Just before Jesus was delivered according to the predetermined counsel of God, He instituted the communion or Lord’s table, which also referred to as the blood covenant, saying: And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament(covenant) in my blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:19-20).
Many Christians religiously observe the communion, but don’t understand its import, ramification or origin. However, in this series titled “Blood Covenant,” we will x-ray this subject matter, its origin, significance and the possibilities it presents.
You see, all through history, God cut covenant with people. In English, a covenant is rendered simply as an agreement or contract, but it is actually more than an agreement or contract. It is a divine exchange.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for covenant is “berith,” derived from the Hebrew verb “barah,” which means “to cut.” It has the suggestion of an incision where blood flows.
However, in the New Testament, the Greek word translated covenant is “diatheke.” Diathḗkē is derived from two root words,/diá, which connotes “thoroughly,” intensifying and /títhēmi, “place, set”).
It connotes a set agreement having complete terms determined by the initiating party, which also are fully affirmed by the one entering the agreement.
Diathḗkē is a legal term, which also means a formal and legally-binding declaration of benefits to be given by one party to another, with or without conditions attached. In secular contexts, it is rendered as “last will and testament.”
People cut covenant with one another for various reasons. But for the purpose of this piece, I will enumerate on two of them.
First, if a strong tribe lives next to a weaker tribe, and there is danger of the weaker tribe being destroyed, the weaker tribe will seek to cut a covenant with the stronger tribe that they may be preserved.
Secondly, two business owners going into a partnership may cut a covenant to insure that neither would take advantage of the each other. Whenever two people wish to cut the covenant, they come together with their friends and a priest.
First they exchange gifts. By this exchange of gifts, they indicate that all that one has, the other owns, if necessary.
After the exchange of gift, they bring a cup of wine; the priest makes an incision in the arm of one man, and the blood drips into the wine.
Similarly, an incision is made in the arm of the other man and his blood drips into the same cup. Then the wine is stirred and the bloods are mixed. The cup is handed to one man and he drinks part of it, then hands it to the other man, who drinks the rest of it.
When they finish drinking, oftentimes they put they put their wrist together, so that their blood will mingle or they will touch their tongues with each other’s wounds. Now, they become blood brothers. Once the covenant is cut, the vilest foes become trusted friends.
The blood covenant is perfectly sacred and children to the third and fourth generation revere it and keep it.
Put differently, the blood covenant is a perpetual covenant; it is an indissoluble covenant that can’t be annulled; and if one was breaks the covenant, his own mother or wife or his nearest relative would his seek his death and would hand him over to the avenger for destruction.
An illustration from Stanley’s search for Livingstone in Africa will further shed light and help us grasp the significance of blood covenant. To be continued!!!
Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe(Ps)
