Wednesday, June 12: Leviticus 17– Old patterns die hard…

Exclusive worship of God… all sacrifices are to be made at the tabernacle and no longer anywhere else (8-9). This isn’t surprising.  Over and over again God demands exclusive loyalty from his people.

I found myself musing on verse 7. Initially the note connected with ‘goat idol’ caught my attention, see parenthesis.

They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols (demons) to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.'

I was surprised that the people would be making offerings to idols so quickly after leaving Egypt. Did they carry these rituals from Egypt? The Israelites were still in route to the Promised Land, and only about a year after their exodus, so influences from Canaanite cultures would certainly not be as strong as their Egyptian influence. It seems rituals from their past are luring them back…

I found myself thinking about how traditions and beliefs from our past are hard to break. Old belief systems are hard to break… this is certainly true for me. Old thought patterns linger and they surface in my life at unexpected times.

Lord, help me to deal with those lingering sin-patterns in my life, those deeply entrenched beliefs that do not honor You and tempt me to stay from You… In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.