“The blood that Jesus shed for me
Way back on Calvary
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
It soothes my doubts and it calms my fears
And that same blood dries all of my tears
Oh, the blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
[Chorus]
It reaches to the highest mountain
And it flows to the lowest valley
Oh, the blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
Andrae Crouch
Leviticus 17:11 “for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.”
It all began at the Garden of Eden when God slaughtered animals and gave their skins to Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness. Those animals were the very first blood sacrifices offered on the earth. Then there were Caine and Abel. Abel was a shepherd and sacrificed the very best lamb he had to God while Caine gathered up whatever fruit and vegetables he had and presented it, as if God should be pleased that he had done anything. (Was the basket buzzing with fruit flies because the stuff was already spoiling? Who knows?)
We don’t know how Abel knew God desired a blood sacrifice, but throughout history, blood sacrifices, properly done, have demonstrated total commitment. For the next few weeks, we are going to study the principle of blood sacrifices, the ways in which the Bible describes them, and the reasons that blood is important. We will also study the ways in which we can fake sacrifices and hope to deceive God. Finally, we will study the Blood of Jesus to see why it is so crucially important for believers.
When Noah and his family were able to exit from the Ark, Noah made blood sacrifices. Genesis 8:20-22 tells us, “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Think of it! Noah had raised all those clean animals and birds while on the ark. Each of those animals and birds was special to Noah; yet, Noah willingly sacrificed them to God. Those birds and animals were Noah’s friends; Noah must have been in tears as he slaughtered them for the sacrifice.
Centuries later, King David will proclaim, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24)
Blood sacrifices always cost. Years ago, a local hunter in our area sacrificed his best hunting dog to local gods for help in hunting. The dog’s skull was on a post by the road leading to the village for a long time, proof that this man was serious in his devotion. But an animal’s blood can never fully pay for human sin. Only the blood of an innocent sinless Man can do that. This is why Jesus had to come to earth, live as a man, and die for the sins of the whole world. For all who believe, Jesus has made the ultimate blood sacrifice.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We confess that we are sinners and that nothing we can do is good enough to cancel out that sin. Lord, please forgive us. We claim redemption through the blood sacrifice that Jesus has made. It’s in the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus that we pray with thanksgiving. Amen.
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