Deuteronomy 16:21-17:1
The people who pursue justice at the gates must also guard purity at the altar, refusing both idolatrous mixture and dishonoring offerings because the Lord hates corrupted worship.
21 You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.
22 Neither shall you set yourself up a sacred stone which Yahweh your God hates.
1 You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
The people who pursue justice at the gates must also guard purity at the altar, refusing both idolatrous mixture and dishonoring offerings because the LORD hates corrupted worship.
Moses commands Israel to protect the LORD's worship from syncretistic cult objects and defective sacrifices, so the altar of the LORD is not joined to what He hates or approached with what He calls detestable.
As Israel enters Canaan, the temptation will not only be open abandonment of the LORD but also the blending of the LORD's altar with the religious symbols of the surrounding nations. Asherah poles and sacred stones belonged to the cultic landscape Israel was commanded to reject, while blemished sacrifices would treat the LORD as unworthy of whole and acceptable gifts.
Three Feasts and Just Judges: The Covenant Calendar and the Justice That Guards It
The covenant community's year is shaped by three pilgrimages to the chosen place — Passover, Weeks, and Booths — each grounding Israel's joy in the memory of Egypt and the acknowledgment that all abundance comes from the LORD, and each explicitly including the Levite, sojourner, fatherless, and widow in the celebration; and the justice system that closes the chapter ensures that the community's worship order is matched by a justice order of impartial judges who do not twist justice, show partiality, or take bribes — for the covenant's festivals and the covenant's justice are inseparable expressions of the same holiness.