Gone a Whoring

Gone a Whoring“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, 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…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.” Leviticus 17:3-4, 7

Not Guilty?

Were the Jews of this day actually making sacrifices to satan and/or his demons? It would seem that they were on occasion, but for the Christian that is not really the issue. For those who consider themselves followers of Christ Jesus what matters is how we might construct a modern-day application for this passage so we may not do similarly. To do so, the very first thing we must examine is whether or not we are offering our sacrifices of praise and/or thanksgiving to the devil; have we too gone a whoring?

”Of course not, ” I suspect everyone is saying, ”my praises and the thanks I give are solely to the Lord!”

For brevity’s sake, I concur, Not guilty!” In fact (and you might agree with me), I do a pretty good job of giving thanks; i.e. remembering God for all the goodness He has provided. But what about the times I do not give thanks? Oh not the times I forget (which is also common), but when I choose to not thank God for His provision—what about those times?

The truth of the matter is simply this—when I opt to not thank God for that which I am about to receive, regardless if it is victuals or vocations, chances are it is because I know that the thing I am about to partake of is not of God. In other words I have gone a whoring. What might that look like? Often times it’s apparent in what I may elect to view on TV or at the movies. Would I invite Jesus to watch with me? Would I give Him thanks for providing the opportunity to watch it?

Here is the bottom line from God’s perspective: if I cannot thank Him for it, then I should not be a part of it. This is precisely what He was conveying to Israel in the Leviticus passage and it’s what He is communicating to us today. Give thanks always and to Him only.