Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death … So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. (Numbers 35: 30, 33)
What value does God place on human blood?
Recent tragic, unimaginable, and unacceptable events confirm that blood is still being shed today. Murderers kill innocent people for no reason other than hatred. Assassins target and kill good, godly, righteous people for speaking God’s truth in a world that embraces the devil’s lies (John 8:44). Millions of innocent babies have been murdered—innocent blood spilled on the altar of convenience.
According to our key verses, murder pollutes the land. Furthermore, shedding blood is only atoned for by the life of those who shed it. Imagine if that were applied to every murderer today. Since God alone is the Giver of life, He places a high value on blood and avenges it. Those who shed it come under His judgment.
Let’s uncover what God says about blood, those who spill it, and the value He places on it.
Blood Shedding in the Bible
Throughout Scripture, from the closed gate of Eden to the opened gate of heavenly Mount Zion, we find blood. Not human blood, but animal blood that was shed as sacrifice to atone for mankind’s sin.
- In the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned, God introduced the shedding of blood. To cover their nakedness, innocent animals died so God could make clothing from their skins (Genesis 3:21).
- Adam and Eve’s second son, Abel, killed a lamb in his sacrifice to God and God “respected Abel and his offering” (Genesis 4:4).
- After the Flood, when Noah and his family came out of the Ark, he sacrificed innocent animals on an altar before God (Genesis 8:20).
- On Mt. Moriah, God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice what was most precious to him—his promised, long-awaited son, Isaac. Abraham passed the test, and God spared Isaac’s life. As a substitute, God provided a ram that Abraham sacrificed (Genesis 22:13).
- On Mt. Sinai, where Moses led the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt, God introduced His Law and countless animal sacrifices. For over fifteen hundred years, countless people performed God’s required offerings during the age of the Law.
This theme continues all the way to Calvary, where Jesus’ sinless blood was shed for sinful man. But the question remains: Why blood? What’s so significant about this metallic, sticky, reddish liquid?
No Blood, No Life
According to Leviticus 17:11, life is in the blood. God created it to carry life-sustaining oxygen throughout the body while also disposing of impurities. As has been so graphically shown in recent horrific events, loss of blood results in death.
But why was it necessary to shed blood as a sacrifice for sin? What makes it the steady drumbeat throughout Scripture? What characteristic makes it the central theme of redemption in both Old and New Testaments?
Blood has a voice. When Cain murdered Abel, God told him, “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). It also speaks in heaven. Referring to Christ’s shed blood, Hebrews 12:24 tells us it “speaks better things than that of Abel.”
Blood will be avenged. In heaven, martyrs cry out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:9-10). Countless millions have died horrible deaths for their faith in Jesus Christ. God comforts these martyrs by promising to avenge them in due time.
Jesus proclaimed guilt and judgment against those who shed righteous blood (Matthew 23:34-35).
All this confirms the special value God places on blood. He created it. He sustains it. And He ultimately avenges it.
The Value of Blood
To better understand its value, let’s peek inside two holy places. The earthly Holy of Holies and the heavenly Holiest of Holies.
For the Old Testament tabernacle, God gave Moses specific instructions about the Holy of Holies. It was protected behind a thick veil (Exodus 26:33). No one could enter this holy place except the high priest—and only once each year. Inside sat the Ark of the Covenant, beneath the Mercy Seat. God told Moses, “Put the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark … there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the Mercy Seat” (Exodus 25:21-22). It was the place designated where blood was sprinkled before God’s presence (Leviticus 16:14). In that holy place, it made possible man’s interaction with God.
We find something similar in the heavenly Holiest of Holies. After dying on Calvary, Jesus entered that holy place and sprinkled His blood on the altar in Father God’s presence (Hebrews 9:12; 24-26). In that holy place, it made possible man’s reconciliation with God.
There’s something special and supernatural about blood that connects man with God. Our Triune God places such immeasurable and incomprehensible value on it that where it is sprinkled, that’s where we find His throne, His presence, and His intimate fellowship.
The Blood of Jesus
Jesus is eternal, uncreated, and self-existent—the second person of the Godhead. He’s the great I AM (Exodus 3:14). Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). As Creator God (John 1:1-3), He spoke everything into existence. He is Infinite, Omni-Everything, and Sovereign Lord of all.
Since life is in the blood, and since Jesus has eternal life within Himself (John 5:26), His blood is life-giving, infinite, and eternal. Peter described it as precious or costly (1 Peter 1:19). Since Jesus was divinely-conceived (Luke 1:31-35), the eternal life of the infinite Godhead flows through His veins (Colossians 2:9). His blood is divine, sinless, and incorruptible—referred to as God’s own blood (Acts 20:28).
God views blood as the only answer for our sin. In the Old Testament, it covered sin. At Calvary, it cancelled it.
This is the blood Jesus shed on Calvary for you and me. It was shed as the ultimate sacrifice to enable our reconciliation with God. The blood of Calvary, shed at infinite cost, is the one, only, once-for-all-time sacrifice for our sin (Romans 6:10). Through it and it alone do we find salvation [eternal life in heaven with God] and sanctification [ability to live holy, pleasing, and acceptable lives before God] (Hebrews 10:10).
Since human blood is precious to God, imagine the value He places on the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Then consider His attitude toward those who mock, ignore or reject it blood. The Bible tells us, “Of how much worse punishment … will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29).
Ramifications: Forfeiture of Life
This explains why murder is so horrific. Consider the loss of life—cutting short of a person’s gifts, talents, personality, potential, and purpose. Then there is the grief, family impact, effects on children, societal impact, and more. On top of all this, murder is an invasion of God’s realm. It mocks the Giver of life. This is also why God holds such high standards of judgment for murderers. They are “polluters of the land” with the only resolution demanding a life for a life. Those who shed innocent, righteous blood forfeit their own.
Although the shedding of innocent, righteous blood seems to have become common place today, may we stop and consider the seriousness and ramifications of the offense. May we turn our hearts to Him and stop dehumanizing people, stop devaluing life, and stop shedding such valuable blood.
Oh may God have mercy on us and our country.
Some concepts have been excerpted from Nate’s book, Called to Christlikeness, not Christianity.
[i] What Does Blood Do? National Library of Medicine, found at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279392, accessed March 31, 2023.
Purchase Nate’s book, Called to Christlikeness, not Christianity here.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Nate Stevens.
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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