Leviticus 17:1–16

Chapter 17 is a kind of appendix to all this. It guards against abuses that could easily creep in. When someone offered a sacrifice, he had to bring the animal to the door of the tabernacle. He could not kill it anywhere else in the camp, or out in the open field. Verse 7 shows the evil practice this guarded against, and it also shows that idolatry had already spread among the people. That verse plainly forbids offering sacrifices to devils — or, more correctly, demons — and Paul confirms in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that demons received such sacrifices.

In this chapter the reader will find two special points. First, life belongs to the LORD. Second, the power of atonement is in the blood. The Lord gave both of these unusual importance. He wanted them impressed on every member of the congregation.

This was a very serious matter. What did it mean to offer a sacrifice in any other way than the one commanded here? It meant nothing less than robbing the LORD of His rights, and giving to Satan what was due to God. A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as in another?" The answer is this: life belongs to God, and His claim to it must be owned in the place He has appointed — in front of the tabernacle of the LORD. That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer anywhere else proved that the heart did not want God.

Here it is not God dealing with man, but the LORD teaching His priests and people about their special relationship to Himself. If an Israelite ate animal food, he had to own what the nations who do not know God had forgotten: that life belonged to the LORD. He demanded that they confess this truth every time someone took an animal's flesh for food. And not only that — as He commanded, it had to be done solemnly in front of His tabernacle. Even though the animal was for food, they had to bring it to the LORD and to the priest as a sacrifice. Not as a sin offering, of course, but as a peace offering to the LORD, showing fellowship with Him.

There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality that the bronze altar pictured. There, and only there, is God's claim on life properly acknowledged. To refuse this meeting place is to bring judgement down on yourself. It is to trample on the just claims of God, and to seize for yourself a right to life that everyone has forfeited.

The matter is just as serious for us, though God does not today require the death sentence for an offender. Instead He has given us the instruction of 1 Timothy 4:4-5: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." Even animals that the law counted unclean for Israel are fit for us to eat, because the word of God and the eater's prayer of thanks sanctify them. If someone does not thank God for his food, he has no real right to eat at all. Every creature is God's property, and when we receive it we should own His rights first of all.

After the very special instruction about the day of atonement come some directions. They do not purify from defilements; they preserve the people, or the service of the priests, from them. They keep the people holy to God. They keep them from everything that would dishonour Him in their dealings with Him, or dishonour themselves in their dealings with others.

In this chapter the reader will find two special points: first, that life belongs to the Lord; and secondly, that the power of atonement is in the blood. The Lord attached particular importance to both of these things. He would have them impressed on every member of the congregation.

The people were not to count their part tiresome, but a privilege, as the Lord's people. In the same way, the priests were called to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat on the altar cheerfully. How right it is towards Him! How happy and good for His people!

Their sin was this: they "offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them." They departed in their worship from the plain word of the Lord. He had fully and plainly instructed them about the way they were to worship… There was no room left for man to bring in what he might think desirable or convenient. "This is the thing that the LORD has commanded" was quite enough. It made everything very plain and very simple.

This was a most solemn matter. To offer a sacrifice in any other way was nothing less than robbing the Lord of His rights. It gave to Satan what was due to God. A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is that life belongs to God. His claim to it must be recognised in the place He has appointed — before the tabernacle of the Lord. That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer anywhere else proved that the heart did not want God.

Verses 8 and 9 take in the strangers who lived among the Israelites too. They condemn the evil of offering a burnt offering or a sacrifice anywhere except at the one meeting place God had assigned. How sad when anyone claims to own the Lord with an offering, yet disregards His goodness! He gave a place — and only one place — of outward access to Himself.

Anyone offering a sacrifice had to bring the animal to the door of the tabernacle. He could not kill it elsewhere in the camp, or outside in the open field. Verse 7 reveals the evil practice this guarded against, and shows that idolatry had already infected the people. Stephen made the same charge in Acts 7:42-43: they practised idolatry even in the wilderness. Verse 7 plainly says, "they shall no more offer their sacrifices to devils." Paul confirms in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that "devils," or more correctly "demons," were the objects of such sacrifices.

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality behind the bronze altar. There, and there alone, has God's claim on life been properly recognised. To reject this meeting place is to bring judgement on yourself. It is to trample the just claims of God underfoot, and to claim a right to life that everyone has forfeited. It is important to see this.

Whoever slaughtered an animal for food outside the camp had to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting. There he offered it to Jehovah before His tabernacle. If he did not, the blood was charged to him. He had shed blood without acknowledging Jehovah in this way, so he forfeited his own life: "that man shall be cut off from among his people." It was an abandonment of Jehovah, and a denial of the ground on which he stood before Him. If he ate animal food, he had to admit what the nations who do not know God had forgotten: life belonged to Jehovah.

This was a most solemn matter. What did it mean to offer a sacrifice in any way other than the one prescribed here? It was nothing less than robbing Jehovah of His rights, and presenting to Satan what was due to God. A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is, "Life belongs to God, and His claim to it must be recognised in the place He has appointed — before the tabernacle of the Lord." That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer elsewhere proved that the heart did not want God.

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the antitype of the bronze altar. There, and there alone, has God's claim upon the life been properly recognised. To reject this meeting place is to bring down judgement upon yourself. It is to trample on the just claims of God, and to claim for yourself a right to life which all have forfeited.

In the wilderness this was plain. A man could not kill an ox, a sheep, or a goat for his family's food without presenting the appointed portion of the animal to God. Death was the due punishment for anyone who acted otherwise. (Lev. 17:3-6.) Feasting was to be linked with the worship of God, and not with idolatrous rites... But idolatry was widespread around the children of Israel, and it had tainted them. (Acts 7:42-43.) To keep them from offering sacrifices to demons, the Lord tied feasting so closely to the sacrifice on His altar.

God gave the revelations of Leviticus in the wilderness, and they suited a people in the wilderness. They taught Israel what to do in their present circumstances, and they also fed their hope of entering the land. As an example of the first, compare Lev. 17:2-7 with Deut. 12:15-16. The first of these instructions suited the wilderness; the second was a change made in view of their entry into Canaan.

If anyone in Israel did not give God this first place of recognition, he was to be sentenced to death. The matter is no less serious for us, though God is not today requiring the death sentence for an offender. Instead He has given us the instruction of 1 Timothy 4:4-5: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." If someone does not thank God for his food, he has no proper right to eat at all. For every creature is the property of God, and in receiving it we ought to recognise His rights first of all.

They could eat meat whenever they wanted, including the animals that could be brought as sacrifices to God's altar. But if they killed any of these — an ox, a sheep, or a goat, inside the camp or outside it — that made no difference. Its blood had to go to the priest, who sprinkled it all around the altar, and its fat had to be burnt on the altar… They were free to kill what they chose for food, but those animals belonged to God. So in the wilderness the people could only eat them on God's terms. Any man who refused to obey this command counted as a shedder of blood, and God would deal with him as one, because He charged the blood to him.

If he did not, the blood was charged to him. Because he shed blood without acknowledging Jehovah in this way, his own life was forfeited: "that man shall be cut off from among his people." It was an abandonment of Jehovah, and a denial of the ground on which he stood before Him. If he ate animal food, he had to own what the Gentiles who do not know God had forgotten — that life belonged to Jehovah. He demanded this confession every time anyone took an animal's flesh for food.

A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is this. Life belongs to God, and we must recognise His claim to it in the place He has appointed — in front of the tabernacle of the Lord. That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer anywhere else proved that the heart did not want God.

Verse 7 reveals the evil practice that this guarded against. It also shows that the people had already been infected with idolatry. We may remember how Stephen, in his address in Acts 7:42-43, charged the people with idolatry even in the wilderness. This shows how much the command of verses 1-9 was needed, and how some disregarded it, though perhaps not openly. Verse 7 says plainly, "they shall no more offer their sacrifices to devils"; and Paul confirms in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that "devils," or more correctly "demons," were what such sacrifices went to.

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality that the bronze altar pictured. There and there alone has God's claim upon life been fully recognised. To reject this meeting place is to bring judgement down on yourself. It is to trample the just claims of God under foot, and to claim for yourself a right to life which all have forfeited.

The matter is no less serious for us, though God does not require the death sentence for an offender today. Instead He has given us the instruction of 1 Timothy 4:4-5: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." … If a person does not thank God for his food, he has no proper right to eat at all. Every creature is the property of God, and when we receive it we ought to recognize His rights first of all.

This chapter is an appendix to chapter 16, though it does not deal with the sin offering. Rather, the Lord now insists on this. Any Israelite who slaughters an ox, a lamb or a goat must bring it to the door of the tent of meeting. He must present it there as an offering to the Lord. Verse 5 adds that they had to offer these as peace offerings to the Lord.

If he ate meat, he had to acknowledge what the Gentiles who did not know God had forgotten: life belonged to Jehovah. He required the confession of that truth every time someone took an animal's flesh for food. And more than that, He commanded them to do it solemnly before His tabernacle. Even though the animal was for food, they had a duty to bring it to Jehovah and to the priest as a sacrifice. Not as a sin offering, of course, but as an expression of communion with Him — sacrifices of peace offerings to Jehovah.

It was nothing less than robbing Jehovah of His rights, and presenting to Satan what was due to God. A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is this: life belongs to God. We must recognise His claim to it in the place He has appointed — before the tabernacle of the Lord. That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer anywhere else proved that the heart did not want God.

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality that the bronze altar pointed to. There, and there alone, God's claim upon life has been recognised as it should be. To reject this meeting place is to bring judgement down on yourself.

reason: splits hard sentences, removes passives and "appendix" repetition, restores the demons point from the same source

The offerer received most of the peace offering as food. But first the fat, the two kidneys and the lobe of the liver had to be burned on the altar to the Lord. The breast went to Aaron and his sons, and the right thigh to the priest who offered the animal. So God came first in the killing of the animal. Next came the portions picturing Christ and the priestly family. Then the offerer received all that remained.

If anyone in Israel did not give God this first place of recognition, he was to be sentenced to death. The matter is no less serious for us, though God is not today requiring the sentence of death for an offender. Instead He has given us the instruction of 1 Timothy 4:4-5. It says, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." If someone does not thank God for his food, he has no proper right to eat at all. For every creature is the property of God, and in receiving it we ought to recognise His rights first of all.

A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is that life belongs to God. His claim to it must be recognised in the place He has appointed — before the tabernacle of the Lord. That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer elsewhere proved that the heart did not want God.

How sad when someone brings an offering to own Jehovah as his God, yet ignores His goodness! For God gave a place of outward access to Himself — and only one place.

There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality that the bronze altar pointed to. There and there alone has God's claim upon the life been properly recognised. To reject this meeting-place is to bring down judgement upon oneself.

Nor can it mean that the blood itself receives power from anything outside itself. The connection of the altar with the blood is this: the altar testifies that this blood is the blood of sacrifice. It is the symbol of a death which was not merely a martyr's death, but an offering made to God in the place of others.

The priest was not to fail on his side. He was to sprinkle the blood on the altar of Jehovah at the appointed place, and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to Jehovah. So we can see how ungodly and selfish the wickedness of Eli's sons was later in the land. Their sin was not only moral. They also showed contempt for the law in the formal sacrifices, in the very thing that belonged to Jehovah alone (1 Samuel 2:12-25). The people were not to count their part a burden, but a privilege as Jehovah's people. In the same way the priests were called to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat on the altar with glad hearts.

This inward fat would be the sign of an animal of health and vigour. So it is a fitting picture of the excellence and energy of that devotion to death which marked our blessed Lord. This came up as a pleasing aroma to God, as the picture shows.

The blood and the fat belonged to God. The blessed Jesus fully recognised this. He surrendered His life to God, and all His hidden energies were devoted to Him too. Of His own will He walked to the altar, and there He gave up His precious life. The fragrant odour of His own excellence rose to the throne of God.

In the wilderness, whenever anyone of the house of Israel killed an ox, lamb or goat, inside the camp or outside it, he had to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting and present it as an offering to Jehovah, who was entitled to the blood on His altar and to the fat as well. All such flesh had to be sacrificed this way as peace offerings before anyone ate it. So Israel was to live. Even in their daily food they were to testify to their communion with Him who gave them food and everything else. Are we, Christians, to fall short of Israel? Have we not the "better thing"?

These directions are not given to purify from defilement. They guard the people, and the service of the priests, from it. They keep Israel holy to God, away from everything that would dishonour Him in their dealings with Him, and dishonour themselves in their dealings with others. Life belongs to God. Where a life is taken, it must be offered in sacrifice — and of course in sacrifice to God. The blood had to be sprinkled and the fat burned on the altar. In this way God guarded against a hidden drift of the heart towards demons.

The word is sair, which means 'hairy one', and so 'he goat'. It is translated 'goat' and 'kid' many times. In Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15 it is translated 'devils'. 'Demons' would have been better. These were the gods that the nations worshipped without knowing it.

Scripture also shows that idolatry was at heart demon-worship. The idol itself was nothing… Some even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. What people worshipped may have been unseen things, or some mysterious image, or plain idols. But behind all of them were real beings — evil, unclean spirits. So it was morally impossible to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with these demons.

Scripture often calls idols an "abomination," because they are so hateful to God and detestable in man. In the same way, Scripture uses fornication and adultery to picture idolatry, or any false religious system that men turn to. Such a turn is unfaithfulness to the Lord, who had betrothed His people to Himself.

When someone offered a sacrifice, he had to bring the animal to the door of the tabernacle. He could not kill it elsewhere in the camp or out in the open field. Verse 7 reveals the evil practice that this guarded against. It also shows that idolatry had already infected the people. We may remember how Stephen, in his address in Acts 7:42-43, charged the people with idolatry even in the wilderness. This shows how badly the ban in verses 1-9 was needed. Some ignored it, though perhaps not openly. Paul confirms in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that people offered such sacrifices to demons, called "devils" in older versions.

This was plain in the wilderness. A man could not kill an ox, a sheep, or a goat for his family's food unless he first gave God the appointed portion of the animal. Anyone who acted otherwise deserved death… Feasting belonged with the worship of God, not with idol rites… To keep them from sacrificing to demons, the Lord tied their feasting closely to the sacrifice on His altar.

It was a needed safeguard against idolatry too. Turning aside to strange gods is such a deep-rooted snare for man. Even here the LORD in His grace notices the danger for His straying people… Now we as Christians rest on the one offering of Christ that makes us perfect. So it is our place and our joy, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, to do it all for God's glory. We do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him.

The next proclamation concerned the stranger living among Israel (8, 9) as well as the Israelite. It dealt with burnt offerings and peace offerings. In the wilderness these could only be offered on God's altar. That guarded them very effectively against idolatrous altars as they moved from place to place. In the land some change was allowed about the first of these (Deut. 12:21-25). Otherwise it would have been almost a ban on eating from their own flocks and herds, except for the favoured few who lived near the tabernacle or the temple.

Verses 8 and 9 take in the strangers living among the Israelites as well. They condemn the evil of offering a burnt offering or a sacrifice anywhere except at the one meeting place with Jehovah that He Himself had appointed. How sad, when someone claims to own Jehovah by bringing an offering, that he should ignore His goodness in giving one place — and only one — of outward access to Himself! The unseen enemy is busy and cunning in everything, and not least in the outward worship of God, to pour scorn on the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So it was in Israel then. So it has always been, and with just as dismal success, in the church from near the start until our own day.

After the special instruction about the day of atonement come some directions (Lev. 17). They are not meant to cleanse from defilement, but to keep either the people or the priests' service from it. Their aim is to keep Israel a people holy to God, and to keep them from everything that would dishonour Him in their dealings with Him, and dishonour themselves in their dealings with others. Life belongs to God. And where life is taken, it must be offered in sacrifice — and of course offered to God... So these rules guarded against the danger that the heart would secretly slip away to demons. They upheld God's title to life and the truth of sacrifice — all vital truths.

This shows how much the prohibition of verses 1-9 was needed, and how it was disregarded by some, though perhaps not in a public way.

The ungodly sacrificed to demons when they honoured idols, and Israel had clearly followed this evil example. But verse 7 tells them to stop this unfaithful association. In fact, not only the people of Israel but also any Gentiles living among them had to bring their sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle to be offered to the Lord, or suffer the death penalty (vv. 8-9).

"One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourns with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord." (Num. 15:15.) In this way God's heart always reached out, in His indescribable grace, beyond His chosen people. He provided blessing for those who were "alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the counterpart of the bronze altar. There and there alone has God's claim upon the life been properly recognised. To reject this meeting place is to bring judgement down on yourself. It tramples on the just claims of God. It claims a right to life that everyone has forfeited.

Verses 8 and 9 take in the strangers who lived among the Israelites too. They condemn the evil of offering a burnt offering or a sacrifice anywhere except at the one meeting place with Jehovah that God had appointed. How sad for anyone to claim to acknowledge Jehovah with an offering, and yet to disregard His goodness! He gave a place — and only one place — of outward access to Himself.

This was a most solemn matter. We may ask what was involved in offering a sacrifice in any other way than the one prescribed here. It was nothing less than robbing Jehovah of His rights and presenting to Satan what was due to God. A man might say, "Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another?" The answer is, "Life belongs to God, and His claim to it must be recognised in the place He has appointed — before the tabernacle of the Lord." That was the only meeting place between God and man. To offer elsewhere proved that the heart did not want God.

Chapter 17 acts as an appendix to all this, guarding against abuses that could so easily creep in. Anyone who offered a sacrifice had to present the animal at the door of the tabernacle. He could not kill it elsewhere in the camp or out in the open field. Verse 7 reveals the evil practice this guarded against, and it also discloses that the people had already been infected with idolatry. We may remember how Stephen in his address — Acts 7:42-43 — charged the people with idolatry even in the wilderness. This shows how much verses 1-9 were needed, and how some disregarded them, though perhaps not in public.

Life belongs to God. And where it is taken, it must be offered in sacrifice — and of course in sacrifice to God. The blood had to be sprinkled and the fat burned on the altar. In this way the danger of the heart secretly turning aside to demons was guarded against, and God's title to life and the truth of sacrifice were maintained — all vital truths.

The next proclamation concerned the stranger who lived among Israel (verses 8, 9) as well as the Israelite. It dealt with burnt offerings and peace offerings. In the wilderness these were only to be offered on God's altar. This guarded them well against idolatrous altars as they travelled from place to place. In the wilderness, gathered round the tabernacle, these laws could be kept by the whole congregation. In the land God allowed a change about the first of these (Deuteronomy 12:21-25). Otherwise the rule would almost have banned them from eating their own flocks or herds, except for the favoured few who lived near the tabernacle or the temple.

This second command did not cancel the law of Exodus 20:25, which allowed altars to be built for certain sacrifices on special occasions. Leviticus 17:8-9 only forbade such altars while the people were in the wilderness. Since they must at times have met the wandering peoples of the desert (Deuteronomy 10:6), God reminded them that no altar was open to them but the bronze altar in the camp. After they had entered the land, believers such as Samuel, David and Elijah acted, when needed, on the permission granted to Israel in Exodus.

The moral of this is plain. There is one place where God has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross — the reality that the bronze altar pictured. There, and there alone, has God's claim upon life been properly recognised. To reject this meeting place is to bring down judgement upon oneself. It is to trample the just claims of God underfoot and to claim for oneself a right to life that all have forfeited. It is important to see this.

In Israel, as these verses show, eating blood stirred the Lord's jealousy, and He cut the offender off. It made no difference whether he was an Israelite or a stranger living among them. It denied man's duty to admit that his life is forfeited to God. People were to acknowledge God solemnly — if not on the altar, then at least by pouring the blood out on the ground as His due, instead of taking it for their own pleasure. Death was a serious thing. The Lord would not have it treated lightly, even when He allowed His people to eat flesh killed for food.

The contrast between the teaching of the New Testament and what we read here about the blood is striking. Here no one was to touch it. It belonged to God, and the man who ate it must die. The reason is clear. Man's life was forfeited. Man was a sinner under sentence of death, and God would always keep that before His mind.

Of three important truths the prohibition to eat blood reminds us. We are creatures, and must remember it. We were by nature sinners, and are to acknowledge it. We owe our atonement by blood entirely to God, and must always own it. So it is entirely of grace that atonement could be, and has been, made.

Notice the grace shown here — "I have given it for you on the altar." God, against whom we have sinned, provides the very thing by which atonement for our sins can be made. He provides it, and He reveals it.

The Lord again insists that anyone who ate blood must be cut off — that is, put to death (v. 10). This covered Israelites and the strangers living among them alike... The blood shed is the sign of death. Since God is the Life-giver, we must recognise His rights by not eating blood. This was true before the law was given (Gen. 9:4), and it remains true today, when believers are not under law but under grace (Acts 15:28-29).

God's revealed will is absolute for the believer. In fact He set His face against all these indulgences, quite apart from Israel's special institutions. They carry the full weight of apostolic authority as "necessary things"... God insists on the recognition that life belongs to Himself. So, as He gives flesh to eat, He keeps back the blood. In the same way He forbids eating anything strangled. The Christian must not be indifferent to these last commands, but is bound to honour Him in both.

No one who weighs these words can wonder at the shock our Lord's words in John 6 gave to Jewish feeling. His words there were symbolic, as so often in that Gospel. Yet what symbol could be more startling? His person and His work are the key to the truth. To eat blood under the law was to rebel against one's forfeited place, and to handle the life that reverts to God and belongs only to Him. But God now gives eternal life in His Son to every believer, and sent Him to die as propitiation for our sins. Grace changes everything; and we despise the truth too, if we do not take His death as the food of faith for our souls.

Deuteronomy 12:23 tells us that "the blood is the life." Leviticus 17:11 says "the life of the flesh is in the blood." These two passages make clear what blood means in Scripture. The second verse ends with the words: "It is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul."

The blood is the life of the body, and so represents it, and anyone who ate blood would be cut off — not merely "fresh, steaming blood," as these views would suppose, but blood in any way. So the blood poured out is the life poured out — the symbol of death, not of existing life.

Life belongs to God, so no one of the human race was to eat blood. The sinner, too, has forfeited his life, and can live before God only because a sacrifice dies in his place. Israel was always to remember this… When the blood is shed, the life is given up to God, and that is precious to Him. No wonder, then, that the shedding of blood was such an essential part of the ritual God gave Moses, for it spoke to God of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, given up to Him on the cross… So the ban on eating blood reminds us of three important truths. We are creatures, and must remember it. We were sinners by nature, and must admit it. We owe atonement by blood entirely to God, and must always acknowledge it.

Let us mark the grace here indicated — "I have given it to you." God, against whom we have sinned, provides that by which atonement for our sins can be made. He provides it, and He reveals it.

When a man takes his place as someone with no right at all to life, and fully admits God's claims on him, then the divine record is: "I have given you the life to make an atonement for your soul." Yes, atonement is God's gift to man. And note it carefully: this atonement is in the blood, and only in the blood… It is not the blood and something else. The wording could not be plainer. It gives atonement to the blood alone.

The Hebrew word employed is Kaphar, which means to cover. It is only by the death of Christ, by His atoning blood, that sin is covered, and its consequences averted. So we read, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Ps. 32:1)… The New Testament answers all of this beautifully: "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

What can atone for my sins? Can my tears? my prayers? my works?… Suppose every tear of repentance that ever flowed, every prayer that ever went up from the lips of godly people, and every good work that was ever done were put to your credit. If you were still without faith in Jesus, you would be just what you are this minute — an unwashed, an uncleansed, an unpardoned sinner. On the other hand, if your eye only rested for one moment, in faith, on the blood upon the altar… you would come to know that the blood had made atonement for your soul.

It is interesting to see God's wisdom in choosing the time to reveal His mind. When Moses gave Israel this further reason, the real atonement was still a future event — just as it was when the Lord spoke to Noah and his sons. But Noah and his sons could not have understood what had not yet been shown — the full need of atonement. Israel was different. They had the laws about sacrifices before them, and the rules for the Day of Atonement fresh in their memory. So they could understand something of what atonement meant. That is why this further reason for not eating blood comes in its right order, just after the directions for the Day of Atonement.

Clearly "soul" means the person, for who ever heard of a bodiless soul eating?

In Israel, as we see in these verses, to eat blood was to provoke the Lord's jealousy, so that the Lord cut off the offender. Israelites or foreigners living among them made no difference. It denied man's duty to acknowledge that life is forfeited to God. People had to own God's claim, if not on the altar, then at least by pouring out the blood on the ground as due to Him, instead of keeping it for their own pleasure. Death was a serious thing, and the Lord would not have it treated lightly, even when He allowed His people to eat flesh killed for food.

The prohibition against eating blood reminds us of three important truths. We are creatures, and must remember it. We were by nature sinners, and are to acknowledge it. We owe atonement by blood entirely to God, and are always to own it. So it is all of grace that atonement could be, and has been, made.

Israel was not to eat the blood of any beast or bird, for it is the life of the creature, and life belongs to God. This law enforced for Israel in particular what God had laid down in Noah's time after the flood, as recorded in Genesis 9:4. Later the apostles and elders gave the same instruction to Gentile believers, as recorded in Acts 15:20 and 29. They were not imposing a mere item of the law of Moses on them. They were passing on a prohibition that applies to all mankind. We do well to observe it, though we do not need to keep the extreme scruples of the Jews, as the instruction of 1 Corinthians 10:25 shows.

Anyone who weighs these words can see why our Lord's words in John 6 shocked His Jewish hearers. Yes, His words were symbolic, as so often in this Gospel. Yet what symbol could be more startling? His person and His work are the key to the truth. To eat blood under the law was to rebel against one's forfeited place, and to handle the life that reverts to God and belongs to Him alone. But God now gives eternal life in His Son to every believer, and sent Him to die as propitiation for our sins. Grace changes everything; and we despise the truth if we do not take His death as the food of faith for our souls. But this in no way cancels the sign. In the full light of the New Testament, the apostles, guided by the Spirit, still call us to respect the outward sign that life given up belongs to God.

After the special instruction about the day of atonement come some directions (Lev. 17). They are not given to purify from defilements, but to keep either the people or the service of the priests from defilement. Their aim is to keep Israel a people holy to God, and to keep them from all that would dishonour Him in their dealings with Him, and dishonour themselves in their dealings with others. Life belongs to God. And where it is taken, it must be offered in sacrifice — and in sacrifice of course to God. The blood must be sprinkled, and the fat burned on the altar. This guarded them from turning in heart to demons. It also upheld God's title to life and the truth of sacrifice — all vital truths.

Everything in this chapter speaks of the sanctity of the blood. Life belongs to God, and this chapter shows what great value He places on the blood, and with what jealous care He watches over it. The centre of it all is verse 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." Every slain animal had to bear witness to this fact. Even the hunter had to pour out the blood and cover it with dust.

In Israel, as these verses show, eating blood provoked the LORD's jealousy, and the offender was cut off. It made no difference whether he was an Israelite or a foreigner staying among them. Eating blood denied man's duty to own that life is forfeited to God. People had to acknowledge God seriously — if not on the altar, then at least by pouring the blood out on the earth as His due, instead of taking it for their own pleasure. Death was a serious thing. The LORD would not have it treated lightly, even when He let His people eat flesh killed for their food.

The value and use of the blood had now been declared. The next announcement warned everyone against any leaning towards carelessness in keeping the command (13, 14). The people might have thought that circumstances excused them from keeping it. We do read of a case in 1 Samuel 14:31-34 that could otherwise have been used to justify neglecting it. Worn out from chasing the enemy, the people rushed on the spoil and ate the animals without killing them properly. But Saul remembered this command and acted on it, so the LORD held back His judgment, because obeying His law honoured it.

In a lesser sense they are taught to make all taking of life a "sacrifice" to the LORD. Whenever an animal is used for food, the blood is poured on the ground as the life which belongs to God. The sacredness of life was to be realized, and their own life constantly lifted into spiritual meaning and brought near to God. Each common meal was to have, as far as this could be given to it, the character of a peace offering: it was to be enjoyed in communion with God.

Under the law, to eat blood was to rebel against the place man had forfeited. It meant handling the life that goes back to God and belongs to Him alone. But God now gives eternal life in His Son to every believer, and He sent Him to die as propitiation for our sins. Grace changes everything, and we despise the truth too if we do not take His death as the food of faith for our souls. Yet even in the full light of the New Testament, the apostles, guided by the Spirit, call us to respect the outward sign that life given up belongs to God.

The blood is the life of the body, and so represents it. That is why the man who ate blood would be cut off — not merely "fresh, steaming blood," but blood in any form. The blood poured out is the life poured out — the symbol of death, not of existing life.

Life belongs to God, so no one of the human race was to eat blood. The sinner, too, has forfeited his life. He can only live before God on the ground of the death of a sacrifice in his place... Of three important truths, then, the prohibition to eat blood reminds us. We are creatures, and must remember it. We were by nature sinners, and are to acknowledge it. We are indebted wholly to God for atonement by blood, and are ever to own it. So atonement is all of grace. God says He has given the blood for us on the altar, to make atonement for our souls. The One to whom life belongs has given it to be poured out for our everlasting blessing.

In Israel, as we see in these verses, eating blood provoked the Lord's jealousy, and the offender was cut off. It made no difference whether he was an Israelite or a foreigner living among them. Eating blood denied man's duty to admit that life is forfeited to God. Man had to acknowledge God in earnest — if not on the altar, then at least by pouring the blood out on the ground as His due, instead of taking it for his own pleasure. Death was a serious thing; and the Lord would not have it treated lightly.

The sanctity of the blood is shown here. Even the hunter in Israel had to keep it in view... So the hunter had to stop, and pour out the blood. All points to the blood of the Lamb.

No one who weighs these words can wonder at the shock the Lord's words in John 6 gave to His Jewish hearers. Granted, His words were a symbol. Yet what symbol could be more startling? To eat blood under the law was to rebel against one's forfeited place. It was to handle the life that reverts to God and belongs to Him alone. But God now gives eternal life in His Son to every believer, and sent Him to die as propitiation for our sins. Grace changes all; and we despise the truth too, if we do not take His death as the food of faith for our souls.

Notice that there is no mention of blood. Blood, which is the life of the flesh (Lev. 17:14), was poured out when He died (Luke 22:20). That life given up was never taken back.

No one was to eat the blood of beast or bird, for the blood is the life of the creature, and life belongs to God. This law pressed on Israel in a special way what God had laid down in Noah's time, after the flood (Genesis 9:4). So the apostles and elders gave this instruction to Gentile believers (Acts 15:20, 29). They were not laying on them a mere item of the law of Moses. They were passing on a rule that applies to all people. We do well to keep it, though we need not copy the extreme care of the Jews about food (1 Corinthians 10:25).

In connection with this comes the rule for those who had eaten an animal that died of itself, n'belah, or was torn by a wild animal, t'rephah… The Lord would not allow uncleanness in those connected with His camp to pass unchallenged, or unpurged… It may be that the law of Leviticus 17:15 had to do with finding a carcass out in open country while hunting. Leviticus 11, on the other hand, deals with death among their flocks or herds. If that is so, they were allowed to eat what died of itself or was torn by beasts in exceptional cases, as long as they carried out the purification required. But once they entered the land, what died of itself was forbidden them (Deuteronomy 14:21), and so was what had been torn by beasts.

The wilderness is barren. It lacks what would keep life going, so it naturally suggests death… The world in the same way has on it the stamp and seal of death, the clear mark of its distance and alienation from the living God. No wonder, then, that the Word of God links everything naturally connected with it to uncleanness. So what dies of itself may not be eaten, while what is slain and offered to God is, on the contrary, the food of both God and man.

If an animal died or was killed by other animals, it would not be properly bled. If someone ate that dead animal, he had to both wash his clothes and bathe in water to be cleansed from defilement… All of this chapter therefore insists that God has rights that man must not ignore.

Here it was not defiance of Jehovah's rights, as in deliberately planning to eat the blood which was forbidden. Yet it was a lack of zeal for God's word, and a lack of a proper sense of relationship to Him. The person became unclean, and had to cleanse himself and his surroundings before Him in the way prescribed. If the defiled person was indifferent to these mild terms of humbling, Jehovah was not mocked. The person who so despised Him "shall bear his iniquity."

It is worth noting the remedy God graciously provided for those who made themselves unclean by touching the carcasses of unclean things. Several times we are told that he "shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening." To us this is a picture of bringing our immediate surroundings under the cleansing action of the word of God. In it there is both the acknowledgment of defilement, and the removal of it according to God's mind… There is another case in the seventeenth chapter of a somewhat different character. Here the defilement is more serious, so the person needs to be washed with water as well as his clothes, in order to be clean. If he neglected these requirements, he would come under judgment.

There ought to be no question that "blood" means what is drawn out of the animal on purpose for cooking. That is clearly different from "strangled," where the aim is to keep the blood from flowing. Both are forbidden. God demands that man, by abstaining, should own that life belongs to Him… It is not a Jewish or Mosaic law only, but for man since Noah and the flood (Genesis 9:4).

An animal that died on its own, or that other animals killed, was not properly bled. Anyone who ate it had to wash his clothes and bathe in water to be cleansed from defilement. If he did not, he would bear his guilt, which would mean death (vv. 15-16). All of this chapter therefore insists that God has rights that man must not ignore.

For death is an unclean thing. For man it is the fruit of sin, and Israel was always to remember that... Imagine a feast day, when the family and household are about to eat their portion of a peace offering. Anyone among them who had touched the carcass of a clean animal that had died of itself would be shut out from fellowship with the others for that reason. The rest would feast on the peace offering, and he would get no part of it.

This was not defiance of the Lord's rights, like deliberately planning to eat the blood He had forbidden. Still, it showed a lack of zeal for God's word and no proper sense of relationship to Him. The man became unclean, and had to cleanse himself and his surroundings before Him in the way laid down. If the defiled soul ignored these mild terms of humbling himself, the Lord was not mocked. The soul who so despised Him "shall bear his iniquity."

The law of Leviticus 17:15 may have had to do with finding a carcass out in the open country while hunting, while Leviticus 11:41 and following deals with death among their flocks or herds. If so, God allowed them in exceptional cases to eat an animal that had died of itself, or that wild animals had killed, as long as they carried out the purification He required. Once they entered the land, He forbade them what died of itself (Deut. 14:21).

Several times we are told he "shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening." To us this pictures bringing our near surroundings under the cleansing action of the word of God. In it there is both the acknowledgment of defilement and the removal of it according to God's mind... Here the defilement is more serious. The person must wash his body with water as well as his clothes to be clean. If he neglected these requirements, he would come under judgment.

All these instances show how much we need to have to do with the word of God. It gives us understanding of His mind. It exercises our consciences about our own state and surroundings. It helps us in self-judgment, removes defilement, restores our souls, and enlarges our fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Scripture asks, "How can a young man keep his way pure?" The answer is, "By guarding it according to your word."