Blood, Life, Sexual Sins

The life of every creature is in its blood.  That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’  So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community. [Leviticus 17.14]

Contrast this passage with what Jesus said in John 6.53:

So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. [John 6.53]

It would make sense that the very culture of abstinence from consuming blood would certainly provide the backdrop for Jesus' statement to His followers as recorded in John's Gospel.  It would further confirm Jesus' statement that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If for no other reason, the abstinence from eating blood, as practiced by the Jews, clearly confirmed Messiah as He implicated Himself to be so in His "eat-my-flesh-and-drink-my-blood" declaration in John 6.53.  Cool.

Now, on another subject, the 'Forbidden Sexual Practices' addressed in Leviticus 18 are not just inadvertent sins.  Most of them are deliberate sexual acts that God clearly addresses and disapproves of.  The list of sexual sins is unthinkable by most accepted cultural and social standards today with one very profound exception: homosexuality.  While no one on prime-time television lovingly praises and promotes embracing bestiality or incest, the networks quite literally dote over gay and lesbian (homosexual) behavior even mourning with them as victims of religious intolerance.  

In many cases now, speaking out against homosexuality is being decried by religious people who claim the Bible is their motivation to do so!  I am truly dumbfounded as to how the Bible can be referenced at all in this light!

If homosexuality is okay, how soon will incest and bestiality begin their transformation from unacceptable to acceptable?  What makes these two any worse than homosexuality?  I would hope proponents of homosexuality would not quote the Bible here!

So, my task is to find Jesus in this rant...  Well, the sexual sins God required Moses to forbid the Jews from engaging in were in fact a matter of practice in both Egypt (from whence Israel had come) and Canaan (their destination).  Failing to embrace God's rules would subject the Jews to the same expulsion that the Canaanites were about to face because of their debauchery.  Because the detestable practices listed by God to Moses were prevalent both in Israel's origin and destination (as regards their journey), there was need of cleansing of any part or party to those practices.  This was done through rules and ceremony.  The rules were laid out and the ceremonies then signified redemption for their impasse.  The laws and the ceremonies point to Jesus.

Father, I am trying to begin to see Jesus through this journey through the Old Testament this year.  I know the facts are indeed the facts (as to sin and its effects), but help me to not stop at the facts, but press on to find Jesus in every page I read!