by J. Riddle (Cheshunt)
Read Chapter 12
In introducing these studies we noted that the book of Deuteronomy can be divided into two main sections: (i) the retrospective section, chs.1-11, and (ii) the prospective section, chs.12-34. The second part of the book contains the final instructions of Moses to Israel, chs.12-30, and the final actions of Moses before his death, chs.31-34. It commences with the words, “These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land.” Previous references to the “statutes and judgments” are general in nature, and emphasise how they were to be kept, and this reminds us that obedience to God's Word will become a mere chore without love for God. See ch.6.5-6.
This chapter commences and concludes in the same way: “These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do,” v1: “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it,” v32. Their obedience to God's Word was to be continuous (“all the days that ye live upon the earth,” v1) and complete (“what thing soever I command you,” or “everything that I command you,” v32, JND). The detailed “statutes and judgments,” which embrace all aspects of national and individual life, begin with reference to the “place which the Lord your God shall choose,” v.5,11,14,18,21,26. We must notice two important things:
i) It was the place of God's choice. It is described as “the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all the tribes to put His name there … His habitation,” v5. Initially this was Shiloh, Jer.7.12, but at the dedication of the temple God said, “I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put My name there for ever; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually,” 1Kgs.9.3. No wonder that “the Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob!” Ps.87.2. The ‘place of the name’ today is the local assembly, of which the Lord Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in (‘unto’, JND) My name, there am I in the midst of them,” Matt.18.20. It is described as “the house of God … the church of the living God,” 1Tim.3.15, and “the temple of God,” 1Cor.3.16-17.
ii) it was the place of great joy. “And here ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice, v7 … and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, v12 … and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, v18.” We should be able to say with David, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth,” Ps.26.8. Bearing this in mind, the chapter can be divided as follows: it was the place where:
(1) God's name was honoured, v2-7;
(2) God's order was recognised, v8-12;
(3) God's people gathered, v13-27.
This section contrasts “the places,” v2, and “that place,” v3, with “the place,” v5. It also contrasts “the names,” v3 with “His name,” v5. The children of Israel were to overthrow every vestige of idolatry, with the warning “Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God,” v4. Idols were to be destroyed, but God was to be honoured.
i) The places, v2-3. They were to destroy the false gods. Idolatry was characterised by various places and various gods: “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods,” v2. The accompaniments of idolatry were to be destroyed: “altars … pillars … groves … graven images … names.” Having spoken of the Lord Jesus as “the true God and eternal life,” John adds, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols,” 1Jn.5.20-21.
ii) The place, v4-7. They were to be devoted to the true God. Not to various “gods”, v2, but to “the Lord your God,” v4-5. Not in various “places”, v2, but in “the place which the Lord your God shall choose,” v5. It was to be an unrivalled place. There was to be no competition from idolatry. Only God's name was to be honoured. “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many and lords many), but to us there is but one God … and one Lord Jesus Christ,” 1Cor.8.5-6. This is the place where the “true worshippers … worship the Father in spirit (as opposed to the dead letter of Judaism) and in truth (as opposed to the falsehood of Samaritism): for the Father seeketh such to worship Him,” Jn.4.23.
This was the place that they were to “seek”, v5, to which they were to “come”, v5, and in which they were to “rejoice”, v7. Notice the expressions: “Thither thou shalt come,” v5; “thither shall ye bring,” v6; “there shall ye eat,” v7. This reminds us that we must be present at “the place,” that we should contribute to “the place,” and that we should be nourished at “the place.” Notice as well that it was a place for the entire family: “ye and your households,” v7. Children should be encouraged to value ‘the place of the name.’ The expression, “your households,” is expanded in v2 and in v18-19.
These verses contrast behaviour “here this day,” v8, with behaviour “over Jordan … in the land,” v10. The “place”, v11, was to be frequented by people who had crossed the Jordan, in the same way that ‘the place of the name’ is to be frequented by people who recognise that they have been identified with Christ in death and resurrection. The twelve stones taken “out of the midst of Jordan” and the twelve stones “set up” by Joshua, “in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests … stood,” Josh.4.3,9, illustrate the truth of baptism. See Rom.6.4. The assembly will never bring pleasure to God if His people are not walking “in newness of life.”
i) “Here this day,” v8. “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” Compare Num.15.39. Sadly, God's people did do “that which was right in their own eyes” in Canaan. See Jud.17.6, 21.25. The assembly should be a place where the Lord's people recognise that the New Testament principles of gathering are not man-made, and therefore not subject to alteration and amendment, but “the commandments of the Lord,” 1Cor.14.37.
ii) “In the land,” v9-12. It is no longer a case of “whatsoever is right in his own eyes,” but “there shall be a place … thither shall ye bring all that I command you,” v10. It was to be a place of divine order, in the same way that the assembly should be marked by appropriate conduct. See 1Tim.3.14-15. Our behaviour in the assembly must be in keeping with our overall spiritual ambition to be “well-pleasing unto Him,” 2Cor.5.9. R.V. Like Canaan, the assembly should be a place of “rest”, v10, where the saints can enjoy the immense blessings of their inheritance.
This part of the chapter can be sub-divided as follows: (a) the principle established, v13-19; not in “every place,” v13, but in “the place,” v14: (b) the principle applied, v20-27; it is still in “the place,” v26, even if distance is involved.
a) The principle established, v13-19
“Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee,” v13-14. The New Testament refers to “one place,” see 1Cor.11.20, “when ye come together therefore into one place …” We should be aware of the dangers of modern house-meetings, which are far removed from “the church in thy house,” Phil.v2.
Food for personal consumption alone could be eaten “in all thy gates,” but always with recognition of God's goodness, v15, and always refraining from “eating blood,” v16. But everything devoted to God (including the personal “tithe” which the Israelite ate himself: more of this in ch.14.22-27), was only to be eaten in “the place which the Lord thy God shall choose,” v17-18. In this way the Israelite recognised that the Lord must have first place in his life. The distinction between eating at home and eating at “the place” is most instructive:
i) The consumption of food at home certainly involved the Lord. The Israelite recognised that it was provided by Him: it was “according to the blessing of the Lord thy God.” Everything was to be “received with thanksgiving,” 1Tim.4.4. But the Israelite was to recognise that the “tithe” of his produce and the “firstlings” of his animals belonged to God, even though he ate them with his family, and these meals could only be taken “in the place that the Lord thy God shall choose.” They were not to be eaten in isolation but at the place where God's people gathered. Consecrated food was eaten in fellowship with others of like mind.
ii) The fact that they ate these meals “before the Lord thy God,” v18, indicates that God loves to dwell in the midst of thankful and devoted people. Hence they were to eat everything consecrated to Him in His presence, and “rejoice before the Lord,” v18. It would be inappropriate to infer from this that we should distinguish in some way between our spiritual diet at home and our spiritual diet in the assembly, but we should remember that our personal spiritual enjoyment should be shared with fellow-believers in the assembly. If we have enjoyed something precious concerning the Lord Jesus, let the saints enjoy it too! The lesson is emphasised in Deut.16.2,6,11,15,16; God's people were to come with their offerings and sacrifices to “the place which the Lord shall choose to place His Name there.”
b) The principle applied, v20-27
This paragraph begins with the words, “When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised thee …”, v20, from which we learn that the principle was to apply at all times, whether in the early or later days of residence in Canaan. The Word of God does not change with time and circumstances! We must notice the correspondence (i) between v21-25 and v15-16, and (ii) between v26-27 and v17-18. The provision in v21, “If the place … be too far from thee,” reminds us that God does not place unnecessary burdens upon His people. But as before, their “holy things,” v27 must be eaten “in the place which the Lord shall choose.” While provision is made for Israelites who lived at a distance (see 14.23-26), they were still required to come to ‘the place of the Name,’ reminding us that the “Lord's supper” is a meeting of the local assembly, rather than something that can be practised on an ad hoc basis wherever we might happen to be.
We should notice the repeated warning, “be sure that thou eat not the blood,” v23. The prohibition is explained in Lev.17.11-12. The lessons of the blood were so distinctive that it was always to be connected in their thoughts with atonement. Obedience would have happy results: ‘Thou shalt not eat of 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,” v25. This principle is repeated in v28.
The chapter concludes, as it commences, with the injunctions to “observe and hear,” v28 and “observe to do,” v32. God's people were to act at all times within the boundaries of God's Word, and we should notice three things:
i) The blessings of obeying God's Will, v28. “Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.”
ii) The danger of imitating the world, v29-31. “Take heed to thyself, that thou be not ensnared from following them (the nations of Canaan), after that they be destroyed before thee; and that thou enquire 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.” We are not to be “conformed to this world,” Rom.12.2. The sheer illogicality of idolatry is stressed here: it was totally incongruous to worship the gods of defeated nations!
iii) The necessity to maintain God's Word, v32. “What things soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Compare Deut.4.2. Jeremiah was told, “all the words which I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word,” Jer.26.2. The Bible ends with solemn warning against tampering with its contents. See Rev.22.18-19. We must maintain “all the counsel of God,” Acts 20.27.— to be continued (D.V.)