Blood Shed

Leviticus 17:4 KJV

And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:

The taking of the life of an animal was such a momentous act that it was never to be done lazily or in a flippant way. Whether the animal was slain inside the camp or out in the field, the blood was to be brought as an offering to the Lord. There was no animal to be killed as "common food" but every animal taken was to be viewed as an offering to God. 

Barnes observes that this strict observance would have been rendered impossible after Israel settled in the Promised Land. But the reverence for life could have always been preserved by viewing every animal slain as being an offering to God and viewing every meal partaken from that animal as being a gift from God. 

I see in this chapter the tendency of man to let slip the importance of the details of worship. I heard about a young man I have acquaintance with who was recently confronted with changes happening in his church. His response was that he did not care about the details of the services as long as people were being saved. That attitude pervades Christianity right now. We have taken it upon ourselves to be the soul winners (rather than seeing that as the work of God) and as a result, we have watched doctrine become secondary to decisions being made. I rather believe that the gospel truth is in living out true doctrine and allowing that the Holy Spirit is more than able to bring souls to a saving knowledge. Our witness, in other words, is our living out the truth and not our confrontational soul winning.[1]

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[1] I do not mean to say we should not practice confrontational soul winning. It is obvious from Scripture that we must so speak that people believe. I only mean to say that soul winning is secondary and a result of living out the gospel. It is not a replacement for obedient Christian living.