In the ancient world there was a need to bribe the gods. In that time God was completely unpredictable and essentially dissatisfied in the eyes of the people. Perhaps the one of the early gifts of God was the giving of the law because now people knew exactly what God wanted. We did not have to guess and read into the events of our lives our guess of god’s desires.
The issue was never God’s need to have blood to forgive sins. Maybe it was an image we could all understand. We all understand the pain of losing a child. Also it seems to be part of a long progression of reducing blood sacrifice. At first even burning a child on a red hot metal idol. Then the story of Abraham” near sacrifice of Isaac which teaches us not to sacrifice one of our children even if God tells us to. Instead we are to use animal sacrifice. Then in Calvary and Easter the need for sacrifice is ended forever. That means that there is nothing. necessary for us to do to come to God. We are facet to face with God’s immediate, eternal, unchanging love. There is only pure grace no works. God’s love is the same on our worst day as it is on our best day.
George Caywood 