“10If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who east blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11For 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.” – Leviticus 17:10-11 (ESV)
We are to take care when taking the flesh. In the Old Testament the blood was spilled on an alter as atonement sacrifice for sin. The sacrifice was sacred and so was the blood. That blood was off limits for consumption.
As I study this morning I am looking into today, and how we look at that same practice. I look to this passage and remember that Jesus sacrificed himself for us as his blood was spilt. We have the Lord’s Supper or Communion where we remember the blood of Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
I have to also consider also the blood of the animals that provide our physical sustenance as well. Whether that which we get from the grocer or that which we get from the wild. When that animal is prepared, the blood is removed and we are not to consume it. Hunters and butchers go through a process of removing the blood of the animal prior to preparing it for consumption.
Whereas it may seem a bit much, I have to think about the life of the animal and be thankful for this animal being so that I could have something to eat.
We may should be looking at life differently each day as we sit down to dinner. I know that I am thankful for the blood spilled by Jesus for my life, and I should be thankful for the food of the animals.
Are you thankful for the life of all? What about the animals you are consuming? And the life and sacrifice of Jesus? When was the last time you truly looked at life?
Trevor's Thoughts 