There are over 400 references to blood in the Scriptures. There is a spiritual meaning for “blood” in addition to being the red fluid that flows through our bodies. The blood is said to carry the “soul” of the human being.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11).
The rule is: soul in place of soul. When a human being sins, his soul becomes unclean. The soul (represented by the blood) is then given to make atonement for the sinning soul: to purify the soul, and to pay the punishment. The unclean soul under the death penalty is redeemed, “bought back” by the death of the innocent soul.
Ultimately, the soul of a righteous human being is demanded to compensate for the soul of the sinful human being. The animal sacrifices of the Torah are only symbolic, pointing to the blood of Yeshua. The soul of an animal cannot make atonement for the soul of a human. The animal’s blood points to the blood of the righteous Messiah, who indeed makes atonement for us: soul for soul.
This exchange is offered free of charge to everyone by grace, receiving the price paid for his or her own soul. In this way a soul is “saved” by the sacrifice of the blood. The blood is not only the sacrifice that allows a soul to enter into covenant with God, it is the seal that keeps and protects that covenant.
Ultimate Covenant
Blood means that a person’s life has been shed. A blood covenant is the strongest kind of covenant, because it involves a price of life and death, a total commitment. The blood allows the covenant to take place; and blood is demanded if the covenant is broken.
Many types of witchcraft involve a blood covenant to control the souls of the people involved, who then become victims of total manipulation and destruction.
In the case of our new covenant with Yeshua, the power of the blood is for good, not evil. We enter into a covenant of holiness, life, healing, joy and peace. The New Covenant also involves a total life-and-death commitment.
The children of Israel put blood on the doorposts and lintel (Ex. 12:7) to show that they had chosen to be part of the covenant. The blood was the sign that they had received the covenant (Ex. 12:13). The covenant then protected them from death and destruction. The sign of the blood faces upward for salvation, and sideways for protection—an amazing foreshadow of the cross of Yeshua.
“For the Lord will pass through to kill the Egyptians. And when He sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not permit the destroyer to come to your houses to kill you” (Ex. 12:23).
Advantages of the Blood
Here is the first advantage of the blood. It marks the territory. It shows ownership. It is like a street sign, a name tag, a brand label or even like an animal that marks its territory by shedding drops of urine along the border.
The blood allows God to say, “This person and his family and his property belong to Me. Destroyer, you are not allowed to cross the line into their area.”
Think how powerful that is in spiritual warfare. We declare that we and everything connected to us belongs to God through the blood of Yeshua. God says to all demons that they cannot come into our territory to harm us. If we believe in the power of the blood covenant, no demonic force can cross the border into our territory.
In Part 2, I will share with you two more advantages we have through Yeshua’s blood. {eoa}
Asher Intrater is the founder and apostolic leader of Revive Israel Ministries and oversees Ahavat Yeshua congregation in Jerusalem and Tiferet Yeshua congregation in Tel Aviv. Asher was one of the founders of Tikkun International with Dan Juster and Eitan Shishkoff and serves on the board of the Messianic Alliance of Israel and Aglow International. He and his wife and full-time partner in ministry, Betty, have a passion for personal prayer and devotion, local evangelism and discipleship in Hebrew and unity of the body of believers worldwide.
This article originally appeared at reviveisrael.org.
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