Leviticus 17 - The World Outside of God

I'm always intrigued when I come across a verse in Scripture that seems to hint at what the world was like outside of God's chosen people. Why did the Israelites strive to be "set apart"? Why did God give them a Law that so profoundly differentiated them from the surrounding nations? What was so bad about these pagan gentiles?

One telling sign is just how alluring the lifestyle of the pagans was. Throughout the Torah God is constantly reminding His people not to do the things that the pagans are doing. The biggest temptation was that of idolatry and all it encompasses. Idolatry seems to be the defining feature of the world outside of God. And it came in many forms: worship of graven forms, worship of natural things, worship of living people, etc. It also consisted in deplorable practices: fornication on a massive scale, human sacrifice, violent rituals, drunkenness, etc. One need only read a handful of Greek myths to understand this. The world outside of the camps of God was one in which demons ran free, soaking up the attention they were given. It was a world of debauchery, licentiousness, and overindulgence. No wonder God's people were constantly defecting to the other side!

The passing mention in Leviticus 17 says that the children of Israel "shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication." This brief reference to paganism says quite a lot. For one, it implies that the children of Israel were guilty of sacrificing to devils, at one time at least. It also hints at the abominable sexual practices of the pagans (which will eventually be addressed in Leviticus). The true and historic pagan lifestyle is often downplayed in our society (perhaps because it reminds us too much of our Godless society today?). But viewing it as it was makes the Law given by God shine even brighter (which it should). God's law-filled light scares away the devils and puts an end to their abhorrent practices. The exact same thing can be said of our society today, if only we would let His light shine.

One last note, returning to Leviticus 17:7. I found it interesting that the "devils" in this verse comes from the Hebrew word sehirim, which is sometimes translated as "goats" since the word implies "hairy ones." And it is thought by some scholars to more specifically imply the pagan satyrs, or goat-men, found in Greek mythology and revered and worshiped by the Egyptians in the area near the Israelites. It is entirely possible that God is here condemning the worship of a Pan-like god. I am always fascinated when different historical worlds intersect like this.