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Lev. 17
The Bible mentions the breath of life, so why does God say here that the life of all flesh is in the blood? Perhaps it is merely a more tangible substance than breath. Hard to paint that on your doorposts! Or perhaps the breath is only physical life, while the blood is something more. I think the overall context of this chapter matters here. That context is sacrifice. The first half of the chapter states that, if we make any sacrifice or offering, we should offer it to God alone. The second half, then, addresses the fact that the part of the sacrifice that makes atonement, or gives life, is the blood. Partaking of certain parts of various sacrifices was an important part of the sacrifice. Likewise, not consuming other parts of those sacrifices was equally important. The blood is one of those parts.
I think I know why that is. While sharing the Passover meal with His disciples prior to His crucifixion, Jesus gave them a cup and told them, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:27b-28). Why would He tell them to partake of the forbidden part of His sacrifice? I believe it’s because His sacrifice was the real thing. Those animals were merely a temporary substitute. Thus, their blood represented life but did not give it. So to drink it would be equivalent to looking for life in a sacrifice other than Christ’s sacrifice for us. Just as we are to sacrifice to God alone, we are to receive life from Him alone. There is no other God and no other salvation except complete surrender to Him.
Ps. 20-21
How appropriate are these Psalms of victory and deliverance after what I just wrote! They foreshadow Christ’s victory of sin and death. And they point to our salvation through Him. All other power and every human effort will fail, “But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” (Ps. 20:7b).
Prov. 31
The verse that sticks out to me in this chapter this morning is verse 12. “She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.” (Pr. 31:12). It just made me think how that is impossible to do except through serving God alone. If a wife seeks to please herself, she will trample over her husband and use him for her own gain. Evil. If, on the other hand, she seeks to please her husband, she will encourage him down his own path, leading to his destruction. Also evil. If, however, she fears and serves God, she will do what is right and will do no harm. Whether or not he sees and accepts it depends on his wisdom, not hers.