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'you shall eat neither fat nor blood': an exposition on Leviticus 3:17

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Samuel Smith
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LESSON 4

YOU SHALL EAT NEITHER FAT NOR BLOOD: AN EXPOSITION ON LEVITICUS 3:17

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on How to Prosper in Health. The topic for this study is: "you shall eat neither fat nor blood": an exposition on Leviticus 3:17. In our previous study, we considered how after the flood, the Lord permitted mankind to partake of the four categories of animal species that He had created. We concluded from the scriptural passages we reviewed in the study that the various distinctions God gave His people in relation to what they could eat and what they could not eat are still in force even today.

Beloved, besides the distinction between the clean and unclean animal species, God also gave mankind another command in relation to the flesh food that they could eat. The Lord specifically told His chosen people of Israel "you shall eat neither fat nor blood" (Leviticus 3:17). But why would God ask the people of Israel not to eat fat or blood? In relation to the fat of flesh food, the Scripture does not provide any reason why God prohibited His cherished people from partaking of it. However, the advancement in human knowledge today has made it clear that the fat of flesh food is not healthy for human consumption. Several studies have made it clear that the consumption of the fat of animals leads to diverse kinds of dangerous diseases such as breast cancer, large bowel cancer and heart disease (see The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. AND Thomas M. Campbell II, pages 83-89).

Thus friends, the Lord, in foreseeing the negative effects of the fat of flesh food, commanded His children not to partake of it. If they remained obedient to this law, they would spare themselves the pain and sorrow of sickness. In our world today, where the majority do not even regard the clear God-given distinctions between clean and unclean flesh, the fat of animals is used without any restrictions. With mankind on such a trend, it is no wonder that today; fat-related diseases abound with its associated negative consequences.

Beloved, beside the fat of flesh food, God also commanded His children not to eat blood. In fact, the Lord gave this command to mankind immediately after He permitted the race to eat flesh food. From Genesis 9:3-4, we read the following: "3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 BUT FLESH WITH THE LIFE THEREOF, WHICH IS THE BLOOD THEREOF, SHALL YE NOT EAT" (Genesis 9:3-4; Capital Emphasis Added). When God chose the people of Israel to be His own special people, He repeated this same command to them; "you shall eat neither fat nor blood" (Leviticus 3:17). In fact, from Leviticus 17:10-14, we read a comprehensive account of this command from the Lord: "17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

17:12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

17:13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.

17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life 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."

(Leviticus 17:10-14)
From the passage above, we note how God was particular about the command not to eat blood. He asked the children of Israel to pour out the blood of the clean animal species before they could eat of it (review Leviticus 17:13). Moreover, the Lord forbade His children not to even eat of any flesh that has died of itself (see Leviticus 17:15; Deuteronomy 14:21). The simple reason for this command is that such an animal died without the blood being poured out, and hence to eat of it will be actually eating the blood of that particular animal.

Friends, from the passage of Leviticus 17:10-14, we come across the specific reason why God forbade His children from partaking of blood. The verse 11 of Leviticus 17 clearly spells out the following: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul". It is clear from this text that the Lord prohibited mankind from eating blood because it was the blood, containing the life which was to be used to atone for their sins. Thus, for mankind to eat blood was to hinder the only way their sins could be atoned for.

Moreover, the Scripture makes it clear that the blood of animals that was used to atone for the sins of the people represented the blood of Christ (see 1 Peter 1:19; Hebrews 9:11-12). From the apostle Paul, we learn clearly that without blood, there could be no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Thus, it is within the context of blood being used for atonement that God commanded the people of ancient Israel not to eat blood.

But besides this fundamental reason that the Scripture gives us to refrain from blood, there is a second important reason not to eat blood. This second reason is that within the blood of every flesh is found the various impurities and diseases that affect it. Thus, to partake of the blood is to directly inject into the body system the various negative impurities which resided in the animal that has been eaten.

In our modern world today, many diseases are linked with the direct eating of the blood of various animals. Several of the flesh which makes their way into the markets today are either strangled or shot or died on their own. Moreover, even those that were slaughtered, the people who work on them do not spend time to allow the blood of the animals to drain away before preparing them for the market. Today's generation is basically a blood eating generation. Thus, it is no wonder that mankind is being plagued with diverse sorts of diseases each and every day. I sincerely believe that we are living at a time in the history of our world where the only safe option to take in relation to our diet is to forsake flesh and go back to God's original diet for mankind (Read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. AND Thomas M. Campbell II).

If this was a live presentation, I believe someone would have asked at this point the following question: Is blood transfusion connected with the eating of blood? Friends, the simple answer to this question is basically no. We have already noted that the fundamental reason for which God forbade the Israelites from partaking of blood was because blood was the element to be used for the atonement of the sins of the people. Thus, for mankind to eat blood was to disregard the only medium through which their lives could be made right with God.

Blood transfusion is carried out to save the lives of people who have lost their own blood. Even though it is not an ideal procedure in light of the fact that the recipient does receive certain negative substances directly from the donor, it is nevertheless indispensable. From Scripture, we are told that the life of the animal is in the blood (Review Leviticus 17:11). Thus, blood transfusion is basically an emergency procedure to transfer some amount of the life, so to speak, of one strong person to another person whose life is ebbing away. The donation of blood is actually a way in which mankind imitates the salvific plan of redemption.

When mankind sinned, the Son of God had to shed His blood so we could have life. In a way, He had to donate unto us His blood that we urgently needed while our lives were ebbing away because of sin. In order for us to cross from death unto life, we have to receive His blood by accepting His offer of atonement for us on the cross. Thus beloved, to donate blood is to imitate the selflessness that our Lord exhibited on the cross. And to receive blood through the procedure of blood transfusion is never a sin. It is however sad to see many in a religious folk die while they could receive help as a result of a misinterpretation of the command not to eat blood. As I end this study, I want to emphasise the point that the command not to eat blood was basically a command in respect to the clean animal species, which had in it the symbol of our redemption through Christ, and thus can in no way be extended to include blood transfusion.

Exhortation: "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee" (Psalms 84:11-12).

In our subsequent series, we will be considering various New Testament passages that have been misinterpreted in Christendom to embolden many of God's children in the eating of flesh food, even unclean meat. Our next study is captioned: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man": an exposition on Christ's words in Matthew 15:11. The Bible Study references for this study are Matthew 15:1-20 and Mark 7:1-23. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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