Issue of Blood Story explained (Part II)

PART 2

Reference Text: Luke 8:40-53

The story about Jairus' 12 year old dying daughter

And the story of the woman with the 12 year old issue of blood.

So now that we know the number 12 in the Bible stands in representation of the people of God, we can apply that knowledge to the story of the woman with the issue of blood.

First and foremost, the story of the woman with the issue of blood is literally placed in the middle of the story of Jairus' dying daughter. So much so, that it becomes a part of the story of Jairus' dying daughter (it was while Jesus was talking to the woman with the issue of blood that it was reported to him that Jairus' daughter had died).

So, while the 12 year old girl is dying, we become aware of a problem that started around the same time as her birth: the woman with the issue of blood is struck with her condition which she, now, has had for 12 years (once again, we know the number 12 in the Bible is symbolic of Gods people/God's church).

This woman's blood was with issue for 12 years. Blood in the Bible represents the passover of death. It was Abel's blood, afterall, that took on life-like characteristics and communicated with God after he was already murdered by his brother Cain in Genesis 4:8-10. Also, during the plagues of Egypt, the children of Israel were instructed to put blood on their doorposts in order for death to "pass-over" their homes and spare the lives of their first born sons (Exodus 12:23). In the old testament, people were instructed to sacrifice and shed the blood of lamb and other animals to escape the punishment of sin; which ultimately is death (Leviticus 14:25, 2 Chronicles 29:22). And of course, in the new covenant, Jesus is the worthy Lamb whose blood washed away the sin of God's people so that they may not perish, but have everlasting life (Revelation 12:11).

In the Bible blood is supposed to have life-like qualities that takes dominion over death. However, in our text the blood that is taking "dominion"/interrupting the story of the death of Jairus' daughter happens to be with "ISSUE".

The story of Jairus' dying daughter is interrupted by this story of the 12 year long issue of blood (12 which represents God's people). Here the issue of blood parallels with the fact that  Hebrews 8:7-9 states God found fault in the old covenant/system of being forgiven of sins through the continuous shedding of animal blood (issue of blood):

"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—  not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt"

Here, we see the old covenant's method of continuously sacrificing blood was with issue in the sight of God. As a matter of fact, God found so much fault with the old covenant (issue of blood) that the Bible even describes this covenant, in 2 Corinthians 7-8, as the ministry of death to God's people. This parallels with the dying state of the 12 year old girl (The number 12 represents God's people):

"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?"

Notice that in our text, the story of Jairus' dying daughter does not continue and she is not healed or brought back to life until after the 'issue of blood' is cured. Likewise, when the old system of the blood of the lamb was in place it led to death and everlasting life was not bestowed upon God's people until after the 'issue of blood' was rectified with the new covenant. 

Abundant life was bestowed upon the people of God after the old covenant was done away with just as the 12 year old girl was brought back to life after the 12 year old issue of blood was cured. Note that for as long as there was an issue of blood the 12 year old girl was on her way to death, but after the 12 year long issue of blood was cured, the girl continued to live; her life exceeded the length of the issue just as God's people lived through the faulted old covenant and lived past it into the new covenant.

So this answers my questions about why the story of the woman of the issue of blood interrupted the story of  Jairus' dying daughter and opened my eyes to the significance of the number 12 in both the story of Jairus' daughter and the story of the woman with the issue of blood.

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