In Deuteronomy 12, Moses gives the people instruction on the eventual city that God will choose for his name to dwell, and tells them that they should offer all their sacrifices there when he chooses it. Also, they may eat meat freely in the land as long as they don’t eat the blood.
Bible Passage:
12:1 These are the statutes and the ordinances which you shall observe to do in the land which YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live upon the earth. 2 You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. 3 You shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and you shall hack down the graven images of their gods; and you shall destroy their name out of that place. 4 You shall not do so to YAHWEH your God. 5 But to the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even to his habitation you shall seek, and there you shall come; 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock. 7 There you shall eat before YAHWEH your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which YAHWEH your God has blessed you. 8 You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes. 9 For you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which YAHWEH your God gives you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which YAHWEH your God causes you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety; 11 then it shall come to pass that to the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to YAHWEH. 12 You shall rejoice before YAHWEH your God, you, and your sons, and your daughters, and your male servants, and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your gates, since he has no portion, nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed for yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which YAHWEH shall choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
15 Despite this, you may kill and eat flesh within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the blessing of YAHWEH your God which he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle, and as of the deer. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out upon the earth as water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or the firstlings of your herd or of your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your freewill offerings, nor the offering of your hand; 18 but you shall eat them before YAHWEH your God in the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite that is within your gates. You shall rejoice before YAHWEH your God in all that you put your hand to. 19 Take heed for yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.
20 When YAHWEH your God shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, ‘I will eat flesh,’ because your soul desires to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul. 21 If the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose, to put his name there, is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which YAHWEH has given you, as I have commanded you. You may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul. 22 Even as the gazelle and as the deer is eaten, so you shall eat of it. The unclean and the clean may eat of it alike. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood. For the blood is the life; and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth as water. 25 You shall not eat it; that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, when you shall do that which is right in the eyes of YAHWEH. 26 Only your holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take, and go to the place which YAHWEH shall choose; 27 and you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of YAHWEH your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of YAHWEH your God; and you shall eat the flesh. 28 Observe and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of YAHWEH your God.
29 When YAHWEH your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go in to dispossess them, and you have dispossessed them, and dwell in their land; 30 take heed for yourself that you do not get ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? So I will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not do so to YAHWEH your God. For every abomination to YAHWEH, which he hates, they have done for their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they burn in the fire to their gods.
32 Whatever I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor diminish from it.
Reflection:
Deuteronomy 12 is a unique spot to use as a reminder about recognizing where you are in salvation history as you read the Scriptures. It helps you to realize there is development over time in God’s commandments, plans, and so on. Even within the Torah itself, there is development in what YAHWEH commands. If you were to go read Leviticus 17 and applied it throughout all of Israel’s history, you would think that the people could never sacrifice or kill an animal anywhere other than at the doorway of the tent of meeting. In fact, God says that anyone who kills anywhere other than at the Tabernacle, not only have they sinned, but they will be cut off from the people. Here, in Deuteronomy 12, he says to the people that when they have taken the land of Canaan, if the city where he causes his name to dwell is too far for a sacrifice, then they can choose to kill an animal within their own gates and eat the meat freely, regardless even of ritual purity, as long as they do not eat the blood. The law for the people in the wilderness was different from when they had settled the land.
Questions and Answers:
Verse 6: What does tithe mean? [Gwendolyn, 9]
I know we have talked about this before, but I can’t remember when. The word “tithe” in English comes from the Old English word for a tenth. In Hebrew “maaser” is literally just the word for “a tenth part.” Tithing, as a concept, is to give a tenth of everything you have to God. God specifically uses this tenth in the Old Testament to provide for the Levites since they have no inheritance along with the other tribes. He says that the Levites will receive all the tithe as a reward for their service in the tent of meeting in Numbers 18.
Verse 11: Is this referring to Jerusalem or somewhere else the tabernacle dwells? [Monique, 33]
Ultimately, yes, it refers to Jerusalem. That is the place that YAHWEH will choose out of all the tribal lands to “cause his name to dwell there.” So the point of this verse is that when Jerusalem is chosen by YAHWEH, the people will need to go there to sacrifice all their burnt offerings. This becomes particularly significant in the book of Kings, when the nation is divided into two kingdoms. Jeroboam, the king of Israel in the north, makes two sacrificial altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. He does this most likely to prevent people in his nation from going down into the southern kingdom of Judah to sacrifice in Jerusalem. This is exactly what the people should have been doing though, in order to be faithful to what YAHWEH commanded.
Obviously, at this point, Moses does not know that Jerusalem will be chosen, he is speaking generally. With that being the case, I am sure it also refers to wherever the Tabernacle comes to dwell in the time prior to it being permanently settled in Jerusalem. So, for example, when the Tabernacle rested at Shiloh, the people were expected to come there, the same way they would be expected to come to Jerusalem when it became the site of the Temple later on.
Verse 13: What does cultic mean? [Gwendolyn, 9]
NASB has added the word “cultic” here before place. The word “cultic” is not there in the Hebrew text, it simply says “in every place you see.” The NASB is trying to explain what the Hebrew is saying more clearly for English speakers by writing “in every cultic place you see.” The word “cultic” generally means “related to the religious practice or ritual of a people.” So when the NASB adds cultic to this verse, they are specifying what types of places Moses is referring to. He is saying don’t just use the altars or high places of the people of the land to offer sacrifices to YAHWEH. You must only offer sacrifices to YAHWEH at his altars; don’t offer them wherever you find an established religious site for some other god.
Verse 23: Is the Levitical law connected to why we take communion? [Monique, 33]
I’m not totally sure, the sacrificial elements do seem to be there, but Christ’s language actually goes against what the law says here in verse 23. I can see why you might think that with the language of “blood” and “life.” It sounds like a reference to the elements of Communion. Communion is a ritual instituted by Christ himself during the Passover meal he shares with his disciples. He says that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood, so you definitely have some of the sacrificial language mentioned, but the Levitical law is clear that you should not drink blood because the life of a creature is found in its blood. The life belongs to God.
It leads us to an interesting theological conversation though. In John 6, Jesus teaches one of his most controversial teachings. Around scholarly circles, it’s called the Bread of life discourse. In this teaching, Jesus tells the people that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to be saved. The people are immediately concerned about who Jesus is claiming he is and they don’t understand what he means by what he taught. In fact, many of his own disciples stop following him after this teaching. The major debate over this passage is whether or not Jesus is referring to Holy Communion. The debate unshockingly splits along the divide between Protestantism and Catholicism. Catholics, of course, believe it is about Communion since they believe that they eat the literal flesh and drink the literal blood of Christ. Protestants tend to find Jesus’ words to be purely symbolic based on their most common view of Communion, which is memorialism. That means that they see the taking of Communion to be an event that is meant to be a memorial, but there is no supernatural grace given in the ritual. I would argue that most of Protestantism took on that position sheerly as a reaction to Catholicism, but it is widely believed nonetheless.
I find that there are clear Scripture parallels with the Eucharist (another name for the Communion ritual), regardless of what theological position you hold for the substance of the bread and the wine. But again, Jesus seems to be saying something that cuts against the Levitical law here, rather than connecting himself to it. Since life is in the blood, Jesus says you must drink his blood if you want to share in his life. If you don’t partake of the blood, then you cannot have eternal life.
Recording of the Passage:
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