A Filet Knife Can Sure Slice and Dice
All that blood! On our fishing trips, I am the designated cook. It’s my pleasure. I love rustling in all the fisher-people for their next chow-down. My son, Larry, is the fish-filet-er. He uses the sharpest filet knife to get the perfect, boneless filets for our big fish-fry. It was that knife that was laying on the counter when I needed something sharp to open a plastic bag. I grabbed it and sliced open the bag AND the palm of my hand. All that blood! Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep cut, but still in an area where a band-aid just couldn’t keep the blood from flowing.
I thought about that “bloody” scene when I read my devotion scripture from Exodus. Imagining my scene with the filet knife was minor compared to all the bloodshed in those sacrificial offerings. It makes me squirm a bit, but I get it. Blood played such an important role in the everyday life of the Israelites. When Moses splashed the blood of animals on the altar and sprinkled it on the people, everyone saw it as a beautiful, moving gesture. Can you even imagine – ALL THAT blood? But, that blood, the substance that gave life, sealed their covenant with God. It connected them with the altar of His presence.
We know the rest of the story. God lived up to his part of the covenant by making the Israelites His special people and by giving them the Law. But they didn’t always live up to their part. Sure, they promised to obey God’s commandments, but they often failed. Nevertheless, in the face of their failures, God remained faithful to them. He wouldn’t give up on his beloved people! But that just wasn’t good enough to God. Over time, He prepared for them AND us a new, better covenant, one that would be sealed not with the blood of animals but with the blood of his own Son, Jesus. Now, Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, has the power not only to cleanse us from our sins but to give us the grace to live in holiness and blessing. Through His blood, we are forgiven, healed, and protected. Thank you, Lord, for YOUR blood sacrifice for us.
Jesus initiated this new covenant at the Last Supper when He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which will be shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Every time we receive communion, we relive the Last Supper. God reminds us: “I have made an eternal covenant with you. I have given myself to you, all of myself, so that you can live with me forever.” What a GIFT!
This is our God, a God who continues to pursue His people, even when we stray. This is our God, who renews His covenant with us every time we receive the Body and Blood of His Son. What a gracious Father we have!
This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you. (Exodus 24:8)