And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission
The idea that sacrifice is the purchase price of freedom is not new. In the book of Genesis, we grieve as Adam and Eve hide in humiliation after eating the forbidden fruit. God, in His mercy, sacrificed an animal to cover their nakedness and shame.
In the book of Exodus, we watch as God set His divine plan in motion to free His chosen people. As the Israelites packed their bags and prepared to walk out of Egypt after four hundred years of cruel slavery, God commanded a curious thing. Each family was to sacrifice a spotless lamb and apply its blood over the doorpost. God set apart and spared His own at the sight of that dark stain.
Later, as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God demanded that an animal be sacrificed, that its blood be poured on the altar for the cleansing of their sin. The blood was the means by which the Israelites could experience communion and relationship with God.
For those of us who did not belong to the nation of Israel, we stood outside of this arrangement that God forged with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his descendants. Before the cross, we were far away from God, outside of this covenant, and without hope in the world.
But Jesus Christ was our Hope! He came as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth (Revelation 13:8). When John the Baptist looked up and saw Him, he cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sin.
When He went to Calvary, He shed His blood “once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). What the blood of goats and calves could not do, His blood accomplished. He “obtained eternal redemption” for us (Hebrews 9:12). Because of that sacrifice, every barrier, every separation, has been torn in two. We now have bold access to the Father!
We now have freedom to enter where we could not go before, to receive what we could not claim before. We have hope. We have salvation. We have life. Jesus, the Lamb of God, paid the purchase price for our liberty. His is the sacrifice that won our freedom.
Blessing:
Our precious Savior, we thank You for the sacrifice and for the blood that You shed to graft us in to Your covenant. Thank you for granting us access to every promise, every gift recorded in Your Word. Thank You for hiding our nakedness, for cleansing our sin, for bringing us into relationship with the Father, and for bringing us near. May we ever remember and always be grateful. In the name of our Redeemer, Jesus…amen.
Today's Bible Reading:
Old Testament
Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20
New Testament
Luke 9:7-27
Psalms & Proverbs
Psalm 72:1-20
Proverbs 12:8-9
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