quote from mooniedoonie: Taught me some things i didn't know.I knew a few things about the blood covenant but this shines a much brighter light! thanks Mindya. Glad you found some thing of value here MD - when I read the book (from where the opening post is derived) it certainly brought various passage from the bible into focus.
1/10/2011 4:54:31 AM	The Blood Covenant
rtay Port Saint Lucie, FL 66, joined Aug. 2010	great post mindya,It was both informative and convicting,thanks Just finished a study last night on 1peter 1:2 on the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,would like to share it. "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" This phrase is based on Mose's sprinkling sacrificial on the people of Israel as a symbol sealing their covenant as they promise to obey God's Word.Likewise,in the new covenant,faith in the shedding of Christ's blood on the cross not only activates God's promise to give the believer perfect atonement for sin,but also brings the believer into the covenant by one's promise of obedience to the Lord and His Word. God Bless
1/10/2011 5:00:13 AM	The Blood Covenant
dennyinmi Rochester, MI 58, joined Dec. 2010	I prefer the "Bible" layout....and understanding...I also prefer the "true" biblical wording...
1/10/2011 5:24:28 AM	The Blood Covenant
redford2go Canal Fulton, OH 72, joined Oct. 2009	Thanks, mindya. I have often tried to tell folks that marriage is a blood covenant; but many do not believe it. Great post, and I hope everyone here on the forum reads it. Also, too bad I didn't understand the blood covenant in my youth. Neither did my wife. Understanding of what "holy matrimony" really is could have saved many of us a lot of trouble and heartache. Thre is very little teaching in the churches of today about this. [Edited 1/10/2011 5:29:04 AM ]
1/11/2011 6:55:49 PM	The Blood Covenant
mindya Vancouver, BC 64, joined Jan. 2009	Quote from redford2go: Also, too bad I didn't understand the blood covenant in my youth. Neither did my wife. Me and mine either Red.
1/11/2011 7:04:20 PM	The Blood Covenant
rtay Port Saint Lucie, FL 66, joined Aug. 2010	same boat Mindya,Red.the saddest words of tongue or pen are the words ,it might have been thanks for the lesson Mindya

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