Leviticus 17
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Leviticus 17:2-7, This is what the Lord has commanded: Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people. This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. The priest is to splash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.
Chapter 17 begins what scholars call the holiness codes for the Israelites, these are the everyday ways that they were to seek holiness, to be set apart from the surrounding cultures and nations. On the surface, it looks like this chapter is more instructions on where to do their sacrifices and what food to eat, but it is really about not sacrificing animals to demons (the goat idol), violating the first and second commandments. Apparently, the sacrifices made in open fields rather than the tent of meeting tended to be for the purposes of idolatry. This was about worship of the one true God.
It's easy for us to say that we don't sacrifice animals to a goat idol. I'm quite certain that isn't an issue among any of today's readers. But that doesn't mean we can dismiss this passage. Idolatry is still a very real thing in 2021. I think it tends to be a bit more insidious and that makes it even more dangerous! How might idolatry sneak into the lives of God's people today? What kinds of things do we put before God? What do we worship? Let's be real. Take a moment and spend some time with God right now. Ask God to reveal any ways that idolatry has snuck into your life.
Let's pray...Holy God, we are such flawed people. We know that as much as we don't want to believe it, we have allowed the things of this world to take your place. Reveal to us those places in our hearts and lives that need to change. Give us the courage to do what we need to do. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.