Deuteronomy 12:1-32
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 possessa served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
3 And ye shall overthrowb their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye 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.
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 tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, 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 when he 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 tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choicec 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 menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:
14 But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, 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 lusteth 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 roebuck, 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 firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill 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 manservant, and thy maidservant, 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 longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth 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 lusteth after.
22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
23 Only be 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 goest to possess them, and thou succeedestd them, and dwellest in their land;
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared 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 so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, 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 soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love
Love and Obey the *LORD your God
Deuteronomy
Philip Smith
Chapter 12
v1 ‘You must be careful to *keep these rules and laws for as long as you live in the country. The *LORD, the God of your *ancestors, has given this country to you to possess it. v2 You will take the country from the people who live there. Destroy completely all the places where the people served their false gods. Those places are on the high mountains, on the hills and under green trees. v3 Pull down their *altars and break their *holy stones. Burn in the fire the poles where they *worshipped Asherah, their female false god. Cut down their *idols so that people will not give honour to them again in those places.
v4 Do not give honour to the *LORD your God as these people give honour to their false gods. v5 But look for the place that the *LORD your God will choose. He will choose one place from the territory of all the *tribes. God will be there in a special way. You must go to that place. v6 There you must bring your *burnt offerings and your *sacrifices. Bring your *tithes and the special gifts that you have promised to give. Bring your *freewill offerings. Bring all your *cattle and sheep that are born first. v7 There, in front of the *LORD your God, you and your families shall eat. The *LORD your God has *blessed you. Therefore, you will enjoy everything for which you have worked.’
Chapter s 12-26 tell us about laws. They would govern the life of the *Israelites in the country that God was giving to them. Some laws were the laws that they knew already. Other laws were laws for the new situation. The first part of these laws deals with how they should give honour to God. The *Israelites must destroy the *altars where the *Canaanites *worshipped their false gods. They must not imitate the way that the *Canaanites *worshipped their false gods. The *Israelites must give honour to God at the place that he would choose. During their early history, the *Israelites *worshipped God in different places. At first they *worshipped God at Shechem, then at Bethel, then at Shiloh. Jerusalem became the chief place of *worship when David was the king.
*Burnt offerings were *offerings of the best animals. The priests burnt the animals completely. Other kinds of *offerings were gifts to God in order to thank him. Or the *offerings were *sacrifices. And the people asked God to forgive their *sin. The people thanked God or they gave honour to God. Then, when they gave a *sacrifice, they burnt part of the animal. The priest and the person who gave the *offering shared the rest of the meat. The *tithes were a 10th part of a person’s animals, fruit and grain. They brought these *offerings to the place where they *worshipped God. The people, together with their families, went to eat and to be happy together in front of God.
v8 ‘In your new country, you must not do what we do today. Today, everyone does what he believes to be right. v9 You have not yet reached the country where you can live in peace. The *LORD your God is giving it to you. v10 But you will go across the River Jordan and you will live in the country. The *LORD your God is giving it to you as a possession. He will give you peace from all your enemies round you. And you will live in safety. v11 Then go to the place that the *LORD your God will choose. God will be there in a special way. You will give honour to him there. Also you must bring to that place everything that I have told you. You must bring your *burnt offerings and *sacrifices, your *tithes and *offerings. You must bring also the special gifts that you have promised to give to the *LORD. v12 There you and your families and your male and female *slaves will be happy. They will be happy in front of the *LORD your God. The *Levites from your towns, who do not possess any land, will be happy also. v13 Do not *sacrifice your *burnt offerings anywhere that seems right to you. v14 Give them only at the place that the *LORD will choose in one of your *tribes. There you must do everything that I have ordered you to do.
v15 But you can kill your animals for food in any of your towns. You can eat as much of the meat as you want. All of you, whether you are *clean or not *clean, can eat it. The *LORD your God gives it to you as a *blessing. You can eat it as if it were the *deer or the *antelope. v16 But you must not use the blood as food. You must pour out the blood on the ground like water. v17 You must not eat any of your *offerings in your own towns. You must not eat the *tithes of your corn, your wine or your oil there. In your towns, you must not eat the young animals that are born first to your sheep or to your *cattle. You must not eat what you have promised to give to the *LORD. Nor must you eat the *offerings that you choose to give. And you must not eat the special gifts in your towns. v18 Instead, you must eat them in front of the *LORD your God. That will be in the place that the *LORD your God will choose. You will eat there. Your sons and your daughters will eat there. Your male and your female *slaves and the *Levites from your towns will eat there also. You will be happy there in front of the *LORD your God because of everything that you have done. v19 Do not neglect the *Levites as long as you live in the country.’
Moses gave rules about *worship. The *Israelites did not start to *keep the rules while they travelled in the *desert. However, when they began to live in the country, they had peace. Then they had to take all their *sacrifices and their *offerings to the chief place that God had chosen. They should kill the meat for the *sacrifices only at that place. The *Israelites must not use the *altars that belonged to the *Canaanites. When the *Israelites ate, they should be happy. And they must not forget the *Levites, who did not own any land.
In the *desert, the *Israelites ate all their meat as a *sacrifice. In their new country, they would eat meat for their ordinary meals. They would kill animals for food in the towns where they lived. The people did not have to be *clean in order to eat the animals. However, people had to be *clean in order to eat the food for *sacrifices. They would eat the meat for *sacrifices only at the chief place for *worship. God told them that the blood caused the animal to live. They had to pour out the blood. They must never eat the blood in any meat. They had to give back the blood to God. (See Leviticus 17:10-14.)
The *Israelites gave some *sacrifices as a way to thank God. They brought other *sacrifices, often lambs (young sheep), as *sin *offerings. Those *sacrifices were to ask God to forgive them.
That pointed toward Jesus who is called the ‘Lamb of God’. (See John 1:29.) A ‘lamb’ usually means a young sheep. But here it describes Jesus as a *sacrifice. Jesus died to rescue us from *sin. ‘God did not make you free with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.’ (See 1 Peter 1:18-19.) So now we do not have to bring a *sacrifice of animals to God.
v20 ‘The *LORD your God will give to you more territory, as he promised to do. Then you might think, “I would like some meat.” You can eat as much as you want. v21 Perhaps the place that the *LORD your God has chosen is too far away from you. Then you can kill any of the *cattle or sheep that the *LORD has given to you. You can eat as many as you wish in your own towns. I have ordered you to do that. v22 Anyone, whether that person is *clean or not *clean, can eat the meat. They can eat it, as they would eat a *deer or an *antelope. v23 But be sure that you do not eat the blood. The blood causes the animal to live. You must not eat the blood with the meat. v24 Do not use the blood as your food. You must pour the blood out on the ground like water. v25 Do not eat it. Then good things will happen to you and to your *descendants. You will do what the *LORD considers to be right.
v26 But take the *holy things and the gifts that you have promised to the *LORD. Go to the place that the *LORD will choose. v27 Give the *burnt offerings, the blood and the meat, there on the *altar of the *LORD your God. Pour out the blood of your *sacrifices on the *altar. You can eat the meat. v28 Make sure that you obey all my commands. Then good things will happen to you and to your *descendants for always. You will do what the *LORD your God considers to be good and right.
v29 The *LORD your God will *destroy the nations as you go into their country. You will force them out and you will live in their country. v30 But do not ask how they serve their false gods. Do not try to serve those gods in the same way. If you do, then that will cause trouble for you. v31 Do not give honour to the *LORD your God in their way. When they give honour to their false gods, they do all kinds of terrible things. The *LORD hates those things. They even burn their sons and their daughters as *sacrifices to their false gods.
v32 Be careful to do everything that I have ordered you to do. Do not add anything to it and do not leave anything out.’
Moses told the *Israelites again about how to eat meat. God would choose a special place. So Moses told them what to do if they lived too far away from that place. Moses explains verse 15 more clearly. God did not allow them to eat blood. The blood caused the animal to live. Instead, they must pour the blood out on the ground. Then they would not pour it on an *altar that belonged to a false god. If they obeyed, they would receive God’s *blessing.
Christians do not *worship God in only one place. When Jesus died, that was a *sacrifice for *sin. So now we do not need to give any animals for *sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 10 teaches us that.
The *Israelites must not *worship false gods. The *Israelites must not kill their children and call it a *sacrifice to God.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or sacrifices to God or to a false god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
holy ~ morally good; something completely good and perfect; something that people consider to be very important in their religion.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
tithe ~ a tenth of something. To tithe means that people give a tenth of their money or of their possessions.
cattle ~ cows and bulls.
bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Canaanites ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan.
offerings ~ gifts (also called sacrifices) that a person gives to God, or to a false god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
Levite ~ an Israelite who belonged to the tribe of Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties connected to worship. All Israelite priests were Levites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
clean ~ good in thought and in action. But, in the Old Testament, many things could make a person not clean towards God. For example, if they touched a dead body, that would make them not clean. And the Israelites must not eat animals that God called not clean.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
deer ~ an animal. It has long legs and it runs quickly. It eats grass and leaves.
antelope ~ an animal like a deer that can run very fast.
deer ~ an animal. It has long legs and it runs quickly. It eats grass and leaves.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
destroy ~ to damage something so that it does not continue to exist; to kill people or animals.