Leviticus 17:
5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.
The Israelites were to perform animal sacrifices at the Tabernacle. There were three exceptions:
- The Lord appeared to Gideon in Judges 6:
23 the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
Gideon commemorated the occasion by building an altar.
Was it okay for him to build an altar outside of the Tabernacle?
I think so. He was a prophet of the Lord. Further, God instructed him to build another altar:
25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order.
2. Saul and his servant were looking for Samuel in 1 Sam 9:
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
Samuel built an altar on a high place. Was that okay?
I think so. Samuel was a prophet. God approved that high place.
19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind."
3. David built an altar in 1 Chr 21:
18 Now the angel of the LORD had commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
He was told to do it. Was it okay?
Yes.
26 David built there an altar to the LORD and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then the LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
God accepted David's offering.
28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon, 30 but David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
It wasn't David's idea to build an altar there.
Gideon, Samuel, and David built altars outside of the Tabernacle. God approved them.
Now, in Deuteronomy 12:
11 Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name--there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD.
After the Jerusalem temple was built, there were no longer any exceptions.
1 Kings 3:
3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given to him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
Why were the high places generally forbidden but sometimes okay?
Solomon was reprimanded. The Lord approved the three exceptions. Otherwise, it was wrong.
