HEBREW WORD STUDY – SACRIFICE – ZAVACH – זבח
Deuteronomy 32:17: They sacrificed until devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods, that came newly upon, whom your fathers fear not.”
In our modern society sacrificing animals as a burnt offering and worshiping idols of wood and stone are something we just do not do today. So we tend to just overlook a verse like Deuteronomy 32:17 and say it has no relevance for us today.
However, If we look at that word sacrifice it does not necessarily mean bring a burnt offering or a gift to an idol or wood or stone as we tend consider a sacrifice. It is the word zavach in the Hebrew which has the idea of giving up what is close to your heart to have a relationship with God or some other god. Whenever you are willing to sacrifice the dearest thing to you, ie., your relationship with God to obtain a relationship with someone or something, that person or thing becomes your god. In this country it is often money. For addicts it would be drugs. For many it is just pleasure. If one just pushes God aside to obtain this desire or longing that then becomes your god. Everyone has some god (God) that they zavach to.
Say you get a new job with a great salary. Suddenly you are no longer depending upon God each day to pay the bills, the rent and provide food. You are not seeking God as intensely, continually going through self examination and approaching each day anticipating a new miracle. Then your boss asks you to do something that compromises your faith in God. Would you give up that new salary, the comfort of a secure job to remain faithful to your commitment to God? You must decide what zavach or sacrifice to make. Would you zavach your uncompromising commitment to God for the sake of your newfound comfort and security in that job? Then you just switched gods and made your job your god just as much as ancient man sacrificed to idols of wood and stone.
But here is the kicker, according to this verse. It is not even your job you’re zavach(ing) sacrificng to, but it is to a devil. The word devil in Hebrew is sud which could mean a demon or to turn something into a waste product. In other words, your sacrifice to this new god of your job that is forcing you to go against your commitment to God could be demonic, or it could be a total waste of time and resources that God could put to eternal use rather than using it to bring momentary comfort.
The enemy is not blatant but very subtle. He will creep in and steal your relationship with God you love by replacing Him with an earthly comfort, security or pleasure that goes against the very heart and nature of the God you love without any warning.
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