As we move into Leviticus 17, we begin a new section of the Book often referred to as the Holiness Code. Here, we move from the operation and function of the Tabernacle and its priests to how the Israelites were to live in world they were about to move into. How were they to be set apart from the other nations and how are they to live as God’s people?
Leviticus 19:1–2 (ESV)
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Through this large section there are multiple reminders of God’s holiness. The main two points are, I am the Lord your God. Be Holy for I am Holy…This is the reminder that they were to be holy as God is holy. As His covenant people they had on them specific rules and laws to maintain their distinctness and holiness to God.
Theology in this Chapter…
Sanctity of blood.
Life is in the blood.
Death penalty for violating these laws.
1. Blood Belongs to God and Sacrificed at the Tabernacle (17:1-9)
17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from his people.
The issue here is that there were pagan people around who would seek to get Israel to follow after their gods and leave the true God. Why would anyone begin worshipping and sacrificing to pagan deities? These pagan worship events included much that would delight the flesh. Sexuality, Feasts and blood sacrifices to their gods. These pagan sacrifices were done away from the Tabernacle, often in secret.
These are the goat demons mentioned in verse 7. They would sacrifice the animal to this demon and pour its blood down a hole or crack in the ground to feed the demon. Do we see how wicked and profane this is? Do we see how demonic this is? This is Satan seeking to be like God.
Goats were worshipped in Egypt and so this could have been especially tempting for the Israelites. Not so much the worship of a goat but all the sensuality that went with it.
The blood belonged to God. Because life is in the blood, the blood represented the life that God gave to the animal and the taking of this life was to be done as He prescribed as a substitute for the worshipper’s life.
Psalm 16:4 (ESV)
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
So, to keep His people from engaging in pagan worship to demons, God designed things so that the sacrifice should be made at the Tabernacle with the aid of the priest, not out where there was pagan worship.
What we should see and understand is that all meat that was eaten among the Israelites had to be at least offered to God as a peace or thanks offering and the blood claimed by God and not killed somewhere else.
So, you take your animal to slaughter to the gate of the Tabernacle and with the help of the priest kill the animal and take its blood as a peace offering, saying thank you to God and then the Israelites can go home and eat their food with gladness giving thanks to God and also being reminded that it is the blood shed for him that makes his worship possible.
As Andrew Bonar writes in his commentary, All their meat became a peace offering.
The fat and the blood are taken as the offering to God and the Israelite was left with all the rest.
If you stop and think about the pagan religions, they often try to take what God has set in place for the good of the worshipper and use it for dishonorable purposes. Blood was the major component of the atonement and the demonic realm seeks to use it for its own purposes to degrade what God has set for good.
2. Life is in the Blood and it Is Given for Atonement (17:10-16)
10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them 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 for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”
The blood of the animal had a specific purpose. Its life was in the blood and it was given by God for atonement. Therefore, it could not be consumed in any way by humans. The Israelite had to understand that the blood was a special part of the sacrifice and that when blood is drained from the animal so too its life is drained. God gave the blood to His people however; it had one purpose…not to eat or drink and not to pour in a hole to worship pagan gods. Its sole purpose was to make atonement for sin. The blood was sprinkled on the altar showing that the animal’s life was given as a substitute for the worshipper.
Genesis 9:3–4 (ESV)
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
To eat blood denigrated it and made it less than its intended purpose. Blood is not to be food but to be for God’s use to atone for the sins of His people.
The only exception was for the hunter.
13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.
Here in hunting, the blood had to be treated in a special way. Poured out and covered up.
1 Samuel 14:31–35 (ESV)
31 They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. 32 The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.” 34 And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ ” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. 35 And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.
God is very particular about blood because when it is poured out it shows atonement. So, if it’s poured out without atonement it’s not serving the purpose for why God gave it.
3. Looking to the New Testament
John 19:31–37 (ESV)
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
Jesus then poured forth His whole soul; affections, feelings, faculties, and every power of His soul, were all laid down in suffering obedience to His Father. The heat of wrath melted all: and all thus melted flowed forth in that wondrous stream. The Law took its penalty out from the very source of life.—Andrew Bonar
When Jesus’ blood pours forth it came from the very foundation of God’s love, the heart of Christ. The water and the blood were from Jesus’ pericardium His own heart.
There is a seemingly strange saying of Jesus that we can truly understand now as His people coming to Him for atonement. With this OT background I believe we can truly see what Jesus is telling us…
John 6:53–56 (ESV)
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
So, the OT Law of God said do not eat the flesh with blood still in it and do not drink blood. Now, Jesus being the fulfillment tells us that if we want eternal life (because life is in the blood). So, if we want to live eternally Jesus tells us we MUST eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Jesus’ blood is for our atonement. He lays down His life for us and His life is in the blood so by faith His blood is applied to us and we do what was forbidden in God’s Law. We are charged to drink what was formerly forbidden…drink His blood.
Of course, the picture is the Lord’s Supper and that is the reflection of What Jesus refers to here but what He speaks about is our justification and atonement. By faith His blood is applied to us; by faith we eat His body and drink His blood
As we hear the truths of the Gospel and we believe, His blood is applied to us for our salvation. We were to die for our sins but Jesus did that for us so now His life-giving blood is applied to us…this is a different sort of blood. This is not animal blood this is sinless human and divine blood. This is God taking on flesh blood.
In Corinth there were abuses concerning the Lord’s Supper. Paul explains that they had better get their act together concerning the Body and Blood of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 11:28–30 (ESV)
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
Remember in Leviticus 17 God tells the Israelites to pour out the blood at the gate of the Tabernacle or they would be cut off from His people. That phrase cut off often means that they will meet a premature death. The reason is they did not see the blood as precious.
This is exactly the danger when we observe the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians did not discern the Lord’s body and blood and some died a premature death, they were cut off.
There were some of the Corinthians who were cut off…
I pray today in the next hour as we practice and observe the Lord’s Supper you can partake in a worthy manner discerning the body and blood of Jesus…
Resources Used:
Holiness to the Lord by Allen Ross
Leviticus by Andrew Bonar
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