The first seven chapters of the hook of Leviticus unfold, with divine fullness, beauty and power, the doctrine of sacrifice. In the eighth and ninth chapters, we have the doctrine of priesthood; but, whether it be a question of sacrifice or priesthood, the shedding of blood has its own prominent and divinely-appointed place. If blood-shedding was the great foundation-fact in the doctrine of sacrifice, so was it also in the doctrine of priesthood. Let us take a passage or two in proof. " And he brought the bullock for the sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it...... And he brought the ram for the burnt offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about......And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about." (Lev. 8:14-2414And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. 15And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. 16And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. 17But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lord commanded Moses. 18And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. 20And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. 21And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savor, and an offering made by fire unto the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses. 22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 23And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. 24And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. (Leviticus 8:14‑24).)
The above quotations will suffice to show the place which the blood occupied in the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood. True, the priest required to be entirely free from bodily blemish, and from ceremonial defilement. (See Lev. 21) In pedigree, and in person, he needed to he unblemished, ere he could approach to the altar of the God of Israel; yet, " without shedding of blood " he could not stand to minister, before God, or on behalf of his people. Without blood, the altar could have no priest, the priest no altar, the people neither altar nor priest. A blood-sprinkled ear was needful in order that the priest might hear the divine communications. A blood-sprinkled hand was needful, in order that he might perform divine service. A blood-sprinkled foot was needful to tread the courts of the sanctuary; and a blood-stained altar was that alone from which the pure incense could ascend to the throne of God.
Thus, then, sacrifice and priesthood both rested upon blood. The sacrifice should be unblemished and so should the priest; but neither the one nor the other was of any avail without shedding of blood. "Almost all things are, by the law, purged with bloods" "The book of the covenant" was sprinkled with blood; " all the people " were sprinkled with blood. (Exod. 24) The priests were consecrated by blood. The sacrifice was founded on blood. The altar was dedicated by blood. The entire economy was held together in the power of the blood. The divine presence in the assembly was secured by blood. All uncleanness was put away by blood. All the privileges of the dispensation were enjoyed through blood. Everything was secured by blood; and without it, was there, literally, nothing. The tide of evidence, on this point, is rapidly rising around us, as, in the light of inspiration, we pursue our inquiries.
Passing onward, from the subject of sacrifice and priesthood, let us inquire as to how the leper was cleansed. How was he set free from the influence of his foul and depressing malady? Was it by a spotless life? No; but by an accomplished death. Hear what the word saith. " Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds, alive and clean, and cedar wood and scarlet and hyssop." Were the " two birds alive and clean," sufficient to cleanse the leper? Nay, they could not, as such, remove one speck. True, they were alive, and clean, too, but this could not avail. It was absolutely necessary for the priest to " command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: as for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy, seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field." (Lev. 14:1-71And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. (Leviticus 14:1‑7).)
Here, we learn that the cleansing of the leper was founded upon blood shedding. Until the blood was shed the priest could not pronounce the leper " clean." The " two birds alive and clean "-the " cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop "-" the earthen vessel"-" the running water,'' all would have proved unavailing for the poor leper, had not the blood been shed. In other words, we may trace the blessed Lord Jesus down from the bosom of the Father-we may see Him incarnate-behold Him in the manger, and track His wondrous path across this earth-follow Him through all the scenes and circumstances of His life and ministry; but, until we see, by faith, His precious blood poured out on the cross, there is no cleanness for us. This is the plain doctrine of the word. This is the doctrine which the Holy Ghost continually lays open before us, whether in the types of the Old Testament, or the plain and positive statements of the New. Shed blood is the foundation of everything, which, as lost sinners, we receive from a holy God. By blood we have all; without it. nothing.
" The priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.." In this we have a type of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, through the Eternal Spirit.
" As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water." Here, we have a risen Savior, ascending into the heavens, bearing in His Person the marks of an accomplished atonement. The living bird was not" let loose into the open field" until it was dipped in the blood of the slain bird, by which blood the leper was sprinkled and made clean. Thus also, the Lord Jesus Christ, did not take His seat at the right hand of God, until He had, by Himself, purged our sins. (See Heb. 1) There could not be a more striking and beautiful type of a crucified and risen Christ, than that presented by the " two birds" in this instructive ordinance. " The living bird, let loose, in the open field," shows us Christ bursting all the bands and fetters of death, and coming forth into the wide fields of resurrection, there to range, in fellowship with all those whom His precious blood had cleansed from the foul leprosy of sin.
We shall close this article, as also our series of Old Testament proofs, by referring the reader to the sixteenth chapter of the book of Leviticus, which contains a record of the great day of atonement. An exposition of such a chapter could not be attempted in this paper; but the study of it will tend to establish the heart in the truth with which we are immediately occupied. I shall quote one passage to show the wide aspect of the atonement. " And this shall be a statute forever unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you; for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may he cleansed from all your sins, before the Lord........And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar; and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation." (Lev. 16:29-3329And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 32And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. (Leviticus 16:29‑33).)
Here, we have a marvelous view of the extent and efficacy of the blood. The tabernacle, and those that stand therein-the sanctuary, and those that worship there-the place of worship and the worshippers all stand in the power of the blood. And why? Because " without shedding of blood is no remission." " 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." (Lev. 17:1111For 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. (Leviticus 17:11).) Can aught be plainer than this? The whole power of atonement is in the blood. It is not that the blood is a circumstance in the work of atonement-it is not, as it were, the top-stone of the building-it is not added to something else, in order to complete the work. No; " it is the blood that maketh atonement." It does not say, " the blood helps to make an atonement, or is part of the atonement-or is the closing scene in the work of atonement." By no means. The blood stands absolutely alone. It renders God's people " clean from all their sins;" and that, moreover, not merely before men, or before angels, but " before the Lord." If, then, we are " clean from all our sins before the Lord," what more can we need? Nothing more, save the beams of everlasting glory to shine around us. There is nothing at heaven's side of the cross but the glory. Such is the power of the cross, such the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, that it renders the very vilest sinner fit to stand in the full blaze of the glory. Not a single jot or tittle of sin can ever enter into the Divine presence; but the cross has condemned sin, and put it away forever, in order that the believing sinner might be brought nigh, in the power of divine righteousness. The higher the light in which the believer stands, the more clearly it is seen that there is not a single soil upon him " before the Lord." Glorious, precious, peace-speaking, emancipating truth! May the reader know the full power of it! We here close our series of Old Testament proofs. Sufficient evidence has been adduced to show the place which the doctrine of the blood occupies, in the word; and, not only so, but to set forth the evil of mixing anything else with the death of Christ, as the ground of a sinner's pardon, his righteousness, or his acceptance, before God. If God s word declares that " it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul," then, assuredly, if we add aught thereto, no matter what, we directly contradict the divine statement; and we cannot do so without robbing our souls of the full value of the blood of Christ. Where the simple doctrine of the cross is interfered with, there cannot be divinely settled peace as to the question of sin. This is a weighty consideration. The more we allow God's thoughts to fill our hearts, the more shall we be convinced that, not only have we "life through death," but also righteousness, peace, pardon, holiness, worship, communion, priesthood,- all through death.
May the Holy Ghost write these things upon all our hearts!