Why is consuming blood prohibited according to Leviticus 17:14's "life of every creature"? Opening the Text “ ‘For the life of every creature is its blood. Therefore I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.” ’ ” (Leviticus 17:14) Why God Makes This Command • Blood equals life. • Life belongs to God alone. • God reserves blood for one purpose only: atonement on the altar (Leviticus 17:11). • To drink blood would treat God’s life–gift as common food. • Consuming blood confuses the line between Creator and creature, dishonoring the Giver of life. Old Testament Echoes • Genesis 9:4 — “But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.” • Deuteronomy 12:23 — “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.” • 1 Samuel 14:32–34 — Saul’s soldiers are corrected for eating meat with the blood, showing the command’s moral weight. Blood Reserved for Atonement • Leviticus 17:11 — “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls on the altar.” • Every sacrificed animal prefigured the perfect sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 9:22). • Treating blood as ordinary food would blur its God-ordained role of pointing to substitutionary redemption. New Testament Continuity • Acts 15:20, 29 — The Jerusalem Council tells Gentile believers to “abstain from blood,” upholding the same principle. • Hebrews 10:19 — “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…” • Christ’s poured-out blood fulfills what the animal blood only foreshadowed, underscoring its unique, sacred status. Key Takeaways for Today • Life is sacred from God’s perspective; reverence for blood reinforces reverence for life. • God sets boundaries to remind us He alone holds the power over life and death. • Honoring the prohibition helps us value Christ’s blood even more, recognizing its exclusive role in redemption. • The command calls us to holiness in daily choices, distinguishing what God has made sacred from what is merely common. |
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