(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 15:19–23, “All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.”
The Lord told Moses that Israel was His firstborn (Ex 4:22–23, “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”) When Pharaoh refused to let Israel free from their slavery the Lord took all the firstborn of Egypt in exchange. However, Israel had to sacrifice a lamb in order to place blood over the doorposts and lintels for protection. The Lord claimed all the firstborn of Israel as compensation for the fact that Israel’s firstborn were saved. Later, the Lord told Israel that He would take the tribe of Levi in exchange for their firstborn children. However, the Lord still required that Israel give Him the firstborn among their herds and flocks. They were take these firstborn and sacrifice them to the Lord then eat the meat so that they could identify with the Lord and the fact that He had saved them from slavery. However, the Lord required that Israel give Him their very best rather than anything of lesser quality for He had given them the best. On the other hand, when Noah came out of the ark the Lord told him that he was not to eat anything with blood in it for the life is in the blood (Gen 9:3–6, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”) In order to show respect for the Lord Who gave them life, Israel was required not to eat any blood. When they sacrificed an animal or when the killed an animal for food they were required to leave the animal to bleed out so that they didn’t eat any of its blood.
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