Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12:1-4

Moses further enjoins them, 1. Utterly to destroy all relicts of idolatry, ver. 1—3. 2. To keep close to the tabernacle, ver. 4, 5. 3. To bring thither their offerings, byther and sacrifices, ver. 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 20, 27, 28. 4. They are forbidden to do or at present, ver. 8—11. or at the Canaanites had done, ver. 29—32. or to use the halitosed sheep at home, ver. 13, 15, 18, 19. 5. Fright in common permitted, the blood forbidden, ver. 15, 16, 20, 26.

1. THESE are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess, served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. 3. And ‘you shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire, and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.

We cannot have too many cautions to beware of the sin which doth most easily befit us. To prevent therefore all temptation to idolatry, repeated charges are given to extirpate every monument of idol worship, to cut down the groves where the lewd rites were performed, and to destroy the abominable images, the objects of their blind devotion. Nor must they ever adopt their ceremonies in the worship of the true God, or sacrifice to him on hills, or in groves, but only at the altar where God had put his name. Note, (1.) All will-worship is abomination to God. (2.) There is no possibility of reconciling the worship of God and mansion, of Christ and Belial.

5. But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: 6. And ’thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and ‘your tribes, and ‘heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will-offerings, and the firstlings of your herds, and D d d

of your flocks. 7. And ’there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that you put your hand unto, ye and your houbhulds, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. 8. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9. For ye are not as yet come to the rest, and to the inheritance which the LORD your God giveth you. 10. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and wake be giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety: 11. Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your relics, and the leave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD. 12. And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forstinuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. 13. Take hand to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seeeth. 14. But ‘in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy relics, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. 15. Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lufeth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: ’the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roe-buck, and as of the hart. 16. ‘Only ye shall not eat the blood: ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 17. ¶ Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firftlings of thy herds, or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free-will-offerings, or heave-offering of thine hand: 18. But ’thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. 19. ‘Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. 20. ¶ When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh (because thy soul lufmeth to eat flesh) thou mayest eat flesh whatsoever thy soul lufeth after. 21. If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there, be too far from thee; then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lufeth after. 22. ‘Even as the roe-buck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23. ‘Only ye sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life, and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24. Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25. Thou shalt not eat it, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, ‘when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. 26. Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose: 27. And ’thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. 28. Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God. 29. ¶ When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goeth to possess them, and thou if succeeded them, and dwelleth in their land: 30. Take heed to thyself: that thou be not feared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee, and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these

nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31. Thou shalt not do to unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD which he hasteth, have they done unto their gods: for ’even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. 32. What thing swerer I command you, observe to do it: ’thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

9. 5—32. As nothing would preserve them more effectually from idolatry, than forbidding all sacrifices and public offerings, except in one place under the immediate eye of God’s ministers; we have this again and again inculcated. 1. God promises, when they were in quiet possession of the land, to chute the place where he would put his name, erect his tabernacle, and manifest his presence in the divine Shechinah. He left not the place to their opinion, lest they should dispose about the choice; nor mentions it as yet, because it was enough for them to know his pleasure now, and they should have farther direction when it was needful. Blessed be God! all distinctions of place in Christ Jesus are now destroyed; every where we may have access to a throne of peace, and find our forvess accepted in the Redeemer. 2. When the place was fixed, they must there offer their sacrifices, their tribes, and farewell offerings, for the maintenance of the priests and levites; and all their holy things must be eaten there, before the Lord, with joy and gladness of heart, by them and their families. God’s service is delightful: to be melancholy is to dishonour it. Religion was designed to be our pleasure, not our burden. 3. Though all their devoted things might only be eaten before the Lord, no restraint is laid upon them respecting common and allowed meats; they might kill and eat without reserve; and both the unclean and the clean might eat them alike; with these provision only. 4. That they lived according to the blessing of God upon them, ver. 15. neither luxuriantly extravagant, nor penuriously saving. Excels and covetousness are alike dishonourable to God. He giveth us his blessings richly to enjoy, and whilst he would have us eat our bread, and drink our wine with a chastful heart, he wills we should use his gifts with that sobriety and temperance, which may satisfy our natural appetite, without making provision for our forbid faith. 5. The blood is strictly forbidden. In the wilderness, all their beasts seem to have been slain at the door of the tabernacle, under the inspection of the Levites; now that they are permitted to fire and eat in all their gates, they must be careful to pour out the blood on the earth; it is the life of the beasts, and appointed as the atonement for the souls of men. 6. They must not draw their present conduct into a precedent; for, notwithstanding all the care that could be taken, in their frequent removes and untested state, many things seem to have been omitted, and the circumstances of their marches prevented that exact regularity which was enjoined them. They must therefore, when at rest in Canaan, be more punctual in their sacrifices and observances. Now, (1.) In the best ordered churches something will still be defective; perfect purity is reserved for the heavenly Canaan. (2.) In cases of worship these ordinances of worship may be omitted, which in different circumstances would render us highly culpable. 3. He warns them against the least desire to know, and the least enquiry after the worship of the Canaanites. Ignorance of evil is often a protection from it; whilst the very knowledge of sin is a share. In general, it was enough for them to know that it was most hateful to God, and one instance sufficient to shock and deter them; most unnatural as inhuman, they burnt their sons and their daughters to their idols; so might not they do. They must scrupulously observe the divine directions of worship, nor add thereto, nor diminish therefrom. Note, Our worship will then be acceptable, when regulated by divine prescription.