Blood

[mindlight]

I was reading in Leviticus 18 this evening about how the life of the creature is in the blood. The Jews were urged not to eat the blood. Yet they were urged to sacrfice creatures, and they smeared a lambs blood on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass them by at the passover. Jesus introduced communion at the last Supper declaring this is my blood shed for you. He pours out his blood for us on the cross. Now we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

I struggle with this question. Why were the Jews told to avoid blood while those in the New Covenant remember Christs death and drink deeply from his "blood" at communion. On the one hand people are punished for drinking blood and on the other they are blessed by it

1)If blood is life then why does its meaning appear to change from old to new covenants. From something that makes a man impure to something that cleanses him.

2) How can the sacrifice of animals and then of Jesus (the pouring out of blood) signify atonement for our sins? Why must it be a blood sacrifice to do the job.

3) How can blood both save (passover and sacrfices) and condemn (by consuming the creatures blood a man made himself unclean) in the OT. In the NT its meaning seems positive but those who take the blood of Christ without first examining themselves can receive spiritually deadly consequences. How can blood be both life and death?

 

[Carmella Prochaska]

The Jews were only taught to not consume blood, not avoid blood. We don't literally drink Christ's blood at Communion. It's a symbolic action:

In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (1 Corinthians 11:25)

People are punished for drinking literal blood & engaging in vampirism. People who drink the blood of animals are committing an unclean act. Drinking the wine at the supper is a symbol of Christ's blood sacrifice but it isn't wrong because we're not actually drinking human blood.

Sacrifices were necessary in ancient times because blood was needed as an atoning substitution for sin & a way to be forgiven by God.

Isaiah 53:4-6 says:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

God alone knows why He requires blood for the forgiveness of sins. The fact that a death of a creature was required for forgiveness means he takes sin seriously. Isaiah knew 600 years before Christ that there would be a suffering Messiah who would shed His blood for the sins of mankind.

 

[mindlight]

The Jews were only taught to not consume blood, not avoid blood. We don't literally drink Christ's blood at Communion. It's a symbolic action:

In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (1 Corinthians 11:25)

People are punished for drinking literal blood & engaging in vampirism. People who drink the blood of animals are committing an unclean act. Drinking the wine at the supper is a symbol of Christ's blood sacrifice but it isn't wrong because we're not actually drinking human blood.

Sacrifices were necessary in ancient times because blood was needed as an atoning substitution for sin & a way to be forgiven by God.

Isaiah 53:4-6 says:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

God alone knows why He requires blood for the forgiveness of sins. The fact that a death of a creature was required for forgiveness means he takes sin seriously. Isaiah knew 600 years before Christ that there would be a suffering Messiah who would shed His blood for the sins of mankind.

Christ literally went to the cross, the nails in his hands and feet were real enough as was the spear through his side. Zwinglians make the blood of communion all out to be a symbol but really it is much more than that. Calvin suggested we were lifted by the Spirit to Gods very throne room when we take communion. The Catholics and Orthodox churches all believe in the real presence of Christ in communion also. So whether or not you believe it chemically becomes blood does not change the very real link this act has with the real blood of Christ. This makes it strange because as you say the law given to the Hebrews was clear on the consumption of blood.

 

[mindlight]

Blood transports life giving nutrients to the cells and removes wastes. in one sense its life giving properties are independent of its host as a person could be emptied of their own blood and filled with that of another person of the same blood type. Jesus could possibly have not been able to share his own literal blood with everyone as he might have been an A or B for instance. One might speculate that he was type O as this is the universal doner blood group. Blood is regarded as a preeminent symbol of his sacrifice cause it is so clearly associated with his life.

 

[Radagast]

If blood is life then why does its meaning appear to change from old to new covenants. From something that makes a man impure to something that cleanses him.

In the OT, blood is seen as sacred and as cleansing, not as unclean:

Leviticus 17:11: For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. (NIV)

There's not really a change in the NT:

Hebrews 9:13-14: The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (NIV)

 

[mindlight]

In the OT, blood is seen as sacred and as cleansing, not as unclean:

Leviticus 17:11: For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. (NIV)

There's not really a change in the NT:

Hebrews 9:13-14: The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (NIV)

Excellent quotes thanks. So then why is man rendered unclean by drinking blood when it is so cleansing`?

 

[Radagast]

Excellent quotes thanks. So then why is man rendered unclean by drinking blood when it is so cleansing`?

AFAIK, the OT never refers to blood as unclean, and doesn't say that man is rendered unclean by drinking blood. There are passages in Leviticus that consider menstrual fluid unclean, but that's not quite the same thing.

 

[hedrick]

<edit> I believe the concept was that blood represents life, and God is responsible for life. So blood was holy, i.e. set apart for God. Misuse of a holy thing can bring death, particularly in the OT. E.g. see the concept that seeing God face to face can bring death. Not to mention the rather odd episode of 1 Chr 13:10.

Of course when one person's blood can be used to bring life to another, that is surely a use that God approves of. Mat 12:1-8 shows an example of where Jesus approved using something set aside for God when someone needs it. We're not legalists, after all.

 

[pshun2404]

I was reading in Leviticus 18 this evening about how the life of the creature is in the blood. The Jews were urged not to eat the blood. Yet they were urged to sacrfice creatures, and they smeared a lambs blood on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass them by at the passover. Jesus introduced communion at the last Supper declaring this is my blood shed for you. He pours out his blood for us on the cross. Now we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

I struggle with this question. Why were the Jews told to avoid blood while those in the New Covenant remember Christs death and drink deeply from his "blood" at communion. On the one hand people are punished for drinking blood and on the other they are blessed by it

1)If blood is life then why does its meaning appear to change from old to new covenants. From something that makes a man impure to something that cleanses him.

2) How can the sacrifice of animals and then of Jesus (the pouring out of blood) signify atonement for our sins? Why must it be a blood sacrifice to do the job.

3) How can blood both save (passover and sacrfices) and condemn (by consuming the creatures blood a man made himself unclean) in the OT. In the NT its meaning seems positive but those who take the blood of Christ without first examining themselves can receive spiritually deadly consequences. How can blood be both life and death?

Because it does NOT say blood is life it says the life is IN the blood. The life of Christ is in and by His blood. The life of killed things and unclean beasts in in their blood which harms you...

Paul

 

[mindlight]

It seems to me that the prohibition against eating blood is there before the Mosaic law, in it and after it in the New Testament (Acts also). We are redeemed by Christs blood sacrifice. I have been more deeply convinced of the significance of blood to God. The life of a creature is in its blood.

Le 17:11
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one&#8217;s life.

Le 17:14
17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood &#8211; all who eat it will be cut off.

Acts 15:28, 29
For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

Gen. 9:3-6
9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

9:4 But you must not eat meat 7 with its life (that is, its blood) in it. 9:5 For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.

9:6 &#8220;Whoever sheds human blood,
by other humans must his blood be shed;for in God&#8217;s image
God has made humankind.&#8221;


Eph. 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Acts 15 v 19-21
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.

Hebrews 9 v 11-14
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Hebrews 9 v 15-28 also

Blood in the Bible | What Does the Bible Say About Blood?

 

[seeingeyes]

Blood is holy and is only permitted to be 'consumed' by those who are holy.

Very humbling.

 

[hedrick]

It seems to me that the prohibition against eating blood is there before the Mosaic law, in it and after it in the New Testament (Acts also).

Yup. The covenant with Noah, Gen 9:4. That's probably why it's in Acts 15.

 

[Clare73]

I was reading in Leviticus 18 this evening about how the life of the creature is in the blood. The Jews were urged not to eat the blood. Yet they were urged to sacrfice creatures, and they smeared a lambs blood on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass them by at the passover. Jesus introduced communion at the last Supper declaring this is my blood shed for you. He pours out his blood for us on the cross. Now we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

I struggle with this question. Why were the Jews told to avoid blood while those in the New Covenant remember Christs death and drink deeply from his "blood" at communion. On the one hand people are punished for drinking blood and on the other they are blessed by it

Very good questions. . .do you mean Lev 17?

The life of the creature is in the blood (Lev 17:11 14).
Therefore, the death of the creature occurs with its spilt blood.
It is the death of the sacrifice that makes atonement for the sinner, by receiving in the sinner's place the penalty of death (capital punishment) for his sin.

1)If blood is life then why does its meaning appear to change from old to new covenants. From something that makes a man impure to something that cleanses him.

Eating blood made them unclean for only one reason, it was forbidden by God.
So the question becomes, why was it forbidden, all the way back to Noah?

Sacrifices were ordained in the garden when God clothed Adam and Eve with the skin of sacrifices.
We see them offered prior to the Mosaic law.
As in the Mosaic law, they were a pattern of the future once-for-all sacrifice for the sin of those who believe.

To eat of the sacrifices was to participate in the spiritual benefits of the sacrifice, as in the fellowship offering
in Lev 7:15-18, 19:5-8.
Because the blood of the true once-for-all sacrifice of atonement had not yet been shed, they were forbidden in the OT to eat blood and partake of its nourishing benefits.

However, because the true atoning blood has now been shed, if we are to have eternal life (Jn 6:53) we must eat of it (Jn 6:51-58), which is to participate (1Co 10:16) in its benefits through faith.

2) How can the sacrifice of animals and then of Jesus (the pouring out of blood) signify atonement for our sins? Why must it be a blood sacrifice to do the job.

The blood of the animal signified, while the blood of Jesus actualized atonement.

The job to be done is payment of the death penalty on our sin.
God provided a substitute to take our place in receiving our death penalty.
Spilt blood is death of the creature who receives our death penalty to pay for our sin.
It's about the death penalty, accomplished by shedding of blood.

3) How can blood both save (passover and sacrfices) and condemn (by consuming the creatures blood a man made himself unclean) in the OT. In the NT its meaning seems positive but those who take the blood of Christ without first examining themselves can receive spiritually deadly consequences. How can blood be both life and death?

Blood applied in the OT, to the door posts, to the altar, saved.
Blook eaten in the OT defiled, simply because it was forbidden, no other reason.
Blood of the Lord's table in the NT eaten unworthily (in sin) will bring God's judgment on the sin.
Partaking of the blood of Christ in the Lord's table both saves those who believe, and condemns those in sin.

 

[ebedmelech]

I was reading in Leviticus 18 this evening about how the life of the creature is in the blood. The Jews were urged not to eat the blood. Yet they were urged to sacrfice creatures, and they smeared a lambs blood on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass them by at the passover. Jesus introduced communion at the last Supper declaring this is my blood shed for you. He pours out his blood for us on the cross. Now we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

I would hold that this is because the very first sacrifice was made to cover the sin of Adam and Eve.

An animal was sacrificed to cover their sin in Gen 3:20:
20 Now the man called his wife&#8217;s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

I conclude here, that an animal was sacrificed which God made the skins from. This would be the first sacrifice for sin. From that point God required sacrifice for sin because that's what he did to cover Adam and Eve's sin.

I struggle with this question. Why were the Jews told to avoid blood while those in the New Covenant remember Christs death and drink deeply from his "blood" at communion. On the one hand people are punished for drinking blood and on the other they are blessed by it

There's a difference because Christ is giving us a memorial of His death using the symbolism that he gave His life shedding His blood. See John 6:35-58.

1)If blood is life then why does its meaning appear to change from old to new covenants. From something that makes a man impure to something that cleanses him.

It doesn't. There was the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, which all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant pointed to. Once Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, we are left the symbolism of that in the Lord's Supper.

2) How can the sacrifice of animals and then of Jesus (the pouring out of blood) signify atonement for our sins? Why must it be a blood sacrifice to do the job.

See my first response.

3) How can blood both save (passover and sacrfices) and condemn (by consuming the creatures blood a man made himself unclean) in the OT. In the NT its meaning seems positive but those who take the blood of Christ without first examining themselves can receive spiritually deadly consequences. How can blood be both life and death?

Let me see if you'll make the connection with John the Baptist declaration of who Christ was at His Baptism:
John 1:29:
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, &#8220;Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

You get it?