Sunday 13 October 2013

Response to Jono Vandor and Jason Spiritual Babies: Blood Atonement 2



The next point I will move onto is the subject of Exodus 24:8, Leviticus 14 and Hebrews 9:18-21. Jono Vandor and Jason Spiritual Babies in their video "Regarding all these words" were asserting that the writer had gotten the details wrong. Interestingly, there is a simple answer to this issue, provided by Robert Gundry in his commentary on the New Testament. He says on page 897 regarding this section the following:
"The record of it's inaugural ceremony in Exodus 24:8 lacks the element of water, used for cleansing. The addition  here of "water" to "the blood of calves and he-goats" points up by association the cleansing power of sacrificial blood whereas non-sacrificial blood blood stains rather than cleanses (see the comments on Revelation 7:14 for the oxymoron of blood that cleanses). The scarlet colour of the wool corresponds with the hyssop (a branchy plant) get mentioned as instruments for sprinkling "the blood of the covenant". Apperantly the woold was twisted into thread and used a string to tie together the branches of hyssop.

"All the people" occurs once in connection with Moses speaking "every commandment" and again in occurrence points up the obligation of everyone counted among God's people to obey every each commandment without exception. The second occurrence points to the privelage of everyone sprinkled to be counted among God's people. The sprinkling also of the book containing every commandment in the Law that book and all the people under "the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you" (As Moses puts it). "Has commanded" reprises the legislative character of the covenant. The similiar blood sprinkling of "both the tent and all the utensils for religious service" brings under the covenant subsequent sacrifices for transgressions of God's commandments, as indicated by the closing statement "without the pouring out of blood forgiveness doesn't happen." Exodus 24:3-8 says that Moses sprinkled sacrificial blood on the altar and the people but doesn't say that he sprinkled it on the book of the laws, the tent, and "all the utensils for religious service" (Although compare Leviticus 14:1-9)

Our author however includes the altar among the utensils and adds the book and the tent for the aforementoin purpose of bringing as many things as he can of the first covenant under sacrifical blood (compare Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 8:15-19; 14:4) "Almost all things are cleansed with blood" leaves room, however for the "heifer's ashes" as a cleansing agent when mixed with water (9:13 [see also Leviticus 5:11-13; 15:10; 16:26, 28; 22:6; Numbers 19:1-22; 31:21-24]). The blood of sacrificial animals effected the "forgiveness" of ritual impurity but couldn't effect the forgiveness of transgressions (see especially 10:3-4, 11)
So "the pouring out of blood" in the case of those animals prefigured the shedding of Jesus' blood, which has effected forgiveness. Pouring out alludes to the draining of the animals blood after it's throat has been slit (compare Leviticus 17), which practice prefigures the shedding of Jesus blood."

I will also add though Jesus throat wasn't slit, it was more to do with his blood being poured out that is compared to the animal being slain, considering the NT records Jesus being scourged with a whip in the Gospels, thus his back would of been raw with blood.

I hope this article has been of assistance to you.

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