Introduction
What element is Foundational to all of life, both physical and spiritual? The Blood!
Without blood, our physical bodies would die; without Christ’s blood, our spiritual bodies would die.
Leviticus 17:11a: The life of the flesh is in the blood.
The Scripture expounds the foundational significance of blood.
Please read Genesis 9:1-5
In this passage, Noah has come safely through the floodwaters. God has a new set of instructions for Noah to live by. Prior to this, humans had not been given permission to eat meat; now God gives them permission to eat the flesh of animals.
However, there is a caveat. They cannot eat flesh that still has its lifeblood. Or, as the New American Standard Version puts it, “you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”
Not Just a Symbol
Blood is not just a symbol of life and death, but it is the life of the flesh.
The principle of lifeblood was so important to God that He instituted the death penalty against anyone who took the life of another human. This death penalty was against humans and animals.
In the Old Testament, God judged man and animals who took the life of another. The requirement was their own life blood.
Before the Mosaic Law
It is important to note that this death penalty and lifeblood principle was instituted prior to the Mosaic Law. In addition, it can be traced to before the flood.
First we see in the garden a necessary animal sacrifice to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve (this deals with the spiritual life of man). Later in Genesis 4 we see the first two murders recorded in history.
Cain first kills his brother Able when his own sacrifice was not acceptable to God. Cain recognizes, prior to the recorded law, that his lifeblood will be required of him for his deed. But God shows Cain Mercy and puts a mark on him so that no one will kill him. Next Lamech kills a young man, and aware of the punishment, tries to ride the coattails of God’s mercy towards Cain. As Matthew Henry says, “He seems to abuse the patience of God in sparing Cain, into an encouragement to expect that he may sin unpunished.” The idea is that Lamech, just like Cain before him understands that there is a punishment for murder.
Read Leviticus 17: 10-14
Here we discover an even greater understanding of the importance of blood to God.
- Any man who ate blood would be cut off from the people of God.
- Blood is the very life of man (and animal). It carries life-sustaining elements to every part of the body and thus is the very essence of life itself.
- Blood makes atonement for our souls. Since it contains life, it is sacred to God.
- Shed blood (death) from a substitute (ultimately Christ) atones for or covers the sinner.
Whether spiritually or physically, it is blood that brings life, both temporal and eternal. It is the blood coursing through our veins that nourishes every cell in our body, sustaining our life. And it is the blood that Christ shed on the cross that brings life to our souls. We are one whole person, saved by the blood.
What are these life-sustaining elements found in physical blood?
We will be looking at three principles which help explain how the blood provides life to our bodies: blood quality; blood circulation; and blood cleansing.
Next: Principle #1: Blood Quality
Return To: Biblical Health Study
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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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