Blood And Atonement Part 1

In my last post, I wrote that a person, or in this case a nation, has a choice as to whether or not to keep the laws of G-d. See Deuteronomy 30:11-14 But what was a person or the entire nation to do if they did sin?

Growing up in the Christian world, I was always taught that only through the blood of Jesus were my sins forgiven. I was taught that you had to have faith in this sacrifice and believe, and then your sins were forgiven. I was further told that the OT was chock full of examples of where the blood was used to atone for our sins, starting with the Passover lamb,and on through the whole sacrificial system. Blood was the key, and Jesus was the ultimate “lamb of G-d” sacrifice. But is that really true? Is blood needed for the forgiveness of sins? Was a human/deity sacrifice needed or even foretold?

First the Passover lamb. This one is used time and again by the Christian church as an example of forgiving of sins. I wrote in “The Courage Of The Slaves” on my blog page how sheep and goats were considered sacred to the Egyptian people and I went through what the point of the Passover was, and still is,for the slaves, not only was it in defiance of the Egyptians, but it was about saving the first born of the Hebrews.

Exodus 12:26-27 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. NKJV

Nothing hidden, no secret meaning, plain and to the point. It had nothing to do with sin, and all to do with saving Hebrew lives, and, just as a serious side note, by suggesting that Jesus was the Passover lamb you are saying that he was,and is, an Egyptian god that was taken prisoner by the Hebrew people and destroyed by them by direction of G-d.

So what about the other sacrifices? They required blood didn't they?

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.’

This text, taken out of context, is frequently used to make the point that without blood there is no atonement. If you read the whole chapter though, you find that G-d was saying that anyone who didn't bring their sacrifices to the tent of meeting or who drank blood was to be cut off from the people. Yes atonement was to be found in the blood as was life but was blood the only way?

If you go back to Leviticus 4 you get the list of sin offerings and the procedure for each. Yes, blood was sprinkled on the sides of the altar and some smeared on the horns on the corners but the rest was all poured out at the base of the altar and then the sacrifices were burned as the sin offering. The blood purified the altar but the sacrifice was burned for the forgiveness of sins.

Even if you don't believe that this is true, G-d did indeed give a way for atonement that did not involve blood or even animal sacrifice. It was flour.

Leviticus 5: 11 “And if his means do not suffice for two turtledoves or two pigeons,he shall bring as his offering for that which he is guilty a tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin offering; he shall not add oil to it or lay frankincense on it for it is a sin offering.

The priest was to take a handful of it and burn it on the altar and then the person was forgiven. No blood needed.

Flour, put on the altar and burned, atonement made.

Silver, the price of a Ram plus 1/5^th added to the value was also acceptable. See Lev. 5:14-26.

I am not asking you to believe me. Study it yourselves, look at the Hebrew, ask a Rabbi on a Jewish web page, but don't take my word for it.....

Shalom. More to come.