”When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” Isaiah 4: 4 NKJV
Today is Israel’s Memorial Day to fallen soldiers and victims of terror. It has been called the saddest day of the year, and yet at sundown the festivities of Israel’s Independence Day will begin. It has long been described as an emotional rollercoaster.
As the Memorial Day sirens sound from all points of the country, I stood on my balcony in silent prayer for the fallen. I remembered the promise that God will one day search through this holy place to remove the shed blood of her fallen ones from its cobble stone streets and fields.
Yeshua spoke of the blood of two martyrs, Abel and Zechariah. (Mat. 23:35, Luke 11:51) Abel was slain in a field outside of Eden while Zechariah slain at the Temple. These two were the book ends of bloodshed in the Hebrew Bible.[1] It was likely that Yeshua was spoke of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. [2] (II Chron. 24: 20-22) Jewish literature speaks much about the unrequited blood of these two men, even describing Zechariah’s blood as both unable to be washed away and continually boiling.[3]
What is it about blood, that Scripture speaks of it as having a voice? Abel’s blood is spoken of in plural form. It wasn’t simply his blood that cried out to God from the ground, it was his blood(s), perhaps all of his generations that were cut off, which were crying out for justice. (Gen. 4:10) But Yeshua’s blood speaks of even greater things. His blood shed upon Mount Moriah speaks of covenant, forgiveness, healing, and atonement to all believers throughout all generations who trust in Him! (Heb. 12:24)
In this time of unrequited grief, Israel remembers, and we grieve with her. Blood cannot be silenced. It continues to speak giving voice to the victim. For the next few moments, I want you to see how very much God cares about the shed blood and the victims of war and terror.
Cleansing the Blood
“And purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst…” Isaiah 4:4
Among the many heroes of Israeli Society are the Zaka units. The word Zaka is an acronym for the identification units who show up at the scene of a death to collect the remains of those who die tragically. These brave individuals, often from paramedic units, are tasked with collecting every drop of blood of terror victims. In Jewish culture, the blood must be retained for burial with the deceased. The Zaka units are often the first responders and the last to leave the scene. The reverence for the blood of man comes from God reverence for man’s blood.
God will not simply wash away the bloodstains of Jerusalem. Even when it seems the blood has been washed away, God still sees and remembers. Despite the best attempts to remove the bloodshed, the blood of the fallen still speak and God yet hears.
He will hear their cry for justice until the day He Himself will address those stains Yes, He will wipe them, but their memory will not be forgotten. His addressing the shed blood in the end times will be to bring true justice for the victims.
The Precious Blood
Yeshua is also a victim of terror, the terror of sin, but not any sin which He had done. As the High Priest said by inspiration, “it was expedient that one man should die for the people.” (John 18: 14 NKJV) There were no Zaka units there on the day He died, but His closest Jewish friends made sure that His blood was collected. The Jewish encyclopedia gives us some insight into how the Second Temple Jewish followers may have treated the spilled blood. It speaks of practices from about four or five hundred years after Yeshua, yet these traditions and practices were likely unchanged since ancient times.
“Since talmudic times, it has been customary to bury a male in the tallit which he had used during his lifetime, after its fringes have been deliberately rendered ritu expedient that one man should die for the people.ally unfit. The victim of an unnatural death is buried in his blood-soaked garments over which the white shrouds are placed in order that all parts of the body should be interred”[4] (Naḥmanides, Torat ha-Adam; Inyan ha-hoẓa’ah) The Jewish Encyclopia
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, personally attended to the body of Yeshua. Wrapping it in a linen garment, he likely collected all the blood to also be buried with Yeshua. For this reason, Yeshua’s blood is added to the suffering of Israel. His blood cries out among the others. But rather than vengeance, His blood speaks of mercy and grace.
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1: 18-19 NKJV
Conclusion
One of Israel’s greatest artists, Marc Chagall has painted Yeshua dying on the cross in the midst the Jewish ghettos of Germany, suffering alongside Israel, the quintessential son of Israel. Similarly, one of the greatest Yiddish writers of the early twentieth century, Sholem Asche, also examined the death of Yeshua in light of Israel’s suffering. Though not necessarily believers in Yeshua as the Messiah, they could not help but be awestruck by how much the suffering of Yeshua and the Nation from which He came paralleled one another.
The message of the Gospels is that Yeshua was tested and suffered, as we have suffered. He knows the tears of loss. The writer of the book of Hebrews put it this way.
“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” Hebrew 13: 12-13 NKJV
Where can we find the healing? It is at the place where He suffered, just outside the gates. It requires something from us, but only a small demand. Arise, and go to Him. He is waiting there to sympathize with our loss and waiting to sanctify the people.
What about the victims whose blood still speaks? God Himself promises to search, purge, cleanse the shed blood. Names long forgotten by history, are not forgotten by Him. Their voice is heard, their blood still speaks, and justice will come to Israel His beloved.
[1] Zechariah was the last Martyr killed in the Hebrew Bible according to the traditional Jewish order of books. (II Chron. 24: 20-22)
[2] The Gospel According to the Hebrews, quoted in the Church Fathers has Zechariah, son of Jehoida.
[3] Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 96b