For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and 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. Therefore I said unto the
children of Israel, NO SOUL OF YOU SHALL EAT
BLOOD,…
Leviticus 17:11-12

1. God revealed the importance of blood through
the prophet Moses and therefore commanded that
blood should not be eaten.
Perhaps we would have thought it was our heart, our brain
or our kidneys that were most important. But through Moses,
we learn that the life of a person is in his blood. None of us
would have known the importance of our blood. All the parts
of an animal could be eaten but the blood was not supposed to
be eaten because it represented life.

2. Long before medical science discovered it, Moses
taught us that the blood of a person contained his
life.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: …
Leviticus 17:11
Today, we know that the blood carries life to all parts of the
body. Moses could not have known that by medical science. He
knew this because God revealed it to Him.

The Lady’s Life

In medical school, I was privileged to be taught by a famous
gynaecologist. After surgical operations, we would sit around
him in the changing room whilst he taught us. Sometimes we
wrote notes and sometimes we just listened to his amazing stories.
One day, he told us about an experience he had whilst working
in the rural areas. He described a lady who had a ruptured ectopic
pregnancy. She was bleeding internally and very near death.
“I was desperate,” he said, “And there was no anaesthetist to
make this woman sleep whilst I operated on her. There was also
no blood to transfuse her with and I knew she was dying.”
Desperate situations require desperate measures! Extremes
must sometimes be fought with extremes! He described how he
operated on her without anaesthesia and “plugged” the source of
bleeding within her abdomen.
After he stopped the bleeding, he realised that most of the
lady’s blood had collected in her abdomen and she needed blood
desperately. Since she was dying, he decided to give her her own
blood. He told us how he scooped out the lady’s blood, put it in
a bottle and connected it to the lady. He transfused her with her
own blood that had leaked out.
We, the students, were awe-struck as he described how the
lady came back to life as her own blood re-entered her circulatory
system.
You see, the life is in the blood! As the lady’s blood reentered her she came back to life.

3. Because the blood contains the life of a person it
represents his life.
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life
thereof: …
Leviticus 17:14

A bowl of human blood therefore represents a human life.
A bowl of goat blood represents the goat’s life. A bowl of
elephant’s blood represents the elephant’s life. The bowlful of
the blood of the Jesus that flowed down on the cross therefore
represented the life of the Son of God. He gave His life and we
saw it when His blood flowed out. This is what we mean when
we say that Jesus Christ gave His life for us. It meant that He
gave His blood! To give your life is to give your blood! To give
your blood is to give your life!

4. The blood has been chosen by God as the only thing
that can be offered to appease Him and to atone for
sin.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I HAVE
GIVEN IT TO YOU UPON THE ALTAR TO MAKE
AN ATONEMENT FOR YOUR SOULS: …
Leviticus 17:11

5. The New Testament confirms the truth that only blood
can save.
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:22
Thus this great truth revealed to Moses has passed on to
Paul and the New Testament church. The apostle Paul makes it
abundantly clear that without the shedding of blood (without the
giving of a life) no one can be saved.

The Coconut Water

Many years ago, my mother showed me something that I have
never forgotten. She picked out one of my father’s shirts and
pointed to a stain in it.
“Do you know what these stains are? These are stains from
coconut water. Your father likes coconuts very much and he is
always drinking coconut water.”
She said, “So many of his shirts are stained with this coconut
water and I cannot get rid of them.”
She explained, “I can wash away everything with soap. I
can wash out palm oil, dirt, chocolate, tea, coffee, stew, soup,
toothpaste but I cannot wash out the stain of coconut water.”
“Wow,’ I said, “I never knew that coconut stains were so
difficult to get rid of.”
Indeed, soaps and detergents such as key soap, Omo, Ariel,
Duck soap, Sunlight soap, Rexona, Lux, Imperial Leather are not
able to wash away the coconut stains.
“So what can wash away the coconut stain?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said.
Every time I think of the coconut stain I think of the stain of
sin.
I ask myself, “What can wash away our sins? What can wash
away our lies, our stealing, our fornication and our murders?”
Nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!! Only the blood of Jesus has the
power to wash away these terrible stains.

6. Do you know anyone else who has shed his blood for
you? Do you know anyone in this world who has shed
his blood to wash away your sins and cleanse you
from unrighteousness? I don’t!
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved.
Acts 4:12