The blood sprinkled on the people at Mount Sinai signified the sealing of the covenant between God and Israel and underscored the necessity of blood for atonement and fellowship with God. When Moses read the Book of the Covenant and the people agreed to obey, the covenant was ratified with blood.
Exodus 24:8 records:
“And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.’”
The sprinkling of blood demons/”>demonstrated that the covenant was a solemn, binding agreement and that access to God required the shedding of blood. This principle is later expressed in Hebrews 9:22:
“Without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
The act also symbolized cleansing and consecration. The people could not stand in covenant relationship with a holy God apart from atonement for sin. Yet the blood of animals could never fully remove sin, which is why the sacrifices had to be repeated continually.
This ritual pointed forward to the new covenant in Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus declared:
“This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)
Unlike the temporary provision under the law, Christ’s blood brings complete forgiveness and permanent reconciliation with God. The blood at Sinai teaches that covenant relationship with God is possible only through the blood of a mediator, a truth fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
