Chapters 1-16 deal with corporal worship, and chapters 18-27 mainly regard one's personal worship and morality. Chapter 17 is a transitional chapter that bridges the two. God strictly commands that all sacrifices must be made at the tabernacle and only by the priests (1-9). This was to protect the unity of worship and guard against the pluralism of pagan cultures. God wanted them to worship him as the one true God. He specifically rebukes their sacrificing to the goat god and prostituting themselves. God wanted to resolve their habit of idol worship, which leads to demonic sacrifices that ruin God's holy image. By keeping this command, they would preserve their identity for generations to come.

For a third time, God commands them not to eat blood, or of animals that died naturally (10-16). Whoever disobeys this command should be cut off from God's people. Why such a stern command? They must respect blood because life is in the blood. Pagan cultures also made sacrifices to appease gods and drank the blood. Moreover, Holy God authorized them to use the blood of animal sacrifices for atonement. This looked forward to Jesus' blood that makes atonement for our sins, which has God's life in it. The blood of Jesus has real power to enable us to live holy lives by faith.


Application: Father, help me to worship you alone and to trust in the power of the blood of Jesus.
One Word: Real power is in Jesus' blood