Comments on: God’s Covenant with “all living flesh” http://johnmangels.com/2010/01/19/gods-covenant-with-all-living-flesh/ Musings by and conversations with John Mangels Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: johnmangels http://johnmangels.com/2010/01/19/gods-covenant-with-all-living-flesh/#comment-245 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:27:28 +0000 http://johnmangels.com/?p=695#comment-245 Ok Susan, I’m looking at the reading now (Genesis 9:1-17 RSV). After talking about the anhimals that can be eaten, God says, “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” And then God adds (differentiating people in my mind), “For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckeoning … of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.”

So there is no retribution for killing and eating animals (only the lifeblood is not to be eaten). But there is retribution (to man and to beast) for taking the lifeblood (killing) a human being, made in the image of God.

]]> By: johnmangels http://johnmangels.com/2010/01/19/gods-covenant-with-all-living-flesh/#comment-243 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:01:37 +0000 http://johnmangels.com/?p=695#comment-243 Susan, I’ll have to look at the passage in the morning to verify this. But my recollection is that there was a specific mention of something like “blood for blood” to be taken from the transgresor if human life was taken.`My memory is not that specific. Other than that (and of course the fact that animals were given to humans to be eaten, so long as the life blood was left for God), as near as I recall, the terms of the covenant were pretty equal for the animals and the humans.

]]> By: Deacon Susan Reeve http://johnmangels.com/2010/01/19/gods-covenant-with-all-living-flesh/#comment-242 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:26:04 +0000 http://johnmangels.com/?p=695#comment-242 …Human life blood, if taken, is singled out for special retribution…. John, can you say more what you mean by this statement?

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