Topical Bible: Idolatry: Other Customs of Libations

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In the context of biblical idolatry, libations were a common practice among ancient cultures, including those surrounding the Israelites. Libations involved the pouring out of liquid offerings, typically wine, as an act of worship or appeasement to deities. This practice is frequently mentioned in the Bible as part of the idolatrous customs that the Israelites were warned against adopting.

The Bible explicitly condemns the practice of libations when associated with idol worship. In Deuteronomy 32:37-38 , God rebukes the Israelites for turning to other gods, saying, "Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let them give you shelter!" This passage highlights the futility of relying on idols, which cannot provide protection or deliverance.

The prophet Isaiah also addresses the issue of libations in the context of idolatry. In Isaiah 57:6 , he criticizes the people for their idolatrous practices: "Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley; indeed, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. Should I relent concerning these things?" Here, Isaiah underscores the misplaced devotion of the Israelites, who offered libations to inanimate objects rather than to the living God.

Jeremiah further condemns the practice in Jeremiah 7:18 , where he describes the idolatrous activities of the people: "The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger." This passage illustrates the communal nature of idolatrous worship, involving entire families in the preparation and offering of libations to false deities.

The New Testament also reflects on the issue of idolatry and libations. In 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 , the Apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church against participating in pagan rituals: "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons." Paul emphasizes the spiritual danger of engaging in idolatrous practices, including libations, which are incompatible with Christian worship.

Throughout Scripture, the practice of pouring out libations to idols is consistently portrayed as an affront to the worship of the one true God. The biblical narrative underscores the importance of exclusive devotion to God, rejecting any form of idolatry, including the offering of drink offerings to false gods. The Israelites were repeatedly reminded of the covenantal relationship with Yahweh, which required them to abstain from the idolatrous customs of the surrounding nations.

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Isaiah 57:6
Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they, they are your lot: even to them have you poured a drink offering, you have offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
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Isaiah 65:11
But you are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering to that number.
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Jeremiah 7:18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
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Jeremiah 19:13
And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings to other gods.
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Jeremiah 32:29
And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
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Jeremiah 44:17,19,25
But we will certainly do whatever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
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Ezekiel 20:28
For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet smell, and poured out there their drink offerings.
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Library

Though in Almost Every Age There have Indeed Been in the Heathen ...
... allowed men to continue the idolatry of their ... the subtile disputations of other
philosophers; whereas ... affections, and vicious inclinations, customs, and habits ...
/.../vi proposition vi though in.htm

Simon Magus.
... followed him, as well as the customs practiced by ... T?�bingen school, as well as some
other modern critics ... 2 sq.; Tertullian's Apology, On Idolatry, On the Soul ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pamphilius/church history/chapter xiii simon magus.htm

The Transformation of Rome from a Pagan into a Christian City.
... such marriages lead us back to idolatry and superstition ... the Piazza di Termini, although
devoted to other purposes ... The customs and practices of the classical age ...
/.../lanciani/pagan and christian rome/chapter i the transformation of.htm

The Sibylline Oracles.
... from the waters, and became the originator of idolatry. ... a pile of frankincense, myrrh,
and other aromatic herbs ... might no longer serve the lawless customs of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the sibylline oracles.htm

Reform
... with the false gods of this world's idolatry. ... when Episcopacy, Independency, Wesleyanism,
and every other system, must ... to be burned, then sinful customs are to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/reform.htm

The First Apology of Justin, the Martyr
... gods that you do, and do not bring libations and offerings ... and have turned away from
the old customs in which ... For all the other nations of mankind are called ...
/.../richardson/early christian fathers/the first apology of justin.htm

Period I: the Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or ...
... It was mixed up with the customs of the North African church, whereby the ... Aptunga,
the consecrator of Caecilianus, who had been elected by the other party, had ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period i the imperial state.htm

The Iranian Conquest
... their entrails devoutly on the fire, with libations.". ... empires, the history of no
other has suffered ... invented an explanation consonant with their own customs. ...
/.../chapter ithe iranian conquest.htm