Leviticus 17:8-16: a reflection

8“You shall say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people. 10“‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life. 12Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, “No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood.” 13“‘Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust. 14For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.” 15“‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. Then he shall be clean. 16But if he doesn’t wash them, or bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.’”

In the midst of laws about blood and sacrifice, God states a principle that reaches to the heart of atonement. The life of the flesh is in the blood, he says; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life. Atonement, the covering of sin, is made by blood, that is, by a life given; the life laid down on the altar makes atonement for the one who has sinned. A life had to be given for atonement to be made.

Notice the principle: atonement is made by a life given. It is not by any lesser thing, but by blood, by life laid down, that atonement is made for sin. The life given on the altar covers the sin of the one who brings it; a life is required for atonement. This principle, that atonement is made by a life given, runs through the whole sacrificial system, and points beyond it. The animal sacrifices could only foreshadow; but the principle remained: that sin is atoned for by a life given, blood laid down for the soul.

That principle finds its fulfillment in Christ, whose life, whose blood, was given to make atonement for us. The sacrifices pointed forward to him; what they could only foreshadow, he accomplished. Our sin required a life to atone for it; and Christ gave his own life, his own blood, to make atonement for us, once for all. The principle that atonement is made by a life given is fulfilled in Christ, who gave his life for our atonement. Rest not in your own efforts to atone for your sin, but in the life Christ gave, the blood he shed, to make atonement for you; for atonement is made by a life given, and Christ gave his life for you. The blood that makes atonement is, at last, the blood of Christ, whose life was given for the atonement of our souls, fulfilling the principle that atonement is made by a life laid down.

Lord, in the midst of laws about blood and sacrifice, you state a principle that reaches to the heart of atonement. The life of the flesh is in the blood, you say; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life. Atonement, the covering of sin, is made by a life given; the life laid down on the altar makes atonement for the one who has sinned. Show me the principle: atonement is made by a life given. It is not by any lesser thing, but by blood, by life laid down, that atonement is made for sin. A life is required for atonement. This principle runs through the whole sacrificial system, and points beyond it. The animal sacrifices could only foreshadow; but the principle remained: that sin is atoned for by a life given. Let that principle find its fulfillment for me in Christ, whose life, whose blood, was given to make atonement for me. The sacrifices pointed forward to him; what they could only foreshadow, he accomplished. My sin required a life to atone for it; and Christ gave his own life to make atonement for me, once for all. Keep me from resting in my own efforts to atone for my sin; help me rest in the life Christ gave, the blood he shed, to make atonement for me, Lord. Thank you that atonement is made by a life given, and Christ gave his life for me.