Basic Truth #32 - Blood Transfusions Violates God's Law

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bejay

Basic Truth #32 - Blood Transfusions Violates God's Law

Post by bejay »

Basic Truth #32 – Blood Transfusions Violates God’s Law

The common view among the people of the nations is that since it has been proven that blood saves lives, then it is within their jurisdiction to use it as they see fit. They actually believe that when they use blood to save lives they are acting in harmony with the will of God. Even in ancient times, blood was considered to have beneficial results and humans would drink blood or make blood sausages to eat.

But blood is sacred to Jehovah and He has set limits upon its use. From the time that He allowed humans to begin eating the meat of animals, He told them how they were to treat the blood of these animals. At Genesis 9:3, 4, we read: “Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to you. Only flesh with its soul - its blood - you must not eat.” Here Jehovah identifies blood as being the life or soul of the animal.

When Jehovah gave his laws to the nation of Israel, He specifically told them how they could use the blood of animals. In Leviticus 17:11, He said this: “For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have put it upon the altar for you to make atonement for your souls, because it is the blood that makes atonement by the soul in it.” Verse 14 of this same chapter says: “For the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood by the soul in it. Consequently I said to the sons of Israel: ‘You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh, because the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be cut off.’” This edict includes the blood of humans as well as animals as it stated that ‘the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood.’

Jehovah directed that the only use His people could make of blood was to sprinkle it on the altar to atone for their sins as He said ‘because of the soul that is in it.’ If it was not used on the altar, then it was to be poured out on the ground and covered with dust. (Leviticus 17:13; Deuteronomy 12:23, 24; 15:23)

Today people argue that transfusing human blood into the veins of another human is not the same as eating it. However this argument does not hold up because the purpose of eating or transfusing blood is the same – to derive some beneficial, healthful result from its use. And this is in direct opposition to what the Creator, Jehovah, has designated it to be used for, whether human or animal blood.

In fact, when the first century Jewish Christians were outlining Jehovah’s requirements to the Gentile believers, they specifically stated this, as recorded at Acts 15:28, 29: “The holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep yourselves free from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!”

Yes, these Christians were to ‘keep themselves free from blood’ indicating that they would have nothing to do with blood in any form, whether taking it into their bodies by eating it directly or by using it in their food. Transfusions were not in vogue then as they are today, but the principle remains the same, we must view blood the same way as the life-giver, Jehovah, does, we must keep free from its use other than as specified by Him. Since Jesus shed his blood in obedience to Jehovah as the ultimate sacrifice, there has been no need for any literal blood to be poured out to atone for sin but the edict on the use of blood has not changed. It is still viewed as sacred by Jehovah and when animals are killed today; their blood is to be poured out on the ground. Human blood is not to be used for any reason, as it is even more sacred than that of animals.
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