The Significance of the Hand-Blaying Ritual

The priest taking the blood of the slain animal and sprinkling it on the altar indicates minimally, I think, that the life of the animal has been offered to God as a sacrifice to atone for the offeror's sin. Death is the penalty for sin, and the animal dies in the place of the worshiper. So one isn't saying that the animal was punished in the places of the worshipers. One is saying that theAnimal suffers the fate which would have been the worshiper's punishment if it had been inflicted on him instead.