The Blood Is The Life.

My wife has been diabetic since she was ten. Unlike some types of adult-onset diabetes, her type requires daily injections of insulin in order to live. Insulin is a chemical that breaks down glucose in the bloodstream, and it is produced by the pancreas. Krista’s pancreas quit making insulin, so she must check her blood  sugar levels often throughout the day to make sure she gives herself enough insulin. She uses a device to prick her finger and squeezes a drop of blood onto a  strip, which is read by a small machine she carries with her. Her life literally depends on the ability to read that drop of blood.

    Hebrews 9:11 "But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption. 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God 9:15 And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. 9:16 For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven. 9:17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. 9:18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 9:20 and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.” 9:21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. 9: 20 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 9:23 So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation of the true sanctuary – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 9:25 And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. 9:27 And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, 9:28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation."

From very early in the history of humanity, it was understood that sacrifice was necessary to approach God. One of the first things Noah did after leaving the ark was sacrifice in worship to the God that had saved him and his family from destruction. When God made his covenant/contract with the children of Israel, it was  finalized in the shedding of blood, which was considered to contain the life essence. Blood was sprinkled on everything to be used in ceremonial worship, and daily, monthly, and yearly animal sacrifices were established. But all this is now inferior to that which came next – the death and blood of Jesus Messiah. His blood is superior to animal blood, because He is God’s Son, and so new the covenant/contract God has made because of that blood is superior as well. We are cleansed from sin and our own death sentence is cleared because of that blood, shed once for all. We are no longer required to sacrifice inferior animals because the  superior God-Man has done it for us. We are dependant on that blood for so much: hope, joy, peace, purpose, and salvation in God.