Leviticus 17

"The life of every animal is its blood - the blood is its life. That's why I tell you 'Don't eat the blood of any animals.'" Leviticus 17: 14 The Message

At first glance, this chapter seems filled with blood and sacrifices like the rest of Leviticus, and yes, it is, but somehow it also felt different. Instead of being overwhelmed with the sense of death, this chapter speaks to me of the value of life.

First, there is this idea that "the life of every animal is its blood" v 17:14. And then there are strict rules governing the death of animals, that the man who kills an animal outside of the sacrificial system is "considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people." v 17:3. And finally the command to not "eat the blood of any animal." 17:14

I find it interesting that both kosher and halal meat has to be prepared according to these standards, but that Christians don't seem to mind eating blood, even though, of all the Old Testament law, not eating blood was one of the four commands the Council of Jerusalem instructed non-Jewish believers to do:

"Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood." Acts 15:20

I'm not sure why or when Christians began to think it was acceptable to eat blood. I wouldn't call it a "salvational" issue, but I am glad that it seems God puts a great deal of value on not just human life, but all life.