Continuation ~   The Blood Covenant                  

(Author - Vilbert Vallane)

Part 2 - The Mystery of the Blood Covenant

The blood of Jesus was unique and incorruptible because it came from God and Jesus was sinless. Also we must consider the question that some have asked, "If Jesus truly was the Son of God, then why would God want to crucify His own son?" the only reason for the crucifixion has to do with blood and the shedding of blood for atonement according to Hebrew 9:22. So the blood of Jesus had to be shed and flow from His body for Him to be the final Passover sacrifice. The blood of all the animals being sacrificed at the temple had to flood out of the animal for the sacrifice to be proper and effective. Also, we must understand that his hands, feet and side carry the marks of the cross. The nail prints from his hands and feet, literally left holes, not just scars, and also their is hole left by the spear in his side. John 20:27 "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." So Jesus is a marked man, marked for all eternity. One man whose testimony I have heard that was taken to heaven stated that he could see light through the holes in the feet of Jesus when he fell down before Him. Large holes left by hugh nails. Adam was a marked man in that God took a rib from his side to make a wife for him. Abraham and his descendants were marked in their flesh by circumcision. This is one of the ways that the Jewish people will recognize Jesus when He returns, by the marks of the crucifixion that He carries. That is why none will be able to say that He wasn't crucified for our sins.

We know that when the animal sacrifices were brought to the temple and the blood was shed, sins were covered. Now lets talk about the New Covenant through the blood of Jesus. First, Jesus was born of the virgin Mary to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. Why? So, that the blood in His body would be pure and sinless in nature. At age 12 he was confounding the scribes and doctors of the law, so He obviously spent time learning the scriptures and had great wisdom even at that early age. But at age 30, the age that a man was allowed to enter into the priesthood, Jesus went into public ministry. Jesus was introduced by his cousin John the Baptist at the Jordan River as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the Word." So, Jesus is introduced as the Lamb. When you talk about a lamb in Jewish thinking, you are talking about Passover. That was the time when all the lambs were offered and sacrificed. He is introduced as the Lamb of God and as the one who would take away the sins of the world.

Several things happened at the time of Jesus suffering and crucifixion. The first thing that happens according to Matthew is what is called the Last Supper between Jesus and His disciples. They have the Passover Meal that He would share with His disciples. In the Jewish Passover, there are four cups used in the Passover Meal. The third cup is called the cup of redemption. Apparently, this is the cup Jesus is lifting when He makes the statement of Matthew 26:27-29. "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father\'s kingdom." What He is referring to when He speaks of drinking of this cup with His disciples in His Father's kingdom is most likely what is known as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which is a tremendous time of celebration and worship while partaking of this great feast in heaven.

Revelation 19:7-9. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb..." The fourth cup used in the Passover Meal is called the cup of rejoicing, which is the wedding cup. That is the particular cup Jesus was probably referring to partaking of with His bride in Heaven. We are told that as oft as we drink of this cup of the Communion of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, we do so in remembrance of Him and His death for us until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:25-26). After that moment was sealed with the drinking of the cup - which also is pictured in the Jewish wedding, for after the man is engaged and he sits down, they drink from a cup together showing that they are engaged. So that cup is more than a cup of redemption, but also when we drink from it, we are showing our fellowship with Him and that we are espoused to Him.

John 6:53-56 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." He was talking about this supper. When Abraham met Melchizadek, who was the first king and priest of the Most High God, king of Salem, which later became Jerusalem, he offered the wine and the bread to Abraham. So it was a type of the Passover Supper and the Communion Supper that was to come.

Second: Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Matthew 26:14-15. Why did Judas pick 30 pieces of silver? Yes it was a fulfillment of prophecy of Zechariah 11:12. More than that, a female slave could be redeemed back to the owner for 30 pieces of silver. The word church comes from the Greek ekklesia, ek-klay-see\'-ah, which is a feminine word. We are considered the bride of Christ on earth. At the marriage supper of the Lamb, we are His bride. Ekklesia means called out ones and the 30 pieces of silver represents our being purchased back to God even though it was the blood of Christ that paid the price we have here in figure or type. Judas, realizing what he had done, took the money back to the temple but the Priests couldn't put it back into the treasury so they bought a field called the potters field were strangers were to be buried (Matthew 27:3-5) which was a fulfillment of Jeremiah chapter 18 & 19 and Zechariah chapter 11.

Now, when Jesus partook of this meal and drink with His disciples, it was like the sealing of an engagement. It says, and then they sang a hymn (Matthew 26:30). During Passover season, the Jews sing songs called the Hallel songs, which are the Psalms which begin with "Praise Ye the Lord." Praise Ye the Lord is Hallelujah. One of the Psalms that would be sung at Passover is the Psalm that says, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Imagine Jesus getting ready to suffer and be whipped by the Romans, getting ready to be crucified and die for man and He is singing with His disciples, "This is the Day that the Lord hath made." That is amazing. All the patterns of what the Jews did at the Passover fit into the crucifixion story of the Lord Jesus Christ. Following this they go out in Matthew 26:36-39 to a place Jesus went often for prayer, the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a lot of tradition about the Garden of Gethsemane, which is located at the base of the Mount of Olives and is on the edge of the deep Kidron Valley that is in front of the Eastern Gate on the East side of the wall of Jerusalem. They are in this Garden praying, which is full of Olive Trees and then He goes into what is called agony, where His sweat becomes as great drops of blood. Here something interesting happens. In John 14:30, Jesus had said; "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." Hebrews 5:5-7 (Vs.7) "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared." Jesus had prayed for the Father to save Him from death and it says He was heard. Yet we know that He came to die on the cross and so this is not the death this must be referring too, but from a premature death, before He could get to the cross. Here in the Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, as when the priest laid his hands upon the goat sacrifice and transferred the sins of the people to the goat and then send it off into the wilderness, and in such agony that He was nigh unto death. When the load of the sins of the world were put upon Jesus, it was such a great load and heaven burden put upon Him with such agony that He was close to death. The angel of the Lord came to strengthen Him so that He could endure unto the cross. Here in the Garden, as Jesus prayed three times, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Mathew 26:39). Jesus prayed this prayer three times over a period of three hours. He was in a period of heavy intercession. Also it is interesting and significant to note that Jesus was in a Garden of trees when He took upon Himself the sins of the world because the first man Adam was in the Garden of Eden among the trees of the Garden when the serpent came and caused them to sin and the fall of man took place. The first man Adam experienced sin in the Garden and the last man Adam, Christ experiences the sins of the world being placed upon Him in a garden. I personally believe they were in the same geographical area. Also it is significant that their were olive trees. To get the oil from the olive they are put under great pressure and crushed and Jesus was being crushed under the weight of the sins of man.

After this prayer meeting in which the disciples all went to sleep, a band of Roman soldiers come into the Garden, led by Judas to capture Jesus. Why was there a band of Roman soldiers, hundreds of men coming to take one man? Some who have researched this say that it was about 600 men. In John 18, they come into the Garden and Jesus asked them who they were looking for (John 18:4). In Verse 5 they said, Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus replied, "I Am He." At that point we are told in verse 6, they fell backward to the ground. It must be noted that the 'He' is in italics, meaning that it is not in the direct translation in the original. The italics are words added by the translators to give what they thought was the proper meaning to the words, but the literal translation is, "I AM". It was used here in the same way as in the Septuagint where God said in Exodus 3:14, "I AM THAT I AM." Jesus didn't say, "I am he" but "I AM" and at that proclamation the entire band of Roman soldiers fell over backward. He just showed to them all that they didn't have the power to take Him captive, much less to take His life, but that He was going to lay down His life. Remember what Jesus told Peter after he tried to start fighting to keep Jesus from being taken by using his sword against the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Matthew 26:53-54 "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" He could stop them from taking Him, He had the power, but He chose to lay down his life. A legion was 6000, so this is 72000 angels. But Jesus said, "I have the power to lay down my life and I have the power to take it up again" (John 10:18). When they all fell over backward, it was a sign to them of His power and that He truly did have power over them as He would tell Pilate that He could have no power over Him if it were not given to Him of the Heavenly Father (John 19:11).

The other part is to understand that before Christ goes to the crucifixion He goes to what is called the whipping post. Most churches don't talk about this today but it is most likely because they don't believe that healing is for today, it happened back in the Old Testament and in the New Testament times, but stopped with the Apostles. They say the gifts of the Holy Spirit were just for the starting of the church and getting it established in the beginning.

Jesus went to a post only a couple feet high that protruded out of the ground, to which they tied the hands of the person being whipped to a ring. They stretched the person out and took a cat of nine tails, which was a short handled whip with leather, sometimes having bits of glass or bone or shrapnel on the end of the tails of the whip. Then they beat Him 39 times with it, leaving 39x9 or 351 stripes upon the body of Jesus. Isaiah 53:5 says; "with his stripes we are healed" and 1 Peter 2:24 says; "by whose stripes ye were healed." Those verses refer to this beating at the whipping post that Jesus suffered for us. In the Old Covenant, God made a covenant with Israel and said; "I am the LORD that healeth thee" or Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw\' rapha\', raw-faw\' (Exodus 15:26). This was demonstrated when God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole and those who looked upon it lived (Numbers 21:9). John 3:14 "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:" You might ask, why didn't Moses put a lamb on the pole because Jesus was called the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. A serpent represents sin or Satan and here Jesus is being put into an analogy or representation of a serpent. When Jesus was hanging on the cross He was carrying the sins of the people and dying for their sins. He had taken our sins upon Himself and so that is a picture of the price for our sins being paid by Christ who had taken our sin and became sin and the sin sacrifice for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Nevertheless, healing was a part of the Old Testament covenant and yet today many don't want to believe that God can or still heals His people. And men who pray for the sick and see them healed are not the healers. They may have the gift of healing given by the Holy Spirit, a gift of faith or working of miracles, but it has nothing to do with them. God has a covenant of healing and even had a covenant name that revealed Him as the healer of His people. What about Mark 16:18? "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Healing is a part of the covenant. Many don't preach and teach it because it takes prayer and faith to believe God and it is a lot easier for them to explain it away than to explain why they pray for people and they don't get healed after telling them that it is a covenant promise of the New Covenant. I have been healed many times in my life, instantly, but there also have been times when I had to go through the normal process of natural healing that is built within the body's immune system. Matthew 8:17 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Our sicknesses were dealt with at the whipping post and our sins were dealt with at the cross. The timing of the crucifixion was set at the time of the Passover, when the lambs were offered as sacrifices for their sins. At the time of Jesus death, He was on the cross from 9am until 3pm and scriptures tells us that the lambs were killed in the evening time between 3pm and 6pm. Josephus tells us that most were slaughtered between 3pm and 5pm. It is at the time of the evening sacrifice when Jesus died for our sins. When the priest finished the last sacrifice, he held up his hands and said, "It is finished." And Jesus, with his hands outstretched on the cross, cried, "It is finished." Jesus shed blood seven times on seven different parts of His body, fulfilling the type and shadow of the red heifer in Numbers chapter 19. The priest caught the blood of the Red Heifer and sprinkled it 7 times toward the door of the tabernacle. Jesus blood was shed and spilt on his right foot, his left foot, his right hand, his left hand, his side by the Roman spear, his forehead by the crown of thorns, on his back by the cat of 9 tails. The number of 7 is also the number of completion and the priests sprinkling of the blood 7 times spoke of a perfect sacrifice and access to the Father through the shed blood.

Jesus died at 3pm in the afternoon, scripture saying that He gave up the ghost, voluntarily, and then he went and preached to the captive spirits in prison in Abraham's bosom. Ephesians 4:9 "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" Jesus spirit did not go into heaven, but into the place where all the spirits of the just men of the Old Testament were awaiting the death of their Messiah, spoke of in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, that some wrongly call a parable. Matthew 12:40 "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale\'s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jesus went to Paradise, Abraham's bosom, a place in the heart of the earth. Then after He arose from the dead, Jesus took all those to heaven with him where now all the dead saints of the Old and New Testament await the return of Jesus and the resurrection. Before that, scripture tells us that many of the Old Testament saints rose from the dead when Jesus was raised from the dead and they walked the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-53).

Yet the New Covenant was not complete with Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Hebrews tells us that Jesus entered into the Holy Place not made with hands, in Heaven, and by his own blood obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11-12). Sin did not originate in the Garden of Eden with Adam, but originated in Heaven with Lucifer, the anointed Cherub who became Satan after trying to overthrow God (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 27 & 28). So the Heavenly temple was corrupted with sin and the Word of God tells us that it was necessary that the things in heaven had to be purified, but not with the blood of animals, but a better sacrifice, that of the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:21-24). Somewhere from the time that Jesus met Mary at the tomb and told her "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:" (John 20:17) and when he later met the disciples behind locked doors, He went into Heaven to obtain eternal redemption for us and also with His blood sprinkle the heavenly altar and all the heavenly pieces of furniture. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, all the vessels of the tabernacle were sprinkled with blood. It was a part of the atoning process that they had to go through to guarantee that the covenant with God to cover their sins would be renewed for another year. But Jesus, once and for all, by going into the heavenly temple with His own blood, bought our eternal redemption. Now, all who are redeemed and die, no longer go down into the lower parts of the earth, to that place where Jesus told the repentant thief he would see him, in Paradise, but into Heaven itself to await the resurrection. From Paradise, the Old Testament saints could literally look into hell. But now we go to Paradise in the third heaven. Now, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we don't have to go to a high priest, or wait to the Day of Atonement once a year to offer a lamb for our sins, but can receive remission of our sins by confession and repentance of our sins (1 John 1:9). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The whole process of Moses building the Ark of the Covenant and all the other vessels of the tabernacle ministry were that men might be able to approach God and enable God to remit the sins of the people, once a year on Yom Kippur. With the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all men, all over the world, can go not through a man or a priest or a confessional, but personally, directly to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess that they are a sinner and in need His forgiveness, cleansing and salvation and they can know that they are redeemed and that is the beginning of a covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ who is the mediator or a better covenant established on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). The Old Covenant had one High priest; the New Covenant has one high priest. The Old Covenant had a priesthood and the New Covenant has a priesthood, because we who believe are called a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). The Old Covenant was an Aaronic priesthood through Aaron and the New Covenant is a Melchizedek priesthood, because Melchizedek was both a king and a priest. Jesus is our High Priest but also the King of Kings and we are a kingdom of priests unto our God (Revelation 1:6, 5:10; 17:14, 19:16). Once a year the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies, Christ entered once and for all under the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant the sins were remitted or covered for the nation of Israel, under the New Covenant the sins of the world are forgiven, for all who come before God in repentance. In the Old Covenant the mark of the covenant was the circumcision of the flesh; in the New Covenant the mark is the circumcision of the heart. In the Old Covenant there was a covenant of healing, in the New Covenant there is also a covenant of healing. No wonder the Bible tells us that we have a better covenant established upon better promises. Therefore, when you repent of your sins and ask the Lord Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior, and you need to ask Him to become both to you, not just savior of your sins, you then will enter into a covenant relationship in which He becomes your Lord and all the He has becomes yours and all that you have becomes His. He will write your name in the Lamb's book of life, He will give you eternal life, He will give you access to Heaven and take you to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven, He will reward you for your faithfulness and obedience to Him and in return you give Him your life. You give Him your body, your mind and your spirit. You love Him with all you are, body, soul and spirit. You confess that you are not your own, but you are bought with a price and all you have now belongs to Him (1 Corinthians 6:20). Then God will begin to lead you, guide you, direct your life and show you how to live. The more you learn about the promises of God and the New Testament, the more you will understand what a great covenant keeping God He is.

When you enter into covenant with God, you become a marked person for God. Just like a marriage is based upon conditions or expectations or basic understanding of each others rolls, likewise there are conditions of our walking in covenant relationship with Christ. We have to abide in Him; He has to abide in us. We have to obey Him and do what He tells us. We have to pray in His name. There are certain things we do that cause this covenant to be operative and in force and work in our life on a daily basis and not just something on a piece of paper we call the Bible. With this in mind, when you enter this covenant relationship, you become marked in the covenant. Covenant people are supernaturally blessed and promised supernatural power. Covenant people are promised supernatural protection. Covenant people are promised supernatural provision.

Covenant people are supernaturally blessed. When Jacob left home, he went to Syria with nothing, worked 20 years for Laban, got his wages changed 10 times, but after 20 years when he came out, he had such great possessions that when he met Esau, he offered some of what he had to Esau who didn't want to take it, because he had more than enough. Jacob went into Egypt as a slave and ends up second in command in Egypt and is so blessed that he brought all the goal and silver into Egypt in the time of famine and his family were given the best land of Egypt. Daniel goes into captivity as a 17-year-old lad and ends up as third in command. Those who walked in covenant with God were supernaturally blessed. Many times a boss or a business is blessed because of a believer there. It is no different that when the Ark of the Covenant was in the house of a man called Obededom. Everything he did and everything he touched was blessed.

Covenant people are also given supernatural power. Samson had supernatural power based on his Nazarite vow and covenant with God. The church is given supernatural power according to Acts 1:8 to do the works of God. Covenant people have supernatural protection. When king Abimelech tried to marry Sarah, God smote the women of his house and they were barren and God spoke to him in a dream to not touch Sarah or he would be a dead man. When they tried to throw the 3 Hebrew children into the fiery furnace, they didn't burn. When they threw Daniel into the lion's den, they didn't eat him. The only time Israel lost a battle was when the broke covenant. They lost the first battle at AI, after the great victory at Jericho because Achan kept gold and silver and a Babylonian garment when God told them to keep nothing from the city, but destroy all. God said it would bring a curse upon them and it did when Achan broke the covenant God made with them. Another example was when they went to fight in battle in the time of the priests Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, who were both killed and the Ark of the Covenant was taken in battle in (1 Samuel 4) and Eli upon hearing the news, fell over backward and broke his neck. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy of 1 Samuel 2:34 when God told Eli his two sons would die in one day. Our protection of the covenant is based upon our abiding in Him and obeying Him. Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

When they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff in Nazareth they couldn't do it, the Devil tried to drown Him in a boat, they tried to stone Jesus one day at the temple, but none worked because He walked in covenant with God and even though He came to die, his hour had not yet come. Everyone has an hour of testing and everyone has an hour to die and leave this world. But if you walk in covenant with God, Satan will not be able to do anything to you unless God permits him to do so as we see He did with Job. This doesn't mean that you won't have problems or trials because anytime you are dealing with people; you will have trouble and problems, delays, hindrance, attitudes. Ninety percent of your problems come through people who are not living right, who have the wrong attitudes, etc. But God has promised to guide, strengthen and protect His people. And though many are the affliction of the righteous, the Lord delivereth them out of them all (Psalm 34:19) if you are walking in covenant with Him.

God has also promised a covenant of supernatural provision for those in covenant with Him. In Exodus 12:37 there were 600,000 men who came out of Egypt not counting women and children and many figure there were about 3 million souls who came out of Egypt. The first miracle was Psalm 105:37 "He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes." The reason for this was the eating of the Passover lamb where they entered into covenant with God and He healed them. The second miracle was that of the crossing of the Red Sea. How long did it take Israel to cross the Red Sea? It took them a day and a night. How can 3 million people cross in that period of time? God said He made a path through the sea. You normally think of a path as wide enough for a couple people to walk. If they did that, the line would have been 800 miles long and would have taken 35 days, 24 hours a day to cross the Red Sea. According to calculation, the path that God made had to have been approximately 5 miles wide with people 5000 abreast in order for them to cross it in a day and a night. It's amazing that God calls a 5-mile wide opening in a sea, a path. It's like nothing to Him. Then the next miracle was the feeding of the multitude. It is estimated that feeding 3 million people would require 4000 tons of food per day. If bread was transported from Egypt to the desert in railroad cars every morning, it would have taken two freight trains each a mile long every morning loaded with bread just to feed the people. At today's prices, this could cost up to 12 million dollars per day. Yet, God rained down angel's food every morning except on the Sabbath. The people asked, "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" Yes, He can. The next great miracle was the need for water to drink, as well as for washing pots and pans, clothing and for bathing. Enough water needed to provide for these 3 million people it would take a train of railroad tankers stretching from Virginia to California to provide the necessary water for the needs of this caravan. That's not like we do things today in America where we use a couple thousand gallons of water per person per month. God knew exactly where the water was underground and brought them to the right spot in Numbers 20:11. Can God bring streams in the desert? Yes, God can. But that's not all. We are talking about God making supernatural provision for His covenant people. When the Hebrews desired meat instead of manna, God said, "Is the LORD\'S hand waxed short?" (Numbers 11:23) and then He sent a wind that brought quail into the desert. They gathered day and night and the one with the least gathered 10 homers (Vs.32). "And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp." The quail were about 2 feet deep. One homer is about ten bushels and 10 homers was about 105 bushels. That would amount to about 6,700 quails each. Numbers 11:20 said it was enough for them to eat every meal for a month. "But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?" Multiply that by 3 million people. God did say the quail would be coming out their noses. He does have a since of humor, actually that was sarcasm to me. Can God provide meat in the desert? Yes, God can. Part of God's covenant is one of supernatural provision.

When Israel came out of Egyptian bondage, they came out as ex-slaves. Scripture doesn't tell us where they got them, but after they crossed the Red Sea, they fought Amalek with swords. Surely, Pharaoh didn't give these slaves swords, especially when he planned to bring them back. If this is so, as most think, then the question is where did they get them? You don't give slaves weapons so they can cause an uprising and fight. Josephus said "On the next day (the day after Pharaoh's army was drowned in the Red Sea) Moses gathered together the weapons of the Egyptians which were brought to the camp of the Hebrews by the current of the sea and the force of the winds resisting it." He deducted that this happened by divine providence. "So that they might not be destitute of weapons. So when He ordered the Hebrews to arm themselves with them, He led them to Mount Sinai in order to offer sacrifice to God and to render oblation for the salvation of the multitude as he was charged to do so before Him." In other words, when God sent Pharaoh's army into the sea and drowned them, their weapons floated on the water and washed upon the banks on the Israeli side. In 2 Kings 6:6 God caused an axe head to float, so surely He can cause the Egyptian weapons to float. According to the bible, God is a God of supernatural provision and God delights in showing His covenant people what He is able to do.

The reason people have difficulty believing God for supernatural provision is because they have a guilt complex or feeling they have not been totally obedient to Him in all areas of their life. If the Holy Spirit impresses upon you to do something and you don't do it; that is disobedience. But when you know that you have done everything you know to do and have been obedient to the Lord, then it never fails. Whenever God tells you to do something, He will supernaturally provide for you so that you can do it, if necessary. And many times, what God will ask His people to do is physically impossible for them to do without God's supernatural provision.

3 John 2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." According to Malachi 3:16 there is a special book of remembrance in Heaven. Now we know there is a book of life in heaven and books that contain the deeds of all men because it says the books are opened and men are judged out of the books for what they have done (Revelation 20:12). But there is also a book of remembrance. Why is there a book of remembrance? In Acts 10, when Cornelius is praying, the angel tells him that his prayers and alms had come up to God as a memorial. How do they come up before God? These things, whatever we have done are written down. Nehemiah is dealing with the rebuilding of the temple, the fact that some of the priests had intermarried with heathen women and having to deal with the attitudes of the people but he wants to make sure he is doing what is right before God and having His favor. Nehemiah 13:22 "And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy." Psalm 105:8 "He hath remembered his covenant..."

According to Malachi there is a book of remembrance. What is God remembering? According to Acts 10 we know He remembers your prayers and your giving. The Word memorial means to keep the memory of something alive. God remembered Hannah, God remembered Noah, God remembered Abraham, God remembered His covenant with Abraham, God remembered Rachel. It is not an issue of God forgetting you, but that there is a special book of remembrance and certain prayers you pray and certain deeds you do, especially acts of giving are recorded in this book. Therefore, when you understood the covenant relationship you have with God and you come to a crisis situation, an emergency, then you ask God to remember your faithfulness to Him and remember you and your need. Then it will come up before God as a memorial or moment of remembrance and God will move on your behalf. God's supernatural ability to provide for you is a part of the covenant. Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." John 14:13-14 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." Matthew 6:8 "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." All these verses have to do with provision in time of need.

God's covenant involves supernatural blessing, supernatural power, supernatural protection and supernatural provision. For those who come under an attack by people, like relatives who don't understand you or workers who attack and mock you because of your faith, you need to understand that those who come against God's covenant people will eventually find their heads removed and find themselves without protection. One example is King Saul. He became jealous of David and tried to kill him on several occasions and then in 1 Samuel 22 Saul had a man kill 85 priests of the Lord and right after that in 1 Samuel 24 David cut off the skirt of Saul which signified cutting off of his authority. In 1 Samuel 26 David took Saul's spear from him, which signified that God had just completely removed the protective hedge from Saul and he was shortly thereafter killed in battle on Mt. Gilboa with the Philistines (1 Samuel 31) because he has no hedge or protection in time of battle because he had come against the priesthood of the Lord and one of God's choice young servants.

Pharaoh began to take the lives of the firstborn male children of the Hebrews out of fear of that the Hebrew children would become too numerous and fight and overthrow Egypt. So the hedge came down in Pharaoh's house and he lost his own son when the death angel passed by and Pharaoh, who had these male babies thrown into the Nile, was himself drowned in the Red Sea. Scripture says he that lives by the sword will die by the sword. And part of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants was those who curse them would be cursed and those who blessed them would be blessed. At one time Egypt was blessed because of Joseph and God's people, but then because they turned against them, they were destroyed. Also, we see many times God returned the wickedness of men upon their own heads, as with Haman in the time of Queen Ester when he tried to have Mordecai hung on the gallows. Entire empires have faced destruction because they came against the Hebrew people, God's covenant people.

In Indonesia a Muslim was trying to burn a Christian church. He poured gasoline on the floor of the church and was trying to light it with matches and he couldn't do it. Then when he got to the last match, he suddenly jumped up and started running through the village screaming. When they caught him and asked what was wrong, he said, "The angel of God is chasing me." He said, "When I tried to light the last match the angel of God came up to me and said, this is the property of the people of the most high God, it is holy and you are not going to burn it." This Muslim became a believer and started preaching the gospel on the tops of houses. You cannot attack the people of God and get by with it for God will eventually rise up and defend His people. Much of the attacks of Muslims against Christians today are not true Christians who are in covenant with God, but harlot Christians, mostly Roman Catholics. In Maryland some years ago there was a tent used for Gospel meetings and was being used to start a church. There was a group of seven young men who decided to burn down the tent. One who was part of the group said he would have no part in it because they were good people who had the tent. The six who burned it down all died young with terrible deaths. The seventh who didn't partake, lived and told of it. When Christ spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus, He said; "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:5). God was telling Saul there is more here than you can see or understand and you can't fight me and win.

The covenant ratified by the blood of Jesus is a whole lot more than just being saved and going to heaven. It's a whole lot more than having your sins forgiven, even if that was all you received from it, that would be enough and still the greatest gift in the world. But it is more. It is a covenant of blessing and provision, of power and ability to function in life and do His will. Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We go to battle with the covenant. If we get involved in battle with and in our flesh and try to reason and force something we cause more problems than we would have had if we just stayed out of it and left the battle to the Lord for He said, "The battle is the Lord's" (2 Samuel 17:47). If I'm in covenant with him, it is like marriage. If I go through something and I am married, she becomes a part in it and vice-versa because you are in covenant together. The battles you go through, even battles you have nothing to do with, you need to turn over to God and let Him fight for you. Then when God is fighting a battle, you are to stand up for what is right and truth. That is a part of the covenant relationship. You speak for Him when you need to speak but shut up when you don't need to speak.

There are three weapons for battle. The blood, the name and the Word! The blood of Jesus is given to us to deal with sin. Almost always when the blood is mentioned in the New Testament it is about cleansing, redemption and forgiveness of sin. Then we have the name of Jesus, He said, "In my name you shall..." The signs and wonders that are performed by any believer come through the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus deals with demons, sickness and disease. Anytime you see the name of Jesus in the New Testament it is dealing with demons, with oppression, depression, sickness, disease, etc. The man in Acts 3, the Paraplegic was healed by faith in the name of Jesus. So the Name of Jesus is used in dealing with demons, the devil, sickness and disease. The Word of God is used in Luke 4 and Matthew 4 not only for doctrine, instruction, reproof and exhortation, but used in dealing with temptation and overcoming the attacks of the enemy. So we have three spiritual weapons. The blood to deal with sin, the name of Jesus to deal with demons, sickness and disease and the Word of God that deals with every practical aspect of our life with overcoming any attack against us. We grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Word.

In this covenant, when Jesus died on the cross, it was a lot more than just to forgive your sin and write your name in the Lamb's book of life. God wants you to have life and to have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He wants you to live your life to the fullest and to prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers (3John2). He wants to establish His covenant with you. Deuteronomy 8:18 "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." God gives wealth to some of His people, whom He can trust, to establish His covenant and so they will use that money for His purposes. It is not a sin to have wealth and be a Christian. It is a sin to put your faith in wealth and to hoard wealth and to mistreat others and do evil to get wealth and to love money. God goes to war and fights for His covenant people. You can be like Jacob, going to Syria with nothing and coming out rich. As you grow in grace and knowledge and understand the covenant you have with God and you walk in obedience to God, then the covenant becomes active and God begins to move on your behalf in every area of your life, including natural provision or finances. Psalm 37:25 "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

When you go to the Lord's Table and partake of the fruit of the vine and the bread to remember His death till He comes and remember what He has done for you, you will become aware of how much He has done for you and the difference He has made in your life.