What Old Testament practices are connected to the message in Hebrews 9:18? “Therefore even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.” Blood-Sprinkling at Sinai (Exodus 24:3-8) • Moses read the Book of the Covenant, and the people pledged obedience. • Burnt offerings and peace offerings were slaughtered. • Half the blood went on the altar, half was sprinkled on the people and the book. • The covenant was officially ratified only when blood touched both God’s altar and the covenant community. Priestly Ordination Rites (Leviticus 8–9) • Aaron and his sons were washed, clothed, anointed, then marked with sacrificial blood on ear, thumb, and toe. • Blood on the altar and on the priests linked their ministry to substitutionary atonement. • The tabernacle itself was splashed with blood to set the whole worship system apart. Daily and Festival Sacrifices (Numbers 28–29) • Every morning and evening a lamb was slain. • Additional offerings filled Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days. • Constant shedding of blood ingrained the message: sin brings death, but God accepts a substitute. Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16) • Once a year the high priest carried sacrificial blood behind the veil. • Blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and before it, cleansing the Most Holy Place, tent, and altar. • This climactic rite maintained covenant fellowship for another year. Passover Foundations (Exodus 12) • Israel’s release from Egypt hinged on lamb’s blood brushed on doorposts. • “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (v. 13) • Passover introduced the pattern of redemption by substitutionary blood, later embedded in covenant law. Life-for-Life Principle (Leviticus 17:11) • “For the life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” • God tied forgiveness to poured-out life, reinforcing the seriousness of sin and the mercy of substitution. Earlier Echoes: Covenant Cuts (Genesis 15:9-18) • Animals were split, and a smoking firepot (the presence of God) passed between the pieces. • The visual language: covenant commitment sealed with the threat of bloodshed if broken. All Streams Converge at the Cross (Hebrews 9:22; 10:1-14) • “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (9:22) • Old practices were “copies” pointing to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, whose blood establishes the new covenant forever. |
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