Read: Deuteronomy 11-13
Focus Verse: “But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life without the meat.” (Deuteronomy 12:23).
Devotion: So a strong stance has been made a lot so far in scripture to this point. That is, you may eat clean meat but NOT with the blood in it. The blood is to be drained completely. Why? Well it says “…because the blood is the life and you must not eat the life with the meat.” (12:23b) I want to do more research on this idea of not eating the ‘life with the meat’. What’s being meant by life? Don’t eat the life seems to suggest to me that it’s more than just about blood. So like, don’t eat the life of the animal, respect the animals life, but you can have its meat. But this is still kinda interesting and confusing. It doesn’t then seem all that detached from the vegan life of the garden of Eden in genesis if it’s about respecting animal life. However, it is still giving permission to eat meat. Perhaps not the ideal life, but the allowable one.
Pray: LORD I want to learn how to respect animal life. Help teach me what that means and what I can do to be a good steward of the creation you have given to us to rule over. Amen!
Additional Scripture: “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Ps 46:10)