Genesis 9:4
But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
But you must not
This phrase introduces a divine command, emphasizing the authority and seriousness of God's instruction. The Hebrew word for "must not" is "לֹא" (lo), a strong negative imperative. This command is not merely a suggestion but a binding directive from God, highlighting the importance of obedience to His laws. In the broader context of Genesis, this command follows the covenant God establishes with Noah, underscoring the moral and ethical boundaries set by God for humanity.

eat meat
The Hebrew word for "meat" is "בָּשָׂר" (basar), which refers to flesh or food derived from animals. This is significant as it marks a shift from the pre-flood diet, which was primarily plant-based, to a post-flood allowance for consuming animal flesh. However, this permission comes with specific restrictions, indicating that even in the consumption of meat, there is a divine order and respect for life that must be maintained.

with its lifeblood
The term "lifeblood" is translated from the Hebrew "נֶפֶשׁ" (nephesh), often rendered as "soul" or "life." This word conveys the idea that the blood represents the life force of the creature. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, blood was often associated with life and vitality, and it held a sacred status. The prohibition against consuming blood underscores the sanctity of life and the recognition that life belongs to God alone.

still in it
This phrase indicates the condition in which the meat must not be consumed. The Hebrew construction suggests that the blood must be properly drained from the animal before it is eaten. This practice not only respects the life of the animal but also foreshadows later Levitical laws concerning the handling of blood, which are detailed in the Mosaic Law. The draining of blood before consumption is a tangible reminder of the life-giving power of blood and the respect due to the Creator who gives life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Noah
- The recipient of God's covenant and instructions after the flood. He represents humanity in this new beginning.

2. God
- The divine authority giving commands and establishing covenants with Noah and his descendants.

3. The Flood
- A significant event preceding this command, symbolizing judgment and a new start for creation.

4. Covenant
- The agreement between God and Noah, which includes stipulations for human conduct and divine promises.

5. Post-Flood Earth
- The setting for this command, marking a new era for humanity and creation.
Teaching Points
Sanctity of Life
The command underscores the sacredness of life, as represented by blood. Respect for life is foundational to our relationship with God and others.

Obedience to God's Commands
This directive is part of a broader covenant relationship, reminding us of the importance of obedience in our walk with God.

Symbolism of Blood
Blood is a powerful symbol throughout Scripture, representing life, sacrifice, and atonement. Understanding its significance helps us appreciate the depth of Christ's sacrifice.

Holiness in Daily Living
The command to abstain from blood calls us to live distinctively, reflecting God's holiness in our everyday choices.

Continuity of God's Moral Law
This principle, carried from the Old Testament into the New, shows the unchanging nature of God's moral expectations.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the command in Genesis 9:4 reflect God's view of life and its sanctity?

2. In what ways does the prohibition against consuming blood connect to the sacrificial system in the Old Testament?

3. How can understanding the symbolism of blood deepen our appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

4. What are some practical ways we can demonstrate respect for life in our daily interactions and decisions?

5. How does the continuity of this command into the New Testament (Acts 15) influence our understanding of God's moral law today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 17:10-14
This passage expands on the prohibition against consuming blood, emphasizing its sacredness and connection to life.

Acts 15:20, 29
The early church's decision to instruct Gentile believers to abstain from blood, showing continuity of this principle in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 12:23
Reinforces the command not to consume blood, highlighting the life-giving aspect of blood.

Hebrews 9:22
Discusses the significance of blood in the context of atonement, connecting the physical to the spiritual.
Noah a Representative PersonW. Adamson.Genesis 9:1-7
The Divine Benediction on the New HumanityT. H. Leale.Genesis 9:1-7
The New Life of Man on the EarthR.A. Redford Genesis 9:1-7
The New World and its Inheritors -- the Men of FaithP. Fairbairn, D. D.Genesis 9:1-7
People
Ham, Japheth, Noah, Shem
Places
Tigris-Euphrates Region
Topics
Blood, Eat, Flesh, Lifeblood, Life-blood, Meat, Thereof
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 9:4

     4478   meat

Genesis 9:1-4

     4438   eating

Genesis 9:1-5

     4029   world, human beings in

Genesis 9:1-17

     7203   ark, Noah's

Genesis 9:2-4

     4017   life, animal and plant

Genesis 9:4-5

     7422   ritual

Genesis 9:4-6

     7315   blood, basis of life

Library
Capital Punishment
Eversley. Quinquagesima Sunday, 1872. Genesis ix. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. . . . Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you . . . But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

Noah's Flood
(Quinquagesima Sunday.) GENESIS ix. 13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. We all know the history of Noah's flood. What have we learnt from that history? What were we intended to learn from it? What thoughts should we have about it? There are many thoughts which we may have. We may think how the flood came to pass; what means God used to make it rain forty days; what is meant by breaking up the fountains of the great deep. We may
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch

Death.
PSALM CIV. 20, 21. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. Let me say a few words on this text. It is one which has been a comfort to me again and again. It is one which, if rightly understood, ought to give comfort to pitiful and tender-hearted persons. Have you never been touched by, never been even shocked by, the mystery of pain and death? I do not speak now of pain and death
Charles Kingsley—Westminster Sermons

Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
To declare emphatically that the people of God are a covenant people, various signs were in sovereignty vouchsafed. The lights in the firmament of heaven were appointed to be for signs, affording direction to the mariner, the husbandman, and others. Miracles wrought on memorable occasions, were constituted signs or tokens of God's universal government. The gracious grant of covenant signs was made in order to proclaim the truth of the existence of God's covenant with his people, to urge the performance
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

That the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers.
The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. For, as I remember to
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Doctrine of Non-Resistance to Evil by Force Has Been Professed by a Minority of Men from the Very Foundation of Christianity. Of the Book "What
CHAPTER I. THE DOCTRINE OF NON-RESISTANCE TO EVIL BY FORCE HAS BEEN PROFESSED BY A MINORITY OF MEN FROM THE VERY FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY. Of the Book "What I Believe"--The Correspondence Evoked by it-- Letters from Quakers--Garrison's Declaration--Adin Ballou, his Works, his Catechism--Helchitsky's "Net of Faith"--The Attitude of the World to Works Elucidating Christ's Teaching--Dymond's Book "On War"--Musser's "Non-resistance Asserted"--Attitude of the Government in 1818 to Men who Refused to
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

Original Righteousness.
"For in Him we live and move, and have our being: as certain also of your own poets have said. For we are also His offspring." --Acts xvii. 28. It is the peculiar characteristic of the Reformed Confession that more than any other it humbles the sinner and exalts the sinless man. To disparage man is unscriptural. Being a sinner, fallen and no longer a real man, he must be humbled, rebuked, and inwardly broken. But the divinely created man, realizing the divine purpose or restored by omnipotent grace
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Mosaic Cosmogony.
ON the revival of science in the 16th century, some of the earliest conclusions at which philosophers arrived were found to be at variance with popular and long-established belief. The Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which had then full possession of the minds of men, contemplated the whole visible universe from the earth as the immovable centre of things. Copernicus changed the point of view, and placing the beholder in the sun, at once reduced the earth to an inconspicuous globule, a merely subordinate
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

Mount Zion.
"For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Discourse on Spiritual Food and True Discipleship. Peter's Confession.
(at the Synagogue in Capernaum.) ^D John VI. 22-71. ^d 22 On the morrow [the morrow after Jesus fed the five thousand] the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea [on the east side, opposite Capernaum] saw that there was no other boat there, save one, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples went away alone 23 (howbeit there came boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they ate the bread after that the Lord had given thanks): 24 when the multitude
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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