Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Leviticus 17 Devotional

Life Given for Life

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”Leviticus 17:11 (BSB)

Sacrifice is gathered to one place in this chapter. Israelites who had been offering animals in the open fields, even to goat demons, must now bring them to the entrance of the tent, to the LORD (17:5-7). Worship is not something each person may invent wherever he likes.

Then comes the reason blood may never be eaten. The life of a creature is in its blood, and God says he has given it to Israel on the altar to make atonement for their lives (17:11). Atonement is not a human idea that God tolerates. It is his gift. He supplies the means by which guilty people can be spared, one life given in place of another. Paul says that in Christ, through his blood, we are redeemed and forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). The way to God has always been provided by God, and rest is possible because the sacrifice was never yours to devise.

To think about: In what ways do you still try to devise your own way of making things right with God, instead of resting in the one he gave?

About Leviticus 17: The Life Is in the Blood

All sacrificial animals must be brought to the tent of meeting, so Israel stops offering sacrifices to goat demons in the fields. The Lord forbids eating blood, because life resides in the blood, which he has appointed on the altar to atone for them.

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