Re’eh “Behold”
Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17
Isaiah 54:11–55:5
2Kings 4-6

POWER IN THE BLOOD

Growing up in church, many of us sang songs such as "There is Power in the Blood" and "The Blood will Never Lose Its Power." As children it was hard to wrap our mind around such songs. We sang them, but really did not understand their meaning. If truth be told, as adults we still have a hard time with these songs and verses about His blood.

Much confusion and debate has arisen over the words of Yeshua concerning blood. He said in John 6:53, "Truly, truly, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood you do not have life in yourselves." Some people have used these words to say Yeshua was contradicting Torah. They have used it to try, and in many cases have succeeded, to lead people away from Yeshua and His redemptive work.

Deuteronomy 12:23 is very clear regarding blood. This verse commands that we not eat blood. Through it HaShem gives us the reason for the command. He tells us that the life of the animal is in the blood. If we are to understand the true meaning of the verse though we must go deeper than the English translation. From Hebrew this verse is more properly translated "The blood is the soul" or "The blood contains the soul." With this translation in mind, we are prepared to see that Yeshua was not contradicting Torah, but using Torah to explain how intimate our relationship with Him is to be. If we understand written Torah we will be able to understand and have a greater love for Living Torah, Yeshua.

Blood is or contains the soul of an animal or human. The soul is the seat of who we really are. Our feelings, emotions and strength flow through our soul. Our soul is the controlling force of our body and our interaction with others around us.

The commandment concerning blood in Torah is of course a natural command. We are NOT to eat and drink blood. It also has a spiritual aspect as do all other commandments. This commandment is telling us to not allow the soul of another person to be in such close contact with our soul that we simply become clones of it. We are to remain as an individual, as who God made us to be. Yes, in marriage we may become as one in body. In Messiah we can be one in spirit, but when it comes to our soul we are to be who He made us to be. We are not to lose ourselves and become another, except in one case.

Yeshua's statement to eat of His body and drink of His blood was difficult for the disciples to swallow. They may have missed the point then just as many do today. His words were not intended to mean a person was to drink an ounce of grape juice and a little Styrofoam wafer once a month. He was telling them to be one with Him not just in body, not just in spirit, but also to join their souls to His. They (and we) are being told to live like He lived, think like He thinks, feel like He feels, and take into ourselves every aspect of His life as our very own. This is what it means to drink His blood. It has everything to do with Torah and can only be explained in full through Torah.

One last, but very important point. Just as with Yeshua, our soul is guided either by our body or by our spirit. Yeshua never allowed His body to dictate to His soul, but rather took soul commands from His spirit, the Spirit of God. Scripture tells us that the same Spirit that resided in Yeshua, the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead now dwells in us! How are we to know if we are being led by His Spirit or by our own desires? How are we to know what is controlling our soul and causing us to live like Him? The answer is really very simple. Yeshua's life always lined up with written Torah. Without exception!

There is still "Wonder Working Power in the Blood of The Lamb" today. That power is available to redeem a soul and it is also available to transform a man or woman, body soul and spirit into His image.