Leviticus 17: 1 - 16
Well done - please
17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’ 8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people. 10 ‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ 13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; 14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15 “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
So, how do you like you steak cooked? If you attended The Tabernacle meat feast you get one choice – Well done.
I do not know if you noticed this or not in our journey through the book of Leviticus that all the meat sacrifices were cooked making sure that all the blood was consumed.
The question of eating blood goes right back to God’s instruction to Noah after the flood.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. (Genesis 9:3-4)
This was repeated in the law given through Moses as we read in today’s chapter -Leviticus 17:10-14.
In the New Testament, the early Christians had to decide what parts of the Israelite law would be required of non-Jews. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they determined that only four parts of the law were required; one of those four laws involved not eating blood.
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. (Acts 15:28-29)
I have a problem with the term ‘compromise’. My question is that today there are mixed views on whether these four laws are still binding on Christians. So let us look again at what our Precious Holy Spirit directed the early church leaders who were giving directions to Gentile believers.
1. Abstain from offerings made to idols
2. From blood
3. From eating animals that have been strangled
4. From immorality
In today’s world how would you know about the history of points 1 and 3? So, it leaves us with points 2 and 4 - Don’t eat blood and avoid sexual immorality.
So, we learn from scholars that there now are some different interpretations or views on point number 2 with is talking about eating blood but interestingly enough not on point number 4.
View 1: Some see these rules as a concession to the Jews (Acts 15:19-21; perhaps in line with what Paul said in Romans 14 about not putting ‘a stumbling block’ (v13) in the way of a fellow Christian — Romans 14:15). The rules relating to food (perhaps including blood) were later relaxed — Rom.14:3,6,20; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; and Colossians .2:16. As a result, many Christians believe the rule forbidding the eating of blood has been relaxed. The rule about sexual immorality, however, is reinforced in other parts of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
View 2: Others see the rules as still binding. If you look at the scripture references listed to support the change in policy they really do not talk about the elimination of blood.
You see points 1 through 4 all speak about things sacrifice to idols and not to our Holy God. Please notice again the words of our Holy God as recorded in Genesis 9:3-4m “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” The pagan sacrifices that the early church leaders point out that all 4 points were involved in pagan ceremonies including sexual immorality.
In verse 7 of this chapter in Leviticus we also find out what is behind these pagan ceremonies, 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’
Also in their pagan ceremonies they believed that from the blood of animals and humans they somehow incorporated that energy into themselves. So, in truth the question to ask is then how can you break up or lesson any of the 4 issues
I want to share with you why it is important to thoroughly cook your meat.
Psychrotrophic bacteria are capable of multiplying in refrigerated atmospheres between 26°F to 41°F (-3°C to 5°C) and grow at optimal rates at 68°F to 86°F (20°C to 30°C), but their growth can be restrained by keeping meat at 29°F or -1°C, which is also cold enough to prevent the growth of food-borne pathogens. The density of the meat prevents it from freezing at these temperatures, and though bacteria can grow at -3°C or colder, they grow much more slowly at cold temperatures.
Even small increases of a degree or two can result in an enormous increase in bacterial growth. For example, raising the temperature from -1.5°C to 2°C can cut the shelf life of meat in half. Bacteria on meat that is kept at 41°F or 5°C grows at twice the rate of bacteria on meat kept at 33.8°F or 1°C, and at 50°F or 10°C the rate of bacterial growth is triple.
Temperature has an even more profound effect on the spoilage rate of meat. Beef at 5°C spoiled three times faster, and beef at 10°C spoiled five times faster, than beef stored at 0°C. High meat surface temperatures not only encourage psychrotrophic bacteria to grow exponentially, accelerating the rate of discoloration and spoilage, but also provide ideal conditions for the growth of food borne pathogens such as Salmonella.
If you’re like most Americans, you most likely buy your meat at the supermarket. Be it raw chicken and steaks from the butcher case or cold cuts from the deli counter, we tend to not give much thought to the meat we buy beyond whether it’s fresh and how much it costs. But you might want to think twice before buying your next Styrofoam-and-cellophane-wrapped steak.
So I just want to take a few minutes to tell you about the industrial meat that’s stocking the shelves at your local supermarket. It’s not going to be pretty, but there are some harsh truths about the massive industry that’s putting cheap, low-quality meat on your dinner table that are important to know, especially because it may be putting your health at risk (all those antibiotics don’t just disappear when the meat is cooked!). It’s smart to be an informed consumer, especially when the facts are as frightening as these.
I hate to break it to you, but expiration dates really don’t mean much. Sure, certain products will go stale and milk will go bad after a certain number of weeks after packaging, but supermarket meat departments, where they do their own labeling, are generally left up to their own devices (30 states don’t regulate date labeling at all). This means that if an item is set to expire and it still looks okay, supermarkets are allowed to put a new label on, pushing the expiration date back by days or even more than a week. We suggest checking to see when the food first hit the shelf, if possible, or buying meat from a trusted butcher.
The color of fresh meat in supermarket display cases forms a first impression that strongly influences consumers' selection of fresh meat. The pigment myoglobin which determines the color of fresh meat undergoes various chemical reactions to form other pigments. These reactions are triggered by light, heat, and oxygen availability. Beef displayed under PROMOLUX lamps and regular fluorescent lights with a PROMOLUX filter, which both block UV radiation, maintained virtually the same bright red color, fresh smell, low bacterial count, and low levels of metmyoglobin as beef stored in the dark, while beef displayed under a standard supermarket fluorescent light became brown and decomposed rapidly after only 12 days.
Temperatures above -1.5°C (29.3°F) encourage the exponential growth of bacteria, which consume the oxygen near the surface of the meat, hastening the creation of the brown pigment metmyoglobin.
Even small temperature increases have a profound effect on the growth of bacteria which leads to meat spoilage. Regular display case lighting emits heat, as well as radiation that is transformed into heat when it is trapped within the meat’s packaging, and can cause the surface temperature of displayed meat to be much higher than the temperature of the refrigerated display case.
Two of the biggest trends reshaping America’s meat supply are gas packaging and brine injection systems. Manufacturers save millions of dollars in lost meat turnover with these technologies, which make meat appear fresh longer and pump “flavor” into factory-farmed meat, in the form of salt water and broth. Companies also save on labor costs, since these “case-ready” meats can go straight from the cold truck to the retail shelf. Consumers are left paying for meat pumped up with saltwater solutions that may be spoiled by its expiration date. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of these new practices. Here’s what you need to know to be a smart shopper.
Injection systems, also known as pumping, use needles to add solutions of up to 30 percent water, laced with salt and flavorings, to extend shelf life and provide “juiciness and tenderness” to cuts of meat that might otherwise cook up to be tasteless, dry or tough.
Like injection systems, what the industry calls “modified atmospheric packaging” (MAP), has been around for a while, but has only recently come into widespread use. The process involves removing regular air from meat packages and replacing it with specific blends of gases, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen. The objective is to control and “enhance” the natural color changes that freshly cut meats undergo as they’re exposed to regular air. This is especially true for beef, which under normal conditions changes from dark purplish red, to bright red, to brownish over a period of several days. Market research has taught retailers that customers will almost invariably choose bright red beef over purplish red beef, even though the latter actually is fresher. Today, by manipulating the “air” in the package, manufacturers can preserve the bright red color for weeks or even months, saving money on lost turnover.
If your steak is undercooked, you are at risk of contracting one of several food borne illnesses. These conditions may be caused by E. coli, salmonella or other bacteria, and they are often referred to generally as "food poisoning." Symptoms of food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. Prolonged vomiting and diarrhea can cause dehydration, shock and, rarely, death. Young children, pregnant women and the elderly are particularly at risk for complications.
Eating rare steak during pregnancy can lead to a miscarriage or stillbirth if the meat is contaminated with listeria, toxoplasmosis or if another bacteria causes severe illness. Listeria may be present in uncooked or undercooked meat and can cause flu-like symptoms, headache, nausea and vomiting in the pregnant mother. Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite and may not cause symptoms in the mother, but it can lead to blindness and brain damage in the unborn baby.
Almost all meat sold in butchers is drained of blood. However, as you know when you cook the meat there is blood still in the meat.
So, how do you want your meat cooked?
The first emphasis on the holiness that our Mighty Yahweh Holy God required of His people comes out in His requirements concerning the sacredness of life, and the shedding of blood.
With the emphasis that God has placed on the need for the careful regulation of the shedding of blood which represented God-given life (Genesis 9.2-6), it was necessary at some stage that Israel be carefully instructed in how to deal with situations where such questions arose. God wanted them to recognize that life was sacred, and that all life belonged to Him. And this is now the basis of what we find in this chapter, combined with definitions as to the significance of the blood which is of importance to us all.
But there is more to it than that. It will have already been noted that pivotal to this Book is the idea of sacrifice. The first seven chapter centralized on it. The priests were anointed in order to be able to perform it. Severe uncleanness required it. The Day of Atonement focused on it. And now this chapter introduces the remainder of the Book, stressing that underlying the whole covenant lays the idea of sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness of sin, no atonement, no covenant. All is based on sacrifice. For the shedding of the blood in offerings and sacrifice of all clean animals lies at the root of atonement in the Old Testament. Their lives are God’s great requirement for the sins of His people. And yet the very offerings themselves revealed that they were not enough. More and more were required, and were still insufficient. They merely pointed ahead to the one great sacrifice for sin that one day He Himself would make Who would alone be sufficient for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2.2).
17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying:
This brings out that, while Aaron and his sons were responsible for the priestly ministry, the details of the Law were still the province of Moses. It was he who had to convey to Aaron and his sons and the children of Israel the whole word of God. The priests’ task would then be to apply that Law as it had been given to them by Moses.
3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people,
He begins by declaring that any clean (eatable) domestic animal that was slain, whether in the camp or outside, had to be brought to the door of the tent of meeting to be offered as a gift to Yahweh. If it was not the person involved would be seen as guilty of ‘shedding blood’ without acknowledgement to Yahweh God, and would therefore have to pay the penalty. He would be ‘blood guilty’ and would be cut off from among the people. ‘Cutting off’ probably signifies being put to death, although some have seen it as being cast permanently out of the camp. Thus every clean domestic animal that was slain was acknowledged as belonging to our Holy God Yahweh, and as His gift to His people, and as being in its death part of the great atonement for them.
Apart from the daily and seasonal offerings this slaughter would not be such a regular an occurrence as we might at first imagine. We must remember that, while in the wilderness, the children of Israel would be seeking to preserve their herds and flocks, so that such optional slaughtering would not necessarily be very common. They saw their domestic animals as there to provide milk and wool, and to act as beasts of burden. They lived mainly on the manna provided by God, supplemented by hunting, by fishing, on bird’s eggs and on any other food that they were able to gather, and on the milk with its by-products provided by the domestic animals. They would not want to eat the animals themselves except on special occasions.
Once settled at the oases in Kadesh and its surrounds they would sow such crops as might grow. They would have been keen to preserve and build up their herds and flocks ready for when they reached Canaan. Thus this provision ensured that when they did partake of meat it would also ensure that a peace offering was made to Yahweh, so as to maintain peace with Him, and that they acknowledged their debt to him for His goodness towards them. Every deliberate death of such an animal contributed to atonement, acknowledged that life belonged to God, and confirmed their recognition that all that they had came from His hand (Psalm 50.10), that they were His covenant people.
5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD.
The reason for this provision was so that any clean domestic animal which was slaughtered was brought as a peace sacrifice to the door of the tent of meeting to be offered up by the priests. This would then ensure that the blood was properly dealt with, that the fat was offered to Yahweh, and that the life was offered back to God, and from this it would be made quite clear to them that they had received its benefits from Him. They could then themselves partake of its meat, once the priest had had his portion, the fat and vital parts having been offered to God. Every animal slaughtered for meat thus also became a sacrifice of peace offering, confirming peace and wellbeing before Yahweh.
6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD.
The priest would deal with it as usual by sprinkling the blood on the altar, and burning the fat, which would arise as a pleasing odor, well pleasing to Yahweh. Continually atonement had to be made. This summary of such sacrifices indicates that the detail must have been given previously. This legislation could not stand on its own.
7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’
An apparent further reason for this requirement, apart from the fact that it was an acknowledgement that life was sacred, and that all their cattle essentially belonged to God, was in order to counter pagan practices that had clearly sprung up, or may even have continued among some of them since they left Egypt. It is indicated here that some of the people had been slaughtering sacrifices ‘to the he-goats’ which they were falsely and indecently worshipping. Such abominations would now be prevented by ensuring that all such animals were offered to Yahweh before the tent of meeting, which would make the other almost impossible, except by gross breach of the covenant.
8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.
The principle was now firmly laid down, and the whole burnt offering and all other sacrifices were also now included in the provision, that all offerings and sacrifices of any kind were to be brought to the door of the tent of meeting to be offered or sacrificed, whether it be by Israelites themselves, or by aliens who had settled among them. Any who did not do so would be cut off from among the people. Later the principle would be altered to take into account the fact that, once they were in the land, the site where the tabernacle was situated might be too far for people to come regularly for such a purpose (Deuteronomy 12.20-28). Then the blood had rather to be poured out on the earth like water, to ensure that it was not eaten or drunk.
We also need to notice the continued stress on resident aliens. They were not to be free to outwardly practice their own religion or worship as they pleased. If they wished to do so they must go elsewhere. While they lived in Israel, or in the camp, there must be no danger of their leading Israel astray. While they lived in Yahweh’s land they must worship and make offering to Yahweh alone.
For us the lesson comes over quite clearly from this that we must give proper thanks to God for all meat of which we partake. It is His provision for us, it is part of His creation, it has cost a life that belongs to Him, and it provides us with a specific opportunity for worship and thanksgiving. And it is above all a reminder of Him Who was offered as a peace offering for us, of Whom we may continually partake by faith.
10 ‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
Furthermore, God stressed, no one in Israel must partake of the blood of an animal, whether it was those within the covenant or the alien who settled down among them. It was absolutely forbidden. God would set His face against anyone who ate blood. Rather than receiving life from it they would be cut off from among the people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
And the reason for this provision, which was permanent and binding, and permitted of no exception, was because ‘the life of the flesh is in the blood’; the blood uniquely represents the life. It was the life principle of the animal, and no human being should seek to partake of an animal’s life principle. It belonged solely to God.
But God had in His goodness provided that that life principle might be laid out in death on the altar in order to make atonement for the people. The life of that part of creation that God had provided as food for men, and as suitable for sacrifice, was offered in lieu of the lives of the sons of men. For the blood atones precisely because it represents the life laid out in death. Such continual sacrifice resulted in continual substitution for, and atonement for, sin, as the death of others provided by God was in this way constantly used to purify the sin of Israel and atone for it.
12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’
That is why no permanent resident of Israel, whether home born or sojourner (permanent alien resident) would be permitted to partake of blood. The blood was the life of the animals, could only be given to God in death, was laid out in death for man’s sins, and was the sacred symbol of God’s atoning work. It was thus not available for man’s use.
So constantly the people of God had the reminder of their own sin, and of the death which was the consequence of sin, and of the atonement that God had made available for them, in each domestic animal that was slain. So too must we daily and continually remind ourselves of the One Who was slain for us, that we might be forgiven and find reconciliation with God, and live out our lives to please Him.
13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust;
When a beast or bird ‘which may be eaten’ is taken in hunting, and the main stress here is on the hunting of clean beasts and birds, their blood must be poured out on the ground and covered in dust. On no account must the blood be eaten. Again this applied to both Israelite and resident alien. All life belonged to God and He had the sole right to its disposal. The flesh of such animals could be eaten, but not their blood.
14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
For the blood represents the life of the animal or bird. It is its life principle and no one was to seek to partake of an animal’s life principle. Men and women were made in the image of God, and were of a different nature to wild beasts. To seek to imbibe an animal’s life principle was therefore to seek to alter one’s nature, and to turn oneself into a beast (which indeed was what they saw as one of its purposes, to give them the ferocity and/or strength of the beast). It was an example of what would later be described as ‘confusion’ in which we will study in chapter 18.23; 20.12.
This teaching concerning the blood brings home the fact that we too can find life through bloodshed, the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1.29). It is through His life given in death that we can find forgiveness and new life. Our Holy Master Lord Jesus even spoke of ‘drinking His blood’ (John 6.53-56), but the thought there also was of putting Him to death and benefiting by it. Men ‘drank His blood’ when they killed Him as they had the prophets (Matthew 23.30). We ‘drink His blood’ spiritually when we claim and participate in the benefits of His death.
15 “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.
With regard to beasts’ carcasses, where the death had occurred naturally, or as a result of one beast killing another, so that some of the blood would have drained out, then to eat of them was to render the eater unclean. The blood had not been properly dealt with. But still the blood and the fat must not be consciously eaten of, although the problem now arose as to how to remove the blood. Nevertheless the blood and fat were sacred to Yahweh. In fact elsewhere the Israelite was discouraged to eat of such animals at all because as the people of God they were ‘holy’ (Deuteronomy 14.21). If they did eat of them they became unclean, although, once they had washed their clothes and washed themselves thoroughly, their uncleanness only lasted until the evening. Once the evening came they would be clean again.
As I have mentioned it is apparent to all that the total removal of all blood was not practical even with sacrificially slain animals. It was the principle that was important, the avoidance of the deliberate imbibing of blood.
16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
But if they became unclean in this way and did not wash their clothes or themselves, then they must bear any punishment that God sees fit to mete out to them. There seems to be an indication here that unpleasant results can follow such eating, especially if they do not wash fairly soon afterwards. In view of the fact that the animal would either be diseased or possibly infected by other animals and birds who had torn at it with tooth and claw, there was a good likelihood of their picking up infections, and those who followed God’s instructions not to eat at all made the most sensible choice. The hygienic reasons for this are quite clear.
One great lesson that comes from this chapter is the wonder of life. God gave all life, and it is His. It is never something to be taken or treated lightly. It is holy to Him.
