The Grammar of Life: Blood, Atonement, and Christ Text: Leviticus 17:10-16
Introduction: A Bloody Religion
We live in a squeamish and sentimental age. Our culture wants a clean, tidy, and above all, bloodless religion. It wants a god who is a celestial guidance counselor, a Jesus who is a gentle moral teacher, and a cross that is a pretty piece of jewelry. But biblical Christianity is not clean and tidy. It is, from beginning to end, a bloody religion. The central symbol of our faith is an instrument of brutal, bloody execution. And this is not some unfortunate historical accident; it is the very center of God's redemptive plan.
The book of Leviticus, more than any other, forces us to confront this reality. It is a book filled with blood. Blood on the altar, blood on the priests, blood on the doorposts. Our modern sensibilities recoil from this. We want to skip over these passages, to get to the more "spiritual" parts in the New Testament. But to do this is to commit theological malpractice. It is like trying to understand a novel by tearing out the first half of the book. The entire sacrificial system, with its intricate and bloody logic, is the necessary grammar for understanding the cross of Jesus Christ. Without Leviticus, the cross is just a tragic execution. With Leviticus, it is the atonement for the sin of the world.
This passage in Leviticus 17 is the theological heart of the entire sacrificial system. It explains the why behind all the blood. God here lays down a strict prohibition against consuming blood, and in doing so, He reveals the fundamental principle of substitutionary atonement. He is teaching Israel, and us, a profound lesson about life, death, sin, and grace. This is not some arbitrary dietary rule. It is a foundational lesson in the metaphysics of salvation. God is setting blood apart for a holy purpose, reserving it for the altar, because it is the currency of life, and only life can atone for life.
We must understand that this law was not just for Israel, but also for the "sojourners among them." This is a universal principle. God is establishing a reality that transcends cultural boundaries. He is teaching all mankind that sin is a capital offense, that the penalty for sin is death, and that He, in His mercy, has provided a substitute. This passage is a direct polemic against the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, who often drank blood in their idolatrous rituals, seeking to absorb the life or power of the creature. God says, "No. Life is not yours to take and consume. Life belongs to Me, and I am the one who gives it as a ransom for your souls."
The Text
‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.’ Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, and no sojourner who sojourns among you may eat blood.’ So any man from the sons of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ And when any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
(Leviticus 17:10-16 LSB)
The Prohibition and the Penalty (v. 10)
The passage begins with a stern and absolute prohibition.
"‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people." (Leviticus 17:10)
God’s language here is intensely personal and severe. "I will set My face against that person." This is not a passive disapproval. This is the active, holy opposition of the Creator against a creature who is violating a fundamental law of the created order. The face of God is the source of all blessing, life, and light. For God to turn His face against you is the definition of damnation. It is to be under His personal, holy, and terrifying wrath.
The penalty is to be "cut off from among his people." This phrase, karat, can mean a number of things depending on the context. It could mean excommunication, being cast out of the covenant community. In some cases, it clearly means capital punishment. At its heart, it means to be severed from the people of God, to be cut off from the promises, the blessings, and the protections of the covenant. It is a sentence of spiritual and social death. Why such a severe penalty for what seems like a simple dietary rule? Because it is not a simple dietary rule. To eat the blood was to profane the symbol of life and to usurp God's appointed means of atonement. It was to treat the sacred as common, and to say, in effect, "I will find life my own way, not God's way." This is the essence of all sin.
The Reason: Life, Blood, and Atonement (v. 11-12)
God does not give arbitrary commands. He is a God of reason, and here He provides the profound theological rationale for the prohibition.
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.’ Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, and no sojourner who sojourns among you may eat blood.’" (Leviticus 17:11-12)
This is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament. First, God establishes a biological and theological fact: "the life of the flesh is in the blood." The Hebrew word for life here is nephesh, which can also mean soul or person. Blood is the carrier of life. Long before William Harvey discovered the circulation of blood, God declared its central importance. To drain the blood is to drain the life. Because life belongs to God, the blood belongs to God.
Second, God declares the purpose for which He has reserved the blood: "I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls." The blood is not for your table; it is for God's altar. God has consecrated it for a holy purpose. Atonement means to cover, to pay a ransom. The problem is that our souls, our nephesh, are forfeit because of sin. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Justice requires that a life be given. God, in His mercy, provides a substitute. He says, "You owe a life. Here, I will accept the life of this animal in its place."
How does it work? "It is the blood that makes atonement by the life." A life for a life. The life of the innocent animal, represented by its shed blood, is offered on the altar to cover the guilt of the sinful person. This is the very heart of substitution. The animal dies so the Israelite can live. This entire system was a constant, bloody object lesson, pointing forward to the one perfect sacrifice that could truly take away sin. Every time an animal's throat was cut, it was a graphic sermon on the deadliness of sin and the necessity of a substitute. Therefore, to eat the blood was to despise this provision. It was to take the very symbol of grace and consume it for common nourishment, trampling on the means of atonement God had provided.
Practical Application: Hunting and Handling (v. 13-14)
The principle is then applied to a practical, everyday situation: hunting.
"So any man from the sons of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’" (Leviticus 17:13-14)
This shows the comprehensive nature of the law. It wasn't just about formal sacrifices at the Tabernacle. Even in the ordinary course of providing food for one's family, the principle held. When an animal was killed, its life, its blood, had to be treated with reverence. It was to be poured out onto the ground and covered with dust. This was an act of worship. It was a symbolic returning of the life to God, the giver of life. It was a tangible acknowledgment that "this life belongs to God, not to me."
Notice the repetition: "For the life of all flesh is its blood." God is driving the point home. This is not a suggestion. This is the fundamental grammar of My world. To violate this is to commit a kind of cosmic treason. The penalty is repeated for emphasis: "whoever eats it shall be cut off." God is deadly serious about this because it points to the central reality of His redemptive plan. He will not have the shadow of the cross treated lightly.
Ceremonial Uncleanness (v. 15-16)
Finally, the passage addresses a related issue: what to do if one inadvertently comes into contact with blood by eating an animal that died of natural causes or was killed by another predator.
"And when any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt." (Leviticus 17:15-16)
In such cases, the blood has not been properly drained. The person who eats such meat has not committed the high-handed sin of deliberately consuming blood, but they have still violated the principle. They have partaken of flesh with the lifeblood still in it. The result is not being "cut off," but rather ceremonial uncleanness. They are ritually defiled and must go through a process of cleansing: washing their clothes and bathing. They are excluded from the worship of the community until they are clean.
This teaches us an important distinction. There are sins of rebellion and there are sins of weakness or ignorance. God deals with them differently. But it also teaches us that any contact with death and decay, which are the results of sin, brings defilement. The world is a messy, fallen place. We cannot walk through it without getting dirty. The ceremonial washings were a constant reminder of the need for cleansing. If even this unintentional contact with improperly handled blood required washing, how much more does our deliberate sin require a far greater cleansing?
The Blood of Jesus
As Christians, we read this passage and we must immediately see the cross. This entire chapter is a magnificent, bloody signpost pointing directly to Calvary. All of this was a shadow, but the substance is Christ (Col. 2:17).
The life of the animal was in its blood, and it was given as a substitute. But the book of Hebrews tells us plainly that "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). Those sacrifices could only cover sin temporarily. They were a promissory note, a placeholder, until the true payment could be made. They sanctified for the purifying of the flesh, but they could not cleanse the conscience.
But Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, came. His life was in His blood. And on the cross, He poured out that blood, He poured out His life, as the one true atonement for our souls. His was not the blood of a mere creature; it was the blood of the God-man. His life had infinite value. Therefore, His one sacrifice was sufficient for all the sins of all His people for all time (Heb. 10:10-14).
The prohibition against eating blood is fulfilled and transformed in the New Covenant. We no longer abstain from blood sausage out of ceremonial obligation. The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 did ask Gentile believers to abstain from blood, but this was a pastoral concession to the Jewish believers, so as not to cause unnecessary offense. The ceremonial law as such has been fulfilled in Christ.
But in a much deeper sense, the principle is elevated. We are now commanded to do something that would have been unthinkable under the Old Covenant. We are commanded to drink His blood. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (John 6:53-54). At the Last Supper, He took the cup and said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28).
We do this, not by literally consuming His physical blood, but by faith. When we come to the Lord's Table, we are partaking of Christ. We are spiritually nourished by His death. We are identifying with His sacrifice. We are saying that His life, poured out for us, is the only source of our life. The old prohibition was "Do not take the symbol of life into yourself." The new command is "You must take the reality of true life into yourself." His blood is the only thing that can truly cleanse our consciences and wash away our guilt. It is the blood that makes atonement, and His is the only blood that works.