The Blood Covenant

[stmatthew]

I did a search to see if this had been discussed, but did not find anything. I have twice now dreamed that I was preaching on the blood covenant. So I am in the process of gathering info on the subject.

From what I have gathered, a covenant is the strongest agreement 2 people can make. I have read all the symbolism involved (i.e. blood brothers, marriage ceremony, etc). I found the story of Henry M Stanley very interesting in reference to covenants. But I would like to here what others have to say on this powerful subject.

So what is your take on the Blood Covenant?

Do we really understand the implications of such a covenant we the Church currently have with God Almighty?

What are the benefits of the Blood Covenant?

What are we lacking to see the full benefits of this "agreement"?

I guess that is a good start for this subject.

[mizpeh]

I've been thinking about the NEW COVENANT that we are partakers of and wondering what it involves.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, right? God promises eternal life through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. What do we promise in return? Is this covenant one sided?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away

[stmatthew]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

I've been thinking about the NEW COVENANT that we are partakers of and wondering what it involves.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, right? God promises eternal life through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. What do we promise in return? Is this covenant one sided?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away

My understanding thus far of this new covenant that was purchased with blood is that God (Jesus Christ) gave his life as his part of the covenant to purchase our liberty. Our part is that we give the same, namely our lives to him. That is why it can be said that we are not our own. We are to give ourselves totally to God as a living sacrifice. The reason so many fall short of the covenant promises is that they continue to cling to their life, and fail to loose it to Him, that He may give them His life to rest in.

[shawndell]

In the old testament we had the ark of the covenant. In the new testament,we became the ark of the covenant.Through the blood of Jesus.The vail was rent to the holy of holies. Man was now able to enter in,so now through the holy ghost Gods power fills us,and we become the ark of the covenant!! Praise him!!!

[Sam]

There are four methods used in the Bible to ratify a covenant. They are ordered from the least binding to the most binding form of commitment to the covenant 1.

1. Hand Covenant
Much like the handshake of today, two parties would shake hands or strike the palms of their hands together. (Ezra 10:19; Eze. 17:18)
2. Shoe Covenant
The two parties would exchange sandals signifying that the covenant was in effect until the sandals were returned. Boaz made this type of covenant with the kinsman-redeemer to redeem Ruth (Ruth 4:8).
3. Salt Covenant
Because salt was vital to every traveler in Biblical times (it prevents dehydration and allows the body to retain moisture), each carried a pouch that they would carry around their waste. Once the terms of a covenant had been agreed upon, each party would put a small pinch of salt in the others pouch. This signified that the covenant could only be broken if the exact grains of salt were returned to the original owner. (God made several of these with the Israelites Lev. 2:13; Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5)
4. Blood Covenant
After the terms were settled an animal was divided in half through its median plane and laid out on the ground. Both parties would grasp hands, recite the terms and walk together between the pieces of the carcass. This was the most severe and serious of the covenants. It signified that the party that broke the covenant would have the same thing done to them as to the animal - it carried the death penalty. The animal's death also represented the permanancy of the terms of the covenant. The two parties could alter the terms while they were alive, but once dead they could not change them. The animal represented the death of both parties, meaning that the covenant was unchangeable.

1. Adapted from: Pentecost, J. Dwight, Thy Kingdom Come (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1995), 57.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Sam

...
4. Blood Covenant
After the terms were settled an animal was divided in half through its median plane and laid out on the ground. Both parties would grasp hands, recite the terms and walk together between the pieces of the carcass. This was the most severe and serious of the covenants. It signified that the party that broke the covenant would have the same thing done to them as to the animal - it carried the death penalty. The animal's death also represented the permanancy of the terms of the covenant. The two parties could alter the terms while they were alive, but once dead they could not change them. The animal represented the death of both parties, meaning that the covenant was unchangeable.
...

covenant comes from "co" or "con" meaning together and "venire" meaning to come. therefore the meaning is to come together, to agree

An example of a blood covenant is given in Genesis 15:1-21
YHWH appeared to Abram and promised him descendants from his own body (not adopted like his servant would have been) like the stars and promised him the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Euphrates.
Abram took animals, split them, and arranged them.
The next step would ordinarily be for the two to walk together between the pieces in a figure eight. However, in this case a deep sleep came upon Abram and as he slept, God walked through the pieces alone, signifying that He alone brought everything to the covenant, all Abram had to do was accept it and believe it. God sware by Himself.

[Sam]

David Livingstone arrived in Africa in 1840 with two goals: to explore the continent and to end the slave trade. In England, his writings and lectures ignited the public's imagination regarding the "Dark Continent" and elevated Livingstone to the status of a national hero.

In 1864 Livingstone returned to Africa and mounted an expedition through the central portion of the continent with the objective of discovering the source of the Nile River. As months stretched into years, little was heard from the explorer. Rumors spread that Livingstone was being held captive or was lost or dead. Newspapers headlined the question "Where is Livingstone?" while the public clamored for information on the whereabouts of their national hero. By 1871, the ruckus had crossed to the shores of America and inspired George Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald, to commission newspaper reporter Henry Stanley to find Livingstone.

Henry Stanley was a remarkable man. Orphaned at an early age he spent his formative years in a workhouse in Wales, crossed the Atlantic at age 15 as a crewman of a merchant ship and jumped ship in New Orleans. Befriended by a local merchant, he took the man's name - Henry Stanley - as his own and went on to fight in the Civil War before working his way into a career in journalism.

Leading an expedition of approximately 2,000 men, Stanley headed into the interior from the eastern shore of Africa on March 21, 1871. After nearly eight months he found Livingstone in Ujiji, a small village on the shore of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871.

When Sir Henry Morton Stanley conducted his famed search for Dr. David Livingston in Africa, he was confronted by a particularly powerful tribe that tried to hinder him from proceeding. The guide who was with him explained that if he wanted to continue his search, he would have to cut covenant with the chief of that tribe. He wasn't sure what that implied, so he asked. The guide explained that there would be an exchange of gifts, and that blood - Dr. Stanley's as well as the chief's - would have to be shed. Dr. Stanley agreed and they began the process.

Before the blood was shed, they had to exchange gifts. Dr. Stanley was not in good health and took a goat with him everywhere he went for its milk. When the chief said that he wanted that goat, therefore, it was a difficult decision for Stanley to make. If he failed to please the chief and did not successfully cut the covenant, he would not be allowed to continue his search.

In the end, he yielded and gave the goat and, in exchange, he received a tall spear wrapped with copper. To Dr. Stanley, this did not seem like a very impressive gift. After all, what practical good would it be to him? Nevertheless, the covenant was completed, and he departed on his journey.

The very next time his party met someone along the way, a very unusual thing happened. The person they met bowed before Dr. Stanley. He didn't understand this at first, until he was told that the chief had given him the symbol of his own authority. Stanley had been worried about losing a goat, but now he could request a whole herd of goats if he wanted to.

[Sam]

From the beginning of time, people have understood a covenant to be a binding agreement between two parties. The word "covenant" actually means to "cut a covenant by the shedding of blood." A blood covenant has always been considered the most sacred of all compacts. When you enter into blood covenant with someone, you promise to give him or her your life, your love and your protection forever.

The Covenant Ritual

In ancient times, people expressed their covenant relationship in a dramatic way. they would exchange their coat or robe, which represented themselves, as a means of mutually committing their lives to one another. Then they would exchange their belts. Because the belt held their weapons in place, it symbolized their power. By exchanging it, they were pledging their strength, support, protection and ability to fight for and defend one another. Reference 1 Samuel 18:1-4 where Jonathan (son of the king) took off his robes and weapons and put them on David. David was now dressed in Jonathan’s clothing. In this same way, we exchanged garments with Jesus. He took our sins and we received His righteousness. He has clothed us in His righteousness. And, He has equipped us with divine armor (Ref Ephesians 6:13-18). Also, we now have God as our Defense. We do not have to face any enemy in our own power.

Next, the two parties would actually "cut the covenant" by killing an animal and splitting it down the middle. the bloody halves of the animal represented the two people making the covenant. They would then make the covenant walk between the pieces of flesh. by this act, they were showing their willingness to give up the rights to their own lives and begin a new walk with their covenant partner unto death. They would die to their own self life and would live for one another. This was the end of independent living. They were also vowing, “May my life be taken like the life of these animals if I fail to keep my part of the covenant.”

After cutting the covenant, they would raise their right arms, cut their palms, and bring them together to intermingle their blood. As their blood intermingled, they believed their lives were intermingling and becoming one, taking on the nature of their blood covenant partner. We have actually become one with Jesus. His Spirit and our spirit have been joined and have become one (reference 1 Corinthians 6:17).

The next step was to rub ashes or dirt into the wound to make a scar over the cut as a permanent testimony to the covenant. It would always be there as a guarantee, reminding the two parties of their covenant rights and responsibilities. They could later look at that scar as a reminder of the covenant. Jesus looks at the scars in His hands and sees us. This may be the meaning of Isaiah 49:14-16 where God says He has engraved us on the palms of His hands.

Following this, they would exchange names as a means of identifying with one another. As they were now known by each other’s name, the would be expected to think, talk, and act like their blood covenant partner. And of course we are called by the name of Jesus. God is taking out of the Gentiles a people for His Name (Acts 15:14). In Revelation 7:1-8 we see 144,000 people from the 12 tribes of Israel who receive a seal in their foreheads. In Rev. 14:1 we are told that this seal is the name of God.
They would then give the terms of the covenant, pledging to commit their assists to one another and taking responsibility for the other's liabilities. Thank God that we who were poor now have access to all the assets of God.

Next, they would have a memorial meal to symbolize their covenant union. They would take a loaf of bread and break it in two and feed it to each other. Then they would serve each other wine. The bread and wine represented their lives. By exchanging them, the two parties were expressing their desire to become one with each other.

Finally, they would leave a memorial to the covenant by planting a tree which they sprinkled with the blood of the animal. The blood-sprinkled tree, along with the scar, was a lasting testimony to their sacred covenant relationship. And of course this memorial tree is a picture of the blood-sprinkled cross (Ref Galatians 2:13 and 1 Peter 2:24).

[Sam]

a picture representing Genesis 15