Rabbi Tovia Singer Explains to Caller Why Jeremiah Slammed Blood Sacrifices as a Path for Salvation

Jerusalemites did not believe the rebuke of Jeremiah who preached that Israel had a misplaced sense of confidence that the merit of the blood sacrifices would somehow prevent God’s wrath against their unacceptable behavior. Responding to a caller’s question regarding a passage, Rabbi Tovia Singer demonstrates that the people foolishly believed, as the missionaries preach today, that a blood sacrifice would surely atone for their sins. They blindly relied on what would emerge as the widespread Christian doctrine of substitutionary atonement—the notion that sacrificial blood alone can propitiate God’s wrath and atone for sin. They were certain that a priestly mediator, one who would intercede on their behalf, would save them from the consequences of their iniquity. They were confident that the blood would save them.