Deuteronomy 12

Moses was a wise instructor. He devoted the first part of his address (Deut. 1—5) to reviewing the past and helping the new generation appreciate all that God had done for them. Then he told the people how they should respond to the goodness of God and why they should obey Jehovah (Deut. 6—11). In other words, Moses was helping his people develop hearts of love for the Lord, because if they loved Him, they would obey Him. Moses repeated God’s covenant promises to the nation but also balanced the promises with the warnings of what would happen if they disobeyed. More than anything else, Moses wanted the Israelites to mature in faith and love so they could enter the land, conquer the enemy, and enjoy their inheritance to the glory of God.

In Deuteronomy 12—26, Moses built on this foundation and applied the law to Israel’s new situation in the Promised Land. The Jews had been slaves in Egypt and nomads in the wilderness, but now they would become conquerors and tenants in God’s land (Lev. 25: niv). He set before them the responsibilities they had to fulfill if they were to live like God’s chosen people and be faithful residents in the land, enjoying God’s blessing.

The statement in verse 1 was both an assurance and a commandment. The assurance was that Israel would enter the land and overcome the enemy, and the commandment was that, having entered the land, they must purge it of all idolatry. Israel’s conquest of the nations east of the Jordan was a prototype of their cleansing of the land of Canaan (Num. 21; 31). This wasn’t a new commandment, for Moses had mentioned it before (Deut. 7:1–6, 23–26; Num. 33:50–56), and he would mention it again.

The religions of the Canaanite peoples were both false and filthy. They worshipped a multitude of gods and goddesses, chiefly Baal, the storm god, and Asherah, his consort. The wooden “Asherah poles” (“groves,” kjv) were sex symbols, and the people made use of temple prostitutes as they sought to worship their gods. Since the major goal of the Canaanite religion was fertility for themselves and for their crops, they established places of worship on the mountains and hills (“the high places”) so as to get closer to the gods. They also worshipped under the large trees, which were also symbols of fertility. Their immoral religious practices were a form of magic with which they hoped to please the gods and influence the powers of nature to give them bountiful crops.

But Moses pointed out that anything idolatrous remaining in the land was dangerous because it might become a tool for the devil to use in tempting Israel. The admonition, “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27), warns us that, whenever we disobey the Lord and cherish that which He wants us to destroy, we provide Satan with a foothold in our lives. Israel was even to wipe out the names of the pagan deities, because their names might be used in occult practices to cast spells.

We live in a world that has abandoned absolutes and promoted “plurality.” As long as it “helps you,” one religion is just as good as another religion, and it isn’t “politically correct” to claim that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world (Acts 4:12; John 4:19–24). But Moses made it clear that God rejected the Canaanite religions and wanted all evidence of their pagan practices removed from the land. The land belonged to the Lord, and He had every right to purge it. His first commandment is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Deut. 5:7). Israel did not purge the land and were disciplined for their disobedience. “They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them, but were mingled among the nations, and learned their works. And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them” (Ps. 106:34–36).

“You must not worship the Lord your God in their way” (v. 4 niv) is a simple statement that carries a powerful message. As the people of God, we must worship the Lord the way He commands and not imitate the religious practices of others. The Jewish faith and the Christian faith came by revelation, not by man’s invention or Satan’s instruction (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:5–7). The most important activity of the church is the worship of God because everything truly spiritual that the church does flows out of worship. How tragic it is when congregations imitate the world and turn Christian worship into entertainment and the sanctuary of God into a theater. “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8: nkjv).

Israel worshipped the true and living God, while the pagans in the land worshipped dead idols that represented false gods. The Canaanites had many shrines, but Israel would have one central place of worship. There is a definite contrast in the text between “all the places” in Deuteronomy 12: and “the place” in verses 5, 11, 14, 18, 21 and 26:2. The Canaanites built many altars, but Israel was to have but one altar. The Canaanites sacrificed whatever they pleased to their gods and goddesses, including their own children, but the Lord would instruct the Jews what sacrifices to bring, and He made it clear that they were never to sacrifice their children.

One place where God dwells (vv. 5, 8–11a). In the book of Genesis, we’re told that God walked with His people, such as Enoch (5:24), Noah (6:9), and Abraham (17:1); but at Mount Sinai, God announced to Moses that He wanted to dwell with His people (Ex. 25:8, 45–46). He instructed them to make Him a tabernacle, and for this holy project the people of Israel contributed their wealth (vv. 1–2; 35:4—36:6). When Moses dedicated the tabernacle, God came down in glory and moved into the Holy of Holies, making the mercy seat on the ark His holy throne (40:34–38; Ps. 80:1; 99: niv). We sometimes speak of “the Shekinah glory”of God in the camp of Israel, which is from a Hebrew word that means “to dwell.”

The Canaanite nations had plenty of temples and shrines, but only Israel had the glorious presence of the true and living God dwelling with them (Rom. 9:4). The fact that there was only one central sanctuary for Israel signified that there was but one true God, one authorized worship and priesthood, and one holy nation. The tabernacle, and later the temple, unified the twelve tribes spiritually and politically.

It’s interesting to trace the history of God’s tabernacle. The Israelites carried the tabernacle into Canaan and placed it at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1; 19:51; Jer. 7:12). During the days of Samuel, it was at Mizpah (1 Sam. 7:6) and then at Nob (21:1–6). Because of Israel’s sins against the Lord, the glory of God departed from the tabernacle (4:21–22). During the time of David, the ark was on Mount Zion while the tabernacle itself was at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:1, 37–42; 1 Kings 3:4). God revealed to David that his son Solomon would succeed him on the throne and build a temple for His glory on Mount Zion, and when Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord came to dwell there (8:10–11). When Babylon captured Judah, the prophet Ezekiel saw the glory of God leave the temple (Ezek. 8:1–4; 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:22–23), but he also saw it return and dwell in the kingdom temple (43:1–3).

When Jesus came to earth to “tabernacle among us,” the glory of God returned (John 1:14), but sinful men nailed the Lord of glory to the cross. He arose from the dead and returned to heaven to receive back the glory that He had laid aside in His humiliation (17:1, 5). Now each person who trusts Christ becomes a temple of God and has the Spirit dwelling within (1 Cor. 6:19–20). But each local assembly of believers is also a temple of God (vv. 10–17), and Christ is building His church universal as a dwelling place for the Spirit (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:19–22). Someday, all of God’s people will dwell in the heavenly city that will be lighted by the glory of God (Rev. 21:23).

One altar for sacrifices (vv. 6–7, 12–14). Canaanite worship permitted the people to offer whatever sacrifices they pleased at whatever place they chose, but for Israel there was to be but one altar. The Jews were allowed to kill and eat livestock and wild game at any place (vv. 15, 21–22), but these animals were not to be offered as sacrifices when they were killed. The only place where sacrifices were accepted was at the altar of God’s sanctuary, and the only people who could offer them were the Lord’s appointed priests. The Lord didn’t want His people inventing their own religious system by imitating the practices of the pagan nations. During the decadent days of the judges, that’s exactly what some of the people did (Judg. 17—18).

The burnt offering (Lev. 1) symbolized total dedication to the Lord, for all of it was consumed on the altar. Paul may have had this image in mind when he commanded us to present ourselves wholly to the Lord to do His will (Rom. 12:1–2). The peace offering or fellowship offering (Lev. 3) spoke of communion with God, and the worshipper shared the meat with his family and with the priests. They had a joyful meal as they celebrated the goodness of the Lord (Deut. 12:12, 18; 26:11). While worship is certainly a serious thing, it need not be grim and somber. True worship not only draws believers closer to God, but it also draws God’s people closer to each other.

The tabernacle was not only a place where the Jews brought their sacrifices, but it was also where they brought their tithes and offerings. The tithe was 10 percent of what their land had produced, and this was shared with the priests and Levites. The priests also received a certain amount of meat from some of the sacrifices, and this was how they and their families were supported. Moses frequently reminded the people to support the Levites by faithfully bringing tithes and offerings to the sanctuary (12:12, 18–19; 14:27, 29; 16:11, 14). God promised to bless His people abundantly if they would faithfully bring their tithes and offerings to His sanctuary (Mal. 3:6–12; see 1 Kings 7: and Neh. 13:12).

These verses focus on the Jews’ treatment of the blood of animals that were either sacrificed at the altar or eaten at home, a theme Moses discussed in Leviticus 17:1–16. The Lord introduced this theme after Noah and his family came out of the ark, for it was then that He permitted mankind to eat meat (Gen. 9:1–7; and see 1:29; 2:9, 16). In the Genesis legislation, God prohibited the shedding of human blood and the eating of animal blood, whether the animal was domestic or wild. He also established what we today call “capital punishment.” Since humans are made in the image of God and derive their life from God, to murder someone is to attack God and to rob that person of God’s gift of life. God decreed that murderers should be punished by losing their own lives, and the right to enforce this law belonged to the officers of the state (Rom. 13). By giving this law, the Lord was actually establishing human government on the earth. It’s worth noting that if an animal killed a person, that animal was to be slain (Ex. 21:28–32).

Long before science discovered the significance of blood, the Lord declared that life was in the blood and that the blood should be respected and not treated like common food. If a Jew slaughtered an animal at home, he was to drain out all the blood on the ground before the meat could be cooked and eaten. If he brought an animal to be sacrificed at the sanctuary, the priest would drain the blood beside the altar. If the ritual called for it, the priest would catch in a basin only enough blood to sprinkle on or about the altar. By following this procedure, the Jews not only showed respect for God’s gift of life, even to animals, but they also showed respect for the animal that gave its life for the worshipper. The Jews didn’t eat meat frequently because it was too costly to slay livestock, so when they did slaughter an animal, they were to do it with respect. They could take an animal to the sanctuary and offer it as a peace offering and then enjoy eating the meat as part of a special feast (Lev. 3; 7:11–38).

This emphasis on the shedding of blood is at the heart of the message of the gospel. We aren’t saved from our sins by the life of Christ or the example of Christ, but by the sacrificial death of Christ, “in whom we have redemption through his blood” (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). The blood of Christ is precious to us (1 Peter 1:19) because of who shed it—the spotless Lamb of God—but also because of what it accomplishes for those who trust Him: justification (Rom. 5:9), cleansing (Rev. 1:5; 1 John 1:7), eternal salvation (Heb. 9:11–28), access to God (10:19–20), and reconciliation (Eph. 2:13), to name but a few of the blessings we have through Christ’s blood.

The practice of bringing 10 percent of the produce to the Lord antedates the law, for Abraham tithed (Gen. 14:17–20; Heb. 7:4) and so did Jacob (Gen. 28:22). In most places in the world today, God’s people bring money rather than produce. The New Testament plan for giving is found in 2 Corinthians 8—9, and though tithing isn’t mentioned, generous giving from the heart is encouraged. If believers under law could give the Lord 10 percent of their income, that’s certainly a good place for believers who live under the new covenant to start their giving. However, we shouldn’t stop with 10 percent but should give systematically as the Lord has prospered us (1 Cor. 16:1–2).

The priests and Levites had no inheritance in the land of Israel, for the Lord was their inheritance (Num. 18:20; Deut. 10:8–9; Josh. 13:14, 33; 14:13; 18:7), so they trusted God for His provision through the people. God assigned to the priests portions from various sacrifices (Lev. 6:14—7:38) as well as the firstfruits of the harvests and the firstborn animals (Num. 18:8–20). The Levites received the people’s tithes and in turn gave a tithe of that to the priests (vv. 20–32). The people also brought an extra tithe every three years, which was shared with the poor (Lev. 27:28–29). People who lived too far from the sanctuary were permitted to sell the produce and with the money buy a substitute sacrifice when they arrived (Deut. 14:24–26), and if they didn’t do so, they were fined (Lev. 27:31).

It’s a basic principle in Scripture that those who serve the Lord and His people should have the support of God’s people. “The laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7) and “those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9: ). Believers who receive spiritual blessings from teachers and preachers should share material blessings with them (Gal. 6:6–10; 1 Tim. 5:17–18). Paul saw the supporting gifts of God’s people as spiritual sacrifices dedicated to the Lord (Phil. 4:10–19). If all of God’s people practiced the kind of giving described in 2 Corinthians 8—9, there would be no church debts, God’s servants would be provided for, and the work of the Lord would prosper around the world.

Avoiding contamination (12:29—13:18; 18:9–22) Moses pointed out four approaches the enemy could use to trap the Israelites into practicing idolatry, and he warned his people to avoid following them.

Human curiosity (vv. 29–32). The inhabitants of Canaan had grossly defiled their land by their personal conduct and their abominable religious practices, which included sacrificing their children to the false gods, usually Molech “the abomination of the Ammonites” (v. 31; 1 Kings 11:5, 33). This despicable practice was forbidden to the people of Israel (Deut. 18:10; Lev. 18:20; 20:2–5), but in later years, both kings and commoners in Israel abandoned God’s law and sacrificed their children (2 Kings 17:16–17). Godly King Josiah defiled the place in the Valley of Hinnom where this detestable ceremony had been practiced in Judah (23:10), but King Manasseh brought it back (2 Chron. 33:6).

The British essayist Samuel Johnson called curiosity “one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect,” and certainly our children and grandchildren learn because they’re curious about life and the world they live in. Someone defined a child as “an island of curiosity surrounded by a sea of question marks.” However, there are some areas of human knowledge that are dangerous to investigate, for God wants His people to be “wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil” (Rom. 16: nasb). We don’t have to experience sin to learn how deadly it is. Inquisitive Israelites who investigated the despicable religious practices of the Canaanites were in danger of tempting themselves and giving Satan opportunity to move in.

As we mature in the faith and become grounded in the Word, we can carefully study the philosophies and ideas that are held by various religious groups, but only so that we might better share the gospel with them. Missionaries must know the religious mind-set of the peoples to whom God sends them so they can communicate effectively with them. This is also true when we study the so-called “classics” that are often filled with moral filth and attacks against the Christian faith. “Beware of the atmosphere of the classics,” wrote Robert Murray M’Cheyne to a friend. “True, we ought to know them; but only as chemists handle poisons—to discover their qualities, not to infect their blood with them.” With God’s help, it’s possible for Christian students to practice contact without contamination, but they had better “watch and pray” lest they are tempted and fall into sin.

Temptation from the prophets (13:1–5). God raised up prophets in Israel during those times when the people needed to be called back to the faithful worship of the Lord. It has often been said that prophets weren’t just “foretellers”; they were primarily forthtellers who declared the Word of the Lord in the name of the Lord. The faithful prophet spoke in God’s name and gave only God’s message for God’s glory and for the good of God’s people.

The key phrase in Deuteronomy 13 is, “Let us go after other gods” (vv. 2, 6, 13). In this paragraph, Moses describes a prophet who predicted an event and it occurred, which was the test of a true prophet (18:21–22). But then the prophet invited the people to join him in worshipping other gods. Why would a prophet deliver a true message followed by an invitation to worship false gods? For the same reasons formerly orthodox religious leaders in the church will abandon their calling and get involved in cults or even organize their own cults: pride, the desire to have a following and exercise authority, and the desire to make money. The Israelites knew that God’s law prohibited the worship of idols, but there are always unstable people who will blindly follow a “successful religious leader” without testing their decision by God’s truth.

Moses made it clear that the Word of God was true no matter how many miracles or signs a prophet might perform. We don’t test the message by supernatural events; we test the message by God’s Word. Satan can perform miracles (2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 12:9) and not everybody who addresses Jesus as “Lord” and performs miracles is a genuine child of God or servant of God (Matt. 7:21–23). God sometimes allows these things to happen in order to test His people to see if they will obey His Word. Even if this man had been originally called of God, when he asked the people to disobey the God’s law, he ceased to be a true servant of the Lord. Because he enticed the people to rebel against the Lord, he was to be put to death.

“So you shall put away [purge] the evil from your midst” (Deut. 13: nkjv). This statement is found at least eight more times in the book of Deuteronomy (17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21–22, 24; 24:7), and Paul quoted it in 1 Corinthians 5: with reference to discipline in the local church. We don’t stone guilty people in our churches, but we should expel from the fellowship any that openly live in sin and refuse to repent and obey the Word of God. Why? For the same reason the idolater was removed (by death) from the nation of Israel: sin is like yeast and when it’s not purged, it will spread and infect others (1 Cor. 5:6–8; Gal. 5:9). Just as a surgeon removes cancerous tissue from a patient’s body to keep it from spreading, so the local body of believers must experience surgery, no matter how painful, to maintain the spiritual health of the church.

The fact that the accuser was to throw the first stone would encourage him to give serious consideration to the facts and not impetuously accuse an innocent person. (See 1 Kings 21.) The method of execution was stoning so that all the people could participate and cast their vote against the worship of idols. Either one person’s sin affects the whole nation (Josh. 7), or the whole nation must deal with that one person’s sin.

It’s remarkable how many otherwise intelligent people study their horoscopes and consult professional “psychics” who claim to have the power to see into the future. If people really had that ability, they could make a great deal of money on the stock market or at the racetrack and wouldn’t have to earn a living reading palms, gazing at the stars, or consulting crystal balls. Later in his address, Moses will name specific occult practices that are forbidden to God’s people, and one of them is consulting Satan in order to know the future (Deut. 18:9–13). Jesus warned about false prophets and the apostles warned about false teachers (Matt. 7:15–20; 2 Cor. 11:3–4, 11–13; 1 Tim. 1:6–7; 2 Peter 2).

Temptation from friends and relatives (vv. 6–11). It would not be difficult to expose and execute a false prophet, but what about a relative or close friend who tempts you to worship a false god? And what if the temptation is secret and the worship of the idol is also secret? As long as you maintained your public image as a worshipper of Jehovah, you might get away with being a secret Baal worshipper. But to this suggestion, Moses gave a resounding, “No!” Even if man’s own wife enticed him to worship idols—King Solomon comes to mind (1 Kings 11:1–13)—the husband was not to shield her but was to take her to the authorities and even participate in her execution. The Jews were to love the Lord their God even more than they loved their own mates or family. Jesus laid down a similar condition for discipleship (Luke 14:25–27). Moses taught that this kind of capital sentence would put the fear of the Lord into the rest of the nation and they would think twice before turning to idols (Deut. 13:11; see 17:13; 21:21). The lesson for the church is, “Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear” (1 Tim. 5: nkjv).

During my years of pastoral ministry, I was occasionally contacted by heartbroken ministers who were unable to deal with flagrant sinners in the church because the offenders had relatives on the board or in the congregation. How sad it is when the testimony of a church is totally destroyed because of people who put their family ahead of God and His Word. “Peace at any price” isn’t the biblical way to deal with problems, for “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17). Unity that is based on hypocrisy will never last. On the other hand, I have seen godly people stand with the congregation in disciplining their own relatives who had brought disgrace to the name of Christ and the church.

Temptation from a multitude (vv. 12–18). “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Ex. 23: nkjv). If a person has committed wickedness, the fact that hundreds of people approve of it doesn’t change its character. It is God who defines what sin is and how we should deal with it. God governs His people by decree, not by consensus. How could an entire town in Israel turn away from the Lord and start worshipping false gods? By failing to deal with the first persons in the town who turned to false gods. The leaders didn’t obey God’s law and purge the evil from the town, so the sin easily spread from person to person and eventually infected everybody. When you remember that the land belonged to the Lord (Lev. 25:23), that He graciously allowed the Jews to live there, and that He alone had the right to lay down the rules, you can see that the idolatrous town was guilty of very serious sin.

It was important that the matter be investigated thoroughly and accurately. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18: nkjv). If the accusation was found to be true, the wealth and possessions of the people were to be burned in the town square as a burnt offering to the Lord. The people were to be slain and the city itself was to be destroyed and nothing was to be salvaged from it. It was to be left a “heap,” which is the translation of the Hebrew word tel, which is a mound composed of layers of ruins. The heap of ruins would be a constant witness to warn the Jews not to worship idols.

But could the nation of Israel afford to lose a town and all its inhabitants? Yes, because God would multiply His people and bless them for obeying His Word and honoring His name. Why not rebuild the town and start all over? Because God said it was to remain a heap of ruins forever and never be rebuilt. Human calculation would say that this was a great loss, but divine wisdom says it is a great gain, for a festering sore had been removed from the nation.

Unfortunately, Israel didn’t obey these laws, and idolatry multiplied in the nation during the reign of Solomon and after the kingdom divided. When Jeroboam became ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, he made idolatry official by setting up two golden calves for the people to worship, one at Dan and the other at Bethel. In this way, he encouraged the people not to go to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:25ff.). Because of their idolatry, Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC and Judah fell to Babylon in 606–586 BC God would rather that the nation be scattered and the holy sanctuary be destroyed than that His people worship false gods. The people forgot that it was the Lord Jehovah who delivered them from Egypt and gave them their land (Deut. 13:5, 10).