Broad meadows

In case you were wondering how many parts there are in this study, the 1984 NIV has 65 stand alone verses using the word cup. While I will generally go from one mention to the next, in 1 Kings 7:26 and 2 Chronicles 4:5 the cup is mentioned in relation to the building of the temple by Solomon. In places like this where there are a great number of symbols I refer to them as wheelhouses of symbols. In order to understand what is being prophesied you need to have followed a number of those symbols all the way through the Bible to get a good idea of what is being talked about. In the newer version of the NIV the cup shows up in Job 21:20, but doesn’t appear in the older version or in the English Standard Version. That takes us to Psalm 16 as the next installment to be analyzed. In order to shorten the series without compromising meaning, I will mention the verses where there is repetition of a concept among the various verses.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.       As for the saints who are in the land,
“They are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.”
The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
I will not pour out libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.
LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

When I first started doing a word search regarding the substance of the Lord’s Supper, there were some obvious words to research; bread, wine, table, body, blood and eat or drink. Most are nouns, but eat and drink are verbs and become part of the story. If you don’t know, there are basically two beliefs that the Church has adopted over the centuries. One is what is referred to as the doctrine of the “real presence”, the other is a memorial view.

The doctrine of the real presence is practiced in Catholicism and Lutheranism. What it states is that upon receiving the Lord’s Supper you are drinking Jesus’ blood and eating his flesh. This is accomplished when the priest pronounces a blessing on the elements, known as transsubstantiation. In Lutheranism it doesn’t require a blessing, it just is the Lords flesh and blood you are consuming. In the memorial view, the purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember what he has done for us through his death on the cross and his resurrection.

In this Psalm, what is being prophesied is that there would be two views of the substance of the Lord’s Supper: The cup that is secure(the memorial view) and one that would be considered idolatry, the real presence. So what is the biblical definition of an idol? Anything made by the hands of men that is thought of as a god (Exodus 20:4-6). The doctrine of the real presence certainly meets that definition.

And what about the consumption of blood? Does the Bible say anything about that? Here are some of the verses that talk about consuming blood:

Genesis 9:4: “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.“

Leviticus 3:17 This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood. ’”

Leviticus 7:26-27 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from their people.’”

Leviticus 17: “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

It’s clear from other passages in Leviticus that say the blood is to be poured out and not consumed, as the way the Lord speaks of his blood being poured out during the night he instituted the Lord’s Supper. This is an amazing prophecy about future doctrine in the church and how it would be viewed.

The last thing I want to mention is that having a written account of who was there and what happened are strong indications that all that was written did happen., particularly given the fact that the practice has lasted through the ages to this present day, over 2,000 years. When we understand the prophecy stated in Psalm 16, we can also come to see that the God of the Bible is God.