The Blood of JesusSample

Much can be said about the symbolism and rituals of blood in the Old Testament, but let us concentrate on the sacrifices of lambs and goats. The first sacrifice is found in the Garden of Eden; a short time after the Fall. Moses relates that God «made a garment of skins for the man and his wife, and clothed them» (Gen. 3:21). The key question to ask is: Where did the skin of the garments come from?

If we say that the skin used in the garments came from nothing and that God miraculously created it, then a new question arises: Why was Abel motivated to offer a sheep's blood offering to God (Gen. 4:4)? So, the question remains: Where did the skin of the garments come from? The skin used came from an animal sacrificed by the hand of God. This is the only solid and biblically sound explanation for 2 reasons:

• IT WAS A LESSON FOR ALL GENERATIONS: Adam and Eve beheld the shedding of blood in Eden. It is highly probable that they saw an animal die at the hands of God; it was the first time they saw physical death and, worse, it was the first time they saw God angry. They knew that the skin garment on their backs came from an innocent animal (possibly a lamb). For this reason, Abel was aware that the best sacrifice he could offer was a blood sacrifice; an animal without physical defect and without guilt: that of a lamb.
• REPRESENTED THE SON: Nothing is coincidental in God's sovereign and redemptive plans. The sacrifice of the lamb in Eden by God's hand was a small window showing what was to come in the future: the perfect sacrifice of the Son. The act of being clothed with skins symbolized salvation through divine work (being clothed) and not through manual work (making clothes). The prophet Isaiah declares that he has been wrapped in robes of righteousness (Isa. 61:10); it is likely that he was thinking of Eden when he uttered those words. Likewise, we see a similar case with the Gadarene demoniac and the Son: When they meet for the first time, it is revealed that the demoniac man wore no clothes (Lk. 8:27), but when the Son worked the miracle of salvation in his life, the men of the city came and saw the man healed and clothed (v.35). That is the mission of the Son: to clothe the naked, embrace the needy, comfort the distressed and save the unsavable.