Hebrews 9:16-18 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.
These verses may at first seem confusing, but it will help us to interpret them in the context of the previous passage and with the Old Testament in the background. A will is the wishes of a person for what will happen to his or her possessions after death. A will is a form of covenant or “testament.” What these verses describe is still practiced today. In the ancient world, a covenant was ratified by the sacrifice of an animal. The sacrifice of life was a guarantee by the weaker party or both equal parties that they would not break the terms of the covenant lest they experience the same fate as the sacrificed animal. The death of the animal was symbolic of the seriousness of the decision. The first covenant God made with Israel was ratified by blood by the death of a sacrificial animal. This began with the Passover Lamb and then continued to the animals sacrificed through the cultic system around the tabernacle. Then, once a year the special sacrifice was made on the Day of Atonement. The author is showing that death is the requirement for a covenant to be ratified. This was the long-standing practice for thousands of years in the Ancient Near East and in the religion of Israel. The author’s key point is that all this sacrifice was pointing ahead to an infinitely more important death that would bring about an even more significant covenant that made on Mt. Sinai.
For older posts, click here.