Deut 11-12 Love and Serve the Lord
Proverbs 12
J. Vernon Mcghee wrote the following about Deuteronomy 12. His Through the Bible series is SUPERB! Looking forward to smoking cigars with him at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
THEME: Israel permitted only one place to worship.
Later in the history of Israel, God chose Jerusalem as the place where the temple was to be built. They were to go there to worship God. Why didn't God permit the worship in every other place? I think the reason is obvious. There was idolatry in the land, and they were commanded to destroy it. Because they did not destroy it, they were commanded to assemble in one place for worship. This unified their worship and brought them closer together as a nation. They were one when they went up to Jerusalem for the feasts.
Today we do not need to meet in one place to worship God. The Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman the reason why this is true. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Joh 4:21-24).
Believers do not meet in one place to worship God today; we meet around One Person and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the important thing to keep in mind today. The name of your church doesn't make the difference. The denomination or lack of denomination of your church doesn't make the difference. The all–important question is this: do you meet around the person of Jesus Christ? Now, friends, if you don't, that is idolatry, because then you are meeting around something that is replacing Christ. If you are meeting to socialize or be entertained, that is idolatry. The thing that is to draw us together into a oneness is the person of Jesus Christ. How important that is!
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.
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:
And ye shall overthrow 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.
Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God [Deu 12:1-4].
The reason the judgments of God came upon Israel, one after the other in the times of the judges, was because the people had lapsed into idolatry. Then that great prophet Elijah leveled his message against idolatry in the land. The reason Israel went into the Babylonian captivity was idolatry. The warning in the last book of the Old Testament is about the danger of idolatry.
We should not think we are immune to idolatry today. We tend to think we are such enlightened folk that we would not fall down and worship an idol. Can we be so sure about that, friends? Anything, anything that comes between our souls and God becomes an idol. I know a young man whom I saw grow up in the church and seemingly become a sweet Christian. Later he became a member of a large corporation. Because he had wonderful ability, he began to move up in the organization. The farther he moved up in the corporation, the farther he moved away from God. Today his job comes first. I was holding meetings in a distant city where he lives, and he invited Mrs. McGee and me for dinner, for old time's sake. He made it very clear to me that he would not be able to come to any of the meetings because of his business. Business, his position, his advancements—they had become his idol, his god. Talk about worship! He fell down before that idol seven days a week!
Anything that comes between your soul and your God is your idol.
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 [Deu 12:5].
Eventually, the designated place was Jerusalem. But even before that, Israel was to worship in one place only. There was to be one place for their burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, and vows. The tithes of food which they brought before the Lord had to be eaten in this one place.
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.
Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water [Deu 12:15-16].
There was also food which they ate at home. This was not a part of their worship, but this, too, was regulated by dietary laws. In Chapter 14 we will find an extensive list of clean and unclean animals. A person did not need to be ceremonially clean to be able to eat at home. Also, in addition to the animals which were sacrificial animals, he could eat wild game so long as it was a clean animal. The stipulation given was that the blood was not to be eaten. In contrast, anything that was an offering to the Lord had to be eaten before the Lord in the one place which God would designate.
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 lustest after.
Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
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.
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
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 [Deu 12:21-25].
In Leviticus 17, while Israel was in the wilderness camp, they were told that every time an ox, or lamb, or goat was killed, it had to be brought to the door of the tabernacle and the priest would sprinkle the blood upon the altar and would offer the fat as a sweet savor to God. This was to prevent them from making any offering to devils. After they settle in the land, it is obvious that many people will live too far away from Jerusalem to bring every animal there before they kill it for food. So the Lord tells them again that an animal may be killed for food, but they shall not eat the blood of the animal. The blood represents the life, which is the reason that Scripture puts such an emphasis on the blood of Jesus Christ.
When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
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 [Deu 12:29-31].
They are told over and over again that they are to destroy the nations which are in the land so that they do not become ensnared by them. These nations were idolatrous. In the worship of Baal, as in the worship of many pagan religions, they had that most cruel practice of offering their own children. They would heat an idol red–hot and then drop their babies into the arms of this red–hot idol. I can't think of anything more horrible than that. God says He hates such a practice. It is an abomination to Him. I find that God hates many things that I hate. I hope that I can learn more and more to hate what He hates and love what He loves.
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it [Deu 12:32].
They are to give heed to these commandments which the Lord gives them. If they disobey God, God will treat them as He treats the other nations. God doesn't watch the actions of some people and disregard others. I have never understood why some Christians think they can get by with certain things that other people do not get by with. Sin is sin. If Israel does not obey the Lord, she will not be spared. So the encouragement for them is to observe to do what the Lord commands them.