May 9, 2019: Day 12 – Deuteronomy 12

This entire chapter is devoted to the right sacrifice that the Lord requires.  We have to transition to a couple other places in Scripture where we read that the most important offerings, the most important sacrifices are not those that are given by our hands.  Look at: Micah 6:1-8, Hosea 6:6 as well.  God wants our devotion to justice and equity more than just some left-over time and false intentions. 

We read the abomination that it was to the Israelites to sacrifice their children like so many of their neighbors did.  This is not just in Hollywood.  There was a time when the sacrifice of people, even children, was common place and was thought to appease the gods.  Israel never allowed that and always saw it as an abomination.

As a result of these abhorrent things that took  place in these sacrificial spaces Moses commands that they all be torn down.  All the places where the gods were worshiped with sacrifices were to be torn down.  You can see from vs.2 and following the command to tear down all of the idols.  The command is that you will not worship the Lord your God in the way that other people do.  Smash all of their altars so that you have no temptation to follow along with what the people around you are doing.

The cliche’ question would be what altars do we have which need to be torn down?  But maybe we need to eschew the traditional and move toward the question of what distinguishes us from those around us?  Maybe nothing…, that would be a sad testament to our faith and our following our Savior.  If nothing is different about us then how are we not at  the foot of the idols which culture has created and those idols dictate our purpose and the direction that we move. That is a scary, but very real possibility.