The Husband of Blood Rev. M. Joosse – 4: 24-26

Sing: Psalter 290:4, 5 Read: Exodus 4: 1-26 Sing: Psalter 415:5, 10 Sing: Psalter 232:2, 3 Sing: Psalter 427:2

Congregation, you can find the text for our consideration in the portion of Scripture we read together, Exodus 4 verses 24 to 26. There the Word of God reads as follows:

“And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.”

Congregation, I ask your attention for: The Husband of Blood.

The text calls our attention to three thoughts: 1. Required blood 2. Shed blood 3. Applied blood

1. Required blood Christ shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin. The vicarious suffering of Christ, the Husband of blood, forms the heart of the Gospel. Do we not read in Hebrews 9 verse 22 that without the shedding of blood there is no mercy, no remission, no forgiveness and no cleansing?

We read in connection with the shedding of blood in Genesis 15 that the Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham. Boys and girls, if two people or parties entered into a covenant in those days, it was the custom to slay one or more animals. The animals were divided into halves, and these were then laid in rows opposite each other, so that a sort of path formed between them. A covenant thus established obviously involved the shedding of a lot of blood. A street or path of blood was formed, as it were.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Now when two people entered into an agreement or covenant, they first walked between the rows of animal halves. It was as if they said: "If we do not adhere to our covenant duties and do not keep our word of promise, then it will befall us as these animals." So when the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, the covenant was established in accordance with the prevailing custom. Abraham had to cut a number of animals in half. Those halves were laid opposite each other to form a path. Do we then read that the Lord went together with Abraham between the parted animals? No! Absolutely not. The Lord went alone between the parted animals! Why? Because Abraham was not able to fulfill the conditions of the covenant. He would never be able to fulfill the commitments associated with it. And yet the Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham, and He still does so with people today. A one-sided covenant, in which He takes the covenant duties upon Himself. What a wonder! God stands in for His covenant promises while you and I are covenant breakers. Being saved is a one-sided work of God – a work He initiates in His good pleasure – a work proceeding from heaven. He enters into a covenant with people and fulfills all the demands of it. He binds Himself to them. One-sided!

When the Lord creates this bond, He will never let go anymore no matter how much you may oppose and resist or how much you attempt to keep at a distance. When the Lord sheds light on this resistance in the heart of His children, it becomes an inexpressible wonder that God has chosen to elect people and to enter into a covenant of grace with them on conditions that He Himself will fulfill.

The covenant of grace, boys and girls, has two conditions. Those conditions are: perfect obedience and full satisfaction. Is it possible for man to fulfill these conditions? Is there anyone that seeks God? God looked down from heaven upon the earth to see if there were any, maybe just one boy or girl that did seek God. He found none. Not one! God then set apart His only Son, and He said to the Father: "I will do all Thy good pleasure; if Thou wilt that I fulfill these two conditions in the human nature - perfect obedience and full satisfaction - then behold, Father, here am I. I desire to do all thy good pleasure." And because Christ fulfilled those conditions, it is called a covenant of grace.

Congregation, in the fullness of time Christ came, and obeyed these conditions perfectly in His human nature. He fully paid for the guilt of His people. We say in dogmatic language that He was perfectly obedient both actively and passively. All is finished. Nothing needs to

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

be added. This Savior has provided for your salvation. Without even the least part, not even not an ounce of righteousness needing to be added. So the Lord teaches His children that there is nothing of self, but that everything is completely dependent on the account of the perfect Savior so that you would rejoice in free grace alone. So, not a few more works, some good intentions, our friendliness or whatever. He breaks everything down, so that God's children will rejoice in free grace alone.

Blood had to be shed as a sign of the covenant. It had to be shed in circumcision, when the foreskin of the male genitals was cut away. The Lord's purpose here was to the benefit and well-being of the people of Israel. For there was no nation in those days which increased more in than they. Circumcision removed many germs which were under the foreskin. This meant that illnesses were not transferred. The Lord ensured that fewer illnesses were prevalent among His people than among the surrounding nations. It was as if with the sign of the covenant of grace, the Lord said to Israel: “I have your salvation in mind. I want you to live. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” Circumcision was for the good of the people. It was a sign of God's mercy for the . It took place exactly on the eighth day, the day on which the blood would clot the quickest and the wound would heal fastest. It was, however, bloody and painful. Abraham too, and all who belonged to him, had to undergo this bloody and painful circumcision. But again, God intended their good by it. Later it would become apparent that illnesses occurred a lot less often among them than among other nations. So it was for the good of the people.

Congregation, sometimes things happen in our life which we would prefer not to have to go through. A boy or girl who has to undergo a painful operation in hospital... surely you'd rather not have it? But what if it is for your benefit? If the operation results in the tumor being removed and you may receive good health again? Then surely it just has to be done? Well, so it is in the life of God's children too. The tumor of sin has to be treated. But it is no easy matter when the Lord reveals this serious disease to them, when He makes known our sins and our unrighteousness. Nobody desires that, whether we be so-called more evangelical or legalistic. To have your faults pointed out to you, to have your guilt made known, is unpleasant. No, we prefer to sing praises. That is our nature.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Circumcision was bloody and painful, yet it was essential that it take place. So the discovery of guilt and our lost state is essential, aiming at our salvation. The blood of circumcision proclaimed God's covenant of grace. Blood had to be shed! In the Old Testament all the blood pointed to the blood of Christ. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).

This blood theology has been an offense to countless people throughout the ages. Especially for unbelievers who wonder why everything should be taken so seriously. Why did the Son of God have to die on the cross under the wrath of God? Is sin that bad? It is also an offense for church-goers. Do I really have to experience that I deserve nothing but death? The requirement of blood has always been an offense, even today. Congregation, examine yourself. The unbeliever resents it and is annoyed by it. The false believer is too. But it is especially an offense for those who think they are something in the Lord's eyes with their Pharisaical or evangelical works. An offense! It is an offense for a man to accept that he is a lost sinner; when all his good intentions, his involvement with the church, his good works, ultimately count for nothing at all.

What do we think of this blood theology? By nature, man does not understand God's love. "Yes, but surely I can love the Lord without being discovered to my guilt and unrighteousness?" No, congregation. Blood is demanded! The love of God is revealed in the suffering and death of His Son. In this was God’s love manifested toward us, that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up unto death for us. The shedding of blood is necessary. For those who think that less would suffice, this blood theology has been an offense throughout all ages.

Of course, as reformed people we wouldn't say that, but there are countless people who think that God is bloodthirsty, cruel and merciless when in the covenant of grace God reveals that He can only pass by man if blood is shed. We see this also with the exodus from Egypt. A lamb without blemish had to die. Blood had to be shed! That blood had to be applied to the door posts. Only then could the Lord say: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).

The Lord bound Himself in mercy to Abraham. Circumcision was a token of this bond, in which God said: "Abraham, each time the blood is shed, I proclaim: I have chosen you, Abraham, and I will save you. I will be your God."

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

God proclaimed mercy at the altars on which the blood of countless bulls, goats and lambs flowed, because that blood pointed to the Husband of Blood, Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Undoubtedly Moses, who is called the "husband of blood" in our chapter, was well acquainted with this covenant with Abraham. Our boys and girls undoubtedly know the history of Moses. Really he should have died; either by drowning or being eaten by the crocodiles like all those little boys who were thrown into the Nile by the soldiers. But Moses was found by an Egyptian princess, who adopted him and took him to Pharaoh's palace. There Moses received the most delicious food, the most beautiful clothes and everything his heart could desire. He received the best education, he belonged to the highest in rank, to the greatest, to the richest in Egypt. And yet Moses knew where his real father and mother lived. He even went there occasionally to see his brethren, the Hebrews. In the eyes of the Egyptians, the Hebrews were a despised shepherd's people who lived in a region that stank of animals. But in spite of that, Moses became convinced in his heart that God lived where the blood flowed, and that the people of Israel were many times more blessed than he himself. And so, by God's regenerating mercy, a choice was born in the heart of Moses. He would rather be oppressed with that people than enjoy the pleasures of the world for a season. A bond of love with the people of Israel and the God of Israel was born in the heart of Moses!

Do you know something of that choice, young people? Truly, it is very if the Lord lays that choice in your heart. One sometimes encounters such young people, even today. Young people who feel that the world only has sham products to offer, who take leave of the world and want to live with God's people - close to the Lord and His Word. Young people who read in God's Word and daily meditations, and who bow their knees and pray: "Lord, may I know Thee, for Thy people are truly happy."

There are young people who have a desire to be in God's house on the Lord's day in order to hear God's Word. Maybe you who, even though you think you are unconverted, or feel unconverted, yet, sometimes experience that the Word is opened and your heart is touched. Something like that happened in Moses' life. Be gone world, be gone riches! Away with all the riches of the house of Pharaoh. Moses had received so much love for the Lord and His people in his heart that he thought he could help his people by killing an Egyptian who slew one of his brethren. It was for this reason that he had to flee from Egypt.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

This showed that he was still far too quick-tempered to work in God's kingdom. After forty years spent shepherding sheep in the desert, the Lord had turned him from the most quick-tempered person into the meekest person. Only then was he a fitting subject to work in the service of the Lord in order to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and to be a mediator of the old covenant.

He was called at the burning bush. There, the Lord spoke to him, gave him His promises and the signs that proved his authority, and removed all objections. Then Moses went on his way accompanied by his wife Zipporah and his two sons. He went with his staff in his hand, God's promises in his heart and with the Lord's signs on his mind and his father-in-law Jethro let him go in peace.

Do you see him go, boys and girls? He journeys from Midian to Egypt. On the way they sleep in an inn, and then... Incomprehensible! In verse 24 of our chapter we read: “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, (that is Moses) and sought to kill him.” But surely that can’t be true! Surely Moses was called, wasn't he? Is Moses not a child of God? Surely Moses had made a sincere choice in his heart? He had the Word of God and the signs of God, didn’t he? Surely the Lord cannot just kill him? All these thoughts must have caused Moses to be utterly confused!

This is also how it can be in the life of God's children; even after they have been enabled to make a sincere choice to serve the Lord; even after so much has happened in their lives. They have heard the words of God, have received His promises, maybe even have been called to be an office-bearer. Yet, all this appears to be insufficient when you have to face the Lord, when He seeks to kill you because you failed the covenant demands and His justice demands your death. On his way to Egypt, in an inn, God comes against Moses because he has not fulfilled the demands of the covenant and so Moses cannot be the mediator of the Old Testament. He has disregarded God's holy demand. Whoever he is, whatever his calling, God cannot tolerate it! Yes but, what about that sincere choice and the calling then? Congregation, there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood! How then was it possible that Moses could have neglected to circumcise his youngest son Eliezer? Has he been gradually assimilating with the customs of the heathens? That could be.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Something similar can happen in the life of any of God's children. Our soul cleaves to the dust. They gradually assimilate with the world, they begin to make excuses for sinful behavior, they go along with the pleasures of the world – it all results in a life of backsliding, spiritual dryness and barrenness.

Maybe Zipporah detested the circumcision so much that Moses had neglected it for the sake of peace within his family. Whatever the case may be, ultimately it wasn't carried out.

Dear parents, bringing up children is an impossible task. I know that from experience. An impossibility! But it gets much more difficult if husband and wife are ambiguous towards the children, if they do not together take the same stand towards the children. Of course, not intend to give one of the spouses a reason to start accusing the other. Try to discuss things with each other and weigh arguments and approach your children with reasonable arguments. It is an impossible task, yet try to be united towards your children. Our children need clarity. Our children also need to feel our love in this unified approach.

We read that because Moses neglected circumcision, the Lord confronted him on the way to Egypt and He sought to kill him. Congregation, isn't that a little exaggerated? Just because someone neglected circumcision as a sign of the covenant of grace or was not baptized? Surely that doesn't mean that you cannot be converted? It is not a condition for salvation, is it? Maybe there is someone in the congregation who is not yet baptized. It can be so impossible as an adult to have to answer "yes" five times to the baptismal questions. Realize that the Old Testament circumcision and the New Testament baptism are the Lord's institutions. It is the way in which the Lord reveals and grants His grace. If you say: "I cannot say ‘yes’ five times", then I would ask you: is there a desire to be baptized and do you feel that the Lord demands this sacrament, because it is instituted by the Lord Himself? If that is the case, then come to this sacrament of baptism with the desire and confession: "Yes Lord, Thou didst command this sacrament and I feel that I need it.”

This tension can also be felt if you follow confession class. Can you do confession without saving grace? Surely that is impossible? And yet confession of faith is compulsory. Maybe you would say: "I cannot say ‘yes’, because I feel I must be a true believer in order to do that. I cannot do it out of custom or from superstition, and also not without saving grace. What do I do? " Young people, it can only be done prayerfully. "Lord, wilt Thou give me what I do not have of myself? I must, but I cannot." May the Lord grant that it may cause

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

you to wrestle at the Throne of Grace, so that you may confess: "Yes Lord, I desire it, even though I am a stranger to it, even though I am confused, even though I have nothing. But, Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest what my intentions are."

The Lord met Moses, and sought to kill him. Is that shedding of blood so necessary then? Can we not follow Jesus because of His martyrdom, or because He is an example of how we can improve the world? Sure, there are all sorts of ways of following Jesus. But it is crucial to know Him as the Husband of Blood. There can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27).

The emphasis on the demand for retributive justice - that the blood of Moses' son had to be shed - is not too harsh. Punishment for sin, eternal death, and eternal damnation threatened to all of us is not abhorrent. It is just! You might say, "Yes but surely God is love?" Certainly, but God is only love in the Lord Jesus Christ. Outside of Him, we talk about common love and common grace. If a husband and wife love each other and if there is harmony in a family and we have our work, we have much to be thankful for. But if you do not know the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, the special love exhibited in the offer of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will perish despite all your feelings of thankfulness.

Am I speaking too harshly? Congregation, you cannot stand before God with common grace, or with everything you possess. You can only stand before God in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is why the apostle Paul says: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

God reveals His great love in the way of His holy justice. Blood had to be shed! He, the Lord Jesus Christ, had to die. Without His suffering and death, without the shedding of His blood, neither you nor I could ever be saved. Moses’ son Eliezer’s blood had not been shed, therefore, regardless of all that had happened in his life, Moses still had to die.

Our second thought is: 2. Shed blood We saw that the covenant was established through the shedding of blood. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament, in which thousands, indeed millions of liters (gallons) of

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

blood were shed, pointed to the blood of Jesus Christ. Eliezer was not circumcised, and without the shedding of blood Moses had to die. Most commentators think that Moses fell seriously ill in the inn. Moses and Zipporah immediately knew there could only be one cause: that their youngest son was not circumcised. The threat of death had to do with the fact that Eliezer's blood had not been shed. Moses was probably so sick that he was no longer able to circumcise his son himself, so Zipporah had to do it. And so we read in our text, that Zipporah took a sharp stone, and circumcised her son, and threw the boy's foreskin at Moses' feet.

Congregation, then something wonderful happened! As soon as the demand of the covenant was met, the threat of death was taken away. We see here an example of the experience of God's children when they are enabled to look upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Husband of blood, for the forgiveness of their sins. Then the threat of death gives way. Then there is rest for their guilty conscience. Then the accuser within must depart. He is silenced, for all is satisfied. The guilt is paid and justice is done.

However, Zipporah cried out: “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.” She is full of disgust because of the circumcision - because of the token of the covenant of grace - because of the God of the covenant. In her eyes, God is bloodthirsty, cruel and merciless. Disgusted, she casts away her son's foreskin with the blood considering the blood unclean. Apparently, Zipporah was persuaded that the threat of death was real because no blood had been shed. How terrified she should have been before God on account of that threat of death! The more so when she saw that after she had circumcised her son the Lord let Moses go and (as the writers of the marginal notes say) she reclaimed her husband from death. Would Zipporah not have been astonished and broken hearted because of God's mercy founded on that blood? No! The threat of death hadn't instilled fear in her. And God's mercy had not broken her heart. She did not humble herself before God. She cast the foreskin from her. She considered the blood to be unclean. Congregation, then there is no offer for guilt. Even if you were to thank the Lord for everything that He gave you, which we may and should do, it is not enough. You will perish if you have nothing more than that.

Do you understand what really matters? Are you persuaded that the blood theology, which is preached to us from cover to cover in Scripture, is the only righteousness that can save from death? That it is the only means, the only payment for our guilt?

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

For some Jesus is nothing more than a moral deliverer, a moral savior, and an example for daily life. However, such a Jesus cannot save us and we will perish forever. He must become our Husband of blood Who betroths lost sons of men unto Himself in righteousness. He betroths them through the shedding of His blood.

Maybe is it not so customary among us to rebuke the spiritually concerned people who wander around concerned about their state; people who long for the Lord yet possess nothing; who can attain to nothing, and yet experience something of a life with the Lord. Yet I feel I have to rebuke you; you cannot live on like that! You might say: "Yes, but I cannot do it myself can I, and I need the Spirit, and I..." That is all true. We can receive nothing without God's Spirit, we cannot believe, cannot embrace... But, concerned souls, if you know that your sins are the subject of God's wrath, when you wander the earth dejected and with tears, then know that there is but one savior! Oh, don't expect it of your tears, of your spiritual frame or of your own sincere choice. Did Moses, who lay there so seriously ill under the threat of death, have anything to offer? Could he say: "But, Lord, surely I have made a hearty choice? That was not my own doing! Surely I am called? Thou hast given me Thy Word. Thou didst give signs and Thy promises?" No! He could not stand before God on those grounds! He had nothing to offer to God. Nothing! The covenant of grace requires blood to be shed. There can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. That was his experience. The demand of the covenant must be satisfied!

Concerned ones among us, if there is indeed but one remedy, then take refuge in that blood! But how? On your knees! Fold your hands and say: "Lord, wherever I turn in Thy Word I come across the blood theology. Deep inside myself I have no peace with my past experiences. Everything accuses me. I have to perish because of Thy holy justice. But I know that Thy Son gave Himself on the accursed tree of the cross in order to shed His blood and to die. Vicariously. Lord, may I receive eyes to see that He also died for me? Otherwise I must die eternally."

Consider that God did not spare His own Son. Would He then not be willing to save a sinner from death? Meditate on it that the Son of God wanted to do God's good pleasure, live in true obedience and manifest His righteousness. Would He then not be willing to

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

apply the blood of reconciliation to your soul? Well, persevere and take courage! But do not be satisfied with anything less than the application of this blood to your soul.

Maybe someone here loves the Lord, but does not experientially know this truth. Consider it, read it over again. What does His Word reveal? Luther says on this: "God does not in the first place reveal His love in His Word but reveals His righteousness. God reveals His love in His justice through the vicarious death of His Son by which the wrath of God was satisfied and His indignation quenched." Justice through a vicarious death. Do not be satisfied with less. The covenant wrath can only be satisfied by the shedding of blood. God demands nothing more! Only when a believer may see how Christ died for the forgiveness of sins, and may appropriate that through faith, only then can the heart be at rest. The Lord demands nothing additional from such a soul. He sees no more transgression in His Jacob and no sin in His Israel. There, all their sins are cast behind His back. Congregation, then they are saved at the expense of their Savior. Then they obtain a right to eternal life. Such souls can die.

Moses could go no further on the road to Egypt without the shedding of blood. The matter had to be cleared up first. How is this in your life? The blood must be applied.

Let us first sing together Psalter 232:2, 3

Verse 2 Verse 3 His saving help is surely near Truth springing forth the earth shall crown, To those his holy Name that fear; And righteousness from heav'n look down, Thus glory dwells in all our land. And God on us His goodness shed; Now heav'nly truth unites with grace, Our land shall then with plenty flow, And righteousness and peace embrace, Before Him righteousness shall go, In full accord they ever stand. And cause us in His steps to tread.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Finally, our third thought is: 3. Applied blood Required blood, shed blood and applied blood. When Eliezer’s blood was shed and the foreskin was cast at Moses’ feet, the Lord immediately left him alone. This was because the demand of the covenant and justice had been met. What a wonder! Zipporah was reunited with her husband through that blood. That’s why she called her husband a husband of blood. It was as though she received her husband back from the dead through that blood!

Congregation, it is only because the Lord Jesus Christ has shed His blood that lost sons of men can be reconciled with God. Because He purchased them at such a high price. Purchased unto God with the precious blood of Christ... Have you experienced this? Was His blood shed for your sins? May you know that He paid your debt? May you know that He betrothed you in righteousness? In communion of goods, so that all which belongs to Him became yours too? Has your debt completely been forgiven in that great wealth of Jesus Christ's righteousness, as if it had never existed? Although Zipporah as it were received her husband back from the dead, she thought this blood theology was abhorrent.

Congregation, this history prophetically points to the day the Husband of Blood, Jesus Christ, would marry and buy His Church with His blood. How do you feel about this theology of blood? Do you have feelings of abhorrence? You might say: "Does blood really have to be shed? But what if I love the Lord and live for Him? And what if I... Then surely I am also a child of God? Why does it necessarily have to happen in that exact manner? "

Congregation, such thoughts can easily well up. It could be that, just like Moses, you love the Lord, and yet you are in danger because you miss the application of that blood and have not experienced the forgiveness of sin! You can only find rest for your soul when you know that Christ shed His blood for you, for the forgiveness of your sin. There can be feelings of love, and indeed a change too, which nevertheless has nothing to do with true saving grace.

Once an eighteen year old girl came to my study. She said: "Reverend, I have friends who say that the Lord loves all people. Here are some Bible verses which I would like to read to you. Could you please say something about it, for my mother says that it is all wrong." We then went through a few of those texts together. For instance: “For God so loved the world,

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

that he gave his only begotten Son”, from John 3 verse 16. I tried to explain that there is a general love of God towards the whole of His creation in sending His Son, but that the particular love of God is made manifest in His elect who will believe in Him. A few more texts followed. She then asked me: "I have a song on my cell phone and when I listen to it, I think: it can be like that too, can't it? Would you like to listen to it?" The song was about a boy who had only learned to hate in his youth. He grew up without any love at all and eventually ended up in New York, where he became the most feared and violent gang leader. Until he met an evangelist, who told him that God loved him. Several meetings brought about a change in the life of that boy. I then tried to explain to her that someone who lives in the world and has only learned to hate can find a warm loving family where love and security prevail. This experience can bring about a big change in his life. But you must understand that it is possible that this change has nothing to do with the grace shown by God in His Son Jesus Christ. It is possible that it is nothing more than a psychological or socially explicable change. Such a change can take place in a totally worldly environment, without the working of God's Spirit and without His Word. If our change is nothing more than that, we will yet perish.

Congregation, the question is, have we discovered and learned to understand the love of God, by grace, through the Holy Ghost? The love of God, as expressed in the blood of Jesus Christ, in the perfect sacrifice He brought? For both in the Old and the New Testament, the Lord says that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. You can only understand this blood theology by the application of Christ's righteousness. Then you will have no rest in feelings of love or a change of life. The question is: do our sins distress us, as with Moses? Have we discovered that God requires justice – a just satisfaction for our sins? Have we learned that there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood?

The conviction of sin and the just demand for payment drives God's children to the all- sufficient sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here the particular love of God toward us is made manifest, that God did not spare His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us. There can be no saving grace without the knowledge of this particular love of God. From that knowledge flows that: “we love Him, because He first loved us”. That is understood and experienced in the application of the blood of Jesus Christ and His righteousness.

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Congregation, maybe you and I need to examine ourselves once more. Is the change in our life, is the love which we feel from God? Or, does it proceed from human emotions? Or, is it because I am part of a group who thinks alike? Is it grounded on Scripture? Is your life pictured in that Word? Do you know something of the Lord’s just demand that you must die because of your sin and unrighteousness? This is what Moses experienced and something of what God's children experienced at Pentecost: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Is there a means, a way to escape the well-deserved punishment? If it is to be well on the way to eternity, then it is necessary to know something in your life of the particular love of God. To know something of the revelation of His Son Who died on account of eternal love for sinners and for the forgiveness of sins. One of God's faithful servants said: "The proclamation of God's love without justice is soul-deceiving." Thinking of this love for sinners, the apostle Paul proclaims: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Moses had to die, even with all that had passed before. Zipporah despised the blood and called her husband a husband of blood. She saw that she only received him back from death through that blood. So also Jesus Christ gave Himself for a complete atonement as the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. O, blessed covenant blood!

Are there among us people who experience that they deserve death because of their sin? Are you persuaded of your sins, your unrighteousness, and of the impossibility of contributing anything for your salvation? Then do not reject that blood! The mediatoral blood of the Lamb of God was shed when He cringed under the wrath of God and the terror of hell in Gethsemane; when the sweat and blood was forced from His pores; when His back was ploughed and the crown of thorns was pressed on His head; when He was nailed to the accursed wood of the cross and His blood flowed from His blessed mediatoral hands and feet; His feet of which it is written that they proclaim peace. Only that blood cleanses from all sin!

Do you wander the earth guilty and accused and do you find no rest for your soul, with all that you have experienced in the past? Grievously sinned, as Lord's Day 23 of the Heidelberg Catechism says, and never kept any of God's commandments? Are you brought low more and more, and do you not know how to be saved? Are you inclined to all evil?

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

Then look upon this perfect Savior Who brought about forgiveness of sins by the shedding of His blood!

Congregation, it will not be possible without the application of the blood of Christ by God's Spirit. Approach the throne of God's grace! This Jesus is still proclaimed for guilty, condemned sinners. But if you say: "I don't see my guilt, I don't see my sin, I don't really need that blood", then I wish to bring one of the covenant promises to your attention. You are baptized, at least most of you are. The water of baptism points to the Mediator between God and Man, the Head of the covenant, and the promises of the covenant. One of the promises is: "I will cause them to acknowledge their offence." Come then with your baptized forehead before God and say: "Lord, this Thou hast promised. Thou dost accomplish this in the life of all Thy children. Thou hast said, “I shall cause them to loathe themselves”. Lord, if that is necessary, teach it to me that I may truly feel a need for the blood; that the conviction of sin and unrighteousness would cause me to take refuge in the blood of atonement."

Congregation, the blood of atonement is an inexpressible wonder and a glorious message for those who turn to Him with their sins and misery. With Christ there is healing for the greatest of sinners.

We can only guess at what went on in the heart of Moses. In the knowledge that the blood of the circumcision had not been shed, he expected nothing other than death. And yet, when the blood was shed, through the hands of a woman who did not fear God, the Lord let him go. Within a short time healing started and Moses regained strength. He could continue with his work.

What a wonder it is if the Lord sees the blood in your life and passes you by. The blood of His dear Son. The chastisement of our peace was upon Christ. With His stripes we are healed.

Congregation, what advantage is there for you personally in this blood theology? Meditate on this. If the Lord requires blood, then payment must be made. But if He sees the blood, than He will pass you by. That is the experience of every child of the Lord who is led to experience the application of that blood. When the eye is cast on the Fairest of all sons of men, on the Husband of blood Who betroths His Church in righteousness and in community of goods, then everything of His

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Rev. M. Joosse – The Husband of Blood

becomes theirs too. Then there is no more guilt, and nothing more will be demanded! On the account of this perfect Surety and Savior they find salvation and they inherit eternal life.

For those not comforted, tossed with tempest, this is the means! The only means to be saved from death. In His death, this Husband of blood buys a black bride, so that you can be saved. May the Lord grant that many may cast an eye of faith on that blood through God's Spirit. That they may say in truth: "Whereas you should otherwise have suffered eternal death, I have given my body to the death of the cross, and shed my blood for you."

Amen.

Concluding Psalter: Psalter 427:2

Jehovah is my strength and tower, He is my happiness and song; He saved me in the trying hour, Hence shall my mouth His praise prolong. The voice of gladness and salvation Is in the tents of righteousness; There do they sing with adoration, The Lord's right hand is strong to bless.

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