Read Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 12:18-29.

Even a quick scan over the nine steps to making covenant (see last week’s Devotional) shows how important sacrifice - the shedding of actual blood - was to covenant-making. From our much sanitized 21st century perspective this can seem a bit gruesome and archaic. But in order to understand this we need to ask two questions: ‘Why is blood so important’ and ‘What does blood do?’

Blood is essential to life. Blood circulation is controlled by the beating of our heart, which is why when our heart stops the blood stops pumping and we die. As blood circulates it delivers essential substances to our cells; e.g., oxygen, hormones and various proteins and nutrients . At the same time, it cleanses those same cells from all waste products, like carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid. It fights disease, signals tissue damage, regulates our body’s temperature and coagulates to prevent us bleeding to death every time we have a scratch.

Blood is an amazingly complex, wonderful creation of a loving Father God who takes life and death very seriously.

Blood is an amazingly complex, wonderful creation of a loving Father God who takes life and death very seriously. So, when animals were sacrificed and their blood poured out to mark the sealing of a covenant or onto an altar as an act of worship, applied to doorposts as a prophetic sign that the house was under God’s protection, or sprinkled on the priests and people as a sign that their sins are forgiven and they are cleansed, then its meaning in the heart of God goes far deeper and is more profound than we can possibly imagine or understand.

The spread of the Bible from beginning to end shows how every part of the covenant ritual symbolism is fulfilled in Jesus. The magnitude of God’s faithful, enduring, unconditional love for us meant that ultimately, He would plant a covenant memorial ‘tree’ at the Cross in His own flesh as the final blood sacrifice. Jesus’ body and blood is the fulfilment of every sin offering throughout the Old Testament. Jesus’ sacrificial death is the ‘blood of the New Covenant’ mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-33 which is for everyone - not just the Israelites.

The blood of Jesus does exactly the same for us spiritually as our own blood does for us naturally: His blood cleanses us of all impurities, which today’s reading in Isaiah reminds us includes the limitations of sicknesses and diseases. The covenant exchange means His life-giving blood, full of spiritual oxygen and every single spiritual protein and nutrient, brings us the potential for complete wholeness and health.

The covenant exchange means His life-giving blood, full of spiritual oxygen and every single spiritual protein and nutrient, brings us the potential for complete wholeness and health.

This exchange should affect and influence who we are and how we live because everything we might ever need for life is found in His blood. Every promise, every aspect of His character, the fulfilment and truth of every single Name God has ever revealed Himself to be is found in the blood of Jesus. We no longer have to bring blood offerings and smear blood on our faces or houses, because our relationship with God is now based on applying the fullness of all He is to the spiritual doorposts of our hearts, and lives by faith through prayer.
He is who He says He is. He is the bedrock. He is ‘I AM.’

Additional reading: Exodus 24:1-10; Zechariah 9:9-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Hebrews 13:20-21.

Prayer Time:

Everything you need to help you is found in Him. It is underserved - a complete gift of grace. The wonderful truth is that it is yours to appropriate in your own life by faith in the covenant blood of Jesus.

• Can you make the choice to trust Him to be with you through it all?

Talk to Him about it.

Other reflections in this series can be accessed here.