Hebrews 9:18-21

The Old Covenant went into effect when the Levitical priests shed the blood of animal substitutes and applied that blood to the covenant beneficiaries. The beneficiaries were the Israelites (Exodus 24:6-8) and the tabernacle (cf. Exodus 40:9-15). The New Covenant went into effect when Jesus Christ shed His blood and God applied it to its beneficiaries spiritually (cf. Matthew 26:28).

"The central thrust of the argument is that there is an intimate relationship between covenant and sacrificial blood." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 244.]