Why does the Bible have blood sacrifices?

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Substitution is always the basis of animal sacrifice. Hence, if a life was to be spared, a life had to be forfeited, and when the animal was sacrificed, ‘the life of the flesh is in the blood’, Lev. 17:11. Therefore, in those days, animal blood was a divine gift for the purpose of sacrifice only: ‘I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul’, v. 11. The person who treated animal blood as a common, everyday thing, and dared to eat it would be cut off, ‘from among his people’, v. 10. Also, careless treatment of animal blood in other situations would lead to the person having to ‘bear his iniquity’, v. 16.

The word atonement occurs once in the King James Version New Testament, where it means just that, ‘at-one-ment’, Rom. 5:11, i.e., reconciliation, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Atonement by blood in the Old Testament only brought a covering of sins to the Israelite, who had brought such a blood sacrifice, since, ‘it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins’, Heb. 10:4. However, the believer today has so much more through the precious blood of Christ, 1 Pet. 1:19, which has brought us everlasting blessing. It has remitted (i.e., sent away) our sins, Matt. 26:28; cleansed and washed us from our sins, 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; purged our consciences, Heb. 9:14, and brought us near to God, Eph 2:13, as well as giving us redemption, Eph. 1:7; Rev. 5:9, justification, Rom. 5:9, entrance into the holiest, Heb. 10:19, peace, Col. 1:20, propitiation, Rom. 3:25, and sanctification, Heb. 13:12!

The writer to the Hebrews spelt out the equivalent of treating the blood of sacrifice as a common thing in the Christian context, when he wrote about the divine punishment that would be meted out on the person who had ‘trodden under foot the Son of God, and esteemed the blood of the covenant, whereby he has been sanctified, common, and has insulted the Spirit of grace’, Heb. 10:29 JND. Believers today, not only appreciate Christ’s precious blood, 2 Pet. 1:1, but also esteem the Lord Himself as precious, 1 Pet. 2:4, 7, through whom also we have such precious, eternal promises, 2 Pet. 1:4.







Barnes, H. (2004). January 30th: It Is the Blood that Maketh an Atonement (Leviticus 17:1–16). In J. Bennett (Ed.), Day by Day: Bible Promises (p. 48). West Glamorgan, UK: Precious Seed.

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