The second portion of the chapter contains laws banning the eating blood – in summary, nobody of Israel or visiting Israel, is to eat blood – the animal must be drained of blood before consumption.
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘…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. 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. …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.’ ” (v1-9 abr)
This is extremely serious – it seems God had to specifically tell the people not to offer sacrifices to other Gods. I’m assuming God had to clarify this because at least one person was making animal sacrifices to another god (or “goat demon”).
This is idolatry (having other gods before the one true God, the first of the ten commandments), and God likens it to a form of adultery, stating that they are cheating on Him (“So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore”).
What does this mean for us today? We can’t offer animal sacrifices to anyone except God? Not exactly, though that would be a sin if we did. God still expects us to fully submit to Him, including submitting the use of the resources He entrusted to us.
What does that mean? Let’s say we gave all of our charitable financial support to a secular cause, and didn’t give anything (or gave less than our ten percent) to God’s kingdom. Would that be sacrificing to another god? How about if we give all of our free time to secular causes and didn’t volunteer for any kingdom service? Is that idolatry?
I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t give our resources to causes that are not directly kingdom-building, what I’m suggesting is we shouldn’t give to those causes if it compromises our ability to contribute to God’s kingdom.
Anything can become a god in this world if we allow it to receive more of our heart and resources than we give to God’s kingdom. It’s perfectly fine to spend some time and money on recreation or sports, as long as we give our firstfruits to God, and don’t allow those other points of focus to prevent us from loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Father God, we recognize that You are the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You are the Holy One of Israel, who sets the captives free. Father please help us to fully submit all that we have and are to You, our sovereign God. Father please direct our resources in alignment with Your will, since the resources we have are from You. Thank you for the strength and wisdom You will teach to help us accomplish this. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training