Question
Dear Gramps,
I was reading in Leviticus 17 and it mentions how we are not to eat animal blood. It says it is under the Mosaic Law. I know Christ said He fulfilled the Mosaic Law. I have a friend who is on a diet that suggests drinking animal blood. He says it’s not wrong because the law was fulfilled. Is he correct?
Will
Answer
Will,
The Law of Moses (as taught in the Old Testament) had many restrictions. It included many dietary restrictions on what could or could not be eaten as well as how food should be prepared. Over the years, many people have tried to give reasons as to why God would restrict such things. Depending on the exact dietary aspect involved, these reasons have varied from symbolic to health and safety in controlling and removing things that might cause or spread illnesses.
I am willing to believe that those could all be part of the reasons, because I believe God can accomplish many things with very small and simple things. However, the reason God gave, as we learn in the scriptures, is that the Law of Moses was to be a “School Master” to bring people to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) Those who chose to obey the commandments for the right reasons (because they wanted to follow God instead of men) were the ones that drew closer to Christ. Whereas, those that chose to disobey or obeyed for the wrong reasons did not.
After Christ came and fulfilled the Law of Moses, various aspects as to how they lived were no longer required, Yet there were some Jewish converts who wanted to still keep the Law of Moses. This caused some conflicts and disagreements among the Church, The Lord’s apostles responded to this and made it very clear that the Law of Moses was done away with. It was not the Law that saved, but our willingness to follow what the Lord had asked of them. They then gave an abbreviated list of what was required of them. These requirements are found in Acts 15:20 and Acts 21:25. These verses continued the restriction on blood
In our day, the Law of Moses is still done away, but we have been given our own set of requirements. They are found in the Word of Wisdom. While there are a few things that it restricts or forbids, it is mostly about counseling us to use wisdom, skill, and sound judgment about what we partake of. And of course any time we need to make a choice about what we should do, we are strongly encouraged to get on our knees and pray to bring the Lord in to help us choose well.
So your friend is correct in that the Law of Moses is done away. It has been replaced with one where a person is instructed to seek the Lord personally for answers and be wise about all things.
Gramps
