Year 7, Day 106: Leviticus 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

“The life is in the blood,” God says.  Therefore, we are not to eat it.  Again, let’s look at what God might be saying through the words.

I think there are at least two things going on here.  The first is that the blood is for atonement.  There is a purpose for blood, and it is not for eating.  The purpose of blood is atonement.  The purpose of blood is to remind us of our sinfulness, our need for forgiveness, and God’s ability to forgive.  God doesn’t want us trivializing that which is of such great significance.

Second, do you hear the comments scattered throughout the passage about offering sacrifices to other gods?  Occasionally we hear things like, “If you kill outside the camp and don’t bring it to the tent of meeting,” or “This is to end … that the sacrifice in the open field” or even the clearer “That they may no longer sacrifice to goat demons.”  This chapter has a great deal to do not just with sacrifices, but with keeping God as our only God.

In a sense, this chapter hearkens our minds back to the first few commands in the 10 Commandments.  He is God.  We shall have no other.  We will not make idols or graven images.  God wants our focus to be on Him.  God wants us to be devoted to Him.

The danger with the goat sacrifices – or any idolatry in general -  is at least twofold.  First, when we worship idols we place our trust in things that cannot satisfy.  Idolatry leads us further and further away from God as we grasp for power and control. 

Second, and perhaps more dangerous, is that idolatry often confuses us until we put ourselves in the place of God.  In the many cultures, eating the blood was connected with assuming the power and strength of that which we eat.  Often the worship of other gods involved the eating of blood to increase our strength and make us more like a god.  God doesn’t want His people thinking this way.  No amount of eating blood will make us like God, so why bother doing it at all?

This chapter isn’t about the eating of blood as much as it is about idolatry and our relationship with God.  We are the creation; He is the creator.  We are mundane; He is holy.  We cannot become like Him through our own power.  Therefore, we need to worship Him.  That’s His point.

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