RPG Adults
THOU SHALT NOT EAT BLOOD!
MONDAY, MAY 27
Leviticus 17
Colossians 3:1-4
“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…”
THOU SHALT NOT EAT BLOOD!
Eating blood has always been part of the ways of idol worship. There is something about eating blood that makes it a spiritual or at least a mystical experience. The shedding and drinking of it or eating whole chunks of cooked blood provides man with a more sincere form of the worship of idols than if blood was not involved. The prophets of Baal cried aloud to Baal, but there was silence. Then they cut themselves hoping to move Baal to answer their cry. 1 Kings 18:28: “And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.”
The LORD categorically forbade everyone in Israel to eat blood, including non-Israelites who lived in Israel. That was why when God’s people had helpers in their homes, the latter were not permitted to bring in their idolatry. The soul would be cut off, i.e. put to death, in most cases. The severity of the punishment paralleled the severity of the transgression. If the people in Israel were not permitted to eat blood, they could not worship idols. This law applied to all, especially the Israelites and all their slaves and “friends” from other nations. There was to be no compromise. Idolatry is the most heinous sin that man can ever commit against the holy God. The fruits of idolatry are what we see in our society today, just as it was in all the societies of the past when idolatry thrived.
Israel was the only light to a world dying in sin. If idolatry crept in and was not stopped immediately, it would destroy the holy witness of Israel, just as cancer destroys every organ inside the body. To protect Israel’s witness, the LORD made it clear that blood must not be eaten. It had to be poured onto the ground. This included the blood of the animals they killed for food. It is not possible to drain off every drop of blood when an animal is killed. There would still be blood in the flesh when eaten. This manner of eating is acceptable to God. The church today is also not permitted to eat blood.
MEMORISATION: Leviticus 17:10
PRAYER: Keep me from all forms of idolatry, O Father. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.