“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11
This chapter in Leviticus is dedicated to the sanctity of the blood. The letting of blood was to be taken seriously and always brought before God.
Thank You, Jesus, for our atoned lives are made possible by Your blood. And here’s a simple poem . . .
Life In The Blood
Would I obtain a means
and keep it all to myself
not offering it to You, Lord
or anyone else,
when my life is so tied to
the blood that You spilled
on the altar of Your cross
my sin’s atonement, fulfilled.
(Really, the scripture for this one was so meaningful that I think it could’ve / should’ve stood on its own! Has a verse or portion of scripture held a strong specific meaning for you lately?)
Deb's Blog 
Thank you, Deb, for this reminder. It reminds me of the hymn that says “what can wash away my sin? nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
I will tell you what verse I have been thinking about lately: John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I have to be constantly reminded that it is all about Him, not me.
This is great, Deb!
“…the blood…makes atonement for the soul” Deep Scripture indeed!
How wonderful is that?! His blood covered ALL the sins I could ever come up with! Thanks, Deb, for the reminder that my sins are “Fully Atoned”… and I didn’t need to bring one lamb or dove either!
God bless you,
ann
I love being covered too, by our perfect Lamb!
Thank you, Ann!
That’s the perfect hymn to go with this, with all of Leviticus! 🙂 And thank you so much for sharing John 3:30 with us. I, too, need to think about that one constantly! God bless you, Ben!
Deb, You are right that this particular scripture could have stood on its own, but I think your poem was a wonderful addition.
This week the song “I saw the light” by Hank Williams has been stuck in my head thanks to a post over at bendedspoon’s blog. Along with it, I’ve been pondering the verse I quoted yesterday: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5. Our sins have been atoned for by the blood and the light of that truth cannot be extinquished. Peace, Linda
“Thank You, Jesus, for our atoned lives are made possible by Your blood.”
Nothing wrong with adding that! (you know we always enjoy your awesome poems, too, so thanks for adding this great one, as well 🙂 )
I agree with you that this particular verse is filled with such powerful meaning. Really, this one verse is the key verse to the entire Book of Leviticus. All of this talk of “blood” and “sacrifice” and “offering” up to this point might just seem gory and gruesome until we consider why God is giving these instructions and what they represent. This verse does just that: it points us to Christ and His perfect atoning blood.
As the writer to the Hebrews points out, all of these things are but a shadow of Him Who was to come (Heb. 10:1).
In answer to your last sentence, Romans 8:28 has been running through my mind a great deal lately as I come to the conclusion of writing about Genesis in my own blog. I am preparing today to write about the key verse in Genesis (50:20)which is an Old Testament counterpart of this wonderful verse. They both are profound reminders that God is in complete control of everything in our lives and nothing happens to us that He does not allow for a greater purpose.
How cool is that? Thanks, Deb, great post!
Linda, I love how He has you thinking about the light shining in the darkness. You are one of His lights shining here! And, I really appreciated your last post and your reply to one of the comments in particular. I knew you would handle it in a wonderful way, and you did just that! Thank you, Jesus. ( I get protective and wanted to jump in to defend your point, but there was no need! ha!) love you!
Loren! Thank you for such a wonderful comment! 🙂 Your mentioning the fact Leviticus can seem gory and gruesome has been on my mind, knowing that it isn’t the easiest scripture to receive. Once, when my daughter was younger, we took a carriage ride with Santa. After asking what she wanted for Christmas, he asked what I wanted. I told him that I liked books, especially those that helped me learn more about God. Somehow it ended up with Santa telling me the bible is one of the bloodiest books around. ! ha! Now here I am, writing about blood nearly every day. 🙂
I had to look up your scriptures to make sure I had them right and wow . . .! That combination is going to bless me for quite some time!!!
Thank you so much! God bless you and your love of Him!
Deb,
Thank you for the reminder about the perfect blood of Christ which is the only thing that could atone for my ocean of sins. I love the way you communicate in poetry and how in a few words, you draw the essence of the passage. God certainly has gifted you richly!
In His Loving Service,
Vineet
Vineet, truthfully I use few words because I’m not smart enough to use many! ha! But, what a witness of His ability to use whatever we have to offer Him. I keep showing up and so does He. You guys are always so kind and gracious to me, which keeps me in His word and spending time with Him to keep going. Can’t be a bad thing then, these simple little words and poems. 🙂 God bless you and your loving service for your King!