SermonProhibition Against Eating Blood
An all-creatures Bible Message

Prohibition Against Eating Blood
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
10 May 2020
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 9:1-7
Leviticus 17:10-16
Proverbs 12:10
 
Prohibition against eating blood has been a long-standing Biblical edict that people have tried to circumvent and excuse away, for it is really impossible to eat meat without having some of the blood remaining in it.
 
The other major problem that we face is that most people blind themselves to the immense pain and suffering that the raising and killing process causes the animals, which is also against the heavenly will of God.
 
Think about what we are told in Proverbs 12:10…
 
10. A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
NASB
 
This passage is plainly telling us that everyone involved in the raising, killing, selling, buying and eating of meat are wicked and cruel, and if we couple this with the fact that it is really impossible to eat meat without blood, these people are also violating one of God’s commandments.
 
Now let’s take a look at what we are told right in the midst of laying out the ritual “laws” about animal sacrifice in Leviticus 17:10-16…
 
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.
 
Note very carefully that we are told that anyone who eats ANY blood is cut off from his people; it does not say blood without flesh, or blood drained from an animal; it says any blood, and since it is virtually impossible to drain all the blood from an animal’s flesh, anyone who eats any meat is eating some blood, and cutting themselves off from God.
 
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.'
 
If anyone, including clergy, tells you that animals don’t have souls, this verse counters that argument, particularly if you look at the Hebrew, for this verse plainly says that soul life of the innocent animal makes atonement for the guilty soul life of a human, for the soul life of both human and animal is in the blood.
 
This verse also plainly shows that the entire sacrificial system is nothing but a Biblical way of scapegoating innocent animals.
 
This verse also tells us that the soul is in the blood, which is most likely why God has a prohibition against eating blood, as we are told next.
 
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.'
 
Therefore, according to our understanding no one should be eating meat for it violates God’s commandment for there is always some blood in every piece of meat.
 
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.
 
This is the kind of statement that we believe was introduced as a way of circumventing the prohibition against eating blood.
 
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.'
 
Even if the animal dies, there is still some blood left in the body and flesh and that blood remains in the flesh; therefore, it is our belief that no one should eat any meat, and in fact they should be vegan.
 
15. "And 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.
 
This is a ritualistic religious cleansing, which had nothing to do with cleansing oneself from any disease that might come from contaminated meat, which by the way contains blood that violates God’s prohibition against eating blood.
 
Now, if people were vegan they wouldn’t even think about eating any dead animals and thus they wouldn’t be violating any of God’s edicts.
 
16. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt."
NASB
 
This is just another thing that vegans don’t have to worry about for they wouldn’t be eating any meat.
 
Many hundreds of years before this Leviticus passage God had placed a prohibition against eating blood; note what we are told in Genesis 9:1-7…
 
1. And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
 
Prior to this, Noah had sacrificed some of the animals despite the fact that God had created a vegan “world” aboard the ark, which was like the way He had created Eden, and because of this God said that man’s heart was evil from his youth.
 
Nevertheless, God blessed Noah and his family, which we believe was because they were the only humans left upon the earth.
 
2. And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.
 
No longer would the animals be the companions of humans, because Noah had taken the innocent lives of some of them, and had most likely eaten some of their flesh, which God realized he and his family would continue to do, He reluctantly gave them the concession to continue to eat them, but also with limitations and a curse.
 
3. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.
 
Yet later on this too was limited to only clean animals.
 
4. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
 
This is another confirmation of God’s prohibition against eating blood, which is impossible to do because all the blood cannot be removed from the meat.
 
5. And surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man.
 
This verse seems a little one sided, for the only ones protected are humans, and the animals suffer without consequences, and this has gotten even worse over the years.
 
6. "Whoever sheds man's blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God He made man.
 
This is one of the eye-for-an-eye situations that Jesus’ teachings has done away with.
 
7. "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."
NASB
 
And at that stage of our development this was obviously needed, but now we no longer should be doing this, for we are now overpopulated and are wreaking havoc on God’s creation.
 
As peacemaking children of God we should be doing everything in our power to help free creation from its present corruption and counter the efforts of those who continue to contribute to its corruption.
 
And the biggest way to do this is to become vegan, for vegans do the least damage to the environment and also do not eat any animals, which also means that they are not violating God’s prohibition against eating blood.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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