For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Leviticus 17: 11, NKJV.
Dear God, we come to You for healing, for salvation, and to surrender our all to You and to Your service. Please cover us with the blood of Your Son, and grant us eternal life through that blood. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
Where would we be without the blood? Our Scripture for today makes it quite clear that the blood has been “given . . . to make atonement for your souls[.]” At first glance it would appear that the ceremonial law was nothing more than one big blood bath, and that animal rights were blatantly ignored. You could possibly come to that conclusion, if you were not aware that God, the Creator, loves His creatures, and that “not one (sparrow) falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matthew 10: 29b).
I truly believe that when the law of sacrifices was instituted, it was with the purpose of making human beings aware of the fact that sin causes death. (Perhaps you have heard me say this before.) Nevertheless, as time passed, and the children of Israel became “familiar” with animal sacrifices, the intended lesson was lost sight of. Taking the life of an innocent animal became something mundane.
Our Scripture for today expresses two very important truths about the blood: 1) “The life is in the blood.” Because of this, when our blood became contaminated by sin, in order for us not to die eternally, we desperately needed a blood transfusion. The only blood that could be found in the entire universe, that could provide the perfect antidote against the deadly, poisoning, effect that sin had had upon Adam’s race was the immaculate blood of the Creator in whose image we had been created “in the beginning” – Jesus, the Christ! So heaven sent the Perfect Donor, Who, when He cried out on Calvary’s cross, “It is finished,” deposited His blood in heaven’s blood bank, so that “whosoever will, can receive a heart-transforming, life-sustaining, soul-saving, blood transfusion! Oh glorious Savior!
2) “The blood has been given to make atonement. There was an evangelist, who, when talking about the Day of Atonement would refer to it as, the Day of, At-one-ment, or, the day when God and sinners were being reconciled. It was the blood that made reconciliation between heaven and earth possible.
I am in no way suggesting that the God we serve is a bloodthirsty God, and that His wrath could only be appeased by the death of innumerable innocent animals, while He waited for the Perfect Sacrifice to be offered. What I am saying is that we will never be able to understand, how a God who loves the sinner unconditionally, and hates sin irremediably, could find the way for mercy and justice to embrace and kiss each other. But whether we understand it or not, that is exactly what the blood of my Wonderful Savior Jesus Christ, made possible at Calvary! Oh matchless love! Because of this, no one need to be lost! Whoever is lost, it will be because he or she decided to ignore the offer that was made available to every member of Adam’s race, more than two thousand years ago.
What about you my friend? Have you had your blood transfusion? If not, why not request it today?