Leviticus 17:1-16 [NLTse]
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Give the following instructions to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel. This is what the Lord has commanded.
3“If any native Israelite sacrifices a bulla or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp 4instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tabernacleb to present it as an offering to the Lord, that person will be as guilty as a murderer.c Such a person has shed blood and will be cut off from the community. 5The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the Lord as peace offerings. 6Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols.d This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.
8“Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the Lord, that person will be cut off from the community.
10“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, 11for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord.e It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. 12That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood—neither you nor the foreigners living among you.’
13“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth. 14The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.
15“And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean. 16But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be punished for their sin.”
Footnotes:
a 17:3 Or cow.
b 17:4a Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 17:5, 6, 9.
c 17:4b Hebrew will be guilty of blood.
d 17:7 Or goat demons.
e 17:11 Or to make atonement for you.
Oftentimes non-Christians try to label God as being controlling, wanting us to do what He wants the way He wants it done, as though for no reason. As a pastor I get an earful of these accusations, and especially in situations having to do with our reading this morning. In these opening verses the Lord tells us He wants His people to come to His place of worship to offer our sacrifices. As New Covenant people, the New Testament speaks of “sacrifices of praise” and the “collection of offerings” and “surrendering our will” and Christians have often come to associate these things with our Sunday Worship Services.
But folks around our community regularly call me asking to have their newborn baptized or if I would conduct their weddings. As a part of that conversation I always ask them where they go to church. And most often they tell me: “You don’t have to go to church to worship God.” (To which I always respond, “Of course you don’t.”) And then they will often chime in with some litany about how the woods are their Sanctuary and that they worship when they go hunting, or that God seems so close to them when they are working in their garden, or something like that. And yet the Lord makes clear to us directly or indirectly across the pages of Scripture that He wants us to be together with other believers and come to His place.
Why do you think that’s important to Him?
Before I became a Christian I used to read about things God wanted from us or demanded from us in the Bible and I would ask, “What does He want that for?” accusing Him of demanding too much or being unfair. I’ve changed since putting my trust in Christ. Instead of accusing God, I’ve begun trying to believe His Word, and trying to understand – if I can – what benefits, what light, what life might result from His various commands. Most of the time much becomes clear that way, and I get more and more encouraged what a loving and perfect Father we have. But even when I can’t comprehend, still I try to trust and obey Him anyway…
So when I read this passage, I asked, “What problems might arise if sacrifices were offered in an uncontrolled context? How would limiting sacrifices to the Tabernacle reduce these problems?” And I tried to think of the good things God might have for us in keeping such commands, and the blessings He might want to bestow.
First, I got thinking about unity, being the “Body of Christ.” How can we be a part of each other if we don’t spend time together to get to know each other: each other’s strengths and weaknesses; each other’s needs; personality quirks; so that we might have the opportunities to forgive one another and support one another or to let others forgive us and support us..?
I got thinking about unity in teaching: Even here in Milford the different teachings of different pastors and leaders create a sense of disunity between us and those who are a part of Long Meadow Chapel (for instance) or Milford Bible, and other congregations to the point that we don’t tend to look at ourselves or think of ourselves as one church but as several churches.
Of course, the Lord Jesus says that wherever two or three are gathered in His name that He is present. So merely to be confident of His presence and hearing our prayers we need to be with other Christians and not off by ourselves…
You might ask, “What about when there are corrupt leaders?” Well, the opening chapters of 1 Samuel tells us of two corrupt priests named Hophni and Phinehas. The Law stated that from every sacrifice that was brought to and offered at the Tabernacle the priest was allotted a certain portion. But we read in 1 Samuel that Hophni and Phinehas would take extra portions of the sacrifices they offered, by force if necessary! And that they would use their authority and influence to take advantage of the young women who helped with all the work and chores around the Tabernacle. (We haven’t been reading our Bibles very well if we think the abuses of power by priests and pastors is a modern occurrence.)
“What do we do about the reality of corrupt leaders?” Well, we don’t give up on cars because we had one that broke down once. You do what’s necessary to get them fixed! And if you’ve tried and tried but it seems like you’ve just gotten a lemon, you sell it, trade it in, (abandoning it in the middle of the highway is not recommended) and get a new one! And we should do the same with Christ’s church: We should hold people accountable to the Word of God and seek for repentance and biblical change (our own repentance and biblical change first, and then that of others); and if we face refusal or hardness of hearts then we go and find a more faithful body. But don’t stop being a part of Christ’s church!
“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, Who is over all and in all and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
So as Hebrews writes: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the Day of His return is drawing near.” (10:25)
… [Go stand behind the Lord’s Table.]
I’d like to address one more thing in closing. Our reading from Leviticus speaks about the offense of eating blood. Now eating blood was a common practice in pagan worship rituals. It was often done in hopes of gaining the characteristics of the slain animal: You’d sacrifice a bull and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining strength; you’d sacrifice a gazelle and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining speed; you’d sacrifice a lion and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining ferocity or to incite fear in your enemies. By drinking the beast’s blood you sought to gain its life – today we’d call it its life-force, maybe.
This restriction against blood was one of the most dearly held tenets of Judaism, alongside circumcision and keeping the Sabbath. Even today kosher practices go to great lengths to draw the blood out of meat before it is cooked or eaten. And in the Book of Acts in the letter sent by the Jerusalem Council out to the growing number of Gentile churches, only four areas of the Jewish Law were required to be a part of the Gentile-Christians’ forgiven lifestyle: 1) Not eating any food that had been sacrificed to demons; 2) not eating the meat of animals that had been strangled; 3) no sexual immorality; and, 4) no eating blood!
In the light of the importance of this command, imagine the horror when first century Jews heard the Lord Jesus say, “Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.” And the Lord went on, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father Who sent Me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on Me will live because of Me”. Imagine the shock, the revulsion and disgust! And the Gospel of John tells us that many of Jesus’ disciples “turned away and deserted Him” at that time. (6:66)
Next Sunday we’ll be celebrating the Lord’s Supper – eating the Lord Jesus’ flesh and drinking the Lord Jesus’ blood – as a part of our one, blended Worship Service at 10:30am. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, we were not made to have the characteristics of beasts! We are not animals. We are not evolved apes or monkeys or lesser creatures! We have been created in the image of almighty God. We were made to have His characteristics in us. He wants us to have His life! Let’s prepare ourselves this-coming week to take into ourselves the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, and to gain all His benefits.
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