Our blood is being necessary to our lives.  Our hearts get the most attention these days because we think the heart, which is merely the muscle that keeps the blood flowing to all parts of our bodies is the most important.  But it is the blood that sustains and purifies our entire inner workings.  There have been many medical advances over the last decades designed to replace our hearts with other hearts, mechanical hearts, along with pace makers to regulate the flow of our blood so that we can continue to live.  But it is the blood that gives and sustains life.

That’s why cliches such as “his family was the lifeblood of the church” are used to indicate what or who is the indispensable factor or influence that gives something its strength and vitality. Lifeblood is that factor that is most important to the continuing success and existence of the living and growing! 

God is now teaching the Israelites that the life of any creature is the blood. Blood is regarded as the life itself.  God tells His people that is the blood that gives life and vitality.  Blood is the vital, life-giving force that drives all God’s creation.

As we read, remember that Jesus is the lifeblood of redemption and salvation! His blood was shed so that we could have life—eternal life for all who believe.

Leviticus 17

Eating Blood Forbidden

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. ¹⁶But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.’”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Avoid roadkill…still.  (Okay, just my opinion, but my momma said, “leave that alone or put that down, you don’t know where it’s been!”)

It is the blood of the unblemished innocent that provides the atonement for sin.

Warren Wierbe simple states:

“When a sacrifice was offered and its blood was shed, it meant the giving of a life for the life of another. The innocent victim died in the place of the guilty sinner. Throughout Scripture, it’s the blood that makes the atonement. Any theology that ignores or minimizes the blood isn’t founded on the Word of God.”—Wiersbe Study Bible

God provides atonement for the sins of His People with a specific procedure because of His love, mercy, and grace.  Jesus, who is a part of the Trinity, will be the once and for all sacrifice for the sins of the world.  Jesus will take the place of all other sacrifices as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.  And we are grateful!

Because the blood is the life of the creature and the God-ordained means of atonement, it must not be treated like ordinary food. Before preparing his meal, a Hebrew out hunting had to be careful to drain out the blood of the animal or bird he had caught. The blood then had to be covered with earth, giving it a decent burial, as it were. Orthodox Jews today are very careful to purchase kosher meat from which the blood has been drained in the prescribed manner.

Peter writes;

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” I Peter 1:18-20

As believers today, I pray that we fully appreciate the importance of the “precious” blood of Christ;

• “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
• “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7
• “…and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…” Revelation 1:5
• “And so, Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” Hebrews 13:12
• “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
• “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
• “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” Acts 20:28

The number of sins, from small to barbaric, atoned for on the Day of Atonement is staggering. The sin offering cleansed the place of God’s dwelling from the pollution of the people’s sins. 

Today sin must be still be cleansed and washed away by the blood of the Lamb.  Maybe the process is too easy since Jesus did all the work for us!  Jesus’ crucifixion that provided our freedom from sin must NOT be read or believed casually. The sins of the world stood in the way of a growing relationship with Holy God.  His deserve was that no one perish but have eternal life with Him. God wants a relationship with us for He is the One who created us in His own image.  God loved us so much He sent His Son to suffer torture, be nailed to a cross, with a crown of thorns pushed down on his head. The purpose of Roman crucifixion was to be humiliated in public view while bleeding out until the body’s lifeblood was depleted. 

How can we then take sin and God’s forgiveness so casually when the very image of Jesus taking our place on that cross should drive us to our knees?  Maybe we take our sin too causally?  What is sin to us? 

Sin is anything and everything that distracts us from God.  “All have sinned,” says Paul.  “There is no one good; only God is good,” says Jesus.  Some sins are atrocious and affect everyone around us.  Some sins seem small in the view of the sinner and are casually deemed harmless. But, according to God; all sins need forgiveness and cleansing!  Think about it…

• At the very least, we all complain and grumble when things don’t go our way.
• We worry about everything we cannot see or control; even though Jesus says, “Do not worry!” God says, “Trust Me.”
• We’ve hoarded when we should have shared.
• We’ve turned away when you should have helped.
• We’ve second-guessed, presumed, assumed, and we’ve covered up.
• Because of sin, we criticize the ones we love without mercy and argued with the ones we cherish.
• We feel ashamed, guilty, and bitter often.
• We develop ulcers, endure sleepless nights, are depressed on cloudy days, and feel physical pain when out of sorts because we do life on our own with asking for God’s help.

Ah, but wait, there’s more…

• Because of sin, the young are abused and the elderly forgotten.
• Because of sin, God is cursed while drugs and other addictions are worshiped.
• Because of sin, the poor have less and the affluent are never satisfied.
• Because of sin, babies have no daddies and husbands have no wives.
• Sin gives birth to a thousand heartaches and broken promises. Addiction can be traced back to an original sin.
• Mistrust can be traced back to sin.
• Bigotry, robbery, adultery—all because of sin.

But in heaven, there is no sin.  All the sins above will be no more. In heaven, sin will have no power; in fact, sin will have no presence. There will be no sin, no tears, no death. 

Avoid allowing sin to pull us down, distract and deceive us. Sin is the enemy’s one and only tool used to destroy us. 

Believe, repent, confess sin out loud to God in Jesus Name. God already knows anyway!  Accept God’s complete forgiveness. Thank God for His relentless love, great mercy, and unending grace.  Then live a gratefully free, humbly redeemed life!

Others who need a Savior will see His reflection on the faces of those who truly believe that Jesus really suffered a horrific death in our place for the punishment of all our sins.

Lord,

Thank you for shedding your blood so that I could be free from all my sins. Thank you for forgiving me of all my sins. Thank you for the guidance of your Holy Spirit who teaches me to avoid returning to the sins that brought me down. Thank you for those times when I did fall but you were quick to pick me back up and put me back on your solid foundation—all because of your love, mercy, and grace.  There is no one like our God!  You had me at “we love Him because He first loved us”!

In Jesus Name, Amen