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Awesome Hands - part 115 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – Part 115

“Thy brothers blood crieth from the ground”

April 21, 2017

Our previous study left us looking at how it is we, as the body and bread of Christ, participate with Jesus Christ in going to the altar, table and cross of the Lord so that “through death” Life can come forth.

This Life in Jesus, also involves many facets that aren’t apparent to most of the world because they have been hidden in scripture and by the Spirit of God.

In our study today, we are going to move to our next set of verses which shows us just how important the blood of Jesus is but also how it is we deal with the blood of Jesus within our everyday lives.

The verses for consideration today are found in Leviticus 7.

Lev 7:25  For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
Lev 7:26  Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
Lev 7:27  Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Lev 7:28  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 7:29  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
Lev 7:30  His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.
Lev 7:31  And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.
Lev 7:32  And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
Lev 7:33  He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.

As with most of scripture, there is a lot being said within a few verses, and when that is coupled with spiritual types and shadows, there can be an overwhelming amount of extra information that doesn’t always rise to the surface without a little digging.

There are a few points of interest I would like to cover in this study as it pertains to the verses we just read, and of course there is more that can be said beyond what will be covered in this study.

When I read about “blood”, “peace offerings”, “fire”, “wave offerings”, “heave offerings” and the altar, I tend to be a little intrigued at what could be gleaned from all of these topics being mentioned together within a few verses.

As many of you know, I have written about these very topics within the context of the “Awesome Hands” series, but I am going to bring those topics all together in this study in a much more condensed version, Lord willing. However, this will all be familiar if you’ve read those studies, but it should also provide a way to gel them all together nicely in why it matters for us.

“Thy brothers blood crieth from the ground”

When you look at Leviticus 7:25-27, these verses are mentioned before “And the Lord spoke with Moses…”. When we see this phrase, it usually indicates to us another “session” or transition that the target has with the Lord; in this case Moses. I say “session” because right before verse 28 we are being told of different commandments pertaining to the other offerings, and then we are given new information about what “blood” represents. “Blood” is going to be somewhat of the focus of this study.

Before this “new information” concerning blood is recorded in Leviticus 7, we have some other very significant events happen with blood, so we are going to mention those here for a little context.

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Gen 4:10  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11  And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
Gen 4:12  When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Gen 4:13  And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Gen 4:14  Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Gen 4:15  And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Gen 4:16  And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

This story is, of course, the story of the first murder in scripture. Notice that Cain is cursed from the earth, and scripturally speaking, Cain’s seed after him will be cursed to not gain the strength of the “earth” either. We know that the physical application of this applies but so, too, does the spiritual.

As with any story, we have both men being discussed, and the new man, in type, has had His blood shed so that the EARTH has opened “her mouth” to receive the blood of “righteous” Abel.

When you start to put together that since the foundation of the world the Lord has been establishing His people to rule with Him, then these stories start to speak much more to what our purpose of living life is today. We are all in training for something much more glorious than anything this life itself and alone has to offer.

“Shed no blood”

Our next significant mentioning of blood as we build up to Leviticus is found with the story of Joseph and his brothers selling him as a slave. Those verses are found in Genesis 37.

Gen 37:18  And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
Gen 37:19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Gen 37:21  And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
Gen 37:22  And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Gen 37:23  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
Gen 37:24  And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
Gen 37:25  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Gen 37:26  And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

And then a few verses later we see:

Gen 37:31  And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
Gen 37:32  And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
Gen 37:33  And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

This familiar story is one that shows us the plan of God in full effect on the seed of the free woman versus the seed of the bondwoman. Though Joseph and his brothers are not directly mentioned as representing these two groups, we know that they do from the “sum of thy Word”.

Again, we see the “earth” being used of God to “swallow” up the new man, in type, as represented by Joseph. Additionally, we see that blood is directly connected to the earth in that blood is used to deceive Jacob into thinking that Joseph is dead while Joseph is actually alive.

There is much more to this story, but for this study’s purposes we are going to move to the next example of blood being mentioned found in Genesis 49.

Gen 49:1  And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2  Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Gen 49:8  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9  Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 49:11  Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Gen 49:12  His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

When we hear or read the words “last days” we should immediately be brought into remembrance that these are very significant clue words into what is being talked about.

In this story we have Jacob telling his twelve sons what it is that shall happen with each of their tribes. There is so much being said here in just a few verses that a whole study could be dedicated to breaking them apart, and it would barely touch the surface on what is contained here.

However, for the sake of this study, we will concentrate on just a few points.

Judah’s prophesy of what he and his tribe shall represent is very revealing for the true spiritual Jews who are God’s children, and it is important to grasp this so that, as God’s children, we can draw on the strength that can be found in these Words of Life.

The power of God rests upon His children and has freely been given to them. Do you believe this and believe you are a child of God? Are you a son of God now? The rod of authority will not depart from you if you know you are a son of God.

The foal mentioned in verse 11 is significant in several ways since it is the same word translated as “ass” elsewhere in scripture.

Since Christ comes from the tribe of Judah, and this prophecy is about the coming “Shiloh” or savior, it is interesting to note that Christ comes riding on a donkey that was tied to a vine.

See, the beast that is given a deadly wound and then healed has ALWAYS been tied to the vine since the foundation of the world.

Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
Mat 21:2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
Mat 21:3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We have always been tied to the vine. We are a peculiar people indeed but very scattered. Not only are we scattered geographically in most cases, but much more importantly, we are scattered among the nations of the earth that dwell within us.

While one of us may have conquered one nation of depression, with Christ in us doing the work, others in the body still struggle with the war that rages in the heavens. While one of us may have conquered the land of addiction, many others of us may still be trying to stop using pain medicines, stop smoking, stop viewing inappropriate material on the internet, etc.

Indeed we are scattered on the earth, and that is exactly why we must be in fellowship with one another. Christ is the Head who sits upon His shoulders. Christ is the Head who rides upon the donkey who has always been tied to Him, the vine.

However, there is a time that we, as His body, realize that this truly does come at a price, and the price is the blood of Christ; the new man.

Indeed, even the waters will be turned to blood in our hearts and minds. The very thing that gives us hope, the Word of God as represented in water, will be brought into remembrance as bringing DEATH TO ALL OF US.

That is where we find ourselves in Exodus 7, the next mentioning of blood before our verses found in Leviticus.

Exo 4:1  And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
Exo 4:2  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
Exo 4:3  And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
Exo 4:4  And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
Exo 4:5  That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
Exo 4:6  And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
Exo 4:7  And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
Exo 4:8  And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
Exo 4:9  And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

Continuing, we see this come to pass in the water bring turned to blood as a plague on Egypt.

Exo 7:17  Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
Exo 7:18  And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
Exo 7:20  And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Exo 7:21  And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 7:22  And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.

The magicians can always simulate the blood of Christ with their enchantments. Yep, you heard me correctly. The blood of Christ can be simulated and faked by the magicians who claim to have the power of God.

Sure, they may not directly make these bold claims, but in their actions they certainly convey the concept. The rod of authority, the scepter, is given to those that are from the spiritual tribe of Judah, the house of God.

When you couple this together with the water of the Nile being turned into blood by the rods given to Moses and Aaron, then it is easy to conclude that these actions have significant importance.

The first plague upon Egpyt, which affected both the Egyptians and the Israelites, was turning water into blood. Likewise, the first miracle done by Christ, as recorded in scripture, was Jesus turning water into wine.

Before you look at this miracle as NOT being blood but wine, I present to you Exhibit A.

Mat 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Ahh, how intriguing it is!

We are now brought full circle around to what communion with the Life of Christ is all about and how this all relates to Leviticus.

In Leviticus we see the Israelites being given very specific commandments on how to participate in the various offerings being mentioned. However, we want to participate in these offerings spiritually, and we want to be living a life with whatever time remains for us in such a way that this participation is relevant and out there for the world to see.

The world of Christianity just celebrated Easter, a very pagan-oriented holy day holiday, and they didn’t flinch in their ignorance of what they are doing. Truly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event to happen to all of humanity as it relates to the meaning of Life!

Let’s connect this to Paul’s writing on 1 Corinthians.

1Co 11:23  For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1Co 11:24  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:25  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
1Co 11:27  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
1Co 11:33  Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, TARRY ONE FOR ANOTHER
1Co 11:34  And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

How does all of this connect to the verses in Leviticus which we started with in this study?

Lev 7:27  Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Wow, there is so much contained in this one verse! The life is in the blood! The Israelites were forewarned that they would be cut off from “their people” if they ate any manner of blood, but we see Christ TELLING us to DRINK HIS BLOOD.

Let me ask all of you if you have been cut off from your people for daring to JUDGE YOURSELF and drink the blood of Christ. When you drink the blood of Christ, you are GUILTY of the BODY and the BLOOD of the Lord.

Isn’t it interesting that Paul tells us all about the blood and body of Christ, moves to judgment, and then moves directly back to WAIT FOR EACH OTHER? That is followed up by “if a man is hungry let him eat at home”.

Now, I ask you what “home” are we to think about here. Sure there is a physical and outward application, but there is also a Holy Spirit inspired “house of God” that we need to consider.

The body of Christ does not go to the world, which worships other gods named “Ishtar” or “Eostre” or any other variation through the ages; for example, on Easter, for gaining sustenance to maintain the Life within them.

The body of Christ cannot EAT at the altar of devils and the altar of the Lord. I ask again what is the altar of the Lord?

The altar of the Lord is where we go to receive Life THROUGH death. Judging yourself means that YOU and I, Steven Crook, must pick up our cross and follow Christ to His. It means we must participate in seeing our lives consumed in His. It means we find meaning in living a life that will produce the fruits of the spirit by having fruit of our lives fall to the ground and die first so that Christ can increase.

When we start taking ourselves a lot less seriously, then our lives begin to have room for Christ to grow in them. If you consider what is able to be tempted by the devil in you, it is mostly items that have to do with YOU individually. If you take the 'YOU' out of the equation, Jesus increases, and He will give you victory over the flesh, eyes and pride of life that is in the world within you.

The importance of the blood of Christ is that the authentic blood can be seen when Christ is your covering and the garment you wear is Him. This garment can be SEEN by others because LESS of you is seen, and more of Christ Jesus is available to shine through from within you.

Jesus Christ’s ACTIONS and WORKS showed the Father to all around Him and likewise Christ Jesus is shown by His works in us to decrease “US”.

I conclude this study with these verse which sum up this study.

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
2Co 4:12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.