THE BLOOD COVENANT – PART FIVE
Sunday – March 4, 2018
Thank you, Father, thank you Jesus, and thank you Holy Spirit for the wonderful New Blood Covenant! This wonderful Covenant was initiated with Abram some four thousand years ago, ratified at Calvary by Christ Jesus some two thousand years ago, now active in my life and your life too if Jesus is your Lord and High Priest and will be forever. Establishing and diligently abiding by Blood Covenant is love. The other two features of Bible love is obedience to the Word (John 14:21), the will of God, and being selfless (1 Corinthians 13). Our featured picture today depicts the events described in Genesis chapter fifteen. There are ten major tenants of blood covenant and thus far I have presented seven and today we will review the final three. This applies not only to our walk with God but our marriages. The tenants reviewed thus far are: 1) A weaker party covenants with a stronger party, 2) The establishment of the blood covenant creates an equality between the parties, 3) Blood Covenant is perpetual and eternal, 4) A Blood Covenant is indissoluble and unbreakable, 5) Blood Covenant is honored by succeeding generations, 6) The penalty of breaking a Blood Covenant is death, 7) Blood Covenant gives equal access to assets between the parties.
We will now move forward with the last three tenants.
- The blood covenant provides for reciprocate (give in return) actions. This provision is pivotal to our salvation. Because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac then the Father had to be willing to sacrifice His son, Jesus.
Genesis 22:15-18 (KJV)
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Everywhere that you see the word “seed” in the preceding passage it is masculine in gender and singular in number indicating the coming Messiah, Jesus, also a Son of promise just as Isaac was a son of promise.
- Blood covenant provides for mutual defense. By our being obedient to the Word of God we provide for His defense and our own.
In natural blood covenants between nations, tribes, or individuals this was a critical part of the covenant especially for the weaker party. In blood covenant they suddenly had the same stature as the stronger party. Well praise the Lord the same is true with our Blood Covenant in Christ Jesus, God is obligated to protect us and we are obligated to protect God, the Kingdom of God. If we are in breach of the Blood Covenant however God is not obligated. Sin, going our own way, I can do it myself attitude, separates us from the benefits of the Covenant for we have abandoned our obligations. Scriptural examples are very apparent in Deuteronomy twenty-eight and Psalm ninety-one.
Deuteronomy 28:1 (KJV)
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Psalm 91:9-10 (KJV)
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
These two chapters are well worth reading in their entirety. In Deuteronomy twenty-eight be very aware of the “if”. In Psalm ninety-one be very aware of our obligation to declare, not just mindlessly read or speak by rote but in faith, then think, talk, and act like it. One final thought on this tenant. One may be thinking that we are the only ones who need defending but that is not true, we are obligated to defend God, that is all that is God’s. Perhaps the following Scripture which was not just to Adam but to all of us for eternity.
Genesis 2:15 (KJV)
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
We are to work and guard our garden, the Kingdom of God. Now to the final tenant.
- This blood covenant requires a respect between the parties.
1 Samuel 2:30 (KJV)
30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (underlining added by Dr. Wood)
The failure to honor God with every aspect of our lives which includes our thoughts, words, and actions is a breach of Covenant and we have no right to expect Him to honor us. We all need to think of this the next time we are considering putting anything in front of our obligations before God or other men.
The Blood Covenant is the foundation and the guidelines for our love walk. This will make us more aware of our obligations and benefits but also more aware of why we are not seeing God manifest in lives. One essential point about this Blood Covenant, and this love, is that for it to have full force one must be dead to self. Just as Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Father, not my will but yours be done (Luke 22:42).
Hebrews 9:17 (KJV)
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 10 Village Green Circle, Oakland, Maine 04963
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
