Leviticus 17
The Slaughter of Animals
17:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17:2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites, and tell them: ‘This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 17:3 “Blood guilt will be accounted to any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, 17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. 17:5 This is so that the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent to the priest and sacrifice them there as peace offering sacrifices to the Lord. 17:6 The priest is to splash the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and offer the fat up in smoke for a soothing aroma to the Lord. 17:7 So they must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons, acting like prostitutes by going after them. This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations.
Many of the pagan religions sacrificed in the mountains, hills, forests, and streams. They were worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. All of the Mosaic sacrifices could only be performed at one exact place which was appointed by God. The Tabernacle and the Temple were the only places in which God ever appointed these sacrifices. When any sacrifice was made to any pagan god, the Israelites were actually worshipping evil spirits masquerading as gods (see I Corinthians 10:20).
17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 17:9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it to the Lord—that person will be cut off from his people.
Anyone who does not offer the sacrifices at the Tabernacle or at theTemple will lose their Jewish citizenship and be excommunicated from the community.
Prohibition against Eating Blood
17:10 “ ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,
Eating blood was a pagan ritual. It was showing disrespect for the future blood which Christ would shed for His elect. Anyone who followed this pagan practice would lose his Jewish citizenship.
17:11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.
This important verse indicates that the blood circulation is the key factor in physical life. William Harvey did not make this discovery until 1616. The blood carries water and nourishment to every cell of the body. It maintains the body’s temperature. It also removes waste material. It carries oxygen to the body.
This verse also gives a definition of life. Since plants do not carry blood, they are not considered as life. All animals that carry blood are considered as life. All embryos carry blood, so they are considered by God as life also.
The offering of blood was a picture of the future promised redemption of mankind. This ritual was to continue until Christ arrived as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” According to Hebrews 9:26, the death and resurrection of Christ “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26) and then was “raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25).
17:12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood.
Anyone who was living among the Israelites was not allowed to eat blood.
17:13 “ ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, 17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood—all who eat it will be cut off.
The blood had to be drained out of any wild animal or bird that was captured during the hunt.
Regulations for Eating Carcasses
17:15 “ ‘Any person who eats an animal that has died of natural causes or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. 17:16 But if he does not wash his clothes and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.’ ”
Any person who ate an animal that died from natural causes was to cleanse himself in water. Any person who ate an animal that was torn apart and killed by other beasts was to go through the same bathing ritual. If anyone disregards this issue, then that person will be punished for his or her sin.