L&O (8) Why Blood

When I have spilt blood from a cut on my hand or face, it stains the garment it drips on.  The stain is very hard to get out.   Therefore, I have always been puzzled by the way blood is used to cleanse things in the Old Testament, particularly in Leviticus, which I have studied in detail in an attempt to get an understanding of how cleaning with blood works.

I describe what I have discovered in Part 3 of Leviticus and Offerings.

The full three-part series can be found at Leviticus and Offerings.

Leviticus and Offerings (3)

Something that really surprised me about the offerings described in Leviticus was my discovery that “blood” was not offered to God. Fat was offered to God on the bronze altar in the tabernacle courtyard. It burned well and provided a pleasant smell for God. Meat was roasted alongside it to improve the smell going up. God does not require blood (I had always known this was the case, but I was surprised to find it in Leviticus.)

Most of the blood of the animal offered was poured out on the ground, which does not make sense, if it was required by God. So I had to think about who did require it. The obvious answer is the spiritual powers of evil. Understanding that they have demanded blood changes the role of the offerings. I have explained this in Part 1 of my study of Leviticus and Offerings.

Part 2 is now complete and will be published on Substack at the beginning of next week.

Leviticus and Offerings (1)

I have always tried to read through the Old Testament once a year (and the New Testament more frequently). When I got to Leviticus, I usually skimmed through the first chapters quite quickly because I was not interested in the detail the book gives about how sacrifices/offerings should be done. I assumed that because they had all been fulfilled by Jesus' death on the cross, I did not really need to understand how they functioned.

A few months ago, I arrived at Leviticus once again, but felt prompted to go through it in detail this time. I was amazed at what I found. The detail given is strangely interesting and important for understanding God's purposes. I have written up what I discovered in an article. It is too long for Facebook, so I will post it on Substack, in three parts.

We tend to assume that the law and the tabernacle offerings were God's first attempt to bring deliverance in the world, but Moses and the prophets failed, so God had to have another go, and send Jesus to do the job properly. However, God does not make mistakes, so this is wrong. The Law and the Tabernacle were perfect for the purpose for which they were given. They actually achieved the purpose that God had created them for.

When I approached the tabernacle offerings from this perspective, (rather than seeing them as part of a failed system from the past) they suddenly made more sense. I discovered what God had achieved through them, and recorded them at Leviticus and Offerings.