5.1.26 ~ Expanding Our Understanding of Blood, Part 3: A Helicopter View
Blood at the covenant level inaugurates powerful bonds between God and people. Blood at Aaron's ordination transforms one from a common status to a position of holiness. The blood of tzara'at (leprosy) purifies from the realm of death to life, reinstating the one separated from the camp (made holy in a negative sense) into the community of common, living, set-apart people. No sin, no substitution. None of them involve punishment. Add to that reality that the blood from a sin offering is never used on people—never. These rituals cannot have anything to do with substituting for someone else's death or deserved penalty. And yet, blood remains the most powerful substance in the sacrificial system. When blood touches people, it changes their status, grants them access, and restores relationships. Blood equals access. That is the pattern! Is that radically different from the story many people hold regarding Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA)? That limi...