Hebrews 9:18  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

We know from the Old Testament that God told Moses to use the blood of a ram to prepare Aaron and his sons for the service as priests. The instruments also needed to be sprinkled with blood to set them apart for their service. Thus as God tells us in verse18, the first testament was dedicated with blood. It was not just any blood. It was the type of animal that God commanded. The animal needed to be without blemish. It needed to be a male of the first year. It could not be an old animal that was ready to be culled anyway. It needed to be a young healthy animal that would be in its prime. There was a cost involved to the owner.
This is a picture of the cost of our salvation. That cost was borne by God, not us. We could never pay for our salvation. We have nothing to offer God. God provided the means of salvation through His only begotten Son. He was without sin. He willingly laid down His life for you and I.
In verse 19 God pointed back to the commands He gave Moses. Everything that was involved in the first testament needed to be sprinkled with blood. This was a picture of the blood of Jesus Christ and how that blood would be so much better than the blood of bulls and goats.

Matthew 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Jesus declared that the cup that He was giving to the disciples was a typology of His blood. His blood was of the new testament. His blood was shed for the salvation of souls. The Catholics have taken passages like this and distorted them and they teach that their priest has the power to turn alcoholic wine into the blood of Jesus Christ. That is heresy. First of all, alcoholic wine should never be used in the Lord’s supper. Alcoholic wine is a fermented poison. The blood of Jesus Christ is pure and without sin. Jesus took the “fruit of the vine” which is grape juice. He would have used red grape juice because it gives the colour of the blood.
In verse 21 God went further to remind the readers that even the Tabernacle and all the vessels used in it were sprinkled with blood. All of them needed to be dedicated to the service that God intended them for. Again, we know that this work which was required of God, was symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ which would be the “agent” that would cleanse the repentant sinner and give them eternal life.
In verse 22 God reminds us again of the importance of the blood. It is a fact that there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. God showed the importance of the blood as He prepared the nation of Israel for their exodus from Egypt. He taught them very clearly that the blood of a lamb needed to be sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels of their houses. The Egyptians ignored this command and they lost their firstborn. From there God continued to teach the nation of Israel the importance of the blood. He also taught them they were not to eat the blood because the life is in the blood. As mentioned in our verse, a blood sacrifice was very important for the nation to understand God’s way of remission of sins. The word translated as “remission” means “freedom”.
We see many people in Canada fighting for freedom right now. We have had wars that were designed to fight for freedom. Yet our country is not free today. The majority of the people who are fighting for freedom right now are not free. They do not even know how to define freedom. Some of them think that if we removed our current P.M. from office, that would be a good start. If we removed him from office who do you suppose would replace him? Can you name one principled politician right now? Is there one politician that you have heard give a clear testimony of salvation? People power does not bring freedom. The blood of Jesus Christ brings freedom. We all know that the true Christians are a minority in Canada. We all know that for the past two years true Christians have been maligned and have been attacked by ungodly officials. There are pretenders that have been affected as well, but the devil’s goal is to get rid of the true Christians. What most are missing today, is that true Christianity has always been a minority. Yet we know from the Bible that when Christians humble themselves and submit to God’s will for His people, He does great things. The victory is not for us to determine. The victory has already been won through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we follow His way, we will be surprised at what He will do. I am not going to predict what He will do. I do not know. I do know He demands that we follow Him. Let Him be glorified.
In verse 23 God deals with that which is in heaven, that which is eternal. Jesus Christ came from heaven. He presented His blood at the mercy seat in heaven after his death. The heavenly tabernacle is also in heaven. All the aspects of the first covenant were a typology of that which is eternal and that which is better. It was necessary for God to bring in the first covenant in preparation for the new covenant. It was necessary for John the Baptist to come as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He came to prepare the way. God designed that first covenant to be used to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, the majority of the Old Testament nation of Israel rejected the importance of that covenant. They went through the motions, but never grasped the importance of it. We see this played out in the New Testament when Jesus had to cleanse the Temple because the religious leaders had turned His Father’s house into a house of merchandise. They ignored the importance of that place and they turned it into a place of profiteering. Jesus would not accept this and He cleansed the Temple twice in His 3 1/2 years of earthly ministry. Of course of much greater concern is the fact that the Jews rejected Him as the Mediator of the new covenant. They wanted to hold on to the rituals of the old, but they did not want the reality of the new. What a sad commentary.
Today we see that most religious people want to hold on to the form of church, but they do not want the reality of what a true church is. Even Jordan Peterson, a lost psychologist who is going through a very painful journey at this time as God is obviously drawing him to Himself, is fighting against this. However, he has admitted that there was something to the church scene of the ’50’s that is sadly lacking today. He is likely referring to the Catholic church. I have certainly observed major change in the church that I was raised in. It does not even resemble a church anymore. There is nothing of value there. They have activity. They have a coffee shop to welcome the people. They have no Gospel.
I am thankful for the promise of Jesus Christ who declared:

Matthew 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

God’s way is better. Follow His way and be blessed today.
Pastor Bartel