Let us begin with Leviticus 17:1-9—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “2 Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying: “3 Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’ 8 Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.’”
When we read this, we may be tempted to ask, “What’s the big deal about where an animal was killed?” Well, apparently, God thought it was a big deal. Besides, if we read it and consider it carefully, it will become clear the reason behind these commands. Basically, the reason is this: if you kill an animal, it had better be as a sacrifice to YHVH. You don’t just say “Ya know honey, I feel like steak tonight” and go kill a cow and feed only your family with it. If you do that, what happens? “He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people.”
Now, this was another regulation that was not meant to be a permanent injunction. This was a regulation for their time in the wilderness. Later on, in Deuteronomy 12, Moses tells the people that once they reach the place where God would cause His name to dwell (that is, Jerusalem), they could kill and eat to their heart’s delight. Deuteronomy 12:10-15—“10 When you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD 13 Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. 15 However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.” So, once they got to their promised destination, they could eat venison. Oh, happy day!
The reason for the command to not slaughter in the open fields while they were in the wilderness was simple: this was something which was common among the pagans. Sandwiched in between the warnings to bring the blood and the fat into the tabernacle, we find this warning, Leviticus 17:7—“They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot.” Keil and Delitzsch—
“This reason presupposes that the custom of dedicating the slain animals as sacrifices to some deity, to which a portion of them was offered, was then widely spread among the Israelites. It had probably been adopted from the Egyptians; though this is not expressly stated by ancient writers…To root out this idolatrous custom from among the Israelites, they were commanded to slay every animal before the tabernacle, as a sacrificial gift to Jehovah, and to bring the slain-offerings, which they would have slain in the open field, to the priest at the tabernacle, as shelamim (praise-offerings and thank-offerings), that he might sprinkle the blood upon the altar, and burn the fat as a sweet-smelling savour for Jehovah.”
Keep in mind: they had just spent 430 some-odd years in Egypt. Were there a lot of people in Egypt who worshipped YHVH? Pharaoh had never heard of a deity called YHVH. Exodus 5:1-2—1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus says YHVH, the God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.'" 2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is YHVH, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know YHVH, nor will I let Israel go." In fact, when YHVH called to Moses out of the burning bush, Moses didn’t even know what to call Him. Even being a Hebrew, he had never heard the name YHVH. Exodus 3:13—Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" So these people, who had spent centuries surrounded by pagan worship (and who may very well have dabbled in such worship themselves) were being introduced to, for all intents and purposes, a new religion. They had no idea what it meant to worship one single God. Nor did they know how to act toward a God who had no visible form. This was made painfully obvious in the episode with the golden calf. These people needed to have every element of pagan religion stripped out of their lives if they were going to worship YHVH in the way He expected them to worship Him. That included killing animals in open fields and offering them to the strange gods of not only Egypt, but also the pagans who would surround them while they wandered in the wilderness, and even after they got to their promised rest.
Not only did God tell them that they were not allowed to slaughter their animals in the open field, He commanded them to bring their animals to the tabernacle, and that it was the priests who were to do the butchering. Leviticus 17:5—“…to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD.” Now, this verse may seem a bit confusing, so allow me to clarify. God is not saying that the people were to slaughter their animal in an open field and then bring the animal to the priest. That really wouldn’t make much sense, because this would raise questions such as, “How much of the animal can be cut up? What parts are to be brought?” What God is saying is this: “The sacrifices they used to offer in the open field—those animals they used to offer to Horus and Isis and Anubis—let them now bring those animals to the priest, that the priest may offer them in sacrifice to ME.” Keep another thing in mind: not only had these Israelites come out of 400+ years of idolatry in Egypt but also, when they came out of Egypt, they brought with them a “mixed multitude”—slaves from other pagan nations who kinda snuck out with the Israelites. And if the Israelites were not careful, they could wind up being influenced by this rabble. So not only are these commands for the Israelites, but they are also for the “mixed multitude” who submit themselves to the terms of this covenant. The Egyptian or Ethiopian; the ones from Put and Lud; they must cease offering animals in the open field to their gods or face extermination.
The next part is quite lengthy, so we will do that next week
Jesus Christ is Lord
Amen
