"the blood of this wicked generation"

Stisa's "Adam and adamah" series has really stuck with me as I've been reading the Old Testament. There is a lot of blood imagery in the ordinances of the tabernacle. Exodus and Leviticus describe numerous situations in which an animal is to be killed and its blood poured on the ground. I can't help but think of this in the context of Cain and Abel. Here are a few examples:

12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. (Exodus 29)

 

9 And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering. (Leviticus 5)

 

15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. (Leviticus 8)

 

9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar: (Leviticus 9)

I'm glad animal sacrifice is not asked of me. However, the symbolism of innocent blood being offered as a means of reconciliation/sanctification is an important symbol, then and now. We find this symbol frequently in scripture, and of course it has significant temple implications. As Stisa pointed out, the purpose of a temple is to create a sacred space -- a part of heaven on the earth -- towards which a covenant people can progress. 

Fallen mortals without the Gospel/covenant begin their journey through life as cursed people in a cursed land. Their default trajectory sends them headlong towards physical and spiritual death. If that was all we had of this story, it would be quite bleak.  But this is where the ministry of angels changes the story and fills it with hopeful anticipation. God sends angels to proclaim the glad tidings. 

42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. (Doctrine & Covenants 29)

All those who hearken are taken along a different path -- the covenant path. Though we were "born ... in blood," this path leads to a new birth, in which we are "born again ... of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of [God's] Only Begotten," described in Moses 6:

59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;

60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;

The shedding of innocent blood, according to Genesis 4, caused the ground to become cursed. Likewise, by the shedding of innocent blood, those who hearken find a release from this curse.

None of this is new or surprising doctrine, but when we stop to think about the role blood still plays in the covenant process, even if only in a symbolic sense today, it helps deepen our appreciation of Christ's sacrifice. The process that begins when we hearken to the angel leads us to Zion and holiness:

11 Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my wisdom—the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his brethren,

12 Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself—a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come—a day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations; (Doctrine & Covenants 45)

"God's wisdom" (discussed in more depth here) is to give us a the means whereby we can begin to progress to that state of holiness while we are still on the earth. In this sense covenants (made possible by Christ's blood being shed) cleanse us from the general state of wickedness of the world. In the process of making these covenants, we are washed and made clean:

74 And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean;

75 That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will. (Doctrine & Covenants 88)

What a powerful promise! It is reserved for those who hearken:

17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not. (Doctrine & Covenants 29)

Here are some poignant reminders of the sacrifice which made this cleansing possible:

69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. (Doctrine & Covenants 76) 

4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them. (Doctrine & Covenants 38) 

I find beauty in the contrasting references to blood on the ground. On the one hand, the voice of Abel's blood cries unto God from the ground. On the other hand, Jesus pleads before the Father for those who have believed on His name by virtue of the blood which he spilt.

"Sprinkle many nations" and "fulfilling the covenant"

In my last post, I closed with the suggestion that there is a type in story of the Israelites conquering the promised land by overpowering many nations. I suggested that in the latter days, a similar event would take place, only this time the army would be proclaiming the fulness of the Gospel.

This is a major theme in the words of Christ to the Nephites during His visit. Having connected the word "fulness" with the charge given to Adam and Eve to "replenish the earth" and the temple symbolism of the "grand feast" (see here), I noticed the frequent mention of phrases with similar meanings in the prophecies of the latter days from the Book of Mormon: many nations, all the earth, the fulness of the Gentiles, etc.

In a future post, I'll discuss these prophecies in more details, but I want to focus on one particular verse from Isaiah that is quoted by Christ during His visit to the Nephites:

45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. (3 Nephi 20)

Let's begin by taking a closer look at the Hebrew word for "sprinkle":

"Sprinkle" -- nazah: נָזָה "spurt, spatter"

This word shows up 24 times in the Old Testament, according to Biblehub. Let's take a closer look at how it is used and then try to make a determination as to what it means to "sprinkle many nations."

By far the most common use of the Hebrew word 'nazah' occurs in reference to the altar of sacrifice and veil of the temple and the blood of the sacrificial lamb (see Leviticus 8:11, 4:17, for example). Sacrificial blood and oil were sprinkled on the sacred vestments of Aaron and his sons to consecrate them (see Exodus 29:21). Water was sprinkled onto a person who had touched a dead body in a purification ritual (see Numbers 19:18).

In other words, this words shows up almost exclusively in connection with sacred rituals. That is very interesting.

"Sprinkle many nations" and the two ways

Like many covenant terms, I believe this curious phrase has two meanings. On the one hand, it is easy to interpret the meaning of "sprinkle" many nations as a threat of destruction for covenant rebellion, along the lines of "he will spatter many nations."

On the other hand, if we look back at how this word is used in the Old Testament, we can find a merciful promise in this phrase. What if to "sprinkle many nations" means to offer atonement for all the nations of the earth? What if part of the latter-day gathering involves offering the everlasting covenant to the entire human family in the form of temple ordinances?

Ezekiel 36

With that in mind, let's close this post with a beautiful example of how the word 'nazah' is used in a passage loaded with temple imagery to describe a future day when all who will hearken can be gathered as a covenant people and made clean. Consider the connections to Genesis 1:28 as you read:

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 ¶ Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

...

35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. (Ezekiel 36)

Verses 30 and 35 make the connection to Genesis 1:28 very obvious. I find it especially interesting the the meaning of the name Ephraim (the tribe through which the latter-day gathering is to begin) means "fruitful." We'll discuss this in more depth in upcoming posts.

This imagery is found in many places in scripture and is expounded in bold detail in the Book of Mormon. It is exciting to think that we live in the time when this promise is being fulfilled.