Scripture Daily

Context No. 2058 of 4322 · Leviticus

Context · Reflection

Leviticus 17:1-7: in context

1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 3Whatever man there is of the house of Israel who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from among his people. 5This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the LORD’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to the LORD. 7They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’

God gives Israel a command about their sacrifices: they must be brought to the door of the tent of meeting and offered to the LORD there, not slaughtered in the open field. And the reason is given plainly at the end: they shall no more offer their sacrifices to the goat idols, after whom they play the harlot. The people had a tendency to scatter their worship, offering to the false gods of the surrounding nations; and God claims their worship for himself alone, forbidding the divided devotion that gave to idols what belonged to him.

At the heart of this command is God's exclusive claim on the worship of his people. They were not to divide their devotion between the LORD and the idols, offering some sacrifices to him and some to the false gods they had gone after. God claims their worship wholly for himself: bring your offerings to me, and no longer to the idols. He will not share our devotion with rivals; he claims it entirely. The command against sacrificing in the open field, where idolatry could creep in, was to guard this exclusive devotion, turning the people from every false god to the worship of the LORD alone. This exclusive claim runs through Scripture and reaches us. God is not one object of devotion among many, content to have a portion of our worship while we give the rest to other things. You shall have no other gods before me, he says; you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. He claims our worship wholly, and the divided devotion that gives him a portion while reserving the rest for idols is, in Scripture's stark language, a kind of unfaithfulness, playing the harlot after other gods. Our idols may not be carved images, but whatever we give our ultimate devotion to alongside God, wealth, status, pleasure, security, self, competes for the worship he claims wholly for himself. This searches where our devotion actually goes. Do we give God our whole worship, or do we divide it, offering him a portion while reserving our deeper devotion for other things, the modern idols that draw our hearts? God claims our worship exclusively; he will not share it with rivals; and the call is to turn from every idol that competes for our devotion and to worship him alone. You cannot serve God and money, Jesus says; and the exclusive claim of God on our worship means bringing all our devotion to him, no longer scattering it among the idols that draw our hearts away. God commanded Israel to bring their offerings to him alone and to forsake the idols; and he claims our whole devotion still, calling us to worship him only and to turn from every rival that would divide our hearts.

Do I give God my whole worship, or do I divide my devotion, offering him a portion while reserving my deeper allegiance for other things, the modern idols of wealth, status, pleasure, or self that draw my heart, and can God's exclusive claim on Israel's worship, forbidding the divided devotion that gave to idols what belonged to him, call me to turn from every rival and worship him alone?

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