Deuteronomy 12:1-8

The One Place of Worship

1 These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land.
2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.
5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit,

Deuteronomy 12:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 12

In this chapter orders are given to destroy all altars, pillars, groves, and images, made for the worship of idols in the land of Canaan, De 12:1-3 and to bring all sacrifices and holy things unto the place which the Lord should choose for his habitation, and not do as they then did, not being come to their rest, De 12:4-14, flesh for their common food might be killed and eaten in their own houses, provided they did not eat the blood, but poured it out upon the earth, De 12:15-25, tithes, vows, and freewill offerings, were to be eaten in the holy place, De 12:17-19 and burnt offerings to be offered on the altar of the Lord and the blood of them to be poured out upon the altar, De 12:26-28, all which they were carefully to observe, De 12:29, and they are cautioned against idolatry, and inquiring after the manner of it, as practised by the old inhabitants of the land, and introducing their customs into the service of God, De 12:30-32.

Cross References 17

  • 1. Psalms 119:5
  • 2. Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Deuteronomy 6:15; 1 Kings 8:40; Ezekiel 20:19
  • 3. S Numbers 21:28
  • 4. 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 16:4; 2 Kings 17:10; Isaiah 57:5; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6,13
  • 5. 2 Kings 11:18; Numbers 33:52; Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2
  • 6. S Exodus 32:20
  • 7. Exodus 34:13; 1 Kings 14:15,23
  • 8. S Exodus 23:13
  • 9. ver 30; 2 Kings 17:15; Jeremiah 10:2
  • 10. S Exodus 20:24; S 2 Samuel 7:13
  • 11. ver 11,13; Deuteronomy 14:23; Deuteronomy 15:20; Deuteronomy 16:2,11; Deuteronomy 18:6; Deuteronomy 26:2; 1 Samuel 2:29; 1 Kings 5:5; 1 Kings 8:16; 1 Kings 9:3; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 2 Chronicles 6:6; 2 Chronicles 7:12,16; Ezra 6:12; Ezra 7:15; Psalms 26:8; Psalms 78:68; Zechariah 2:12
  • 12. S Leviticus 27:30; Deuteronomy 14:22-23
  • 13. S Genesis 28:20
  • 14. Joshua 22:27; Isaiah 66:20
  • 15. S Exodus 18:12
  • 16. ver 12,18; S Leviticus 23:40; Deuteronomy 14:26; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; Ecclesiastes 5:18-20; S Isaiah 62:9
  • 17. Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25
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