Slices
Prepare
‘Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings’ (Hebrews 10:22).
Bible passage
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 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 that 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.”’
Explore
The restrictions on making sacrifices in the first part of the chapter are understandable. If individuals made their own sacrifices, it would be easy for offerings to the Lord to be confused with the sacrifices surrounding peoples made to their own gods. Soon the Lord’s people would be worshipping false gods. Limiting the ways in which sacrifice could be made ensured the purity of worship.
The ban on the consumption of blood and the strict instructions on slaughtering animals for meat may seem less obvious. Blood, however, was central to the sacrificial system. Essential to life, it was used as a symbol of purification in the Day of Atonement (v 11). When an animal was slaughtered for meat, it had to be done in such a way that the blood was drained from it, so that no one would consume it (v 14b).
Imagine the shock of observant Jews, brought up on this teaching, when Jesus said, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’ (John 6:53). The blood of animals, never a permanent solution to sin, pointed to Jesus’ sacrifice (see Hebrews 10:4). Symbolised by the shedding of his blood, to ‘drink his blood’ meant to appropriate for oneself the benefits of his sacrifice.
Respond
‘There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains’ (William Cowper 1731–1800).
Deeper Bible study
‘... when I see the blood, I will pass over you.’1
This chapter deals with two main issues: the prohibition of DIY sacrifices (vs 8,9) and the eating of blood. The individualisation of spirituality in our times might make us wonder about the strictness of the law governing the offering of sacrifices. Worship for the Jews was essentially a corporate affair. It was the priest’s duty to slaughter animals brought by individuals and to present them to God as ‘fellowship offerings’ (v 5). If each and every person were free to make their own sacrifices it could facilitate idol worship, with sacrifices being made to demons (v 7), such as the goat god of Mendes which they had known in Egypt.
Forbidding the eating of blood has an important basis, as stated in verse 11. In fact, it was a pre-Mosaic prohibition which featured as part of God’s blessing and instruction to Noah after the flood.2 It also carried over into the New Testament. When the gospel spread beyond the confines of Judaism, there was controversy in the church as to whether or not Gentile believers should be required to keep the Law. It was James the Elder, presiding over the first Church Council, who gave the agreed ruling: the converts were not required to keep the Law, but they were enjoined ‘to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood’.3
The spiritual significance of all these is explained in Hebrews.4 The Old Testament established the sacredness of blood, in that ‘the life of a creature is in the blood’ (v 11). That life had been compromised by sin at the fall. Repeated sacrifices under the Law pointed to the blood of Jesus Christ, which would bring forgiveness to all who put their trust in him.
In an age that puts great stock on individual freedom of choice, how much does it matter how each one chooses to worship their God, so long as they worship?
1 Exod 12:13 2 Gen 9:4 3 Acts 15:20 4 Heb 9:19–24
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Judges 7,8; Mark 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks to God for SU Mission Enablers including Janine, Pete and Jack who feature in this edition of Connecting You. Please ask him to bless their ministry and all they do to help the next generation encounter Jesus. (This week's prayers relate to this story.)