Leviticus 17:1-16 - Atoning Lifeblood for the Soul

Leviticus 17:1-16

The Sanctity of Blood

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.“‘

8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.

10 And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; 14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

This is the explanation of why the lifeblood of every living creature is not to be consumed by us, but poured out as a sacrifice for the death of the owner and the atonement to cover the sins of the one offering the sacrifice of the dead offering.  All shed blood was to be offered to the LORD and not eaten or the person would be cut off, excommunicated, from the people of God who were to revere life given by the breath of the LORD and offered that extinguished life back only to its Creator.  It was not to be offered to idols nor to be taken to oneself as if stealing the God-given life from another creature for selfish gain.  Yes, the life of each and every living thing is in its blood that sustains its very life and should be returned to the dust of the earth of creation (Genesis 1:30, 2:7, 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20-21, 12:7) or offered on the altar of atonement to cover sins of the living.  This leads to the truth that the lifeblood of a perfect sacrifice on the altar of atonement for our sins from our Creator is the only blood shed by Him that is effectual and appropriate at His hand and not our own.  It is also the only blood we can and must partake of (John 6:53-54, 55-56) as offered by Jesus Christ on the cross as our sacrifice for sins and the only life imparted by His lifeblood to us as His creations whom He created out of the dust of the earth and sustains us by that eternal divine blood not of creation but of Himself for our sakes.  His is the only sacrifice and only blood imputing life to us by faith in Him who shed His lifeblood that we might drink His blood and eat His body as we remember as we share in the sacraments or ordinances given to us as His children.  Therefore we partake and remember as 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 instructs us to lift the cup of His lifeblood shed for us on the sacrificial altar of the cross of our sin’s curse (Galatians 3:13), knowing and believing the redemption given by His atonement as our High Priest that does not cut us off from God as we drink His blood, but unites us with Himself in His life given for us to make us one again with our Creator at last as originally created and intended.  This is His atoning lifeblood for the soul as He breathes new life into us by His Spirit (John 3:6-7) by faith in His sacrificial work which is the message of the gospel.  Those who partake in an unworthy way by any other gospel or by any other blood will bear their unforgiving guilt into eternity as unwashed and unclean still, cut off and separate from God’s children.  Have you drunk His blood and eaten His body by faith in His divine person and effective work for your salvation and new life?