Lev 17: 10-16, “And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.”
This section reminds us of the statement made to Noah when he first came out of the ark. (Gen 9: 4, “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”) At that stage the Lord told Noah that the life of an animal was in its blood. This was the foundational reason behind not eating blood. Only the Lord can give life so life is sacred to the Lord. We also know that before Adam and Eve sinned there was no death on the earth at all (compare Ro 5: 12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”) When Adam and Eve sinned the Lord used a substitute animal as a sacrifice to take that animal’s skin so that Adam and Eve could be clothed. Every time person wanted to eat an animal they were to remember two things. Firstly that all life comes from God and the life of that animal is in its blood. Secondly, death has come into the world through sin and the only reason they were taking this life was because they had sinned and God was gracious to them in allowing them to stay alive. Blood was unclean because the shedding of blood was a significant consequence of sin. Blood was also an important medium for the spread of infection. A person who insisted on eating blood would be showing great disrespect to the Lord, His grace and His mercy.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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