In Deuteronomy 12, God began teaching the Israelites about the covenant governing His relationship with them. So a secondary reason God may have forbidden the eating of meat with the blood still in it may have been to promote good health. Certain meats, if not cooked thoroughly, can cause illness if consumed. Looking at the question from a purely practical standpoint, God may have been concerned with the physical well-being of the Israelites when He said, “Do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life.” We now know that many diseases are potentially contained in the blood and can be transmitted throughout the body and to other people. Blood was never to be consumed as common food when a sacrifice was offered, the blood was drained and offered to God on the altar (Leviticus 17:14). As the fluid of life, the blood of animals belonged to God, the giver of life: “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Genesis 9:4 see also Genesis 2:7 Job 33:4 Psalm 139:13). To the ancient Israelites, blood was the emblem of life and equivalent to life itself. Today we know for a fact that “blood is the life.” No other natural ingredient or man-made material can replace blood as the means of sustaining life. Why did God command the Israelites not to eat meat with the blood still in it? Several reasons exist, and a combination of these most likely explains the prohibition. You must not eat the blood pour it out on the ground like water” (Deuteronomy 12:23–24). Long before modern science proved that blood carries the essential elements of life throughout the body, God instructed the Israelites, “Be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
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