Hebrews 9:7-8 “But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.”

God knew that it would take much more than the blood of animals to perfectly atone for the sins of man. Still, as he implemented the first covenant between himself and his people, a covenant that was imperfect and would later be replaced, it was through the offering of a blood sacrifice that the people were cleansed from their sins. While the Tabernacle was in use, God taught through the actions of the high priest that blood was needed in order for their sins (under the old covenant) to be forgiven. A bull for the sins of the high priest and a goat for the sins of the people. The people already understood the idea of blood being a ‘covering’ because it was blood (on their doorposts and lintel at Passover) that had protected them in Egypt from the angel of death. Still, animal blood would never be sufficient to completely wipe away the sins of a human. Since God had no intention of implementing human sacrifice, he allowed a substitute to take the place, temporarily, until the day when Jesus would come to usher in the new covenant using blood that would once and for all pay the debt!

Pray: Lord God, you used the ritual of sacrifice to teach your people. You engrained in their hearts and their minds that blood was needed as an atoning offering. Once that concept was firmly in place, you were able to send your Son Jesus to be the perfect Lamb of God (sacrifice) who could offer himself, as High Priest, in the Tabernacle of heaven and put an end to the old covenant and bring in the new and more perfect covenant in his own blood. Thank you, Father, because I realize that my life is in His blood. In the most holy name of my Savior and High Priest I pray – Amen