But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24, NKJV).
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (Genesis 4:8-11, NKJV).
And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. (Exodus 24:6, NKJV).
And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” (Exodus 24:8, NKJV).
‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ (Leviticus 17:11, NKJV).
Abel's blood was shed at the beginning of human history and marked the rapid decline of humanity from perfection to sin. It spoke of condemnation and guilt, crying out a curse upon not only Cain, but all mankind.
Blood is a complex and marvelous liquid organ necessary for life. It is the hallmark of mortality, central to human and animal existence. To denote something as the "lifeblood" of something else is to speak of that something's essence, without which it would not be the thing that it is.
God designed human mortal life so that blood is synonymous with life itself. He then ordained that blood, and blood alone, would atone, or cover over, sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no atonement.
For centuries, ancient Judaism floated upon a sea of sacrificial blood, each sacrifice graphically picturing the horrible consequences of rebellion against the Creator. Each innocent animal slaughtered to pay the temporary price for human sin, from the animal slain to obtain the skins required to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, to the rituals of the Jewish Law.
All these pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice of God's own Son that did far more than merely atone for sin. It took away the sin of the whole world.
From that moment forward, no blood sacrifice would ever be required again. For the shedding and sprinkling of Christ's blood on the Cross silenced the cries and curses of Abel's blood, replacing it with the triumphant call of forgiveness and salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The modern world finds these equations primitive expressions of shame and superstition. Many look upon the rituals involved as barbarous and ghastly, congratulating themselves for an enlightened perspective that would never take such transactions with Deity seriously.
How could a God of love, they say, be so heartless and savage and cruel as to require the killing of innocent animals to assuage His tyrannical anger?
But in so thinking, they fail to grasp the incredible mercy these substitutionary deaths entailed. And they fail to comprehend both the authority and holiness of God, Himself. In essence, they deny the very God they presumptuously question, despite any supposed profession of "a belief" in God.
For if God is God, He is who He has revealed Himself to be in Scripture: Creator and Judge. He is the omnipotent Sovereign declaring the end from the beginning, fulfilling the purposes of His will in every aspect of existence. He is, in fact, the very well-spring of existence itself.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us here that rather than demand each sinner's blood to atone (not take away) his or her own sins, God, in unfathomable mercy, grace and love, placed His own beloved and perfect Son on the Cross, to wash clean in His blood an entire planet of rebellious creatures, and to bless, rather than curse. Better things, indeed.
As in most instances, the self-justifying questions the world poses about God and His perfect plan of redemption focuses on the thinnest surface veneer, and not the magnificent substance. God ordained animal slaughter to provide a way for His perfect justice to be satisfied (at least temporarily) without requiring human slaughter.
The real question is this: How could a God of perfect righteousness and justice allow sinful humanity to continue to exist AT ALL? And the answer lies in His Son, who was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.
For those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the judgment of sin has already taken place. The requisite death sentence has already been carried out and the ensuing eternal punishment accomplished on the Cross.
Those who willfully and pridefully reject the Son, will pay the price of their own sin - every thought, word and deed - forever.
