Walking with the Wise #170: The Blessing of Blood

“Fools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.”

—Proverbs 14:9

In the Old Testament, when one sinned, there had to be payment for sin. Though it might seem strange to us, God requires blood as a means of paying for sin against Him. Because He is thrice holy, loving, merciful, benevolent, etc., the payment for sinning against such an awesome being must be in proportion to who He is. And in the Old Testament that meant giving a life for one’s sin. Leviticus 17:11 describes it this way:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

A guilt offering was given as compensation or payment for one’s sin. But to a fool, such an offering is ludicrous because, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’”—Proverbs 14:1. Why kill a perfectly good animal for a God who doesn’t exist? Such thinking reveals their foolishness. Though God may not act directly upon them for their sin, He will act. And they will suffer the due penalty for all of the sins they have done. They will die and then face judgment. Not so the upright. The upright live in the fear of the Lord, offer what God requires, and they will enjoy acceptance.

We are no longer under the Old Testament sacrificial system, because Christ, the perfect Passover Lamb, has fulfilled the purpose of the sacrificial system by offering Himself. As the Bible says,

“He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself”—Hebrews 7:27.

And again,

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God”—Hebrews 9:11-14.

Fools despise Christ, but the upright trust in Him, and His blood covers their sins. Which are you? Are you despising Christ, or are you resting in Him? Trust in His salvation, serve Him, and rest in the knowledge that He died for you, and you can now live for Him. Amen.