Life is in the blood

As I began working on this post I was being treated for what we thought was Achilles tendinopathy. I’d been limping around for a few weeks, unable to function freely and comfortably. My chiropractor proposed massaging the tissues in my ankle and calf to increase blood flow to the area, in order to promote healing. I was amazed how much better I felt after only one treatment.

Blood is also important to the healing of bone. We learned this when my husband broke his humerus. After spotting an ominous-looking splotch on one of check-up X-rays, we felt alarm, but the orthopedist reacted calmly because what we were seeing was blood in the area of the break, and that was a good thing. It was promoting bone repair!(1)  

Medical websites confirm that, “Your blood is a precious resource, constantly taking care of your body so it works as well as it should. Your blood carries oxygen to your cells so they can create energy. It helps your immune system defend your body against intruders. Blood also manages how much you bleed when you’re injured.”(2) In short, blood is essential to life.

The law of God also acknowledges its vital nature. Leviticus 17:11-14 says,

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

The flesh referred to here is animal and, as the larger context states, one reason for the prohibition of eating blood is to preserve priestly function (Lev. 17:1-14; see also Lev. 3:17, 7:26-27; Deuteronomy 12:23). People were not to make their own sacrifices wherever they wanted but bring the animals to the priests to be slaughtered at the tabernacle (later the temple), to the one altar for atonement. 

The principle about not eating blood also applies to animals or birds hunted for food. Before any animal can be eaten, its blood must be poured out and covered with dust. 

These rules were for everyone living in Israel—citizens as well as foreigners—and the penalty for infractions in either case were the same: A person would be “cut off.” It’s not clear what this means. New English Translation (NET) study notes suggest the person could be executed (whether by God or man is unknown), excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or suffer extirpation (his family line terminated by God). Whatever it means, the punishment is severe.

To understand why our Creator placed such significance on blood, we need to link Leviticus 17 with an earlier statement. After the flood God said, “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”  (Genesis 9:3-4) Several commentators suggest that not only did this rule look forward to the function of priests and God’s gift of atonement for our sins, but also prevented the cruelty of taking a limb or body part from a live animal for food, as birds and animals of prey may do.(3) 

Does human blood differ from animal blood?

Blood is the life of all flesh, including human life. But there are differences between human blood and animal blood in scripture.

If we go back to the death of Abel we’re reminded that his blood was supposed to be in his veins, supplying life and healing by delivering oxygen and other nutrients to vital organs, removing toxins, and so on. 

When a vein is opened up—by accident or deliberate violence—blood is spilled. When too much blood is lost, life ends. 

The blood of Abel was said to “cry out to God from the ground,” as we believe it does for all murdered humans (see Gen. 4:10; Psalm 9:12; Revelation 6:9-10). As Genesis 9:5-6 says, an accounting for human murder is thus demanded by God. Why? Because human beings are made in God’s image. 

The same is not true of animal blood. Although for both men and animals, “the life is in the blood,” only for human blood must there be a reckoning. 

Yes, the blood of sacrificial animals had a sacred purpose… the atonement of human sin. This special treatment of animal blood looked forward to the precious blood of Jesus that would be shed on the cross once for all, for our salvation (Hebrews 9:22). Eternal life is in the blood of Jesus! 

It's important to note that the early church maintained the rule against eating animal blood (see Acts 15:19-20). Animal blood was to be treated carefully—never eaten but spilled out. In this sense, animal blood is sacred just as human life is sacred. But there must be an accounting for the loss of human blood.

It’s not that human blood serves a different function than that of animals, but that it functions to sustain the life of a bearer of His image and likeness. 

Does this passage have anything to do with the pro-life ethic? 

Abortion advocates attempt to make something of the idea that there is a period of human gestation in which no heartbeat is detectable and there is no apparent flow of blood. Is this an argument in favor of very early abortion, a sign that there is, as yet, no life in the womb? Let’s look more closely at the facts, borrowed from the Charlotte Lozier Institute:

• The heart is the embryo’s first functioning organ, which starts to develop as early as 16 days after fertilization.
• The first heartbeat occurs approximately day 22-23 after fertilization, which is the 6th week of gestation in pregnancy.
• The heart forms very early in embryogenesis because the embryo’s survival requires circulation of oxygen-carrying blood, a fact that is validated by all embryology textbooks.
• The fetal heart is a vital source for oxygen and nutrient distribution, because passive oxygen diffusion that sustains the embryo earlier in gestation becomes insufficient to support the embryo’s continued existence.
• Initially, the embryonic heart rate is, on average, 110 beats per minute, and increases to approximately 170 beats per minute at 9-10 weeks’ gestation.
• Even at this early stage, the heart has primitive heart valves that act as physical barriers that prevent the backflow of blood through the heart tube and assist in the forward propulsion of blood as it is pumped through the heart and out through the rest of the body.

Embryonic heartbeats can be detected as early as the sixth week of gestation. There is a functional, beating heart in every human being by six weeks of gestation.(4) 

Here’s another important fact: An unborn baby’s blood type often differs from his or her mother’s and their circulatory systems are separate. A thin membrane separating the embryo's blood from the mother's allows the exchange of materials between them while preventing the mother’s immune system from attacking the embryo.(5)

So, is human blood shed in elective abortions? Yes. Is the life lost precious because blood has been shed?  No, but rather because the life that was lost was made in God’s image. Does the deliberate abortion of a human embryo or fetus demand an accounting? Yes. Their blood cries out to God to be avenged.

The question that people who are considering abortion must answer is whether they are willing to risk “bloodguilt” over even a very early abortion. If you have questions about abortion or need help with a pregnancy, please visit our Need Help? web page.

Next: Can blood be tainted?

______________________

Endnotes:

1. How Does A Bone Heal? https://youtu.be/USbjj0wWvYA, https://askabiologist.asu.edu/bone-healing 

2. Blood Function: What It Is and Why We Need It, Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24836-blood

3. Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary, Genesis 9:3, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/genesis/9.htm; John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, Genesis 9:4, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/genesis-9-4.html 

4. Science Behind Embryonic Heartbeats – A Fact Sheet, Charlotte Lozier Institute, https://lozierinstitute.org/the-science-behind-embryonic-heartbeats-a-fact-sheet/. See also 12 Facts at 12 Weeks, Charlotte Lozier Institute, https://lozierinstitute.org/12-facts-at-12-weeks/ and Prenatal Form and Function – The Making of an Earth Suit, The Endowment for Human Development, Unit 3: Two to Three Weeks, https://www.ehd.org/dev_article_unit3.php#bloodvessels; Unit 4: Three to Four Weeks, https://www.ehd.org/dev_article_unit4.php#heartbeat.

5. Stages of Development of the Fetus: Placenta and Embryo at About 8 Weeks, Merck Manual, https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/women-s-health-issues/normal-pregnancy/stages-of-development-of-the-fetus 

Image credit: The Ghent Altarpiece. Adoration of the Lamb (detail), Jan van Eyck, 1432, St. Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium, https://www.wikiart.org/en/jan-van-eyck/the-ghent-altarpiece-1432-1