Bloody Valentine

Okay, okay. I know that's a gross title but it popped into my head and stuck so I rolled with it.

And it's not a cheap shot at Valentine's Day because frankly, I woke up yesterday and forgot that it was Valentine's Day until a friend sent me a text message about it.

And while we are on the subject, what is it with people who aren't single giving you the sad puppy eye this weekend or telling you that they are praying for you because they know that this time of year has to be hard on "someone like you"? Are you saying I should be crying uncontrollably because I don't have a "valentine" to buy me nice things or to buy nice things for?

I don't know about any of the other single people out there, but I'm saving a whole lotta dough this weekend by being single. So, I'm not bothered at all.

Anyway, I digress.

Seeing that yesterday was Valentine's Day and Valentine's Day has to do with hearts and real hearts have blood flowing through them, I felt the need to share a bit of our lesson from yesterday's church service because it has a little something to do with the red stuff.

We are reading through the Bible this year, chronologically, and this past week's reading had to do with the Exodus, the Ten Commandments and the confirmation of the covenant between God and His people, the Israelites.

I don't know about you, but I'm learning a whole bunch of stuff that I didn't learn in Sunday School. Some crazy, confusing, harsh realities that I'm sure were sugar-coated or even omitted due to the fact that it could seriously scare some people away from the Christian faith if you really don't understand it.

But, I digress again.

Sunday's lesson was on the "Blood That Satisfies". We looked at the importance of the blood in Exodus 12 and 24 as well as in the new covenant that we are a part of today.

Exodus 12 tells of the Passover. You know the story. The tenth plague would kill all of the first born in Egypt and the Lord told Moses to have all the Israelites kill a spotless lamb and spread the blood of the lamb over the door frame so that the Israelite first born would be spared by the wrath of God. There is much more to the story but that is the gist. Read Exodus 12 to get the full picture.

We learn that the captives were freed by the blood of the lamb. The sacrifice of the spotless lamb is acceptable to God by the grace of God. And through faith, the sacrifice is applied to us -- man.

Then in Exodus 24, we see that God has given the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites. This is when the covenant is confirmed. The Israelites commit to following the Law that Yahweh has given them. There is sacrifice. Moses throws blood on the altar, read the Book of the Covenant (which is basically Exodus up to this point), and the people said, "All that THE LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."

Then, here is where it gets a little ugly. Moses takes the rest of the blood and throw it on the people.

Now, let's just get something straight. If I went to church, and David Platt read from the Bible and then pulled out a bucket of blook and threw it on me, I'd be a little concerned at what I had gotten myself into in joining this church. I'd be a little caught off guard, a lot grossed out and pretty upset that he just ruined part of my wardrobe.

However, to understand what this really means, we have to go back to chapter 19 and see what happened there.

In chapter 19, (vs. 12-13, 21-23) God is getting ready to give Moses the Ten Commandments. When Moses meets with God on the Mount Sinai, he tells Moses to set limits in the camp so that the people cannot touch or even get near the mountain. If they do, they will be consumed by the powerful glory of God. Basically, they are dead. Dunzo. Finished.

Now, let's go back to chapter 24. Moses drenches the people in blood and then...see what it says in verses 9-10.

"Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel."

THEY SAW HIM! They saw God. They gazed upon the glory of God. When just five chapters ago, they were forbidden to even approached the mountain that God was on.

What changed?

Blood.

They were covered with the blood of the lamb. The blood of the lamb that was sacrificed and was accepted by God.

So what does this mean for us?

We gaze on the glory of God everyday because of the blood that was shed by the spotless Lamb called Jesus Christ.

His blood covers us, and he was a substitute for us, so that we could be brought out from under the undeniable wrath of God that we so completely deserve.

His blood covers us, and in turn, redeems us.

What is the difference between our cries of sorrow as we drown in our sin and the unfathomable freedom we know in Jesus Christ?

BLOOD.

I know I didn't do this justice at all here, so if this at all interests you, please go listen or watch the full sermon by David Platt. You won't regret it.