Deuteronomy 12:2

2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are driving out worship their gods-on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every flourishing tree.

Deuteronomy 12:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 12:2

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations
which ye shall possess served their gods
The temples erected for the worship of them by the Canaanites, of which there were many, as appears by the various names of places given them from the temples in them, as Bethshemesh, Bethbaalmeon, Bethpeor, and others:

upon the high mountains and upon the hills:
which they chose to worship on, being nearer the heavens, and which they thought most acceptable to their gods; and some of them had their names from hence, as Baalpeor, in like manner as Jupiter Olympius was called by the Greeks; see ( Jeremiah 2:20 ) ( 3:6 ) ,

and under every green tree;
which being shady and solitary, and pleasant to the sight, they fancied their gods delighted in, and this notion prevailed among other nations; and there is scarcely any deity but what had some tree or another devoted to it; as the oak to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo, the ivy to Bacchus, the olive to Minerva, the myrtle to Venus see ( Jeremiah 2:20 ) ( 3:6 ) .

Deuteronomy 12:2 In-Context

1 "Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.

2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are driving out worship their gods-on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every flourishing tree.

3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

4 Don't worship the Lord your God this way.

5 Instead, you must go to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling.