The Sprinkling Of The Blood

Why do we study the Old Testament?

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: (Greek: types) and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Galatians 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Matthew 5:17-18  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Hebrews 10:1  For the law having a shadow (Greek: outline) of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Exodus 12:21-24

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

blood SHED and blood SPRINKLED, sacrifice MADE and sacrifice APPLIED

WITHOUT APPLICATION, THERE WAS NO SALVATION!

In the Old Testament, blood was always SHED, THEN SPRINKLED …

·        The body of the burnt offering had to be wholly burnt on the altar; the blood had to be SPRINKLED according to God’s command (Leviticus 1).

·        The body of the peace offering had to be disposed of in a special way also; certain parts were given to the priests, and the blood had to be SPRINKLED on the altar (Leviticus 2).

·        The bodies of the trespass and sin offerings also were disposed of in certain ways; sometimes the bodies were burnt on the altar, sometimes outside the camp, and the blood had to be SPRINKLED as God ordained (Leviticus 4-5).

·        The body of the red heifer had to be burnt outside the camp and the blood SPRINKLED before the sanctuary (Numbers 19).

·        Numerous sacrifices were offered at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles involving shedding and SPRINKLING of blood (Exodus 12, Numbers 28-29, Leviticus 23).

·        Beside these special sacrifices there were always the morning and evening sacrifices.  This was called the daily sacrifice and involved SPRINKLING of blood (Exodus 29).

·        On the Great Day of Atonement the body of the sin offering had to be taken outside the camp, but the blood had to be SPRINKLED within the veil.  Aaron dared not enter the Holy of Holies without sacrificial blood or he would have been slain (Leviticus 16).

The sprinkling of the blood allowed access to the Presence of God.  This was true even before there was a Holy of Holies, at Mount Sinai …

Exodus 24:1-2  And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

Exodus 24:9-11  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

What made the difference?  THE BLOOD HAD BEEN APPLIED (SHED AND SPRINKLED).

Exodus 24:8   And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

The feasts and the daily sacrifices all picture the work of Christ; however, the Great Day of Atonement gives us the richest illustration of the true meaning of the atonement.

     God’s world is great and holy.  Among the holy lands in the world is the Holy Land of Israel.  In the land of Israel the holiest city is Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem the holiest place was the Temple, and in the Temple the holiest spot was the holy of holies.

     There are seventy peoples in the world.  Among these holy peoples is the people of Israel.  The holiest of the people of Israel is the tribe of Levi.  In the tribe of Levi the holiest are the priests.  Among the priests, the holiest was the high priest.

     There are 354 days in the Jewish year.  Among these the holidays are holy.  Higher than these is the holiness of the Sabbath.  Among Sabbaths the holiest is the Day of Atonement, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

     There are seventy languages in the world.  Among the holy languages is the holy language of Hebrew.  Holier than all else in this language is the holy Torah, and in the Torah the holiest part is the Ten Commandments.  In the Ten Commandments the holiest of all words is the Name of God.

     And once during the year, at a certain hour, these four supreme sanctities of the world were joined with one another.  That was on the Day of Atonement, when the high priest would enter the holy of holies and there utter the Name of God.  And because this hour was beyond measure holy and awesome, it was the time of utmost peril not only for the high priest but for the whole of Israel.  For if, in this hour, there had, God forbid, entered the mind of the high priest a false or sinful thought, Jewish legend says that the entire world would have been destroyed.

     Today, because of Jesus’ work, every spot where a saint raises their eyes to heaven is a holy of holies.  Every one of the redeemed is a high priest.  Every day of our lives can be a Day of Atonement, because every prayer we pray is in the Name of the Lord.

It was on the Day of Atonement that the High Priest SPRINKLED BLOOD ON THE MERCYSEAT in the Holy of Holies.  Salvation for Israel was only possible when he WENT BEYOND THE PLACE WHERE THE BLOOD WAS SHED TO THE PLACE WHERE THE BLOOD WAS SPRINKLED.  It covered sin, the transgressed law of God on the tables of stone inside the ark of the covenant.

ATONEMENT – Hebrew “kaphar” – “to cover” (AT-ONE-MENT) – reconciled to God

some think atonement impossible because God is just; others think it unnecessary because God is loving; Calvary says atonement is both possible and necessary!

It was the blood that changed the Throne of Judgment into a Throne of Grace.

Romans 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Hebrews 9:5  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

The same Greek word is used in both verses above – JESUS IS OUR MERCYSEAT!

We stand with the publican who prayed “God be merciful (literally, “mercy-seated”) to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)  –  WE CAN BE SPRINKLED WITH THE BLOOD OF JESUS!

The work of the Tabernacle focused on the mercy-SEAT, yet no man ever SAT there

Hebrews 10:11-12  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

John 19:30  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

How did Israel partake of the blessings of the OT covenant?  NOT BY THE MERE SHEDDING OF BLOOD, BUT BY THE SPRINKLING (APPLICATION) OF BLOOD!

Salvation includes in its meaning “safety, security, preservation, deliverance, wholeness”

The atonement has many specific benefits:

·        PARDON, the forgiveness and remission of the penalty of sin.  The Old Covenant simply covered sin while the New Covenant provides cleansing of forgiven sin (1 John 1:7-9).

·        JUSTIFICATION, the declaration of right standing before God.  This was impossible under the old law, but is possible now through faith in Christ’s finished work (Romans 5:1).

·        REGENERATION, by which we are born into the family of God and can call Him “Father.”  This was impossible under the old law (1 Peter 1:23).

·        ASSURANCE, whereby we have the witness of the Spirit that we are secure because we have obeyed God’s Word.  OT believers never had “blessed assurance” (1 John 3:19).

·        SANCTIFICATION, whereby we are set apart to be used by the Lord (Ephesians 5:26-27).

·        ADOPTION, whereby we are given the place of a “son” in God’s family (Romans 8:15).

·        HEALING, because Jesus took our sickness as well as our sins on Calvary (1 Peter 2:24).

·        DELIVERANCE, from the power of Satanic bondage and oppression (Acts 10:38).

·        RESURRECTION, the revoking of death, Satan’s greatest power over humanity (Revelation 1:18).

·        GLORIFICATION, the final work of redemption when even our bodies are redeemed (Romans 8:30).

·        ETERNAL LIFE, the greatest promise of the New Covenant, which will restore mankind’s access to God just like it was in the Garden of Eden (Revelation 22:14).

Jesus’ blood was SHED at Calvary; that is history.  But His blood must also be SPRINKLED on our hearts if we wish to partake of the New Covenant blessings.

This is not a physical sprinkling, but a legal and spiritual transaction.  It is also the FINAL SACRIFICE that is needed for salvation!

Hebrews 9:12-14  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 12:22-24  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

1 Peter 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED … the sacrifice must be applied, the blood must be sprinkled!

·        At Calvary, the blood was SHED and the sacrifice was MADE

·        In the New Birth, the blood is SPRINKLED and the sacrifice is APPLIED

HOW CAN WE APPLY JESUS’ SACRIFICE TO OURSELVES?

Death, Burial, Resurrection  =  Repentance, Water Baptism, Holy Ghost

WE KNOW WE ARE SAVED WHEN WE HAVE OBEYED THE PLAN OF SALVATION

Though the believer of the New Covenant is not under the law of Moses, he is under the law of Christ.  The Old Covenant required LEGAL obedience to its commandments, but the New Covenant requires LOVING obedience to the commandments of Jesus.  The Old Covenant gave an external standard and required strict and full obedience to it before mercy was given.  The New Covenant imparts an internal standard as well as the grace to be able to keep it, thus resulting in an external standard made possible by the power of the Holy Ghost.

IF YOU HAVE OBEYED THE GOSPEL, THEN YOU HAVE A RIGHT UNDER THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT TO ALL THE BLESSINGS BOUGHT BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS!