THROUGH THE BIBLE - Leviticu..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, this is the thing that the Lord has commanded. If anyone of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp or kills it outside the camp and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, blood guilt shall be imputed to that man.

He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people. This is to the end, that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices, and they sacrifice in the open field, and they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma, to the Lord. So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout the generations.

And you shall say to them, any one of the house of Israel or the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from his people. If anyone of the house of Israel, or the strangers who sojourn among them, eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. Verse 11. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, no person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

And anyone also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting, or beast, or bird that may be eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with the earth. For the life of every creature is its blood. Its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, you shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.

And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whatever he Whether he is a native or a sojourner shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until evening, then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Well, brothers and sisters, we've come in our journey in the book of Leviticus, and we've come to this very, very important chapter.

Because once we understand this chapter, it is critical for us to sit back and really take our time to know the elements of this chapter 17 in the book of Leviticus, because it explains for us what is behind the sacrificial system that Yahweh has instituted for His people. It's in this chapter where Israel will come to understand and learn the importance of blood and why it is that blood is a key element for the sacrifices that will be accepted before God. Already in the previous chapters, there's been much details of what goes on behind those white linen curtains in the courtyard of the tabernacle, both inside the tent as well as outside the tent. And beloved, it's no secret It was just as evident to the people of Israel as it is evident to us who read the text today that the priestly duties in the tabernacle, well, that were a bloody ordeal. Animal blood was smeared and sprinkled and splashed practically everywhere, everywhere in that sacred space.

This was a known fact. It was crystal clear that the shedding of blood was essential for atoning for sins. But why? Why is that? What makes blood so sacred?

Well, it's here in chapter 17, that question is answered. And when one grasps and apprehends why blood is so sacred, why it's to be deemed as holy, then we will realize why it is that the people of Israel were commanded, indeed forbidden, fervently, strongly, not to eat blood. Not to eat blood of any kind. Now chapter 17 is somewhat a transitional chapter in the book of Leviticus. Until now, the first 16 chapters, or at least for the most part, has concentrated on public worship or corporate worship of the people of Israel.

The first 10 chapters detail the different sacrifices to be offered and the establishment of the priesthood, the mediators between the people of God and God himself. And that would serve the Lord in the tabernacle. The next five chapters, that's from 11 through 15, mainly they were focused on the purity and the cleanliness. laws in order for the people to remain fit as they dwell in the presence of Yahweh. Yahweh, the Lord God, the God of the universe, is in their midst.

And as a people who dwell in the midst of God, they ought to be clean and remain clean. So those passages were very much about the ritual laws for cleanliness. And of course, last week in chapter 16, we considered the most probably essential chapter of the whole of the book of Leviticus. Some who haven't really studied or meditated upon the book, instantly they know what chapter 16 is about. It is the chapter of the Day of Atonement.

It is that sacred day. In fact, the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar of the year. Why is it a sacred day? Because on this day, God deals with the sins of his people. You see, despite all efforts, all efforts they had to remain clean and pure before a good and holy God, the fact of the matter is, humans are humans.

And by nature, they are unclean and defiled. Both externally, that is in the ritual sense, and internally, they are unclean because of the filth and the wickedness of sin. It's corruptive, beloved. And we saw that last week, didn't we? The corruption builds up and it accumulates.

It profanes and it defiles not only the people, but everything. Everything, including the holy tabernacle of God. This contamination of both people and the holy things is dealt with on that day, on the Day of Atonement. And high priest is ordained by God to to take the main role. In fact, he's the only one in the tabernacle doing the duties.

The other priests are all out because this is a a holy set apart day. And he enters into the holy of holies with a blood with blood substitute in his hands. Sacrificed blood that was sacrificed on the altar. And he deals he deals with the corruption of sin in the holy place of God. And the ritual with the scapegoat, if you remember last time, that was a picture.

That was a picture where one goat was sacrificed and its blood was used as an atonement, and the other goat was sent out in new illness, but not before. Aaron placed both his hands on that goat, as if, and confessed the sins of Israel, as if to say that the sins of Israel are being imputed onto the goat, and then sent out of the camp, out from among the people, never to return. What a glorious day the Day of Atonement was for the people of Israel. For those who drew near, the book of Hebrews tells us, they experienced Yahweh dealing with their sins, their iniquities, and their transgressions on that day, all taken care of. Because He is a good and gracious God.

But from chapter 17 onwards, the major theme is that of individual holiness. The emphasis over the next chapters, not exclusively but mainly in the book of Leviticus, and we'll see this as we continue on, is about personal morality. It's about personal morality and the holiness of the people, the covenant people of God. Now, this is why some theologians call these chapters the Holiness Code. You may have heard that terminology before, the Holiness Code.

You see, Israel was rescued from captivity in Egypt by Yahweh to be the people of God. That were to be a peculiar people. a unique people, set-apart people, a people distinct from all others, a people holy unto the Lord. Both now, in the wilderness generation, when they're in the wilderness and you have this moveable tent, but they're also meant to be a holy people, set-apart for God. When they enter in the land after the conquest, the land that God will give them, that land flowing with milk and honey, they're meant to be holy.

Why are they meant to be holy? Why are the people meant to be holy? Well, chapter 19 verse 2 gives us the absolute best reason in the book of Leviticus why these people are meant to be holy. And this is what he says from the mouth of Yahweh through Moses to the people. He says, Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

That's it. That's it. In other words, if you are to be my people, you must be as I am. Holy. That's a high standard.

To call people, sinful people, sinful natures, to be holy as God is holy. But that is the calling of these covenant people who God, Yahweh, had made a covenant with them to be their God and they His people, but they ought to be holy as He is holy. And brothers and sisters, let's not make a mistake when we think or speak of the holiness of God. Because when the Bible speaks about being holy or being set apart, that God is holy or God is set apart, we sometimes make the mistake of placing holiness among the attributes of God. What do I mean?

I mean, the Bible teaches that holiness is beyond an attribute of God. See, sometimes we may think that we add holiness to his attributes. For example, when we think of God, we think of wisdom, and we think of knowledge, and we think of righteousness, and we think of love, and we think of justice, and then we add to that holy or holiness. But beloved, That's not how the Bible speaks of the holiness of God. You see, when the Bible speaks of a God who is thrice holy, holy, holy, holy, Isaiah chapter 6 and Revelation chapter 4, He's holy because His holiness and His set-apartness is not simply an attribute of His, but it encompasses all that He is.

In other words, His holiness permeates every part of who He is, all His attributes. So what is the right way of thinking about the holiness of God? Well, when we say He is holy, we should be thinking He is holy, set apart in His wisdom. He's holy and set apart like no other in His knowledge, holy and set apart in His love, holy and set apart in His justice. Beloved, holy and set apart in His righteousness.

Do you get that? His holiness permeates every one of His attributes. There is none like Him. He's holy, holy, holy in everything and in every way. That's how the Bible speaks of our triune God.

And now the people of Israel are people called by His name are likewise to be set apart in every way from the nations around them. And they are to be holy, holy for the glory of God. And already in chapter 17, we see that that is not the case. I hope you realize that as we read through. Rather, the people in our chapter turn their backs on God and turn towards pagan religious worship, instead of turning their eyes and their attention and their worship and their hearts to the only God of the universe.

You see, God had saved them from being slaves in Egypt. But some have brought the gods of Egypt back among them. And so they prostituted their hearts. As the Yiddish feast says, it states that they were at whoring after the false gods, he says. Because they learned of these gods back in Egypt, but they couldn't let go.

So in his patience, the Lord makes a new law for his wilderness generation, to protect them from the temptation of practicing what they left back in Egypt, that land of sin and pagan worship, that idolatry, to leave that behind and come and worship me, the only true God. All the miracles they saw, the supernatural wonders to bring them out of Egypt, and yet we're told in the passage they still sacrificed to goat demons, we're told. goat demons, practicing the unholy. And beloved, if they continue to practice, then we know they will be only recipients of the wrath of God. So let's look at the passage together.

Chapter 17 has a simple structure. It has two main sections, two main sections and five subsections. The main sections are really well listed here on our ESV. The first title tells us it is the place of sacrifice, and we see that from verse 1 through to 9. place of sacrifice, and we'll get into that in a moment.

Also, in the second section, it's conveniently listed for us in ESV, laws against eating blood, and that's what it is. It's pertaining to the sacredness of blood and why the Israelites ought not to eat that blood. Okay, but then there's five subsections, and I think they'll help us to see those subsections. And as we look through the subsections, it'll give us, hopefully by God's grace, it'll shed some light on the passage. The first is from 1 to 2, verse 1 to 2, and it asserts who are the people that are being addressed in chapter 17.

Who are being addressed? Then from 3 through 7, verse 3 through 7, details the process of slaughtering or killing a type of animal that God would normally accept as a sacrifice. So how did the people go about doing that? Then from verse 8 through 9, it deals with the place where all sacrifices are being made. So there's a centrality of where sacrifices ought to be made.

And in the fourth section from verse 10 through 12, It gives us the reason why God expressly, expressly forbids the eating of blood by His people. And then finally, from verses 13 through 16, we have the rules of eating hunted animals. Of course, these are animals that are part or types of animals that God would not normally accept. He would not accept those animals as sacrifices. The Israelites were permitted to hunt and eat, but how do they deal with those animals?

How do they deal with that blood? And, of course, towards the end of that section, we also read about how they deal with animals that have been preyed by other larger animals and are now dead. And if they were to eat those animals, they're unclean till evening. Now, the first two verses bring us to a new section. addressing all of Israel.

You see that all of Israel is addressed here. Because back in chapter 16, the last chapter, it was the priests who were being addressed. It was Aaron in particular, the high priest, and of course the priests, his sons that come after him, because it's a covenant that the Lord has given. It's a statute that the Lord has given to all the generations. But here, it's no longer just the priests that are being addressed, but rather it is all of Israel.

Everyone in Israel is being addressed here, with no exceptions actually. Because as we read through the whole chapter, you may have realized the word stranger or sojourner come up, and it actually came up no less than five times throughout passage. What does that mean? That means whatever laws that we're reading here, are actually applicable not only for the people of God, those from the seed of Abraham, but for everyone, beloved, everyone with no exception, who are in the camp of God. If they are existing before the triune God, if they are in the midst where God is, then they are to obey these laws.

No exceptions. No exceptions. No exceptions. Then we have from verse 3 to 7, and this speaks of the slaughter or the killing of an ox or a lamb or a goat. And these, as I said earlier, are types of animals that would be accepted by God as a sacrifice, a peace offering, a burn offering, a sin offering, guilt offering.

These are the type of animals that would be accepted. And they are to be brought, we're told, to the tabernacle and offered as a fellowship offering or a peace offering. Same thing. Now, there are two views in this passage of what this can actually mean. It's actually split almost down the middle.

Both have their strong points, but I'll give you what I believe. The first is that the slaughter mentioned here is the killing of any animals listed in our text, which is Animals that have been slaughtered without the purpose of sacrifice. So in other words, when the people of Israel, people in the camp, were to slaughter these animals for the purpose of eating the animals. For eating the animals. So if someone wanted to celebrate, for example, a wedding, and he wishes to treat his guests with a lamb barbecue, well, he could have at one point But now, after the law, it's forbidden to do that.

Why? Because you would need to bring that animal to the tabernacle, to the tent of meeting, bring it to the priest, and it'd be sacrificed there on the bronze altar. And of course, as a peace offering or a fellowship offering, we know because of Leviticus 3 that we've studied previously, that the breast is given to the priest, the right thigh is given to the priest, and then of course the fatties burn as a pleasing aroma, and then the other pieces that he can eat is then given to the giver of the sacrifice, or the offerer of the sacrifice, to enjoy in the presence. God. Now if that is the case and it means that no longer are the people of Israel able to slaughter animals on their own to eat, well then we would know it would be a temporary law.

Why? Because this law is actually revoked. In Deuteronomy chapter 12 we're told that When the people, and this is Deuteronomy, the context of Deuteronomy is Moses speaking to a people who are just about to go in the leadership of Joshua in the conquest to be given the land of Canaan that the Lord had promised them, the land flowing with milk and honey. And so Moses is speaking to the people and says, when you do enter into the land, he speaks of a chapter in chapter 12 that speaks of the centrality of worship, very similar to what we have here in Leviticus chapter 17, except there he says, but you are free to kill animals in all your towns and eat of them with the blessing of God. With the blessing of God.

So if it was here that they're forbidden to do this, we know that down the track, they're not forbidden. It's been revoked. Now, when you think about it, it sort of makes sense, if that is the case. Because we know that in the wilderness, the tabernacle was in the very centre. Then you had three tribes to the north, three tribes to the south, three tribes to the east and west.

I get those mixed up for some reason. But you had the tribes around and the tabernacle was the central point. All the tribes were looking to the Tabernacle because Yahweh was in their midst. Now, you can control this sort of thing. There's about two million people at this stage in the wilderness.

So when you think about it in that context, they're not too far spread out. So having them to come to the Tabernacle and offer sacrifices in that way makes sense. But then down the track, it wouldn't be feasible for them to travel 100 kilometres, maybe four or five days journey, to eat some barbecue. So it's a possibility that God revoked it for that reason. On the other hand, remember there was two views.

On the other hand, the slaughtered animals referred to could be, specifically speaking, only about animals that were being, hear this, sacrificed. Animals that were being sacrificed. with the intention of spiritual worship. So Israel, in that context, is no longer to sacrifice inside or outside the camp or in the open field. Rather, they were to bring their sacrifices to the entrance of the Tent of Meaning, and they would bring them to the priest, and they would sacrifice there, and they would offer a burnt peace offering in a centralised position, which is a tabernacle.

Now hear me, hear me on this point. I do believe, definitely, that that is a point made in our text. I absolutely believe it, but I think that point is actually made in verses 8 and 9. But here in verses 3 to 7, I believe it does speak to killing of any animal, any ox, lamb or goat, even food, because of what is written next in verse 7. I think that's the key.

Because in verse 7 we're told the reason for this new law is so that the people no longer sacrifice to who? To goat demons. Some translations might say devils or goat forms or something along those lines. We know for a fact that when the people were in Egypt, goat worship and goat sacrifice was actually common in Egypt. It was practiced by pagan idolaters in Egypt and the people of Israel had brought that in with them into the presence of God.

So some in Egypt, some in Israel, my apologies, were actually sacrificing in that way. Some were actually outside the camp, or inside the camp, either, or on the open field, not in tabernacle, actually sacrificing to foreign pagan deities. But I would just think about that for a moment, when you think about what they've already experienced. That's bewildering. the supernatural strong arm of God that they'd already experienced, who is now in their midst.

And we're told this is what they've been doing. Idolatry and pagan sacrificial offerings was always and will always or had always been a persistent problem among the people of Israel. Right until they were exiled, both Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom, some 800 years later. But what is God's concern here and now? The camp is to be holy.

It is to be undefiled. No hint of idolatry should be standing before or should be present before God. And so the Lord is stamping out all idolatry and all wickedness from before his eyes. If someone in the camp was sacrificing to a pagan god, Think of it this way, and they had permission to do so, and if it was only sacrifices spoken of that is in this passage, and he's sacrificing on his own, and he knows the consequences of blaspheming God, of sacrificing to any other deity, a false god. And his neighbor comes along and says, hey brother, what are you doing?

And the brother says, oh no, it's okay, I'm just preparing a barbecue for my family. Then his neighbor would give him the thumbs up, right, and say shalom, and God be with you, and away he goes. And that man might be able to get away with a sacrifice to a pagan god. Now God, this is not going to change their heart, but how can gods be in the midst of a people who are giving their hearts to pagan, idolatrous worship? He gets rid of that.

And he says, now if there is no killing or slaughtering of these animals among the people in the camp, then anytime you see anyone sacrificed in the camp, whether it's to Yahweh or not, it is in disobedience to God's law. And that man or that woman is guilty of blood. It says here, the blood guilt is on him and he shall be cut off. Cut off from the people. And that could mean death.

It could mean supernatural divine death, or maybe if the authorities were to the priests, they would be able to execute him because it's a violation of God's law. It could also mean, at the very least, excommunication from among the people of God, and therefore excommunication from the covenant blessings of the people of God. Now, either way, beloved, the point is that only Yahweh is to be worshipped. No other gods. He's in a covenant relationship with his people, the people that he's rescued from Egypt.

And if they were to offer any pagan deity an offering, a sacrifice, then what they're doing, as I said earlier, is prostituting their hearts, verse 7. And the Lord will eradicate that act from among His people. He will get rid of all holiness, unholiness, from among His people. There mustn't be a hint of idolatry before the Lord. Not a hint of a violation of the first commandment.

What is the first commandment? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Before me meaning before my eyes. I must not see any other god before me. And how far does God see?

Then we have in verse 8 and 9 all the sacrifices. I believe all sacrifices are spoken of in those two verses. and all sacrifices that are intended for Yahweh. No doubt that some of the people before the institution of the tabernacle and the priesthood were offering sacrifices, and possibly to Yahweh at that point as well, but they were doing it in the open field. Now, as I said earlier, Israel was about two million strong at this point in time.

That's a lot of people, and a lot of people were doing what they saw fit. They might have been sincere in their worship, but they were doing what they saw fit, but that ends now. That ends now. In particular, when we're talking or when God is talking in regards to worship through sacrifice, that ends now, because God is serious about this. The Lord will be worshipped, beloved, hear this, on his terms, in the place of his choosing, and by his appointed means.

He's very particular. very particular, how he used to be worshipped. All sacrifices for all people, including the travelers, the sojourners, the strangers, as well as those from the seed of Abraham, those in the house of Israel, no exception are to worship and sacrifice as Yahweh says. And he has appointed a means, and that means is through a mediator, which is the priest who would be there, at a particular place, the Tent of Meeting, and on the altar of the Lord. He says, a bronze altar of the Lord.

Verse 6. In other words, no private altars. No private altars. There is one altar, and that's the Lord's altar, and any sacrifice offered anywhere else is a sacrifice of rebellion. Rebellion.

An offer is, if someone does sacrifice anywhere else, he is to be cut off from the people of God. Beloved, why is God so serious about this? Why could He not just accept well-meaning, sincere worship? Why couldn't He just accept His covenant people to do things as they saw fit? I mean, it's meaningful for them.

Why could they not worship as they saw fit? Why is He so specific where the sacrifices are to be sacrificed? Why? Why is this? Why is it so specific how the people of Israel, His people who are called by His name, why is it so specific how they approach Him?

You've heard me say this many times and it's worth repeating over and over again. Everything, everything, everything we read in the Old Testament, everything that God does among these people was a physical and tangible picture. You could say it was a teaching tool of a greater profound spiritual reality to come. Why has God mandated central place of worship and mandated sinners to exclusively offer their blood sacrifice only on the bronze altar at the tabernacle. Why?

Because it is. It's because of what the altar is. It's a type. It's a shadow of the cross. One way.

Only one way. Sinners can approach God only through one way. Through the cross of Jesus Christ. That's why. That's why it matters.

That's why it matters. Because these people, as well as us, will look back and see this is why God mandated one place. Beloved, salvation is exclusively through Christ. And he is the anti-type, the fulfillment of the altar. And quickly, let's go through sections 4 to 10, my apologies, 10 to 16.

And it pertains to blood. And then the last subsection, verse 13 through 16, we're told of the rules of handling blood when hunting game animals and animals mauled by other animals when they're eaten, which makes a person unclean. We're told that back in chapter 11. Now it's interesting that hunting is allowed, but when they do hunt an animal and they can eat it, it could be a wild animal of some type, clean, but not an animal type that could be sacrificed to Yahweh. Then they are to get the animal and they are to what?

They are to pour its blood into the ground and then cover up the blood. So whatever soil, whatever sand, whatever pebbles are there, you need to cover up the blood. You can't leave the blood exposed. You have to cover up. You have to cover up the blood.

This is because the blood is deemed sacred, beloved. It's honored. And it should be honored as sacred, as holy. It must be covered and never defiled. It must not be exposed so the animals or people can walk over it.

It must not be trampled upon. It should never be trampled upon. But why is that? Well, the answer is found for us in the section that we skipped, and that's verses 10 to 12, and we're going to end with that. of the flesh is the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, no person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who joins among you eat blood. The text tells us that Israel is forbidden to eat blood for two reasons. You can see it there in the text. The first is because the life of the flesh is in the blood, we're told. And the second reason is because blood has been given by God on the altar to make atonement for souls.

For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life, we're told. Life of the flesh is in the blood. Blood is the symbol of life. We all know if someone loses their blood, they lose their life. I would hazard a guess that most of us haven't witnessed an animal sacrifice recently.

I say most, I was going to say all, but I spoke to a brother yesterday who's among us who has witnessed one recently. But most of us haven't witnessed an animal sacrifice. We haven't seen the ordeal and how that all works out. But you can be sure that these people in Israel have, because there's not a day that goes by where they don't hear the bleating and the wellowing of the animals walking in behind that linen curtain that is the tabernacle. And many of them witnessed with their own very eyes the process of what it is to sacrifice an animal.

And I believe, beloved, if they've only done it for the first time, the first time you experience something like this, it is actually a traumatic ordeal. It's difficult. It's difficult to look at, because when that knife is taken and it cuts through and severs the main arteries in the throat and the both jugular veins are severed, a lamb is rendered unconscious within 10 seconds. Within 10 seconds. And it bleeds out and dies within a couple of minutes.

The blood is poured out of its body. And if it loses its blood, it's equal to death. Life is the flesh. Life of the flesh is in the blood. And it is this blood, the very symbol of life, that God has given as an atonement.

The covering over the sins and the impurities of the soul. He says He's given this blood for the atonement on the altar. You see, the picture God is communicating to His covenant people is this. I will accept, I will accept, He's saying, the blood of an animal sprinkled or splashed upon the altar as a substitute for the blood of a sinner who is making the offering. The life of an animal is poured out in the place of the offerer.

The picture is crystal clear, isn't it? Sinners deserve death. They deserve what this animal is going through. The wages of sin is death. And if the blood represents life, then a worshipper watches the blood of an animal being drained from his body and recognize as he sees the life being drained and poured out, he thinks to himself, or should think to himself, that ought to be me.

That ought to be me. But for the mercy of God, in allowing a substitute to bear the penalty I deserve, the shed blood would be mine, not the animal's. My lifeblood should be drained out, not that animal's. That's the price I should pay for my sin. That's the message of the Bible.

That's the truth of our nature. And of course, we all know We know who this speaks to at this point. We've been through the book of Liberticus 17 chapters now, and we know all of them point to Christ in one way or another. We all know that there is only one substitute, one worthy substitute for sinners, and we know this is Christ. Hebrews 10 tells us, we are reminded again, it says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away So looking back at the bloodshed of countless animals, we can safely conclude that they're all pointing to the once and for all sacrifice, the perfect sinless lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The one who brings to an end all animal sacrifice, the one who shed his own blood on Calvary's hill and poured out his life for many who believe. So how valuable is the blood of Christ to those who believe, beloved? That's the question I'm asking. How valuable is the life or the blood of Jesus Christ to those who believe? Let me end with this.

His shed blood satisfies the wrath of God and the justice of God. Romans 3. His shed blood cleanses us from all our sins and unrighteousness. 1 John 1. His shed blood justifies us.

Romans 5. Reconciles us to God. Ephesians 2. Sanctifies us. Hebrews 13 cleanses our conscience.

Hebrews 9 enables us to stand on the final day before God's throne, innocent. Revelation chapter 7, and here it is, and it is His blood poured out which has purchased us eternal life. John chapter 6. And now I ask, Have you by faith been atoned for? Has this blood of Jesus Christ the only worthy substitute, the only one worthy to die on behalf of another?

Have you come to trust in Him and to be covered by faith with His precious blood? Because the terrifying thing is, apart from the blood of Jesus Christ, apart from Him being the substitute on your behalf, hear this, God's justice is yet to be satisfied. Let's pray.