God's law concerning the slaying of animals for sacrifice
Prohibition of consuming blood
Directives concerning animals who die naturally or are killed by a beast.
From Adam to the time of the Exodus-those who had faith in the true God would create altars and sacrifice animals to God wherever and whenever they felt it was good to do so. Each man was his own priest for himself and his household. But now with the priesthood installed and sacrificial ceremonies in place and the law given to the Israelites, the common people were to stop killing animals and sacrificing them in the open fields. Instead, they were to bring each animal they wished to sacrifice to the door of the tent of meeting to be offered by the priests in the correct way instructed in Leviticus 1-16. It was the priests' job to accept each animal for sacrifice at the tent of meeting. So they were spending most of their time in this tabernacle. People could slaughter the animal at home, but then they were to bring it to the tent of meeting to be sacrificed on the brazen altar by the priest. All of the blood was to be drained from the animal and if done so outside of the tabernacle, the blood was to be covered with dust. Some of it would be brought to the tabernacle to be poured out at the altar. The fat was burned, and if a peace offering, they could take of the meat of the butchered animal and eat it with their families and the priests.
God was concerned that if allowed to sacrifice anywhere and anytime they chose, the Israelites would revert to sacrificial practices of the pagan around them and make sacrifices to idols and be led astray from YHWH.
In the middle of the chapter, the Israelites are sternly commanded again to never consume the blood of any animal, like the heathens did, but also because God says that the life is in the blood. So, to consume the blood one would be consuming a live substance rather than dead food.
This chapter has a few different subjects:
God's law concerning the slaying of animals for sacrifice
Prohibition of consuming blood
Directives concerning animals who die naturally or are killed by a beast.
From Adam to the time of the Exodus-those who had faith in the true God would create altars and sacrifice animals to God wherever and whenever they felt it was good to do so. Each man was his own priest for himself and his household. But now with the priesthood installed and sacrificial ceremonies in place and the law given to the Israelites, the common people were to stop killing animals and sacrificing them in the open fields. Instead, they were to bring each animal they wished to sacrifice to the door of the tent of meeting to be offered by the priests in the correct way instructed in Leviticus 1-16. It was the priests' job to accept each animal for sacrifice at the tent of meeting. So they were spending most of their time in this tabernacle. People could slaughter the animal at home, but then they were to bring it to the tent of meeting to be sacrificed on the brazen altar by the priest. All of the blood was to be drained from the animal and if done so outside of the tabernacle, the blood was to be covered with dust. Some of it would be brought to the tabernacle to be poured out at the altar. The fat was burned, and if a peace offering, they could take of the meat of the butchered animal and eat it with their families and the priests.
God was concerned that if allowed to sacrifice anywhere and anytime they chose, the Israelites would revert to sacrificial practices of the pagan around them and make sacrifices to idols and be led astray from YHWH.
In the middle of the chapter, the Israelites are sternly commanded again to never consume the blood of any animal, like the heathens did, but also because God says that the life is in the blood. So, to consume the blood one would be consuming a live substance rather than dead food.
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