Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - BLOOD and WINE

 BLOOD and WINE

It has been said that the New Testament is concealed in the Old and that the Old Testament is concealed in the New. What this really means is that the details of one part of the Bible are often found in the other and vice-versa. It also indicates just how important the details found in the Biblical accounts are.

In Exodus, the first plague consisted of turning the waters of Egypt into blood. We often say that the water of the Nile River became blood, but in fact the Bible relates that God said to Moses “…stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. There shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 7:19). And so it was for 7 days.

So the Nile, considered a god by the Egyptians, and in reality the lifeblood to the nation, was temporally destroyed by God to indicate His power and strength over the gods and the Pharaoh of Egypt.

In contrast, in John 2, we read of the first miracle preformed by Jesus at the wedding in Cana. This also concerned water being changed into wine, the same colour as blood. We often read of this but don’t realize the true significance of this miracle. Wine is considered a symbol of blessing, grace, and judgement and also of transformation. When we read of this miracle, it’s not often pointed out that the water that was transformed into wine consisted of the contents of six water-pots each containing twenty to thirty gallons of water. Certainly enough to satisfy each person at the wedding without excess.

So the first plague temporally destroyed the Nile, the same river that saved Moses initially when he, as all Hebrew male children, were under the threat of destruction by order of a previous Pharaoh. Now Moses had returned to show that the gods of the Egyptians were no match for the God of the Hebrews.

In the same way, the first miracle of Jesus was to illustrate that His transformative power could produce enough wine (grace, blessing, and symbolic of His blood) to satisfy everyone. It was an early way of saying that His grace would be sufficient. As the first plague revealed to all Egypt that they were in fact lost, so the first miracle indicated that God’s grace and future sacrifice would be sufficient for all.

Symbolism in the Bible: certainly something to think about.