Do we often “sacrifice” because sacrifice is a new kind of pride?  I remember a commercial years ago of a complacent mom in the kitchen. She was enjoying the quiet, without family noise, reading a book, eating Rice Krispies bars.  The commercial is telling us how easy these treats are to make but she hides this fact from her family.

To show the family her sacrifice, she throws flour (not an ingredient) on her face and wiped her brow to show her family how hard she sacrificed herself so they could have a special treat that they believed took “hours” of her time to make.  She reveled in her family’s gratefulness!  This seems silly but is a small example of the subtlety of sin.  Evil slyly seeps into our daily living in subtle ways to distract, deceive, and dismantle our faith—if it is not recognized for what it is and stopped from affecting us and those around us.

It has been said and followed up with hard evidence by George Barna, a scientific researcher who has a heart for God, that the tables of faith in churches in the United States are flipping.  “The church is being affected by society more than we as the church are affecting society.”  Evil walks into our churches along with all the people who gather each week. We accept it, even sacrifice for it, and are eventually enticed by it—if we allow it.  https://www.barna.com/stateofthechurch/

Yes, we should accept all people, (do not hear what I am not saying). It is evil that presents itself in the forms of pride, arrogance, jealousy, envy, and greed that is unacceptable. God detests these evil inspired behaviors because it gives birth to gossip, selfishness, demanding that self needs are met, along with false power plays, while jockeying for position while demanding praise from people for people. Evil behaviors must be dealt with and removed before it dismantles the faith of all believers falling for it.  Evil is subtle most times and is even presented as “an angel of light.”  2 Corinthians 11:14–15 contains perhaps the most important bit of information all believers need to remember concerning the nature of Satan and his work. Paul warns the church that the Devil “disguises himself as an angel of light” (v. 14). (We won’t get into how the “church” reacted to each other in front of the world during Covid in 2020!  We didn’t do so well as the church in our responses to each other and to the world!)

In Moses time, God cannot emphasize too much that the religion of the Canaanite nations was unspeakably filthy and mingled blind superstition with gross immorality (Deuteronomy 16:21–22). Human nature being what it is, the Israelites would be attracted to gods they could see and ceremonies that appealed to their sensual appetites. This explains why God commanded the Israelites to wipe out every vestige of Canaanite religion from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–11), for He knew that the hearts of the people were too often set on doing evil in spite of His holy laws and His warnings.

Deuteronomy 17

Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.

² If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, ³ and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, ⁴ and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, ⁵ take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. ⁶ On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ⁷ The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.

Law Courts

⁸ If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. ⁹ Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. ¹⁰ You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. ¹¹ Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. ¹² Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. ¹³ All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.

The King

¹⁴ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” ¹⁵ be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. ¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” ¹⁷ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

¹⁸ When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees ²⁰ and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Throughout God’s Word, God tells His Stories proclaiming His deep love and compassion for all He has created “in his own image.”  We learn that God wants us to love Him back but He has given us a choice to do so—or not. God’s desire to pour out His blessings of all that is good over us.  But evil by the Enemy of God shows up with other choices that are not of God.  How will we respond? The choice is up to everyone.  Do I want and seek a loving, intimate relationship with the God of Creation—or not? There are only to choices. No gray areas.  We choose God or we choose evil. We choose to live in God’s ways or in the ways of evil that lead to destruction. God gives life. Evil leads to death.  Both are forever.  Your choice.  My choice.

Imitating the world instead of trusting the Lord has always been the great temptation of God’s people, and each time they’ve succumbed, they’ve suffered. During their wilderness journey, Israel compared everything that happened with what they had experienced in Egypt, and at Kadesh Barnea they even wanted to choose a leader and go back to Egypt (Numbers 14:1–5)!

Warren Wiersbe writes; “The church today is equally guilty of unbelief. When church leaders adopt the methods and measurements of the world, then the church has taken a giant step toward becoming like the world and losing its divine distinctives. Instead of trusting the Word of God and prayer (Acts 6:4); we depend on following the world’s wisdom, imitating the world’s methods, and catering to the world’s appetites, giving people what they want instead of what they need. Believers today need to take to heart God’s reminder to Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples” (Leviticus 20:24).  –Wierbe Study Bible

When Israel got around to demanding a king (1 Sam. 8), God was not surprised when His people demanded a king so they could be like other nations. (See 1 Samuel)  God had already anticipated that disappointing rejection of His authority by the nation. He gave those future kings (and by extension all leaders) some helpful guidelines in dealing with the temptations that go with power. Unfortunately, history has recorded too few instances in which leaders have heeded God’s instructions. Yet we remain responsible for how we respond to God’s Word, making sure to engage in “regular reading” so that our attitude and actions are shaped by the truth.

Lord,

Cleanse our evil invaded hearts of all that is not you.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that guides us to discern all that is truth in all circumstances.  Renew our minds.  Transform our behaviors in ways that please you. Deliver us from evil.  Turn our messy lives into a testimonial message that give you praise alone!  Daily restore the joy of your salvation at work within us. Open our eyes to see your glory all around us so we will be quick to trust and obey for we know there is no other way to be at peace with You. 

In Jesus Name, Amen