The Son declared on His exit from heaven that He knew the Father had no pleasure in the animal burnt offerings and sin sacrifices. Because His heart is to always bring pleasure to the Father,[1] He did something about it. “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,” He said. He came to save us, but His motivation was to bring pleasure to His Father.
If we offer up the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, the Lord will appear unto us in glorious manifestation! If the letter that brought death has such a glorious promise, what will be the result in our lives seeing that we have a much better covenant? Goats, calves, lambs, rams, and bullocks were offered up in the Old Covenant and the glory of the Lord appeared! The blood of Jesus Christ is far superior to the blood of animals. His blood truly cleanses sin, consecrates the saint, and makes possible communion with God.
After bringing us into covenant with Him by cleansing us with His blood, the Lord leads us to a life of consecration. The longer we walk with the Lord, the more He challenges us to let go of the world. Activities we enjoyed without guilt in the past now become restricted by convictions. But with each conviction followed comes a new liberty to serve the Lord in consecrated holiness.
In both Covenants (Old and New) real blood was spilled and then verbally enjoined. After speaking all the precepts of the Law to the people, Moses sprinkled the blood of bulls and goats on the book and the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined unto you.”[1] After living and speaking all the precepts of the New Covenant, Jesus declared, “This is my blood of the covenant.” They each gave voice to the blood.
We were not redeemed by silver or gold, but by the precious blood of Christ! What gives the blood of Christ its worth? It is sinless. But it isn’t simply sinless by nature; it is also sinless by proof.
This Creation is certainly full of wonders. But among all the wonders, two novel creations stand out: nephesh life and mankind. Let us look at the creation of soul life, the life of the flesh that resides in the blood.
The day our original parents were created, the day they became living souls, God named them according to the blood that brought color to their face. Blood defines the essence of man. And by placing life in the blood of man, God took a singular departure from what He had done in the creation of angels.
“The life of the flesh is in the blood.” This is a profound statement. God informs us that the very essence of life in man and animals runs through the river in their veins. Blood carries their life principle, if you will. And this blood is a precious commodity not to be trifled with.
The story of Jesus Christ is bloody—bloodier than most of us are willing to contemplate. Centuries of artistic expression have whitewashed the horror of Calvary. Instead of a naked convict, we have the loincloth-clad Christ. Instead of a face ripped, bloated, and bleeding from hours of beating, we have serenely closed eyes.
The Bible Philes 