The Scarlet Thread – The First Blood Sacrifice
Scarlet Thread – The First Blood Sacrifice.
“Glory be to Jesus, Who in bitter pains, poured for me the life-blood, from His sacred veins.
Grace and life eternal, in that blood I find, blest be His compassion, infinitely kind.
Blest through endless ages, be the precious steam, which from endless torments, did the world redeem.
Lift ye then your voices, swell the mighty flood; louder still and louder, praise the precious blood.” (Friedrich Filitz).
Glory Be to Jesus – Christian Song with Lyrics (youtube.com)
The scarlet thread that is sewn into Holy Scripture from beginning to end is unmistakable. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Bible is blood-centric, that there is an overriding theme of blood wherever we look. We don’t need to be super-detectives to discover blood patterns in the Word. The Scripture seems practically preoccupied with blood, and one could be excused for observing that God seems to be out for blood. We find out why this is the case in Leviticus 17:11 and 13… “The life of all flesh is in its blood. The life is in the blood.” The Word of God seems preoccupied with blood only because God is preoccupied with life. God is out for blood only in the sense that He is out for Life. The Bible is blood-centric only because God is life-centric. In fact, the term “scarlet thread” is not strong enough. Instead, the Bible has a powerful crimson tsunami flowing through its pages from Genesis through Revelation, from before creation to the New Creation.
In this Bible study we will take a good look at the blood-stories in Scripture, from the divine sacrifice before the foundation of the world, to the animal sacrifice in the Garden of Eden; from the bloodshed in the first family, to the blood-themed covenant between God and Noah; from the Nile River, to the Passover in Egypt; from the bloody mess in the Tabernacle, to the Scarlet Worm that hinted at Jesus. Yes, there seem to be blood-splatters all over the floors and walls of Scripture. Through it all, the precious blood of Jesus is the centerpiece.
“Adonai God made garments of animal skin, long tunics of leather, for Adam and his wife.” (Genesis 3:20).
In the long history of blood in Scripture, the first blood sacrifice surprisingly occurred in the Garden of Eden. After directly disobeying the command of the Lord, Adam and Eve hid in shame, covered only with a leafy loin cloth of some sort. So the Lord saw fit to commit the world’s first sacrifice. He shed the blood of an animal in order to make leather tunics for his disobedient ones. I would think that killing a part of His creation broke His heart. This is the first hint in the Bible of the death of an innocent animal for the benefit of the guilty. Adam and Eve didn’t ask for this blood sacrifice, but God knew they were ashamed and needed to be covered. Could it be the animal sacrificed in the Garden was an innocent, spotless lamb?
There’s Power in the Blood (Words and Music by Lewis E. Jones): “Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder-working pow’r in the blood of the Lamb; There is power, power, wonder-working pow’r In the precious blood of the Lamb.
Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide, There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb; There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.
Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder-working power In the blood of the lamb; There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.”
(Note: Please take five minutes out of your busy life and give this a listen. It will knock your socks off).