The Rainbow covenant that God made with Noah and his family, the survivors of the Great Flood, included a stipulation of great interest to the Abrahamic people groups and their respective faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. God commanded the abstention from the lifeblood of animals when He allowed the eating of meat in the human diet after the Flood. To Noah and his wife, their three sons, and their wives, God said: “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Genesis 9:4).

God further required an accounting from any human or animal that took another human life: capital punishment.

5 “And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

6 “Whoever sheds human blood,

by humans shall their blood be shed;

for in the image of God

has God made mankind.”

– Genesis 9:5-6

Two points come to mind from this passage, Genesis 9:4-6:

• Respect for the lifeblood of an animal whose meat is eaten by humans.
• Accountability for the shedding of human blood by another, whether by an animal or a human.

The lifeblood sustains the life of both man and beast, sending oxygen, nutrients, and antibodies throughout the organism. The blood of both humans and animals truly sustains the life of the organism. The Hebrew Torah gives further rationale for respecting the blood of animals, whether by animal sacrifices on the altar to God, or whether by consumption of meat for food.

11 “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. 12 Therefore I say to Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

– Leviticus 17:11-12

Deuteronomy 12:24 further prescribes how to treat the shed blood of the animal consumed for food; its blood was to be poured onto the ground, leaving the meat free of its blood. The reason for this care becomes clear from the principle of sacrificial atonement. The innocent animal sheds its blood for the life of the person offering his gift at the altar. Indeed, vicarious atonement, a life for a life, provided the forgiveness in the Israelites’ covenant with God. The covenant emphasized that sin promoted death, and without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness. The priest sprinkled the holy articles and the altar with blood from the sacrifice. In Egypt during the plagues against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the Israelites sprinkled the doorpost and lintel of their homes with the blood of the Passover lamb, which prevented the angel from killing the firstborn of their household.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. – Hebrews 9:22

Non-Christians do not understand the nature of Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself on the cross. He is called the Lamb of God, because He is the atoning sacrifice for all the sins of humanity. Our only contribution is faith in His sacrifice as Son of Man and Son of God, the sinless One who took our sins upon Himself.

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. -Hebrews 7:27

Thus the sinless Son of God offered Himself for us, conquered death through His resurrection, and gave us eternal life through His atoning sacrifice of grace and our faith in Him.