Blood Consumption
Many Christians think that eating blood it does not affect the believers of this age. When one comes to the realization that Jesus only said and did only what the Father told Him, that person understands that Jesus did not remove any of the Father’s commandments. Therefore, eating blood is also very clear in the word of God. It is not clear only to those who walk according to their own bellies and place their beliefs above the word of God. We will look at the verses related to the subject in the Tanach and New Testament verses in the following sections:
- what is blood?
- why might have not been eaten?
- what is considered as blood consumption?
- what teaching can we receive about this from the apostles?
What is blood?
God does not leave us in doubt, He makes it clear to us that blood is the soul.
Deuteronomy 12,23-25
„Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.”
In this short verse, God says three times not to eat the blood and how does it end this verse?:
„You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.”
So do what is right in the sight of the Lord! Yet so many explain why we should do what we want, referring to Jesus, who changed the commandments of the Father. Jesus repeatedly spoke of only doing and speaking what the Father told Him. But yet come the sentimentalists who do not want to believe that breaking God’s commandments can affect their relationship with God. What foolishness, for He who said not to kill, also said not to eat blood. So transgressing any of God’s commandments is disobedience, that is, sin, and it does affect the relationship with God.
Romans 14,14-17
„I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
This verse is used to prove that nothing is unclean, so who believes in Jesus can eat anything without committing sin. It’s a big misunderstanding, but maybe this happen because of an inaccurate reading of the Word of God. This is what the Word of God said:
„I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”
That is, what God has declared pure for us! Not what we declare. But to understand better, read the following verse:
1Corinthians 10,23-26
„"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."”
In this chapter to the Corinthians, Paul was not talking about unclean food or blood, but about the sacrificial flesh that was offered to foreign gods. But in this connection we can also see that Paul also speaks of the subject of knowledge, obedience, and love. About the knowledge that there is no other God and therefore the flesh cannot harm, in obedience and love, not to eat what has been sacrificed to idols (not to irritate the Lord), and not to offend others. So we can see unity in this too with the teaching of Paul and the 12 Apostles to abstain from idolatrous flesh as well.
Why might have not been eaten?
Humanly, we love to understand everything, and that’s one of them. But just as abstinence from unclean food is to be accepted in obedience not by intelligence but by faith, so the prohibition of eating blood too. You don’t need intellectual knowledge to understand what we take into our mouths, what it will eventually become, and then where it goes. In this way we can understand that the blood is not given to food, and within it the soul does not end up in the sewer. But if one cannot accept this, there is no problem, but then accept God's commandment by obedience and by faith. I would remind you of this verse:
Deuteronomy 12,25
„You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.”
What is considered as blood consumption?
In the Word of God, we can clearly see that it is not just considered as blood consumption when blood is fried and eaten. Let's look at a story:
1Samuel 14,24-32
„And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies." So none of the people had tasted food. Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food this day.'" And the people were faint. Then Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great." They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood.”
Although the Word of God does not inaugurated in the details of this story by eating flesh, they may have been fried somewhat, but due to the circumstances, they did not have the opportunity to bleed the animals. Maybe they didn't even have water to wash.
So the question is: what is considered as blood consumption? This brings me to another question, namely, what is considered long hair? For example, shoulder-length? The same question applies to blood. But before we get into this, let us notice in the Word of God that in the beginning God gave the fruits of the tree (with seed in its fruit) and the plants yielding seed (such as wheat) as food for human.
Genesis 1,27-29
„So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
Think of Israel’s 40-year wilderness wanderings, when God just wanted to feed the people with manna, and it ended very badly when the people asked for meat for themselves.
Numbers 11,31-35
„Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.”
By all this, I mean that God’s perfect will was that man should not be fed by meat. But God allowed man to be fed by meat, but not with blood! And how do we keep this? Everyone should make a conscientious effort to resolve this issue, wash the meat properly and even salt it.
What teaching can we receive about this from the apostles?
I find it extremely interesting that those who do not attach particular importance to the “Old Testament” scriptures can ignore the apostolic ordinances read in the New Testament. For the decree of the apostles was to them that were converted from the Gentiles, to abstain from blood:
Acts 15,19-21
„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 from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."”
Therefore, I discovered that those who do eat blood reject not only the Old Testament writings, but also the New Testament writings. This freedom, and the misconception of God’s grace to do what we want, God will forgive us anyway. They don’t understand Jesus ’ransom sacrifice, but how could they understand it, since they don’t even know Jesus himself.
Antal Farkas
(July 4, 2020)
