Here's that text in Leviticus
17 verse 10 through verse 16 for our reading of the day. whatsoever man there be of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that
eats any manner of blood, I will even set my face against that
soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among the people. For the life of the flesh is
in the blood, I have given it to you upon the altar to make
an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes
an atonement for the soul. Therefore, I said unto the children
of Israel, no soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any
stranger that sojourns among you eat blood, whatsoever man
there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn
among you, which hunts and catches any beast or fowl that may be
eaten, he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover
it with dust. for it is the life of all flesh. The blood of it is for the life
thereof. Therefore, I said unto the children
of Israel, ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh. For the life of all flesh is
in the blood thereof, whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that
which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether
it be one of your own country or a stranger, he shall both
wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until
the evening, then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not,
nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity. Now principally we'll be in verse
11 for our subject, where the life of the flesh is in the blood,
and the blood have I given you upon the altar to make and atonement. Now by way of introduction, that
is to make ourselves more familiar with those things that we have
read, let us consider for a short time this book that we call Leviticus,
the third one in our Bible. because these ceremonies that
we read of in the book of Leviticus were given to the tribe of Levi. That is, they were given to the
Levi priests that they might enact them. And also, we want
to notice its place in the canon of the scripture. It is placed
after the book of Exodus, which records the exodus out of the
land of Egypt and of bondage. But then we realize that much
of Exodus, particularly the last half of the book of Exodus, is
taken up with a long-running account of directions for the
making and the assembling and the erecting of the tabernacle
and the rearing it up and putting it into service as God had commanded
them. It is called the tabernacle of
witness in the wilderness. In Acts chapter 7 and verse 44,
numbers 17 and 7 refers to it likewise. 2 Chronicles chapter
24 and verse 6, which was to be the place where there was
the witness of God to the people, and it was the place where sacrifices
and offerings were to be made. Then follows the book of Leviticus
after that, in which are given the various sacrifices and the
rites and the ceremonies of that worship. and the manner and the
times of their observances according to the command of God. And as
Gill wrote, John Gill, these things were typical, they were
shadows of Christ and of things to come, we understand that. And if any should ask us, or
any, what meaneth these things, then we ought to direct them
into the New Testament and the epistle of Hebrews, for it is
there that they are made plain. and are explained unto us. Now something unique about this
book that we call Leviticus in our Bible, in that it almost
entirely contains the words of God. If you look at it, and if
you read it, you will find that almost all of it are the words
of God Himself. The words of God that were spoken
to Moses, spoken to Aaron, spoken to them concerning the various
sacrifices and offerings, and especially and particularly the
sin offerings in the book of Leviticus. It taught them the
filthiness of sin. It taught them God's attitude
about sin, that sin must have a proper atonement. In chapter
16 you have the day of atonement, Leviticus chapter 16. In chapter
17 is the law regarding blood and how a sinful people may establish
and have communion with their God. Now, the first nine verses
of chapter 17 emphasize that the sacrifices were to be brought
to the tabernacle, put into the hands of the priest, and were
to be made there. They were not to be made in the
people's home, they were not to be made out in the open field
they were to be brought to the tabernacle, put in the hands
of the priests who would offer their sacrifices unto God in
their behalf. But then beginning with the tenth
verse, the law regarding the eating or the ingesting of blood,
and the prohibition, absolutely, of eating blood. And this had
been twice already prohibited in the book of Leviticus in the
earlier part. Chapter 3 and verse 17, a perpetual
statute for your generation throughout all of your dwellings that you
eat neither fat nor blood. is included in that particular
place. Again in Leviticus 7 and verse
26, Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, of fowl, or
of beast in any of your dwellings. Now let's note this, that the
eating of fat was also forbidden in certain circumstances. Leviticus 3 and 17, all of the
fat was to be devoted unto the Lord. And Leviticus 4 and 31,
the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto
the Lord their God. Now, it may be a symbol, the
fat, of the best portion, and the fat was counted wholly unto
the Lord as we read. For this had nothing to do with
health or with diet. It was not a matter of health
or diet or cholesterol to those that transgressed in that way. Now, in Leviticus 17 and 10,
I will even set my face against that soul that eats any manner
of blood. Not only that, but I will cut
him off from among the people. In Leviticus 7 and 27, whatsoever
soul that eats any manner of blood, even that soul shall be
cut off from his people. Now here in Leviticus 17 and
verse 14, whosoever eats it shall be cut off, and I take that to
mean they would die, perhaps by a divine direct stroke it
may be. Also notice two other ways are
given to reverence the blood and to esteem that blood. It is found in our text. A. To remember the sanctity of blood
in verse 13. The hunter who went out and hunted
and killed food, food that was legal and clean and lawful to
be eaten and to be put up on his table. In chapter 11, a distinction
is made between clean and unclean beasts with regard to Israel
and their dietary law. So even the beast or the fowl
that was cleaned by the command of God to eat, when caught and
killed for food, two things were to be done to that animal or
to that fowl. Number one, the blood must be
poured out. The blood must be drained completely,
as completely as possible. All blood. was to be allowed
to drain out of the body and the flesh of that animal. You
have this again in Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 16 and again
in verse 24. Then a second thing also was
to be done concerning the blood of this beast. The blood was
to be covered over with dust or with dirt. as it drained out
there upon the ground, then it was to be covered over with dust
or dirt. You see, in Exodus chapter 24
and verse 7, so that it might not be, I guess, licked up by
ravenous dogs or wolves or even eaten by some individual. So now it's time to ask ourselves
the question, why this great reverence for blood? Why has
God enjoined them to treat blood in this manner? Why has God given
such meticulous laws that were to be absolutely followed concerning
the matter of the blood of beasts and of fowls? I think that there
are two reasons that might be given why the blood is so respected,
why it was to be treated with such honor and such reverence
even in that day. J. H. Kurtz wrote in a book entitled,
Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament, a book that I've had
for some time. He made this statement, and I
quote, One reason lies in the nature of the blood and the other
in the consecration of it for a holy purpose." We see both
of these in the text in Leviticus chapter 17. First of all, it
is, and may I call it, the fluid of life. Blood is actually the
fluid of life. There is no life without it. If one loses their blood, whether
beast or human, they lose their life. Secondly, and this tops
all, I believe, it is the means of atonement for sin. Only blood can make an atonement. This is the most precious thing
that we learn about blood in our Bible. It covers sin. Blood makes an atonement for
sin. God has given it to be so. He has ordained it to be so. Now, let's consider each one
of these two scriptural truths that we have just talked about. First of all, that it is the
life of the natural body. Again, the fluid of life. In verse 11 of our text, that is in it. Then in verse
14, For it is the life of all flesh, and the blood is the life
thereof. For the life of all flesh is
the blood thereof. Now, if we might just for a bit
drop back to Genesis chapter 8 and chapter 9 for a short visit. There we're told of Noah and
of his family coming out of the ark after all of those days upon
the face of the flood. And instructions to Noah for
their new life upon the new earth. Genesis chapter 8 verse 21, there
would be no more a worldwide devastation as he had experienced
in the flood upon the earth. There would be no more the smiting
of every creature as was done in the day of the flood. In Genesis 8 and 22, furthermore,
there would continue the regular cycles of the season. The summer and the winter the
day and the night and so forth. In other words, global warming
will not destroy the planet. Take that, Al Gore. Then in chapter
9, God gave the law regulating blood unto Noah. And it likewise
has two aspects when we look at it. A. God permitted Noah
the eating of animal flesh. They could eat the flesh of animals. Take that, Peter. only they were
not to eat it with the blood still in it. In verse 4, flesh
with the life thereof shall ye not eat for the blood is the
life and life is in the blood. Therefore we see that this ordinance
was enforced before it became a part of the mosaic or the ceremonial
laws. And it's taught respect for blood
as the fluid of life even in the days of Noah. Life and blood
being to a degree synonymous. in our thinking. Be the second
thing that God did. He instituted the death penalty
for murder. That's in Genesis 9 verse 5 and
verse 6. The blood of their lives would
be required and accounting would be required of the death of any
man. He, God, would have Every death
a binge, even if a beast or an animal. killed a man, then that
beast was also to be put unto death. Now remember, the avenger
of blood under the Mosaic economy and the cities of refuge, Joshua
chapter 20 speaks of those cities of refuge, that if any had killed
a man unaware, unintentional, He might flee to the city of
refuge, and there escape the avenger of blood." Numbers 35
and verse 6. Consider when Cain shed the blood
of Abel. What a notice did God take of
that. Now, the reason that each murder
must be avenged is stated in the end of Genesis 9 and verse
6. For in the image of God made
he man. Calvin wrote, he deems himself
violated in their person. That is, in the person of those
who are murdered. You see in James chapter 3 and
9, that man's made in the image of God, therefore is not to be
cursed. But now coming back to Leviticus
chapter 17 and the second great truth concerning the blood that
we want to look at this morning, which is the blood is necessary
for the making of atonement for sin. It is the blood that make
an atonement. Now the text is very, very clear
on this point. As we see in verse 11, I have
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
soul. For it is blood that makes atonement
for the soul. Blood upon the altar makes atonement
for the sin of the soul. God in His sovereign wisdom and
good pleasure has decreed, appointed, and ordained that blood be the
means of making an atonement for sin, that sin will be put
away in no other manner but by the shedding of the blood of
atonement. Now, we cannot speak of the blood
of atonement without acknowledging the fact of sin having alienated
the entire human family from the holy God of heaven. And yet, it was the eternal good
pleasure and will of God to save a multitude of Adam's fallen
race. But He will not save them, without
a proper expiation. He will not save them without
a proper atonement. He will accept nothing from the
sinner's own hand as an atonement for his sin. No sinner can make
an atonement for himself. No sinner can give to God that
which will cover his sin. No sinner can make that atonement. He cannot provide any worthy
thing or worthy way to put away his sin, for his debt of sin
is great. and he had nothing with which
to pay. Well, what then will please God
as the ground of the removal of the guilt and depravity of
sin? What is it that can take away
sin if nothing that man has? What can bring a sinner to God? What can put away his sin so
that he is brought unto God? How shall God and sinners be
reconciled again since man is sinful? And the answer in our
text and so many other places is the blood of Atonement is
the one and only way. Not in the open field as I said,
but in the altar. Notice it again. I have given
it unto you upon the altar to make an atonement. Now, another
thing, and that is that God was pleased to administer the covenant
under two administrations. They're called the Old and the
New, or the First and the Second. But both of them, Old and New,
stood upon blood. Both of them were dedicated with
blood. Neither the old or the new came
in without proper blood. The blood of the first, as we
know, was the blood of the beast, which was typical in its nature
of that that was to come, the blood of Christ. which blood
of beasts could not really take away sin. We hear that in Hebrews
10 and verse 4. Let us not forget, only the blood
of certain beasts was appointed that their blood might make an
atonement for sin, only certain beasts were appointed by God
to be a sacrifice and an atonement. They included goats and lambs
and bulls, not dogs and not lions, not those that are considered
unclean by the Old Testament or the Mosaic law. Only the clean
beasts were offered in sacrifice. Now, let's ponder something for
a moment. These beasts were offered in
innumerable numbers. Countless, countless beasts were
slain and their blood offered as an atonement in the Old Testament. Did you ever wonder why God appointed
in His wisdom the blood of animals to be an atonement for the sin
of man? Then the second question is,
how are they typical of Christ? Well, they certainly are, and
they must be. Now the immediate answer to that
question is because it pleased him and it seemed good in his
sight. But it also must be true that
there was a certain and proper fitness about them that made
them suitable to shed their blood and a proper atonement for sin
upon the altar, and also properly typical of Christ that was to
come and his sacrifice. There was nothing to come in
Christ, but first was foreshadowed in the old economy. And since these things were types
and shadows of Christ, and Thomas Goodwin, the Puritan, wrote,
It was done by that which might make the most nearly shadow of
it to come." For the shedding of blood and the death of the
body, this was foreshadowed in the sacrifice of the beasts that
were slain in atonement in the Old Testament. In shedding their
blood and their bodies sacrificed, burned upon the altar before
and Almighty God. And as the blood is the life,
the blood is the life, when poured out or when shed, when lost,
it results, therefore, it is dead. But excuse this digression,
that we are going to see how the blood and the death of appointed
beast was indeed a suitable atonement for sinful men, and at the same
time a clear and evident type of Christ Jesus who was to come. Now, to have an atonement made
in our behalf, there needs to be some kinship or some kind
of relation that the dead death of beast and their blood is called
and atonement for human beings. Now let's jump on the other side
and remember the incarnation was necessary in order to give
the Lord Jesus Christ a proper kinship unto the elect. And what did he do? He partook
of flesh and blood. He took a kinship and a likeness
unto his brethren that he might be a proper Goel Redeemer. The second chapter of Hebrews
emphasizes that very heavily, that our Lord partook of flesh
and of blood, that He might give His life and His blood a ransom
for many. When the Son became incarnate,
He had a human soul. As for the animals, they too
like man were formed of the dust of the ground. Had we remembered
that? Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7
declares it. The Lord formed man of the dust
of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
man became a living soul. But we also read in Genesis chapter
2 and verse 19, out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast
of the field and every fowl of the air. Genesis 7 and verse
22, the breath of life is ascribed under these beasts, these animals,
and these fowls. Ecclesiastes 3, And verse 19,
man and beast have one breath, Solomon has written. Ecclesiastes
3 and 21, we read of the spirit of the beast. The spirit of man
goes upward, the spirit of the beast goes downward. Of course,
a beast has no God consciousness. They do not. They cannot. Nor
are they made in the image of God, though they be made of the
dust of the ground like Adam. They are guided by instinct,
not by the work of the law written in their heart or in their conscience. They therefore, these animals,
here's a point, have in themselves no consciousness of sin. They have in themselves no sense
of personal depravity. And of course, they were brought
to the altar and thereby the priest appointed, they were put
to death and their blood was shed. Again, these animals could
have no sense of the wrath of God as was in the soul of our
Savior as He was bearing our sin when He was made sin for
us. And again, the beastly sacrifices
were, strictly speaking, without sin and without guilt. And in that sense, were innocent,
victims as sacrifices for the altar. In fact, the sacrifice
must be free of that which it is intended to expiate. In other words, one that is sinful
cannot expiate sin. That's a proper and a given. So that the sacrificial animals
were outwardly to be perfect specimens in every outward physical
way, with no outward blemish upon them at all. None could be blind or one-eyed
or have a broken bone of a scurvy or any of that. no doubt a type
of the impeccability of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who
knew no sin, so that these sacrifices were outwardly perfect physical
specimens without any flaw, while our Lord was inwardly without
any sin or any depravity whatsoever. Now let's refocus on the words
of our text. It is the blood that makes an
atonement for the soul. And under the Mosaic economy,
the high priest, Aaron the first one, on the day of atonement
would kill, catch the blood of the sacrificial animal, enter
into the Holy of Holies, sprinkle that blood there upon the mercy
seat where God dwelled typically between the cherubims that were
there, sprinkle that blood in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle,
making a yearly atonement for the people. Blood makes atonement
for the soul. Blood covers sin by the appointment
of God. We repeat that God has appointed
blood as the means of atonement. That means according to Hebrews
9 verse 22, listen to what Hebrews author said, and almost all things
are by the law purged with blood and without the shedding of blood
there is no remission. Now in Hebrews 9, 18 through
verse 22, the author seems to argue for the new covenant from
the old covenant. That the first covenant, he said,
was not put in force without blood. It was not instituted
apart or sans blood. It had blood. It was instituted
with blood. We read that Moses took the blood
and that taking the blood he sprinkled the book of the law
that he had written and he sprinkled even the blood upon the people
that were gathered there. He also sprinkled the tabernacle. all the vessels of the ministry. And as He did, He said, this
is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined unto you,
or has commanded unto you. The conclusion? It was necessary
that the New Testament also be dedicated with blood. And the blood of the new covenant
is not the blood of beasts or of fowls, it is the blood of
Christ. And as the Lord said on the eve
of his death, when he instituted the memorial supper there in
the upper room, he said in Matthew 26, 28, This is my blood of the New Covenant,
or literally, Testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sin. This cup represents, is typical
of my blood, which is the blood of the New Covenant and is shed
for the remission of sin. While the Old Testament blood
was the blood of animals, Christ is the Lamb of God. An allusion to the Passover Lamb
and to Isaiah chapter 53. So that we are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without spot and
without blemish. So says 1 Peter 1. and 19, only
the blood can redeem, only the blood can make an atonement,
and only the blood of Christ is the true atonement able to
cover sin and to put it away from before God and off of the
sinner's conscience. God has ordained, Christ has
given His blood upon the cross for an atonement, for it is the
blood that makes an atonement for the souls that God has given
unto the Son of God to save in His death. The blood of Christ
was a price paid to God as a ransom to redeem and to purchase the
elect of God out of their enslavement unto sin. And the preciousness
and the suitability of His blood is owing to the absolute perfection
of His person. that He has shed a perfect atoning
blood because of His character, Him being a Lamb without flaw. In Him is no sin. And because of the perfection
of his person, his blood is the blood of atonement, is the blood
of reconciliation, is the blood of redemption, is the price of
ransom. By that blood, guilty sinners
are saved and are justified. He is the great high priest who
offered himself without spot unto God. who entered in, not
to an earthly tabernacle, but yonder into the very presence
of God and His own right hand. Entering in, the scripture said
in Hebrews, by His very own blood, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. The perfection of His sacrifice
is seen clearly in the fact that He died one time. Now Aaron sacrificed over and
over. He repeated the yearly atonement
every year throughout the course of their history, but in that
our Lord died one time. He need never die again. He need never suffer anymore. He need never shed blood ever
again. He died once and His blood will
never lose its power to save. It gained eternal redemption
when He shed it upon the cross. He bought us with a price, 1
Corinthians 6 and 20 and 7 and 23. He purchased the church with
His own blood, Acts 20 and 28, and there it seems to be the
blood of God. God has ordained that the blood
of His incarnate Son be the atonement for sin. Then how can we deny
that His blood is particular that all that he shed it for
will certainly be saved. It can't be wasted in the case
of any. Shall Christ bleed and bleed
in vain for any man? Can any be lost forever that
Christ shed His blood for. Did He not make a specific purchase
by that blood? This is my blood shed for you,
He said. This is my blood shed for many,
He said upon another occasion. Paul writes in Ephesians 1 and
verse 7, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sin, according to the riches of His grace. Now in giving His
blood, He gave His life. And in giving His life, He gave
His blood. Our Lord, as it were, bled to
death. gave His life's blood there upon
the cross through the wounds that were opened by which He
was wounded for our transgression. There is no other remedy for
sin. Only blood atones for sin, and
only the blood of Christ atones for sin. Not any other blood,
not martyr blood or animal blood, only the blood of Christ. And yet I want to end by showing
how apostates have, according to Hebrews 10 and verse 29, trodden
underfoot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant
an unholy thing." And Jewish apostates have crucified the
Son of God afresh, Hebrews 6 and verse 6. Many today, many who
call themselves preachers and ministers of God, make little
of the blood of Jesus. Perhaps that's because they have
a different and an awful view of sin. They hardly believe that
people are sinners at all anymore today. You don't hear anything
about sin much and about sinners. They don't believe that sin is
a serious thing. They don't realize that God is
a sin-hating God who will take vengeance against every sin. Moderns focus more on the love
of God as if because of His love, He will just simply overlook
the sins that we commit in this life. And do people really need
saving today from what is called sin in the Bible? How can they
be saved except by Christ and by that blood that our Lord shed
upon the cross? They do not preach the gospel
who do not preach Christ crucified and His blood shed for the remission
of sin. Neither do they preach the salvation
of God unless they preach the blood atonement of the Savior,
that His blood was shed for sin and for sinners. The conclusion,
the blood of atonement is the blood of the Lamb of God. The blood of Christ is the blood
of atonement and of redemption. Blood is given for atonement
and Christ gave His blood at a specified time for a specified
people in a specified way hanging upon a tree. The blood of Christ
has power to save. It will never lose its power
to save sinners so long as the world is standing. We are washed
in His blood. His blood cleanses us from all
sin. God has given us blood for an
atonement for our souls. The blood of Christ our Lord.