Well done.

Genesis 9:4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

Eating undercooked or raw meat, poultry, or seafood can cause sickness. This is a statement that we can read on the bottom of most menus in most restaurants in the United States. Did you ever think that this statement was Biblical?

If you’re reading the Bible to find the “practical life application of scripture” then you have to ask questions like, “Why?” Why did God say don’t eat meat with the blood in it? Well, I’m not God so I don’t know for sure, but I have some ideas.

When God gave this rule to Noah (and again to the Israelites in Leviticus 19) there was no USDA approval on the meat. There were no health inspectors checking to make sure everything was kept in a sanitary environment. The people were basically living a kill-cook-eat lifestyle. God, in His infinite grace and wisdom, knew that there were certain negative consequences to eating undercooked meat products.

There are diseases, bacteria, and sicknesses that breed and thrive in the flesh of animals. If the meat is not cooked fully, that is, well done, then there is a chance that those harmful things can end up in the consumer. So God made this rule: cook it thoroughly! In a practical sense, this is what this rule was for. Of course, in today’s day and age, what with flash-freezing and countless safety precautions in the food industry, there is less of a risk when eating undercooked meat. So I guess this law doesn’t apply anymore. WRONG!

The purpose for all of God’s laws is this: to lead us to Jesus (Galatians 3:24). Even this simple cooking law points back to Jesus Christ, specifically to His scourging and crucifixion.

The Bible tells us that Christ was beaten and scourged, not for the penalty of our sins, but to bear our sicknesses and diseases in His own body (Isaiah 53:5). He suffered these things so that we could be healed. Then He went to the cross where He became God’s perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

While hanging on the cross Christ cried out, “I thirst.” (John 19:28) While Jesus was dying He was becoming our burnt offering to God. The fullness of God’s anger toward sin, disease, and sickness was burning on Christ. When all of the imperfections, our imperfections that He bore, were fully cooked, Christ cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He bowed His head, gave up His spirit, and saved all of humanity!

God didn’t want His people eating undercooked meat because it would still have some imperfections left in it. When Christ went to the cross He even fulfilled the rule that meat must be fully cooked. When you partake of Christ know that there is not one bit of your imperfections, your sins, your sicknesses left in Him. He is perfect. He is Well Done!