Read Leviticus 17
Eating Blood Forbidden
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people. 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. 6 The priest is to splash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’
8 “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be cut off from the people of Israel.
10 “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”
13 “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
15 “‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then they will be clean. 16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.’”
Go Deeper
Leviticus 17 serves as a bridge between the first and second sections of Leviticus focusing on God’s holiness and calling the people to holiness. The first half of Leviticus is about the way to a holy God and the second half is about the walk with a holy God.
In the previous chapter we read about an important ritual called the Day of Atonement. As we know, this was a day where the High Priest entered the most Holy Place behind the veil and stood before God. He took two goats and killed one of them. The High Priest would bring the blood from the sacrifice into the innermost part of the tabernacle and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat to atone for the sin of Israel. The meaning of this sacrifice is explained in Leviticus 17 where it says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (v. 11). Without blood, there is no atonement.
The God of Israel was very distinct from the pagan idols, so God had specific instructions on how the people could come before him in worship. We see one of these instructions in this chapter was the prohibition of eating meat with blood in it. The law against eating meat with blood in it is seen twice in Leviticus before (Leviticus 3:17, 7:27). This prohibition is not only for Israel but the aliens residing amongst them. The penalty for breaking this law was very serious; whoever eats it must be cut off (v. 14). Bloodshed has always been seen as sacred to God, because atonement requires blood. The way we worship the Lord matters.
Sin leads to death but blood offers a path to life. These sacrifices were a means of atonement. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were the only payment the people could offer for their sin to take punishment that the people deserved. This sacrifice was the only way to be reconciled back to God. The most important part of the sacrifice was the shedding of blood, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
We get to see this all through the lens of the gospel. There is physical life through the blood of animals but eternal life through the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:12 tells us that Jesus “entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” His blood covers our sins. It has been paid for. Jesus got what we deserve and through His death we can have life forever.
Questions
- How do you see Jesus represented in this passage?
- What does this passage show you about the character of God?
- How are you going to apply what you read in the passage today?
Keep Digging
For more information on the blood sacrifice, check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
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7 thoughts on “Leviticus 17”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
The law that is laid down is a way to pull back the veil on our sin. God determined what was good or evil. Choosing one direction or the other brings life or death. But the law did not provide the completed answer to BUT GOD had the answer and completion through His Son Jesus. Idol worship was not allowed. Of these millions of people that are traversing through the wilderness is also “extras” people that married into or just wanted to get away from bondage. They brought along their little “g” gods and would carry on their rituals as well. Some of 17 is addressed to their goings on. The worship of “idols”, (sex, eating, power, money, lust, etc.), is the problem. Worshipping idols brings in or lets our guard down on deomic powers, the demonic forces play their part in allowing us to experience what we desire. But what we don’t think about that is we letting in something that will never make us happy. All these laws were a guardrail to help us stay the course. Thankfully, Jesus came so that we could be free from what is evil and be filled up with the Holy Spirit!
Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
God thank You for freeing me from my past. Thank You for guiding me in my minutes of this day to stay on Your course. Your ways are the best. Thank You for opening the eyes of my understanding when my flesh rears its ugly head, in wanting what You have instructed me to stay away from. God Thank You for guiding me in righteousness. Romans 8:2 is where and what I am standing on “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Thank You God for this day, these minutes that I can glorify You by my life, words, and actions in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come” (v7).
What idols do we currently prostitute ourselves to? Comfort, pleasure, status, and wealth can all reek of self-gratification and easily turn into idols. We’ve been duped into thinking idols are self-care. What sins are lurking at the door of our hearts that Christ shed his blood for?
1 “The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them”
I find it interesting that all these instructions we have been reading over the past few chapters have been for “Aaron and his sons”, but God delivers these messages through Moses. Why not go directly to Aaron and his sons? Something for me to consider as to how God may give me instructions.
Leviticus 17 outlines instructions directing God’s people to worship the one and only GOD … in HIS place … in HIS way.
This chapter reminds me that HOW I worship is an essential reflection of WHO I worship. And in that worship, I “choose this day whom I will serve”: either God’s perfect instruction … or my own fickle inclination.
When I insist on MY way, I co-opt that which God calls holy … and corrupt my worship of Him. If I profane that which He has set apart as sacred, I end up set apart from God and others.
Leviticus 17 points to this truth:
God is both universally AND singularly accessible. That is, EVERY one can come to Him … and there is ONE way to do so.
Additional helpful online commentary available here: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/leviticus-17/
This chapter was such a great reminder of how Holy our God is and how precious the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us really was.
Within the go deeper section, it stated “ Bloodshed has always been seen as sacred to God, because atonement requires blood. The way we worship the Lord matters.
“Sin leads to death but blood offers a path to life. These sacrifices were a means of atonement. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were the only payment the people could offer for their sin to take punishment that the people deserved. This sacrifice was the only way to be reconciled back to God. The most important part of the sacrifice was the shedding of blood, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).”
The life that we have in the future, hope of eternal life with God is all because of what Jesus did on the cross, shutting his blood for our sins as the final atonement for us all. A death that we all deserved because of the separation of sin, death, and uncleanliness, but that’s not where the story ends. We no longer have to sacrifice the blood of animals that gave them life because the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus shed his blood so we could have eternal life.
I am so grateful to Jesus for the death that he paid that should have been mine, but rather he loved me so much that he paid that price for me. This chapter was such a great reminder to me of the cost that my salvation had. Thank you, Jesus for the sacrifice you made for us all.
Amen!!
Thank you, Jesus, for the ultimate sacrifice, your blood shed for my sin and all humanity.