Ivory, our Black Labrador Retriever, had a large lipoma on her right forearm. A few years ago, we inquired about having it removed but were told that it was a cosmetic choice, and the veterinarian refused. Since then, the fatty growth bubbled upon itself, morphing and growing even larger into a grapefruit sized misshaped mass.
About a year-and-a-half ago, Ivory also developed a raspy cough, and her voice changed. Our new veterinarian discovered that she has esophageal paralysis https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/laryngeal-paralysis-in-dogs. The kicker with that disease is it also affects the neuromuscular pathway to the animal’s hind legs. Ivory has developed that issue, and her hind legs have weakened over time. Because of this, we were reluctant to do anything about the mass on her forearm. Until a few weeks ago when…
Ivory chewed open a cherry tomato sized bubble of the mass. Mike discovered her in our walk-in closet in a pool of blood. Thankfully, we have an arsenal of a first aid kit that includes BleedStop™. He was able to manage the situation on his own because I was out. The next day, while making Sunday breakfast, Ivory was lying in her usual spot watching me cook; one minute she was fine, within the next minute she had pulled her bandage down and begun licking the wound with blood oozing out quickly. We got the situation under control, rebandaged her, and made it through the weekend. First thing on Monday morning, we took Ivory to our veterinarians at the Western Arizona Human Society, and finally the lipoma was removed.
Because she’s an older dog, it’s taken some time for her leg to heal, but Ivory is doing great.
With February being heart health month, blood has been on my mind. I mean, what use is the heart without blood. Also, with the start of a new year has come a fresh reading of the Bible, and the Old Testament is ripe with blood.
As I cleaned up the kitchen floor, I wondered, what happened to all the old blood that was used to cleanse the temple and atone for sin?
“Then he shall kill the bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons
the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood
against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance
of the tent of meeting.”
Leviticus 1:5, ESV
It seems almost like an oxymoron to say that blood cleanses knowing what we now know about the proper handling of it due to the transmission of diseases, bacteria, and whatever else. In ancient times, the Israelites had no understanding of these things. The Lord’s focus with them was purity and teaching holy living.
Through His Word God tells us:
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it
for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls,
for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
Leviticus 17:11, ESV
But did they let all that old blood just build up and start stinking? Finding possible answers took research and a lot of reading. I’ll give you the meat of what I’ve discovered, and you can go from there, but it most likely has to do with something in Hebrew called the SHISSIN, the blood channel.
“The Altar of Elijah (1 Kings 18:30-38). During the encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Then he “dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [13 quarts] of seed” (verse 32, NIV). It was filled with the water that was poured on the altar. We have here a trench built around an altar that received the water that ran down around the altar. Some scholars have suggested that Elijah rebuilt the altar on the basis of the altar located in the court of the Israelite sanctuary. If that were the case, the altar would have had a trench around it. The trench would have had the purpose of letting the blood flow away from the altar through a channel to some kind of drainage system. Although that is far from certain, it is obvious that such a system would have been necessary in the case of the Israelite altar in the sanctuary.
The Altar of Ezekiel (Eze. 43:13-17). The prophet was shown in vision a four-tiered altar, with each tier about a cubit smaller than the one below. There was at the base of the altar “a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around” (verse 17, NIV). The reference is most probably to a sump, into which the blood of the sacrifices was drained and that consequently kept the court clean from any blood. There is also the possibility that this sump may have led to a drainage system that would have taken the blood away from the temple area itself. Unfortunately, the text does not provide the details that we would need in order to have a more complete picture of the drainage system.” Excerpt taken from https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/what-happened-to-the-blood/
The following information expands on the above passage:
“This need for the blood of the worship service to be poured both at the base of the altar as well as upon the soil of the earth was accomplished by the work of an ingenious system of pits under the altar in the Temple courtyard. The pit drainage system is referred to in the Hebrew writings as SHITHIN (“sheetheen”). It is almost universally pronounced as SHISSIN “sheeseen” in the plural by Judaism, and as SHITH as the singular.
…
These pits are never mentioned in the text of inspired Scripture, to be sure, but it is a confirmed historical fact that the SHISSIN were part of the Temple construction. Archaeologists have uncovered portions of these chambers in different excavations even in recent modern efforts, proving the legitimacy of their existence. It is in the presence of these pits under the altar that a profound truth will ultimately come to be seen about the bloody act of true worship and the real price of redemption.” Excerpt taken from https://www.randomgroovybiblefacts.com/the_bleeding_temple.html
“And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take
the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by
your blood you ransomed people for God from every
tribe and language and people and nation…”
Revelation 5:9, ESV
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