Gregory argues that God first “cut off the idol” from his people, but he “left the sacrifices.”[27] Although we later learn that God doesn’t actually approve of animal sacrifices, God saw that his people at this time were too spiritually immature to abandon this barbaric practice. So, for a period of time, God graciously stooped to take on the appearance of a deity who enjoys, and even demands, the ritualistic killing of animals. While Yahweh was able to influence the Israelites away from the ANE assumption that gods actually eat these sacrifices, he nevertheless accommodated their culturally
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