The Blood is Life
The Blood is Life
6/8 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 12; Psalms 97-98; Isaiah 40; Revelation 10
Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. Deuteronomy 12:23
Because of Christ’s great sacrifice upon Calvary’s tree, when we think of the blood of the Lord Jesus, the first thing that typically comes to mind are all the sacrifices prescribed in the Law of Moses— the twice daily oblations, the burnt offerings, sin offerings, trespasses offerings, peace offerings, feast offerings, new moon offerings, and on and on. The book of Hebrews tells us that all these offerings foreshadowed the shed blood of Christ. Peter tells us of Christ’s incredibly costly blood by describing it in such a way as to understand that even gold and silver are corruptible in comparison (1 Pet 1:18-19). We should also consider God’s command concerning blood from kills after the hunt or harvesting food from their own herds and flocks— that the Israelites were not to eat the blood, but rather pour it out on the ground. This wasn’t merely some “kosher” dietary restriction. The Lord tells us of the blood’s importance in today’s verse: for the blood is life. Because Christ’s shed blood is so supreme in its sacrificial significance, and so precious in its pardoning power, that the blood was not to be consumed as a common and daily occurrence with a meal. The infinite and eternal value of Christ’s blood is so costly and so precious that deliberate sin should be abominable to us (Heb 10:29).
Though I am very least of saints,
Unworthy to proclaim,
This awesome truth of Jesus Christ,
Nor publish His great name.
Yet, from the Law, I’ve understood
To preach Christ crucified—
His sinless life, His cleansing blood,
He gave His life and died.
The blood of Christ, so precious, pure,
Which cleanses us from sin;
Our fatal state has found the cure:
If Christ, by faith, we’re in.
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