“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18,19).

The concept of blood is a profound one in Scripture, and without a sound understanding of the importance of blood, our faith will falter. Let us look at some of the important passages dealing with this foundational concept and the message for us in each case.

The first mention of blood occurs at the murder of Abel. God said to Cain, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Blood was shed in the death of Abel, and yet it cried out for vengeance. Here blood stands for guilt and death.

While blood may stand for death, it also stands for life, and indeed it is necessary for life. “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh” (Leviticus 17:14). Medical science has, of course, recognized this Biblical teaching as true.

While the blood also explains the difference between life and death in a physical sense, it speaks even more eloquently in an eternal sense, as foreshadowed by the spreading of the blood of a sacrificial lamb on the Israelites’ door posts prior to their exodus from Egypt. “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you” (Exodus 12:13). The ultimate fulfillment of this token, as in our text, assures us that we are “redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Praise God! Blood stands for salvation. JDM