God, Blood, Transfusions, Steak, and Halal Foods

God’s Instructions on the Use of Blood

Leviticus 17:10-16

Day 8 of our 14-day self-quarantine due to Covid-19, the virus that has brought the world to a standstill – socially and economically. The study of the Word continues and today we deal with a most interesting topic – blood and the Christian’s use of it.  First let’s look at the passage.

The Passage

¹⁰ ‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens 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. ¹¹ 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 by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’ ¹³ So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

¹⁴ “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.’ ¹⁵ When any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

Thoughts on the Passage

Clearly this passage also causes us to think of the controversy over blood transfusions as well as the controversy associated with Halal foods. Both of which we will touch on further down in the study. But first, let’s look at what the Word says.

The instruction is simple – don’t eat blood. We note first that this instruction applies not only to the Israelites but also to strangers or foreigners who travel among them. That means that if it’s good for the Israelites, it’s good for everyone. This is not a commandment issued to set aside God’s people from others. It is one that is made for God’s people and others would do well to follow.

Matthew Henry reminds us that this is the third time in Scripture that God is giving His people this commandment to not eat blood. It is also found twice before in the Levitical law (Leviticus chapter 3:17 and Leviticus 7:26), besides the place it had in the precepts of Noah (Genesis 9:4).  Yes, it’s a key one.

We then note that eating blood gets God good and angry to the point where He sets His “face against” the offender and He cuts the offender “off from among His people”. That means it is a “must obey” instruction, especially for the Israelites and their guests or strangers among them (in their camp).

One may well ask ‘why’ is that? And God obliges us by implying that flesh is only flesh and it comes alive because of the blood associated with it. Think of a stuffed teddy bear and a live bear that you may encounter in the forest. The live bear is so because of the blood that circulates within its flesh. Shoot it with a rifle, and let the blood start draining, and soon the life is gone, it dies.

But looking beyond the words, we are reminded that God gets angry when His people follow in the footsteps or methods of those who worship idols. And eating the blood of animals was a practice of a number of heathen tribes in those days. Robert Jamieson writes:

The Zabians, or worshippers of the heavenly host, were accustomed, in sacrificing animals, to pour out the blood and eat a part of the flesh at the place where the blood was poured out (and sometimes the blood itself) believing that by means of it, friendship, brotherhood, and familiarity were contracted between the worshippers and the deities. They, moreover, supposed that the blood was very beneficial in obtaining for them a vision of the demon during their sleep, and a revelation of future events. The prohibition against eating blood, viewed in the light of this historic commentary and unconnected with the peculiar terms in which it is expressed, seems to have been levelled against idolatrous practices.

God goes on to tell the Israelites in verse 11 that He wants blood to be used for the atonement of their sins when they made sacrifices to Him, causing the animals being sacrificed to give up their life. That is the only use of blood that He gave them.

And God goes to say when the Israelites hunt live game for eating, they are to drain their prey of its blood and to bury that blood in the ground. The animal’s blood is its life and they were not to eat the ‘life’ of anyone or anything. David Guzik writes this:

Pouring out the blood on the ground like this, honored the blood of the animal, and was also hygienic. "The life had thus returned to the ground from which it had come, and the hunters and others who chanced to be in the vicinity were protected from the possibility of communicable disease or infection." (Harrison)

Guzik goes on to say:

This respect for blood of animals should make us consider how we regard the blood of Jesus. If, under the Old Covenant, the blood of animals was to be respected, what of the precious blood of Jesus which makes a New Covenant? Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)

Clearly God knows what he is doing. I think of this verse and what it means as I consider the possible sources of the current coronavirus that many believe originated in the “wet markets” of Wuhan, China. The selling of live animals being sold for spot and other non-hygienic practices is not the way God intended things to happen. We would do well to encourage governments to end such practices which many scientists believe will continue to present the world with pandemics in the years to come if not eliminated.

Still God provides a way out for those who break this command. They can still wash their “clothes and bathe in water and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.” Forgiveness for repentance was always God’s way of doing things. However, verse 16 reminds us that if we do not repent, we shall bear our guilt to the end.

We are now left with several issues of perhaps more interest to today’s Christian.

The first is that of how rare one might like one’s steak. I must admit that I like mine “medium rare”. I like the center of the meat to be red, but I do not like any blood running all over my plate, although admittedly sometimes it does, and I know that it has to be thrown on the barbecue for a few more minutes. Clearly, meat is meant to be cooked sufficiently so that there is no blood remain in it. The natural other juices contained therein will allow it to remain tender and moist for enjoyment.

The second is issue is that of whether or not Christians are to have blood transfusions. Clearly we differ with our Jehovah Witness friends who absolutely refuse blood transfusions and are willing to die because of their beliefs. We do not have time or space to get into the arguments here on this. Suffice it to say, as I read Scripture in this passage, I realize that more than ever blood is life. God does not distinguish between your blood and mine. And if by appropriate means, I have no blood and require some of yours (without taking your life) so that I may live, then that I believe is acceptable. There is a big difference between “eating” blood as an optional consumption than getting blood into our system for the emergency maintenance of life in the instant.

That now takes us to the very current issue of Halal foods. This is very controversial. Halal foods are basically foods that are “certified as such” by Islamic organizations. The foods (or other products) have been prepared by methods of slaughtering the animals used for them in a certain Shariah-law approved way. Clearly the market is huge worldwide, not only for Muslims but others who think they are getting a cleaner product, etc.

Opponents to Halal foods include the animal rights people who are against the cruel way of killing animals for Halal foods. But more recently, others (like myself) oppose Halal foods because the funds paid for certification are collected by some Islamic certifiers and charities that fund terrorist activities. Links have been established in this regard. So, each time you and I go and shop from, or eat in, an establishment that boasts ‘Halal foods’ we are in essence supporting Islamic growth and terrorist activity. This amounts to millions of dollars annually.

We leave that to your better judgement but well worth looking into it – searching both Halal and anti-Halal sites on the Internet.  In the meantime, let’s you and I be aware of how our Creator values blood, especially the blood of His Son shed for us. May we do likewise.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.