Leviticus 17:1-16 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 17:1-16. Let’s go!
Leviticus 17:1-9 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the LORD has commanded:
3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it
4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD–that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people.
5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.
6 The priest is to sprinkle the blood against the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’
8 “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice
9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD–that man must be cut off from his people.
On verses 1-9: In Leviticus 17, some of the Israelites were no longer going to worship with their Israelite brothers and sisters at the Tent of Meeting. Instead of bringing their worship sacrifices to the Tent of Meeting where they could worship together with other believers and priests, some Israelites may have thought, “Well, isn’t God everywhere? Let’s just do all of our sacrifices here in the open fields from now on (See Leviticus 17:1-4). Who needs to go to the Tent of Meeting to worship? Aren’t we all God’s people?”
Likewise, today from time to time you might meet someone who says, “I am a Christian, but I don’t belong to any local congregation. I am part of God’s universal Church, so there’s no need for me to belong to any particular local church. I can just worship God in my own home or at a park or by the beach if I want to”.
That position sounds spiritual, but it’s unhealthy, dangerous, and unbiblical. It is true that every Christian is part of the larger Church, the universal body of Christ, consisting of Christians everywhere around the world. But God also wants you to be part of a local community of Christians with whom you can gather regularly to worship together, pray together, grow together, serve together and share the Gospel together.
Every child needs a real, physical family to grow up in and belong to — not just a birth certificate or an abstract idea that “yes I have relatives somewhere out there”. The same goes for you spiritually. We need others to help us grow. Without plugging yourself into a local church, you’re like a child without a family and you will not be a healthy Christian.
By cutting yourself off from a local church, you will be extra vulnerable to false teaching and a self-centered spirituality that is the opposite of how God intended you to be. For example, in Leviticus 17:7, we find that those Israelites who refused to worship at the tent of meeting began sacrificing to goat idols and were getting further and further away from worshiping the one true God.
By refusing to belong to a local body of believers, it’s like a child who says, “I don’t need to spend time with my immediate family in town because I am part of a much bigger family with relatives all around the world whom I never meet and don’t know personally”.
It’s no wonder God came down harshly against those Israelites who took the position that they didn’t need to worship with others at the Tent of Meeting (Leviticus 17:1-5). Verse 5 suggests that the Lord did not accept the offerings the Israelites made in the open fields, and that bringing the sacrifices “to the Lord” meant bringing them to the Tent of Meeting. When God said that such people “must be cut off from” the rest of the community (v4), it was like saying, “When you refuse to worship God with a local body o believers, like a severed arm or foot you’re cutting yourself off from the body that you belong to.” By not worshiping with the rest of the community and rather sacrificing by themselves elsewhere, they were “guilty of bloodshed” (v4) in part because they were doing harm to the body of believers they belonged to. In other words, for God, where you bring your offering is important, not just what offering you bring.
So never take the local church for granted. Every Christian needs to be part of a good local church. We can’t fully live out our callings as followers of Jesus without the local church. As Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another”. We do that by belonging to a local body of believers and worshiping Jesus together.
Leviticus 17:10-14 (NIV)
10 “‘Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood–I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
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.
12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.”
13 “‘Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,
14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
On verses 10-14: Why was God so firm about the Israelites not eating blood? That’s because in God’s eyes blood represents a creature’s life (verse 10). Blood is what God used to make atonement for the people’s sins (verse 11). As Hebrews 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.
How should Christians apply Leviticus 17:14 which prohibits the eating of blood? Is it wrong to eat a steak cooked medium rare since it still has some of the blood of the animal in it? Didn’t Jesus declare all foods clean (Mark 7:19)? Or is there still an exception to be made when it comes to consuming blood (Acts 15:29)? There are different schools of thought on this issue. I personally like my steaks medium rare, but I would hesitate to eat or drink much more blood than that!
In the end, the best way we can honour God’s Word and what it says about respecting blood is to drink the blood of Jesus. In John 6:53, Jesus says “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”. To drink the blood of Jesus is to believe that Jesus shed His blood for you and that new life comes through Christ’s shed blood. Cherish the blood that Jesus shed on the cross to pay for all our sins.
Jesus’ blood is not just precious in general. It’s precious to me because by His blood I am alive, all my sins are atoned for, and I am made new.
Leviticus 17:15-16 (NIV)
15 “‘Anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held responsible.'”
On verses 15-16: Here again we see an emphasis on washing with water and keeping clean.
Jesus, thank You for Your precious bled shed on the cross for me, and thank You that I can belong to a local body of believers where I can give You my worship and my offerings. May I never take Your blood or the local church for granted. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
