Hebrews 9:20

"For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,"

Key Reflection

When Moses delivered God's commandments to the Israelites after receiving them on Mount Sinai, he followed a ritual that included taking the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop to sprinkle both the covenant document (likely the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments) and the people. This act symbolized the establishment and sealing of the covenant between God and His chosen people, where the blood represented atonement for sins and the sprinkling ensured that all parties were sanctified and bound by this agreement. The original audience would have understood this as a reaffirmation of their obligations under the Mosaic covenant, emphasizing both physical ritual and spiritual consecration.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 20. Saying, This is the blood of the testament. Of the covenant. See Barnes "Heb 9:16,17". That is, this is the blood by which the covenant is ratified. It was the means used to confirm it; the sacred and solemn form by which it was made sure. When this was done, the covenant between God and the people was confirmed --as a covenant between man and man is when it is sealed. Which God hath enjoined unto you. In Ex 24:8, "which God hath made with you. The language used by Paul, "which God hath enjoined" -- eneteilato-- commanded--shows that he did not regard this as strictly of the nature of a covenant, or compact.

Related Verses

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