Not Eat Blood דָּ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ

We are in chapter three of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. דָּ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ you shall not eat blood. It is used 5 times in the Old Testament. Let’s start in our chapter for today. Leviticus 3:16-17 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord's. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat דָּ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ nor blood.” Here the only explanation for this restriction is that because it belongs to YHWH. Let’s look at our other uses for any additional reasons. Leviticus 7:22-23, 26-27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying … דָּם֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכְל֔וּ you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.” Deuteronomy 12:15-16 However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you … Only הַדָּ֖ם לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. Deuteronomy 15:22-23 You shall eat it within your towns. The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. Only דָּמ֖וֹ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑ל you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. The very first use of our phrase in the Bible gives us an explanation for this restriction. Genesis 9:3-5 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning ... From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Because life is in the blood, and that life comes from God it should be respected. Later in Leviticus God spells this out clearly. Leviticus 17:10-12 If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them 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 for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. We see this same teaching reaffirmed in the early church as the only restriction on food that was kept in force. Acts 15:19-20, 28-29 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood … For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. The Holy Spirit through Paul is warning Christians about the dangers of idol worship. He makes the argument that idols are not real so there is nothing special about the meat in and of itself that is sacrificed as part of the worship to them. But then he then makes the point to the real danger of demons being behind this worship. And that is why we need to stay away from such practices. Drinking or eating blood is not referenced specifically but notice the wording of these instructions. The drinking of blood was part of idol worship. I’ll close with these interesting thoughts. 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?