Forgiveness Requires Death

Hebrews 9:21-23 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
 
WHY did God require the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies be sprinkled with blood? A quick answer can be, “This was God’s law.” But it is good to consider God’s reason for the law. We worship a rational God. His redemptive plan is orderly. Our Lord has purpose in each thing he has done and will do. Thankfully, his purpose is to save you.
    We can see the blood sacrifice began in Genesis 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. This is the first recorded worship to the LORD God. Abel had to kill a sheep to offer its fat portions. A lamb’s blood was shed. God preferred it because Abel’s sacrifice cost him more than Cain’s grain cost him. Cain could replace the grain. Abel could not replace the lamb. Blood is life. An animal had to die so Abel could approach the Lord with a righteous devoted heart. Because blood is life, God commanded his people to never eat blood. It was as if they were eating the life of an animal.
     The specific restriction on eating blood began after the flood: Genesis 9:4 But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it. And this is repeated several times in the law as a dietary restriction: Leviticus 17:14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” This restriction also separated Israel from other nations that consumed blood as food.  
    The life of every creature is its blood. That’s why blood became essential in God’s sacrificial laws. Blood on the altar meant an animal had died. Sin costs. Forgiveness requires a high price. Life is the highest price to pay.
    Jesus could only have died through a process that caused him to bleed. It is essential to remember his blood shed for us because it assures us God’s forgiveness is complete. Remember God established his redemptive plan in Genesis 3. From that day, he has commanded and demonstrated the ways of the salvation. One of those ways is to emphasize blood is life.
    God’s rules and methods are not random. They are purposeful to complete the demonstration of his grace and love to give you life through the Son’s death.