Leviticus 17:14

"For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the rife thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that which dieth of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be home-born or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity."

There are four short paragraphs in this chapter, but there are only two topics:

(1) the prohibition against offering sacrifices anywhere except at the tabernacle, and

(2) the law against eating blood.

Paragraphs 2,4 are merely extensions, in each case, of paragraphs 1,3. This paragraph relates to the subject of eating blood and is an extension of the regulation to include the prohibition against eating animals from which, due to the manner of their death, their blood had not been properly drained. Even the blood of those creatures not suitable for sacrifice was not to be poured out thoughtlessly, but was to be covered with dust to protect it from the voracity of other animals and to demonstrate the respect of the hunter for the sacredness of life.

Back in Leviticus 17:10, the Lord said, "I will set my face against the soul that eateth blood," and the full meaning of such a declaration could be much more terrible than men may suppose. The full authority of God Himself underlies the restrictions give here, for the prohibition against eating blood was in no sense whatever a casual thing. The prohibition first appeared in Genesis 9:4. It has already been given twice in Leviticus (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26), and it appeared again in Leviticus 19:26, and also in Deuteronomy 12:16, and in Deuteronomy 15:23. Even a seventh time the prohibition will appear even in the New Covenant (Acts 15:20).

The near-universal connection of eating blood with the gross paganism of antiquity is frequently mentioned. Jamieson observed that, "It was customary with heathen sportsmen, when they killed any game or venison, to pour out the blood as a libation to the god of the chase."[10] Thus, in this, we have another example of God's strict concern to wean the children of Israel away from the pagan superstitions of their day. There were doubtless some of these which are not fully clear to people now, which may account for the fact that some of God's regulations for them might seem strange or surprising to us. However, in this matter of eating blood, it must be allowed that something far more important than separation from pagan practices is inherent in it.

Commentators have often taken the view that "now, men may eat blood." Meyrick, for example, stated that the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) continued the prohibition, "But the observance of the regulation was no longer commanded as a duty binding on all men, but as a concession to Jewish feelings, enabling Jewish and Gentile converts to live together in comfort."[11] There is also the possible explanation of that prohibition in Acts as being merely incidental to the prohibition of idolatry, and that the mention of eating blood was a mere description of the idolatry, the idolatry itself being the thing forbidden. Nevertheless, we cannot find any satisfaction with such explanations. The seven-fold prohibition occurring in all three dispensations of God's grace in both the O.T. and N.T., coupled with the Jewish respect for this law which is still honored in every country on earth, certainly favors the validity of the prohibition even today. If it was necessary for the church in Acts 15 to honor this rule to avoid offense to Jews who might be converted (as suggested by Meyrick), is it no less important to do so now for exactly the same reason?

Fables of all kinds have been constructed from God's instructions in this chapter, and one of them found in the Jewish Midrash is:

"When Cain slew his brother Abel and left the body lying on the ground unburied, the birds and animals came, dug a hole in the ground, and buried Abel in it. For this reason they were deemed deserving of having their blood covered with earth if they should meet a violent death!"[12]

This shows how men have tried to rationalize God's command regarding blood, but the reason does not lie in such fabrications. The Jewish mind, especially, despite their acceptance of the ordinance even yet, does not seem to be able to make sense out of it. Orlinsky, for example, said, "The traditional words, `It is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life,' is hardly intelligible."[13] Of course, it is simply the symbolical meaning of shed blood as a memorial or reminder of the blood of Christ that endows the prohibition with sacred meaning.