The blood of life
“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NIV
“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting.” Genesis 9:4 NIV
The Lord created us as both physical and spiritual. While the physical is quite obvious, we know we are spiritual because the breath of life that came from God has to be spiritual – an unseen force because God is spiritual.
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 NIV
This commentary is to help elucidate God’s mystery to the importance of blood that science itself has yet to discover. I stumbled on this information quite by accident, but I do believe it was at the leading of the Holy Spirit because once a believer understands the importance of blood; faith is strengthened to a higher degree!
“Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood-I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” Leviticus 17:10-11 NIV
What made this rule so important? We know that the sacrifices were also a type- representing Christ and the cross- the realization of the “Life is in the blood” is very important at understanding Jesus on a deeper level. Please keep this in mind- it all goes back to Jesus.
I want to mention this commentary was not born out of my own thought, as I had read this the other day on the internet, but I have rewritten the concept or idea if you will, and added my own thoughts and deeper concepts, to help make this better understood. So let’s continue…
Science has revealed a great deal about blood and what it can do, in fact at the time of writing this commentary, I am home schooling my daughter on the circulatory system. Blood is quite fascinating, and yet, we do not know all there is to know about this life giving force that is completely circulated through out our bodies at a rate of about one to three minutes!
The heart pumps 100,000 times a day!
The properties of blood are astounding! It is made up of plasma- that is an amber colored liquid, which is more than 90% water! (Keep this in mind when we go into detail about Jesus death!) Plasma also contains protein that helps the blood to clot, hormones, nutrients, enzymes, antibodies as well as the body’s waste products.
The blood is also a way for disease and bacteria to harm and kill the body. As much as science has taught us, there is no way to understand blood and its life giving properties on a spiritual level.
The brain cannot live without oxygen and in fact, no part of our body can. Blood carries oxygen to the body- all of it. The brain just happens to be the “computer” of our bodies, and so when there is a lack of oxygen, while other body parts suffer, the brain suffers the most and shuts down. However, a person can be revived after a time of ‘death’ when the supply of oxygen is cut off to the brain, when the body is drained of what is called the “elixir of life” or blood, it is dead, and no amount of reviving will help.
The methods of suicide come to mind at this point, and why some people choose shedding blood over other methods, to me it speaks of Satan making sure that the person cannot be revived after his mental assault. I have to say this is tragic, to say the least.
Our bibles cannot define to us the perfect meaning of certain words or contexts and to figure out the LIFE that is in the blood we have to turn to Hebrew understanding.
Hebrew word nephesh (נפש), which literally means the "complete life of a being" though it is usually used in the sense of "living being" (breathing creature).
Genesis 2:7
• The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being [nephesh]. NIV
• And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh].[6] KJV
Nephesh recipe:
1. Take one physical body
2. Insert the breath of life into the body
3. Results: A living, breathing, nephesh
Death of nephesh
• By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.[51]
• When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.[52]
• And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit [breath] returns to God who gave it.[53]
Death of a nephesh is the reverse of the creation of a nephesh.
1. Start with a living physical being (nephesh).
2. Remove the breath of life.
3. Result: The dead physical body turns to dust.
A nephesh is a living physical body with the breath of life. A dead physical body without breath is not nephesh. Nephesh is no more. The breath of life returns to God who gave it
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephesh
I would like to encourage you to further read the in depth study of NEPHESH at the link provided above.
Does the Hebrew definition give us a proper understanding? I think so. Let’s continue.
“The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood (NEPHESH) cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood (NEPHESH) from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Genesis 4:10-12 NIV
“O earth, do not cover my blood (NEPHESH); may my cry never be laid to rest!” Job 16:18 NIV
* Bible commentary for Job states, “Job felt that his blood, like Abel’s was innocent and would therefore cry out from the ground AFTER his death.”
“The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls (NEPHESH) of the wounded cry out for help.” Job 24:12 NIV
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls (NEPHESH) of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, sovereign Lord, Holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood!” Revelation 6:9-10 NIV
Scripture directs us away from the physical properties of the blood that science has discovered down to a microscopic level. But in actuality they cannot go any further because both scientists and technology lack spiritual eyesight.
