God prohibited eating blood because the life of the flesh is in the blood, a command He gave to Noah and the entire human race after the flood.
In Genesis 9:3-4, after God permitted the eating of animals, He immediately commanded that flesh must not be eaten 'with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof.' Les Feldick teaches that this mandate was not just a temporary rule; it was reiterated in the New Testament Jerusalem council and is tied to the blood-based forgiveness that God requires.
Genesis 9:4 — This is the direct prohibition against eating flesh with its life, which is the blood.
Genesis 9:3 — This verse establishes the new permission to eat meat, making the blood restriction that follows significant.
After the flood, God spoke to Noah and his sons and gave them a new dietary instruction: 'Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.' But He added a clear restriction: 'But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.' This command sets apart blood as the bearer of life and prohibits humans from consuming it along with meat.
Les Feldick teaches that Genesis 9 is a new set of instructions for Noah after the flood. He contrasts it with Genesis 1:28-29, pointing out that before the flood man ate only what grew naturally, while after the flood God gave every moving thing as food. At the same time, God placed a stipulation: man may not eat flesh with its life, which is the blood.
Before the flood, man did not eat animals; everything ate what grew naturally. After the flood, God gave every moving thing that lives as food, just as He had given the green herb. Les Feldick calls this a whole different set of circumstances, noting that God also instituted human government and capital punishment at this time.
Yes. In Acts 15, the leaders of Jerusalem instructed believers to abstain from things strangled and from blood. Les Feldick points to this as evidence that God has mandated that man not partake of the blood of anything, even after the cross.
Scripture says, 'Without shedding of blood there is no remission' (Hebrews 9:22). God killed animals to clothe Adam and Eve, and He required blood sacrifices from the beginning. Les Feldick calls this one of two absolutes that cannot be bypassed, compromised, or detoured around.
Why God Established Capital Punishment | Genesis 9 Explained
may have questions, feel free to call us or write us, and we'll either answer it here on the air, or we'll be back in contact with you. All right, now in chapter 9 it says, God blessed Noah and his sons, and he said unto them, Be fruitful, multiply, and ... what's the word? Replenish. Now, you remember way back in Genesis 1, and this is where I like to compare Scripture.
New Testament Reiteration
Les explains that the Jerusalem council reminds believers to abstain from blood, showing the command still applies.
The Genesis 9 Command
Les reads Genesis 9:3-4 and makes clear that God permitted meat but prohibited eating flesh with its life, which is the blood.
Blood in Redemption
Les ties the animal skins given to Adam and Eve to the necessity of blood for God to receive lost people.
Blood Required From the Beginning
Les says that from the very onset of the human experience God demanded a blood sacrifice for remission of sin.
Diet Before and After the Flood
Les contrasts the pre-flood plant-based diet with the new permission to eat meat, providing context for why the blood restriction was added.
The Absolute of Blood Shedding
Les quotes Hebrews 9:22 and calls the shedding of blood one of two absolutes that cannot be compromised.
What Are the 7 Bowl Judgments? Revelation 15–16 Explained
Well they dug fresh water wells, you remember, and tried to get fresh water that way. Well, here you see God is going to turn all drinkable water into blood. Now why blood? Well, again, look at the human race tonight. They're bloodthirsty. You know, I've always put it this way.
Genesis 9:3: Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
This verse gives the new permission to eat meat after the flood, setting up the prohibition on blood.
Genesis 9:4: But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
This is the direct command that forbids consuming blood, identifying blood as the life of the flesh.
Genesis 1:29: And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
This shows the original plant-based diet before the flood, which Les contrasts with the later permission to eat meat.
Acts 15:20: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
This New Testament instruction confirms that the prohibition on blood remained in force for believers.
Hebrews 9:22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
This verse explains why blood matters in God's plan of forgiveness and why it cannot be treated lightly.
God commanded this because the life of the flesh is in the blood. In Genesis 9:4, God told Noah and his sons, 'But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.' Les Feldick emphasizes that this command was a stipulation attached to the new permission to eat meat.
Yes. In Genesis 9:3 God said, 'Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.' This was a change from the pre-flood diet, when everything ate what grew naturally.
Yes. Acts 15:20 tells believers to abstain from things strangled and from blood. Les Feldick uses this passage to show that God has mandated that man not partake of the blood of anything, a command that was not rescinded.
Watch the Teaching: Why God Established Capital Punishment | Genesis 9 Explained