2/23/17
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood,…” Leviticus
17:11
Dear Congregation,
The above verse
is one of if not the most remembered of all that is in the Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus is one of if not the most skipped book of all the Bible. Yet even
here amongst the appearance of tedious ceremonial and judicial laws, God
presents His Gospel and His moral character. It may not be plain and
straightforward, but it is there. The discerning and attentive reader will find
wonderful truth and application even among the instruction to the Jewish
Church.
The context
here is familiar. The Lord God instructs concerning the sacrificial system. The
understanding is conveyed that sin must be atoned for with blood. We understand
this as a type, shadow, and rehearsal for the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus who shed His blood once for all and sat down in completion and finality
at the right hand of the Father. That is significant and important and is the lens
through which this passage must be read and understood.
Yet there
remains another layer that is worth noting here. The life of the flesh is in
the blood. My medical knowledge is weak and scanty at best, but a good
hematologist will be able to go on and on for hours about the importance,
complexity, necessity, and amazing design of blood and its function in the
human body. It is absolutely essential to life and the healthier the blood the
healthier the person. I have always thought that if medieval, renaissance, and
enlightenment doctors understood Leviticus better that the medical practice of
blood letting would never have been practiced or praised. Blood is symbolic of
and needed for life. This is why the shedding of blood by another is such a
terrible crime. To take a life is to destroy something that is precious to the
Creator. The Bible makes it plain that with the shedding of blood, established
governments are to enact that upon the murderer. It displays the value and
preciousness of life and the supreme gift of God that it is. In like manner,
our sin against God as humanity deserves death. But by His mercy and grace, God
provided substitution.
Does blood
run through your veins? Then consider the precious gift you have of life.
Consider that God has put you here to glorify Him and has a special way for you
to do that. Consider that your eternal life was so precious to Him that he gave
his only begotten son to condescend to become flesh and blood to shed that
blood in your behalf. The life of your flesh is in your blood, but the eternal
life of spirit and flesh was in His blood. If you have been bought and paid for
by that life giving blood then rejoice in your rest and be glad that you live
forever in Him. Consider how great God’s creation and redemption is and rejoice
that you have life!
In Christ,
Pastor Basile
