|
|
The Place of Sacrifice
17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
“And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.
Laws Against Eating Blood
“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
“Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”
(ESV)
Leviticus 17 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.
Leviticus 17:7 GNB
Allegiance to God is the greatest priority. A short time after the laws of Leviticus 17 were implemented, the people of Israel would plummet into the worship of Baal (Numbers 25). In Deuteronomy 32, we find the Israelites sacrificing animals to pagan gods outside the tabernacle.
They sacrificed to gods that are not real, new gods their ancestors had never known, gods that Israel had never obeyed.
Deuteronomy 32:17 GNB
Paul outlines the same warning in the NT.
So then, my dear friends, keep away from the worship of idols. 15 I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
1 Corinthians 10:14-15 GNB
No! What I am saying is that what is sacrificed on pagan altars is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the Lord’s cup and also from the cup of demons; you cannot eat at the Lord’s table and also at the table of demons. 22 Or do we want to make the Lord jealous? Do we think that we are stronger than he?
1 Corinthians 10:20-22 GNB
Idol worship in any form (sex, eating, power, money, lust, etc.) is not really the problem. Many of the basic needs we have as people could be considered idols. The issue is the demonic power that resides in the worship of idols. When we worship an idol like it’s above God, the demonic forces play their part in allowing us to experience what we desire. However, what we don’t realize is that we are exposing ourselves to something that will never fill us up and always leave us wanting more.
Some of the laws here in Leviticus 17 were supposed to be a guardrail for the worship of idols but the people persisted in their rebellion. Thankfully, Jesus came so that we could be set free from all idolatry and be filled up with His Holy Spirit!