17:1,2
We now enter what is known as the Holiness Code, running from this chapter through to chapter 26. There are those who claim it was a later addition to the book, coming from a much later period. However, there is no evidence for this, and it is quite clearly set in the context of the time. As always, it is best to take the Bible as it presents itself. The Lord spoke to Moses, Moses was then to speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites. “This is what the Lord has commanded”. We are reading the commands of God.
17:3-7
The first commands concern the proper sacrificing of animals. Animals were not to be sacrificed willy nilly. They were only to be sacrificed in accordance with the rules set out by the Lord and at the Tent of Meeting, and as an offering to the Lord. Otherwise it was bloodshed, and the person was to be cut off. The practices of sacrificing anywhere were associated with idol worship, and sacrificing to “goat idols” or “goat demons” (17:7) is given as an example. 1 Cor 10:20,21 talks about idol worship as worshipping demons.
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