Supplementary Exposition of the Third to the Tenth Command
Deuteronomy 12-26
The Third Command. (Deuteronomy 12-14)
Deu_12:1-31
1These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe [keep] 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. 2Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations [Gentiles] which ye shall possess [expel from the possession] served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: 3And ye shall overthrow [tear down, raze] their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves [their pillars of wood] with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God. 5But 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, [keep, inquire] and thither thou shalt come: 6And thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, [whole offerings] and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herds, and of your flocks: 7And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hands unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. 8Ye shall not do after all [according to all what, i.e., just as] the things that we do [are doing] here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9For ye are not as yet 10come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you. But [Still] when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that [and] ye dwell in safety: 11Then there shall be [And it come to pass,] a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord: 12And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no [for not to him belongs] part nor inheritance with you. 13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest: 14But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there 15thou shalt do all that I command thee. Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after [Only in all thy soul desireth thou, etc.] according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of [om. of] the roe-buck [antelope] and as of the hart. 16Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth-as water. 17Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free-will-offerings, or heave-offering of thine hand: 18But thou must eat them before [the face of] the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. 19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest [all thy days] upon the earth. 20When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after [in all the desire of thy soul]. 21If 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 lusteth after. 22Even as the roe-buck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike [in like manner]. 23Only be sure [strong, firm] that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life [soul]: and thou mayest not eat the life [soul] with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do thatwhich is [om. that which is] right in the sight of the Lord. 26Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose: 27And thou shalt offer [prepare, make] thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. 28Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that whichis good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God. 29When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest [dost possess] them, and dwellest in their land; 30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them [cleavest not after them] after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire [seek, search] not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve [accustomed to serve] their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God; for every abomination to [of] 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.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu_12:1-14. The connection with the foregoing (Deu_11:32) as Deu_6:1. Deu_12:1 serves as a title to introduce what follows. Comp. Deu_4:5; Deu_4:10; Deu_5:29. We feel that we have reached a new topic, hence the absence of the
åְ
, as Deu_6:4. Deu_12:2 refers back substantially to what was said upon the first command, with this difference, that the places of the false worship of God are here prominent, and thus the connection with the second command is made apparent. Utterly destroy, i.e., destroy utterly and entirely as places of the cultus (Knobel), mountains, especially high mountains, but also hills in which they believed themselves nearer the heavenly powers, as upon the natural altars of the earth. Green trees are at the same time leafy, as this lies in the radical signification of the word
øָòַï
, and is rejected erroneously by Schultz. They represent the oaks with their dense shade, (Eze_6:13; Eze_20:28). It is not truly the vivid fulness of color, but the mysterious rustling of the foliage which comes into view here, as in the high places it is the all-overpowering elements of air and light. Upon Deu_12:3 comp. Deu_7:5; Deu_7:25. The destruction of theirnames, i.e., that the places of the cultus should no longer be named after the idols previously honored in them, shows already, since it brings out the connection of the places with the idol images, and thus connects it with the second command, that Moses now passes over to the third command, that chap. 12 treats of the name of Jehovah, before which all other names of the deities mast retire (Act_4:12). Comp. Deu_7:24. Hence Deu_12:4 (Deu_12:31) introductory: Since you cannot rest in the places and names of a false cultus, you should not especially take examples from them of the true worship of God. For as Jehovah is the one only in opposition to these many, so also the place of His only name should be freed from all subjective arbitrariness (Intro., § 4, 1. 23). Deu_12:5. Which Jehovah shall choose. The manner and method how all will-worship reveals itself in opposition to this choice of Jehovah, is fixed by that choice, whether it is effected in some extraordinary way, or by the mere arrangement of circumstances. It is enough that he will select and define the place, and indeed one place, as the addition, out of all your tribes, shows, (the unity of all in the Lord) and thus certainly with reference to Lev_17:3 sq., namely, to the oneness of the tabernacle. But at the same time the mention of the name of Jehovah in the destination of the place in question, touches upon the more general and indefinite passage, Exo_20:24, which however for the usual arrangement of things must be more closely limited by
ìָùׂåּí
and
ìְùִׁëְðåֹ
. Upon the name comp. Deu_5:11. The heathen deity abides in nature, Jehovah, on the contrary, is Spirit, manifest in word and deed, which personal revelation embraces and constitutes His name, by which He calls Himself among His people, which He makes for and in His people. To put there, i.e., to take, order, to settle it there; for that which is customary (the discourse indeed is of the usual cultus), without any allusion to extraordinary cases (Exodus 20), but also without excluding them. To his habitation—
ùָׁëַï
to settle, dwell. The infinitive separated by the accent from the foregoing, although it may define it more closely (Exo_25:8; Exo_29:44 sq.) and in Deu_12:11,
ìְùַׁáֵּï
stands for
ìָùׂåּí
. But just precisely on account of this latter (and
ìְùַׁáֵּï
is to permit to dwell), the connection with
úִּãְøְùׁåּ
pointed out by the accents is to be preferred.
ìְ
resumes in an abbreviated form the
àֶì
at the beginning. Understanding the infinitive thus substantively of the place, which represents the dwelling of Jehovah or of His name, with a clear reference to the Shechinah since the erection of the tabernacle, over which the pillar of cloud tarried or dwelt, when Israel rested in the march, it is neither Jerusalem nor the temple which is the dwelling in view, (Knobel) but the infinitive rather leaves the locality undetermined, provided only that some one permanent position is kept in view. [The fixing of one place is not, as Schroeder intimates, entirely new. It is implied in Exo_20:24, and was actually observed during the wanderings in the desert, Lev_17:1 sq. It is precisely in accordance with the object in Deuteronomy, which regards the future of Israel, and especially when scattered through the land of promise, that this revelation should be insisted upon with so much definiteness and stringency. The command does not conflict with the worship of God in those places in which the worshippers had express divine authority. As e.g., the offerings of Gideon, Manoah, David.—Wordsworth well asks: “If Deuteronomy is not the work of Moses, how is it possible that it could have been received when all the kings of Israel, and often those of Judah, were living in violation of this command? If it had been a forgery, they would surely have exposed it.”—A. G.].
ãָּøַùׁ
(Deu_11:12), the idea of something urgent lies in the root, perhaps with reference to the difficulties (out of all the tribes) when the people dwelt scattered in Canaan: to seek, to search after, to turn one’s self thither, to keep, abide there, as directed for the ordinary cultus, public and individual, hence shall ye seek, and thou shalt come, ye and thou. Deu_12:6. Brings up the altar instituted with the tabernacle (Exo_29:44; Exo_20:24). [As to the difficulties in bringing the offerings from the distance, they are partly met by the provision in Num_14:24-25, and partly by the mere statement of the fact that the distance at the greatest was less than a hundred miles; so that what was required was nothing impossible. Moreover, we must bear in mind here the whole spirit of the law. God always required mercy and not sacrifice. Obviously the sick, and those detained by any special providences, would be regarded as fulfilling the law, if they brought their offerings at other than the stated times. They could not present it at any but the chosen place, but they might reserve it until they could bring it there. The time is not fixed, except at the three great feasts. And even then there must have been exceptions provided for, in the spirit if not in the letter, of the law.—A. G.] Bring, generally, under the presumption that whatever concerns the time, procedure, etc., was already known from the law and customs (comp. chap, 16). The offerings as a whole are embraced in the number seven. Beginning with the burnt-offering and “sacrifices” as the principal (Lev_17:8; Exo_10:25; Num_15:3). Comp. Lev_1:3 sq.
æáç
, especially praise and thank-offerings, Lev_3:7; Lev_3:12; Num_15:4 sq. (perfect concession and joy of salvation,
ùìîéí æáç
). Upon the tithe comp. Introd. § 4, I. 19. [“These supposed discrepancies” (Wordsworth) are evidences of the unity of plan of the Pentateuch. The author takes for granted here that his hearers were familiar with what had been said by him in the earlier parts of his work, and what had become a usage among them (as the sacred feast, Deu_12:17-18), and does not repeat it, but proceeds at once to speak of the tithes he had in view. Distingue tempora et concordabis Scripturas is a sound maxim.”—A. G.] Heave what the hand takes up as a free gift to Jehovah from the fruits of the ground, besides the tithes and the first-born. Vows and free-will [gifts] offerings, Lev_7:16. Upon the first-born comp. Exodus 13; Numbers 18 (and upon Deu_15:19). Deu_12:7. Thus sacred and joyful meals (Exo_18:12). All that you put your hand unto.—Concrete (comp. Isa_11:14) for every thing which they could put their hand to, which was proper and due to them. The gains, acquisitions (Knobel, Keil) made through the hand cannot well be alluded to here, since it is precisely with reference to these that the blessing of God is spoken of. Since Moses includes himself, Deu_12:8, he cannot refer here to unlawful courses, but intends those procedures namely, in opposition to the oneness of the sanctuary, perhaps still more particularly what concerns the meals, as Deu_12:9 expressly excuses these on the ground that the wanderers had not yet come to their rest. Upon Deu_12:10 comp. Exo_34:23-24. Upon Deu_12:11 comp. Deu_12:5-6.
äַîָּ÷åֹí
—placed first here for the emphasis.
åëì îáçø
—a comprehensive term, as they must then be selected or chosen. On the other hand, Deu_12:12 more in detail than Deu_12:7 (Exo_20:10; Deu_5:14; comp. Deu_10:9. See Introd. § 4, I. 21). The wives as evidently included are not mentioned (Knobel). Deu_12:13-14. A final inculcation of the oneness of the sanctuary, with regard to the burnt-offering, as instar omnium.
2. Deu_12:15-31. Deu_12:15. A remission from the strictness of the law, Lev_17:3 sq., out of regard to the scattered condition of Israel in Canaan.
áëìÎàåú
—comp. Deu_5:18. According to the necessity for the support of life, for which the permission to eat flesh was granted (Gen_1:29; Gen_9:3), and according to their desire. It is not the sacrificial meal which is here treated (Lev_7:20). The (levitically) unclean, sq.—[As the roe-buck, gazelle, and the hart, which were clean for food, but not for sacrifices. Wordsworth.—A. G.] The sacrificial victims could not be offered there, although they were clean (Lev_17:13). But although the sacrificial character was taken away from the slaying, there remains still (Deu_12:16) a reference to the sacrifice, in regard to the blood, Lev_17:10 sq. This medium of atonement should be poured out as water, and return simply to the earth, from which God had called the animals in the creation. If it did not return to God on the altar in the way of the sacrifices, it must return to Him in this way (Deu_12:27). Since Moses returns again to Deu_12:5-6; Deu_12:11, he makes clear and prominent, as in Deu_12:13-14, the burnt-offering; and in Deu_12:15, the simple killing in distinction from the sacrificial killing; here, Deu_12:17, the tithe, etc.; both because one in this regard might soonest think himself at liberty, and because of the sacrificial meals, which indeed in every third year (Deu_14:28 sq.) could be held at home and upon the tithes. Comp. further, the Introd. § 4, I. 19, especially also in regard to the first-born, and upon Deu_15:19 sq. Deu_12:18. Comp. Deu_12:7; Deu_12:12; Deu_12:19; Introd. § 4, I. 21. All thy days—thy whole life—upon the earth (lit. upon thy land), in which, viz., he had no part,—urged here as a motive. The repetition of the permission, Deu_12:15, only emphasizes so much the more what in other cases is the rule, through that exception. At the same time, however, it ratifies and confirms the promised (Exo_23:27 sq.) enlargement of the borders (Deu_11:24; Deu_1:7). Deu_12:20. Comp. Deu_12:15. Deu_12:21. From thee—an example, as the position of the thou designates the individual case. A more subjective clause parallel to the more objective Deu_12:20. For the rest comp. Deu_12:5. As I have commanded thee.—The permissive command, Deu_12:15. Deu_12:22 looks back to Deu_12:15. Alike—not together, but the one as well as the other. Deu_12:23. Comp. Deu_12:16. The ground or basis of the prohibition is that the blood, the bearer of the soul life, the soul quickening the flesh, is substantially the soul, as Lev_17:14; Lev_17:11. The emphatic arrangement of the sentence is made more emphatic still by the repetition of the not. Deu_12:24-25, as supported by the promising prospect of prosperity. Comp. Deu_4:40; Deu_5:26; Deu_6:18. Upon Deu_12:26 comp. Deu_12:6; Deu_12:11; Deu_12:17 (Lev_22:3; Num_18:8). After the general expression, the vows are specially mentioned, on account of the apparent freedom in regard to them (Num_15:3; Num_15:8). Deu_12:27. (Lev_1:3 sq.; Deu_3:2 sq.) Shall be poured out—namely, by the priests, and at the same time explanatory for the preparatory steps [our version renders “thou shall offer,” lit.: thou shalt make, which Schroeder renders: prepare, or make thy preparation—A. G.], so far as they belonged to the offerer. All the details are presupposed from the earlier law-giving; hence to pour out is as to sprinkle around, and
òì=ñáéá òì
. The former expression is given as the more general in Deu_12:24; Deu_12:16; the latter through the
òì
at the beginning of this verse, which usually specifies the direction or destination whither. Comp. farther Lev_7:14 sq. Deu_12:28 is a resumption of the preliminary conclusion in Deu_12:25. It should be observed, kept especially by the hearing. The good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God,” as already in Deu_12:25, in opposition to Deu_12:8. Deu_12:29. A new sentence parallel to Deu_12:20. Comp. Deu_11:23. The discourse at its close returns to the beginning. Deu_12:30.
úִðָּ÷ֵùׁ
imp. Niph. from
ðָ÷ַùׁ
, to follow after, while
úִåָּ÷ֵùׁ
, Deu_7:25, imp. Niph. from
éָ÷ַùׁ
, to ensnare. The after them after that (
àַçֲøֵé
) makes a vivid impression in its connection. Before thee.—How foolish, after they were destroyed before thee, that thou shouldst still go after them! Moreover, comp. Deu_12:5. Even so will I do—namely, to Jehovah, as Deu_12:31 shows. Thus a transfer of the cultus of the land to Jehovah. Comp. further Deu_12:4; Deu_7:25; Lev_18:25. [Bib. Com.: This caution is based upon the notion generally entertained in the ancient heathen world that each country had its own tutelary deities, whom it would be perilous to neglect, 1Ki_20:23; 2Ki_17:26. Hence even in conquered districts the worship of the local deities was wont to be scrupulously maintained. But Israel was to shun such superstitions.—A. G.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The one place, of the one sanctuary, of the one Jehovah, is the theme of the chapter. The one Jehovah, protests against the gods of Canaan, His one sanctuary, is opposed to the numerous heathen sanctuaries. This negation shows the connection with the first two commands—in particular with the second command. It follows from this negation that Jehovah, who in this second command has spoken as a Spirit, who in His word, especially in the ten words, has taught His people, now when the discourse (Deu_12:5) comes positively to treat of the place of His name, it makes the destination of the place dependent upon His choice, i.e., upon His command as revealed in word or deed. This is the side which the one place of the sanctuary has towards God; the objective side, at the same time, of the now to be explained third command. But this also has its subjective side, as we have repeatedly heard that Israel should swear by the name of Jehovah; this is the confession to Jehovah in every way. And thus the oneness of the place of the sanctuary wins its significance for the nationality of Israel; it characteristically comprises the same in this confession to Jehovah. One religiously, it remains politically one. Out of all your tribes Jehovah has chosen His place, thus also for all; and by so much the more fruitfully, since the piety of the individual (comp. the Psalms) could be efficient at the one place of the sanctuary, improving and quickening for the whole people. (On the extraordinary sacrificial places, comp. Introd. § 4.)
2. Joy before Jehovah, which is so repeatedly uttered, should be the animating disposition of meals at the sanctuary. The inculcated unity of the place of the sanctuary was thus right humanly commended. Thus there enters into the collective ceremonial requirements a disposition—indeed an evangelical feature—which eclipses the face of the legal. That is truly, genuinely deuteronomic; but it is something else as truly. Lev_23:40 speaks of the joy before the Lord at the feast of tabernacles—thus whenever one thinks of the wilderness as past. Is not that truly the stand-point of Deuteronomy in its constant look into Canaan and its sure rest? The eating at the place of the sanctuary becomes at the same time the eating before Jehovah—therefore in the best sense; but at the same time the exalted joy appears as a common joy, thus in reference to our neighbor. The two tables of the law appear behind it. Still remarks Baumgarten: “The union of the godly and worldly, the spiritual and natural, which the popular life even elsewhere in heathen antiquity and the Christian middle ages, manifoldly seeks and in some measure finds, since the places of the cultus are at the same time centres of trade and commerce; religious times are also days of popular joy and pleasure; this union is never so original and pure as in Israel, because in it Jehovah the holy God has placed and managed all natural and worldly things from the beginning; and although the actual result even here appears defective and clouded, still it presents itself as the pure, clear glass of this present and much sought unity.”
3. The discourse speaks again and again of rest. So Jos_21:44; Jos_22:4 (Deu_18:1). So 2Sa_7:1; 2Sa_7:10-11. So 1Ch_22:9; 1Ki_5:4; 1Ki_5:18. This ever appears in connection with the tabernacle, or the ark of the covenant, or the temple. God’s rest is the rest of the people. What is still further said in Hebrews 4 is drawn from the very depth of the idea. Comp. further Gen_49:10 and 1Pe_1:4.
4. Men and maid servants (Deu_12:7) were included in the family life of the Israelites, and recognized and received in the most general human pleasures, the eating and the joy, and consecrated through the connection with Jehovah and the sanctuary. The religious thought is all penetrating salt in Israel. That the Levite was included, as it promoted the sanctification of the family life, especially the eating and the joy, so it corresponds with the deuteronomic reference to Canaan, in which Levi had no part nor inheritance.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The threefold unity: one God, one sanctuary, the one place of the same, in its importance for the moral, ecclesiastical, political unity of Israel. What the religion of the fathers has to do with the national life (England, America). Deu_12:1 sq. Luther: “He commands all. The people could not proceed in the worship after their own mind or will, however holy and good they were,—all that is ruled by the word. If man cannot live without the word, as to the body, the outward form, how much less in the work of God and in the Spirit. God wills, then, our conscience should be certain that our service is well-pleasing to Him.”—Lange: “Our welfare and our duty must ever stand together.”
Deu_12:2. Cramer: “When God comes, the devil must depart.”
Deu_12:4. Starke: “This also is idolatry, to serve and honor God otherwise than He has commanded.”
Deu_12:5. Berl. Bib.: “Christ, is in all the congregations gathered in His name, and this is the place which God has chosen, and whither we may bring our prayers and thank-offerings, Mat_18:19.”—Starke: “Be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Eph_4:3.” Deu_12:7. Richter: “If God would not have any joyless, gloomy, complaining, sad believer under the Old Testament, how much less under the gracious light of the New Test.! Php_3:1; Php_4:4.” “Joy before, in, the Lord, the harmonizing principle of the divine life. It unites the inward oppositions and glorifies all that is external. The food is sanctified, family life becomes festal, and all is illuminated with the divine blessing.
Deu_12:8. Liberty has its limitations as to time and circumstances—especially by the law of God.” Berl. Bib.: “The soul, in the eternal law, judges as God judges; for it sees through the eye of God. That is the highest freedom.” Deu_12:9-10. Lange: “We look for the perfect rest, first in the life beyond.” Deu_12:12. Friedlib: “So God takes care for poor servants also. As the house in the church, so the servants of the church belong to the household.”
Deu_12:13. Starke: “Woe to those who say, lo, here is Christ, or lo, there, Mat_24:26; Php_3:2.” Deu_12:14. Berl. Bib.: This passage represents Christ, to whom His people should adhere, as the one whom the Father has chosen, and in whom the name of His majesty and glory dwells.
Deu_12:16-23. The significance and hence the prohibition of blood. As to the first table: God is alone the Author of all life; as to the second table: a sacred awe, reverence for life should be preserved with regard to every man; as to both commands, it was thus a means of atonement, and pointing to the sacrifice of Christ, who requires the participation of His blood, Joh_6:53 sq.
Deu_12:19. Starke: Teachers in church and school should have continual support, 1Co_9:13-14; 1Ti_5:18.
Deu_12:21 sq. To these men widely removed the permission of enjoyment is also enlarged, but by so much the more should they keep to the word of God, that the use may not become misuse, and that the pain may not succeed the pleasure.
Deu_12:29 sq.: There is a false conservatism in the Church as in the State (exemplified in the Romish missions and the Church of England).
Footnotes:
[Deu_12:2. Which ye are driving them out, and so possessing. It is not to inherit, as the margin.—A. G.].
[Deu_12:5. The Vulg. connects this clause with what follows, to put His name and dwell there, and so essentially the Sept. Our version accords with the accents, and is better.—A. G.].
[Deu_12:11. Margin, lit., all the choice of your vows.—A. G.].
[Deu_12:15. Our version transposes the clauses in this verse needlessly, although without materially affecting the sense.—A. G].
[Deu_12:20. Our word lusteth has acquired a technical and bad sense, and is too strong here and in Deu_12:15 above, and 21 below.—A. G.].
