He Became Our Substitute
ICS Daily Devotions

Genesis 8:20-22 (NKJV) Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

There is a bloodline running through the Old to the New Testament, all the way to the final atonement by the blood of Jesus, because blood is necessary for the atonement of sin. The practice of sacrificing an innocent animal for the sin of mankind was first seen when an animal was killed for God to clothe Adam and Eve before they left the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:21), followed by Abel sacrificing the firstborn of his flock and its fat which was acceptable to God (Genesis 4:4).

It continued in Noah’s time when God had to judge the earth through the flood because of sin. The first thing that Noah did coming out of the ark was to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, and the Lord was pleased. Hence, we see that the shedding of blood was necessary for a new beginning of mankind. Noah understood that the way for individuals to approach and to appease God for sin is through the sacrifice of an innocent animal on behalf of themselves by the shedding of blood, because an animal had to take the place of the sinner.

Then there was the sacrifice for the nation. God chose the nation of Israel to bring forth the Messiah through the unconditional covenant with Abraham, but first, God had to test His covenant partner, Abraham.

Genesis 22:13-14 (NKJV) Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Abraham passed the test through his willingness to offer up Isaac, his only son of promise, believing that God could raise him up. God stopped him just in time and provided a ram as the burnt offering instead. The doctrine of the blood was again foreshadowed where substitution took place when the ram was provided to take the place of Isaac.

Abraham’s act of offering on Mount Moriah paved the way for the final offering on Calvary. Jesus was our substitute on the cross because an innocent party must always take the place of the sinner through the shedding of blood, so that there can be atonement for sin and redemption of mankind. It reveals the mercy and love of God, and truly understanding that will help us to be gracious and merciful to others around us too.

Sermon Series: The Power of the Blood