Deuteronomy 12:15-32 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 12:15-32. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (NIV)
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
16 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
On verses 15-16: Why were the Israelites prohibited from eating blood? For more on this see the section below called “On verses 20-27”.
Deuteronomy 12:17-19 (NIV)
17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18 Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns–and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
19 Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
On verses 17-19: Here Moses talks to the current generation of Israelites about tithing, that is, giving the first 10% of their income to God. A “tithe” literally means 10 percent. Notice that Moses tells the current generation of Israelites to bring their entire tithe “to the place the LORD your God will choose” (v18), that is, to the house of God where the people worship God and where the Levites serve. The Israelites were to use and bring their tithe there and not use or bring their tithe anywhere else.
Similarly, since the New Testament affirms the importance of tithing, these verses teach us a good lesson about tithing. Some people say, “I’m going to choose where I give my tithe. Maybe I’ll give some to this charity, and some to that organization, and some more I’ll give to the poor myself.” But the lesson we learn here is that we don’t get to choose where we give our tithe. We are to give to the house (church) where we worship God. Why? One reason is to take care of the “Levites” in your church, that is, those who have dedicated their full time careers and working lives to make church possible for the rest of us. The “Levites” in our lives need to be well taken care of. As verse 19 says, “Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in the land.” Your tithe is not simply a spiritual exercise. Your tithe serves a very practical purpose of keeping God’s house operating and caring for the real needs of those who spend their working lives serving God’s house, the church. That’s why tithing to the church where you worship is important.
Also, notice that verse 19 tells the Israelites to “rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to” as they worship God. This suggests that worshiping God was always meant to be a joyful, happy thing, a celebration of who God is and His goodness in our lives.
So every time you come to worship God, don’t be afraid to shout, to clap, to dance and to rejoice in God’s presence. Because of Jesus, we have every reason to worship with joy.
Deuteronomy 12:20-27 (NIV)
20 When the LORD your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want.
21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.
22 Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat.
23 But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24 You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
26 But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the LORD will choose.
27 Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.
On verses 20-27: Why were the Israelites prohibited from eating blood? It was to help them appreciate the sanctity of life. As verse 23 says, “because the blood is the life”. So does that mean as followers of Jesus, you and I can’t eat anything with blood still in it? What about a medium rare steak? What about Filipino dinuguan (pork blood stew)? The fact is: the dietary regulations we find in the first five books of the Bible (including Deuteronomy) have been replaced by a new paradigm in the New Testament, where Jesus declares all foods clean (Mark 7:19) and Christians are not bound by the dietary regulations of the Old Testament (Acts 10:9-15). Since Jesus the Lamb of God tells us to drink His blood (he means figuratively) in John 6:54-56 and it is our consumption of His blood that gives us life, it makes sense that consuming the blood of something far inferior to Jesus is no longer forbidden as well.
Deuteronomy 12:28-32 (NIV)
28 Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
29 The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,
30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”
31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
On verses 28-32: Child sacrifice was a part of the religious rituals practiced by the nations who occupied the promised land prior to the Israelites (v31). Moses warns the Israelites not to try to adopt such practices and incorporate them into their worship of the Lord (v30).
Applied to us, do these verses prohibit Christians today from learning about other religions? No. It is useful to have some understanding of the faiths that the people around us practice so that we can know how to dialogue with them and lead them to Christ. However, we must do so carefully, with a discerning heart, praying for God’s protection and always hanging onto Jesus. Also: If you are especially vulnerable to evil spirits or you do not yet have a strong foundation in your faith as a Christian, I would not recommend trying to learn about other faiths at this time and would suggest that you wait until you have a stronger handle on the Christian faith before learning about other religions.
Thank You Lord for the joy, freedom and protection we have in Your presence. Thank You also for reminding us to take good care of those who have dedicated their working lives to serving our church. May we always take great care of them. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
