The Bible in a Year
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” — Leviticus 17:11
There are passages of Scripture that quietly insist on being taken seriously, no matter how much the modern world may wish to dismiss them. Leviticus 17:11 is one of those verses. It speaks with clarity and restraint about something both ordinary and unsettling: blood. In a culture that often treats the Old Testament as outdated ritual or primitive religion, this verse stands as a reminder that Scripture consistently addresses reality at its deepest levels. Long before microscopes, blood banks, or modern medicine, God declared a truth that science would later confirm: life is carried in the blood. The Bible is not embarrassed by the physicality of life, nor does it separate the material from the spiritual as though one mattered less than the other.
The study reminds us first of the physical essentialness of blood, and history bears this out in sobering ways. Early medical practice, including the routine bleeding of patients, operated on assumptions that now seem tragically misguided. Even respected figures such as George Washington were subjected to repeated bloodletting, hastening death rather than healing. The tragic irony is that Scripture had already spoken clearly on the matter. For centuries before Christ, God had said plainly that life resides in the blood. Today, medicine no longer removes blood to cure illness; it transfuses blood to save life. In this, the Bible proves itself far more practical than its critics allow. It does not compete with science; it anticipates truth because it comes from the Author of life itself.
Yet the heart of Leviticus 17:11 is not biology alone. The verse moves deliberately from physical life to spiritual meaning. God declares that He has given the blood on the altar for atonement. This is not human invention, but divine provision. The Hebrew word for atonement, kippēr, carries the sense of covering, reconciliation, and restoration of relationship. Blood, in the sacrificial system, represented life offered in place of life. It acknowledged that sin is not a superficial problem requiring minor correction, but a rupture that demands the cost of life itself. The sacrificial system trained Israel to understand both the seriousness of sin and the mercy of God who provided a means for reconciliation.
As we walk through the Bible together this year, it becomes impossible to stop with Leviticus. The New Testament does not discard this theology; it fulfills it. The apostle John writes, “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This statement only makes sense if we have first listened carefully to Leviticus. The sacrificial language is not metaphorical sentiment; it is theological continuity. The life given in sacrifice finds its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ, whose blood is not symbolic alone but salvific. As the writer of Hebrews later explains, the sacrifices of the old covenant pointed forward to a once-for-all offering that truly deals with sin at its root.
This is where the study presses us pastorally. There have always been voices within religion that seek to minimize or remove the language of blood from Christian theology. Some argue it is offensive, unnecessary, or incompatible with modern sensibilities. But Scripture does not grant us that option. To remove the blood from theology is to remove life from salvation. Spiritually speaking, it produces the same result as physical blood loss: death. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The blood is the life of Christianity; if you take it away, you have destroyed its vitality.” That observation remains incisive. The cross is not an inspiring moral example alone; it is a life given for life.
For daily discipleship, this truth reshapes how we approach both sin and grace. If blood is essential for atonement, then forgiveness is never cheap. Grace does not mean God overlooked sin; it means He absorbed its cost. This guards us from casual faith on one side and crushing guilt on the other. We neither trivialize sin nor despair over it. Instead, we live in gratitude, knowing that reconciliation was accomplished not by our effort, but by God’s provision. The essentialness of the blood invites humility, reverence, and ongoing trust.
As we continue reading Scripture together, Leviticus 17:11 anchors us in a theology that runs from altar to cross, from sacrifice to salvation. It reminds us that God has always dealt honestly with the reality of sin and generously with the need for life. The Bible is not antiquated; it is uncomfortably accurate. It tells us what we need to hear, not merely what we want affirmed. Blood remains essential—not only because it sustains physical life, but because through it God has given us spiritual life that endures.
For further study on the biblical theology of blood and atonement, see this article from Desiring God: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-the-blood-of-christ
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