In
Leviticus 17, Moses was to convey God’s upcoming instructions not only to Aaron
and his sons but also to the people or the sons of Israel as well. In the first
nine verses, God’s concern was not so much about the meat they could partake
rather than where their sacrifices should be made. The reason is obvious. God
only specified the Tabernacle as the place they should make their sacrifices.
This was to minimize the possibility of offering their sacrifices to idols as
they had shown in their earlier tendency. This makes sense because as far as we
know there is only one God worthy of any one’s allegiance. At that point in
time, God would only acknowledge one place where sacrifices could rightly be
offered to Him. With multiple avenues, the possibility of making a mistake
would be multiplied. Hence, as they were journeying through the wilderness, the
Tabernacle was the only place God had specified for sacrifices to be made,
anywhere else was forbidden.
In
Leviticus 17:9-16, we see the issue of not consuming blood. God forbade the
people to partake of any animal with its blood. The reasons given were
two. Firstly, it’s because blood was God’s medium for the atonement.
Secondly, it’s because the life of any being is in the blood. Hence the blood
was something to be handled with care. This reminds us of the blood of Christ
which alone can remove our offenses against our Holy God. Hebrews 9:22 reminds
us saying, “And according to the Law, one
may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood,
and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
What
we learn is this: if we are to be God’s set-apart people, we must determine to
do what is right. We seek to obey God and observe what He had prescribed so
that we will not compromise our stand as a child of His. Let us live our lives
in such a way that will always be found well-pleasing to the Lord.
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