Leviticus 4 — Thoughts
Why So Much Blood?
Blood on the priest’s hands. Blood in the Tabernacle. Blood sprinkled at the curtain. Blood on the altar. Blood under the altar. Blood at the entrance to the Tabernacle. …Blood Everywhere.
Clearly, blood is significant to God.
As I’ve said before, the animal sacrifices of the Ancient Hebrews pointed to our ultimate sacrifice, Jesus. So the animal blood should be seen as a stand-in pointing us to Jesus’ blood.
And Jesus’ blood is very significant.
The book of Hebrews tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus tells us that His blood would be poured out “for the forgiveness of sins.”
And John tells us that Jesus’ blood “cleanses us from all sin.”
So for the Ancient Hebrews, being surrounded by the blood of their sacrifices must have been like being surrounded by God’s forgiveness.
We don’t have the opportunity today to stand in the Tabernacle courtyard and see the blood dripping and pooling on the ground — but we do have the cross as the symbol of our faith. It’s our symbol because it represents the place where Jesus spilled His own blood for us.
It represents our forgiveness.