Why is there a commandment to commit human sacrifice in the Bible?

Question

Leviticus 27: 28-29

27:28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.

27:29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

Let me paraphrase for the reading impaired.

Of all of the things which a man may commit as an offering to the Lord, whether human, animal or crop, all are holy and shall be put to death.

Humans, animals and crops were all burnt on altars as offerings to the Hebrew God.

It states that the men or animals are devotional offerings to the Lord.

There is no mention of crime or a criminal death penalty.

No wonder America is in trouble. It's citizens cannot read.

Answer 1

Folk who proof text get hoist by their own petard, so to speak. The opening verses (from the Hebrew in colloquial American English) go something like this:

"The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Suppose someone makes a special promise to set a person apart to serve me. Here is how much it will cost to set that person free from the promise to serve...."

There follows a long list of the ways in which folk who promised to set something apart could get it back into regular use. The social context for "setting apart" is long gone, but it seems to be about offerings, or a promise to work for the priests, or to have some place in the home rendered "sacred." In any event, it (or he or she) would no longer be used for anything else. A holy part of the house would not customarily be slept in, a daughter could not be given in marriage, a son could not work for the family, or so it seems.

Not everything had a price. Some items once given could never be bought back. This includes those judged guilty of many of what Leviticus counted as crimes and offenses. A person condemned to death for some offense could not buy his or her way out of said intended destruction, nor could their family or tribe. Leviticus is replete with such offenses. Finding them is an exercise I leave to the reader.

Remember, in the eyes of the writer/editor of Leviticus, there is no such thing as secular justice. People condemned to death are set aside for the Lord, who, according to Leviticus, intends their death precisely because of the way their actions have transgressed divine law. In a curious way, this affirms some fundamental notion of the impartiality of justice: neither wealth or station could prevent the imposition of the death penalty, or so it seems. This is similar in concept to the way in which the passages about "an eye for an eye" limited retribution.

Of course other writers/editors of the Hebrew scriptures recognized the ease with which people of wealth and power could evade or frustrate the quest for justice. Hence, the many passages in the Prophets about widows and orphans.

This is not meant to imply that there aren't controversial passages as currently read by westerners who no longer understand the social contexts of the early writers. Human sacrifice of Canaanites and other non-Jews was common (for a poignant example see 1st Samuel 15:31-32), but sacrifice of Israelites by Israelites in order to appease or cajole their god was rare subsequent to recision of the commandment to sacrifice all first born children (compare Exodus 13:2; 22:29-30 with Exodus 13:13 and 34:20) -- a commandment for which the god of the Israelites eventually apologized. For those poignant passages see Ezekiel 20. Nevertheless, ritual sacrifice of a virgin Israelite woman was still well received and well rewarded (e.g., Judges 11:12 through 12:8) it seems quite late in the history of the Israelites.

HTH

Charles

Answer 2

You are mistaken. This is not about human sacrifice. Chapter 27 in Leviticus is a description of things the Jewish people can and cannot pledge to God. The Israelites were required to give certain things but many people wanted to give more such as dedicating themselves, a family member (not sacrificing dedicating for service) a house or field. Some people made rash and unrealistic vows. This chapter explains how valuations are made and what to do if a donor later wished to buy back what had been donated to God.

Leviticus 27:29 "No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; he must be put to death."

Life Application Bible Footnote: Things devoted to destruction applies to personal property or persons placed under God's ban, such as captured booty from idol-worshipers or idols themselves. These were to be destroyed and could not be redeemed (or bought back)

Answer 3

It is not about human sacrifice

The point is: In the immediate preceding verses to the tithing verses 30-34, it is very clear that the phrase "it is most holy to the Lord" does not mean "it is an eternal moral principle.""Every devoted thing is MOST holy to the LORD," in verse 28, elevates this holiness to an even higher level than tithing which is only holy to the LORD! People, like Achan, who were under an official ban to be put to death for their sins are called "most holy to the Lord." "Most holy to the Lord" meant that the condemned criminal was under an absolute unredeemable grant to God. Albert Barnes says that some even interpret this "most holy" ban as a "curse." A person could even place himself under such an oath by promising not to fail to accomplish a specific purpose; however this may only mean lifelong devotion. Although Israel did not sacrifice humans, its government did have the death penalty. (See Josh. 6:17; 7:13-26; Deut. 25:19; 1 Sam. 15:3.)

Answer 4

This is not human sacrifice. What these verses are saying is that any animal or anything set apart for the Lord can not be bought and sold or kept to themselves because they already belong to the Lord. So anyone who tried to do this in old testament times who was a Jew or in Isreal must be put to death because he sinned against the Lord a serious sin.
Im not sure if you are studying Leviticus. Saul in the Old Testament was guilty of this.
Please note that Jesus made all attonement for sins and no one gets put to death for their sins according to the Law anymore, no more animal sacrifices neccessary. Please read the New Testament so you may know what Jesus did on the cross.

Answer 5

I could give you my opinion, but I find this much better. You would need to read the link to really understand it.

"Usually, the first thing people think of when they hear “law of Moses” is animal sacrifice. The somewhat gruesome nature of blood sacrifice has led some to ask, “How could such an activity have anything to do with the gospel of love?” We can better understand the answer to that question when we understand the two major purposes for the law of sacrifice. These purposes applied to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament Apostles, and they apply to us today as we accept and live the law of sacrifice. Its two major purposes are to test and prove us and to assist us in coming unto Christ."

Answer 6

This is not a commandment for human sacrifice. It's telling us that anyone who is sentenced to die (the death penalty) by law cannot be pardoned once found guilty by God.

Answer 7

That garbage was written by superstitious nuts two thousand years ago. What's the difference what they wrote ?
At any rate, they weren't too gall darn schmart.

Answer 8

Things like this is why it was impossible to keep the old testament law.
They were hip deep in law.
Unable to keep the law they became very agitated.
Angry and upset.

Answer 9

To my knowledge, there is no command to commit human sacrifice except where God told Abraham to sacrifice Issac (his son) but then didn't let him go through with it. God was using it as a test of Abrahams willingness to do whatever he had to do to please God. It was that willingness that made Abraham the father of God's people.

Just a side note: I think God's willingness to sacrifice Jesus (his son) was to show us also that he (God) loved us enough to go to the max for us.

Answer 10

That says nothing about human sacrifice. I think you might be taking it out of context.