Leviticus 18, Laws of Holiness (1) (17: Blood)

Leviticus 17-20 contain what we will call “laws of holiness.”  They deal with the negative (separation) and positive (holiness) aspects of the daily lives of believers.  We would suggest that these chapters connect with four important NT principles:

ü Lev. 17: Never lose sight of the cross (Heb. 12:1-3).

ü Lev. 18: Be not conformed to this world ((Rom. 12:2).

ü Lev. 19: Be ye holy for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:15).

ü Lev. 20: Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap (Gal. 6:7).

First, Lev. 17 is a critical chapter that is all about the shedding of blood.

Ø 17:1-9: All sacrifices had to take place at the tabernacle (then, eventually, the temple).  This was the only place God would accept it.  The former practices must be laid aside.  For us we see clearly: it is only at Calvary that God meets us (1 Cor. 1:22-24).

Ø 17:10-16: All animals must be drained of all blood; eating blood was forbidden.  “Use of the blood was not forbidden because it was unclean but because it was sacred.  It represents life” (Seiss).  The one additional thought I would have is that it does not just represent life; it is the life of the animal or human (11).  Lev. 17:11 is such an important thought.  Seven times in the Pentateuch the prohibition is restated against eating blood: Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16,23,24; 15:23.  This passage says more to the point than any other.  But note that the prohibition was first given when God allowed eating animals.  Prior to Gen. 9 men and animals lived in peace.

You may wonder why God, in the beginning (Gen. 4), required a blood sacrifice and would not accept Cain’s offer from his garden.  Here is the answer!  Atonement is bound up in the “Seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15).  It requires the life, the blood, of that “Seed.”  If you are not already aware of the importance of the blood of Christ, here are some reminders …

·       Eph. 1:7: we have to have the blood of Christ.

·       Rom. 5:9: Justification is by the blood.

·       1 John 1:7: Fellowship and cleansing are through the blood.

·       Rev. 7:14: We are washed and made white by the blood.

·       Rev. 12:11: We overcome by the blood.

·       Col. 1:20: Peace with God is through the blood.

·       Heb. 10:19: We have boldness to serve God by the blood.

·       Eph. 2:13: We are drawn close to God by the blood.

·       John 6:54-56: By faith we become partakers of Christ.  Jesus put it this way: Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life … he dwells in Me and I in him.