THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT

Blood is an important theme in the Bible.

Again and again, we see that sacrifice was needed to have a right relationship with God.

In this week’s Torah portion, Israel agreed to follow the laws God gave them at Mount Sinai.

Moses then offered a sacrifice.

“So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:8).

The bull’s blood was a sign of the covenant God was making with the people of Israel. They pledged to obey God, and He promised to bless them accordingly (Deuteronomy 30).

Sprinkling blood was a physical act that helped the Israelites remember their responsibility to follow the Lord’s law.

They could look back on that day when the blood marked them and set them apart.

The prophet Jeremiah also spoke of a “new covenant” that would cause all Israel to know the Lord (Jer 31:31–34).

Yeshua Himself used the imagery of blood in relation to that new covenant.

At the last Passover Seder with His disciples, Yeshua took wine and said,

“This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20b).

With these words, He identified Himself as the sacrifice that makes the new covenant possible. Yeshua died and rose again to atone for our sins and allow us to have eternal life with God. Moses sprinkled the blood on Israel, but Yeshua went even further. He offered His own blood.

In Exodus, the blood of the bull’s sacrifice was on the people.

In the New Covenant, we are called to symbolically drink the blood of the Messiah’s sacrifice.

Through His blood, we live in Him and He in us (John 6:56). When we trust in Yeshua, He transforms us.

His blood in us is a sign that we are part of the new covenant and belong to Him.

Let us remember and give thanks that Yeshua laid down His life for us so that we could have eternal life in Him!