Deuteronomy 12:25

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12:25-32, “Thou shalt not eat 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.[26] Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:[27] And thou shalt offer 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.[28] Observe 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 which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.[29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to 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.[32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” There are a number of important principles in these verses for every believer to remember who wants to follow the Lord. First in verse 25 it says, “when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.” A follower of Jesus should always have the motivation to do the right thing. Do right until the stars fall. Always do what is right. If you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear you.

Deuteronomy 12V26 tells us that it is very important that we follow the leading of the Lord. It says, “go unto the place which the LORD shall choose.” We must be surrendered to the Lord and we must follow His leading. He will lead us because Jesus is our Shepherd and the shepherd leads the sheep. The question will always be: are you willing to go where and when He leads you. Your own stubborn and selfish human will is often your greatest enemy.

In verse 27 God talks about the importance of having a sacrifice. It says, “the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God.” We are sinners, and we need a sacrifice for our sins. Before God there is no other solution to the sin problem. Thankfully, Jesus is our sacrifice. We must never forget that we have a sacrifice, and because of the sacrifice God accepts us and receives us.

Verse 28 reminds us of the importance of the Word of God in the life of believers. It says, “Observe and hear all these words which I command thee.” The Word of God is our spiritual food. Without the Word of God we will grow weaker and weaker. Without the Word of God we will not grow in the knowledge of the Lord like we need to. God gave us the Bible, and preserved it to every generation so that everyone would have the opportunity to read and benefit from His perfect truth. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God.”

Deuteronomy 12:29 touches on one of the many benefits to being a believer in Jesus: victory over the world. It says, “When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them.” We will have enemies, but God will fight our battles. We are talking about Jesus, the All-powerful God. Of course, He will give victory to His followers. If you walk with Jesus, you are on the winning side. If you do not, you are on the losing side. It says in First Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Deuteronomy 12:30 speaks of the critical principle of separation from unbelievers. It says, “Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them.” Because we are all like sheep, we can easily be led astray if we follow the wrong crowd. Young people need to be aware of this warning and so do adults who wish to follow the Lord in this life. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” We are not just talking about false prophets, but anyone who might be a bad example to you. It says in Romans 12: 1, “And be not conformed to this world.” It also says in Second Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

The final spiritual principle to observe is found in Deuteronomy 12:32 that says, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” This refers to the completeness of the Word of God. In the Bible God gave us everything that He wants us to know. There is no other book written by any other person neither today nor in the past that should replace or add to the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and nothing else. The same warning is given at the end of the book of Revelation in Revelation 22:18-19, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 13:1-3, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,[2] And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;[3] Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” There are a couple of important facts to keep in mind. There are false prophets and false teachers in this world. God wants you to recognize them and avoid them. How will you recognize them? The better that you know the truth from the Bible, the better that you will recognize false teachings if and when they come your way. Jesus warned His believers about false teachers. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” There are many other warnings in the New Testament about false teachers. It says in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.[18] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” It also says in Second John 1:7-11, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.[8] Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.[9] Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.[10] If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:[11] For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

The rest of chapter 13 in Deuteronomy tell us the punishments that were to be handed out in the Old Testament for false teachers and those who accepted the teachings of false teachers. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 13:4-18, “Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.[5] And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.[6] If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;[7] Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;[8] Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:[9] But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.[10] And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.[11] And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.[12] If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,[13] Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;[14] Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;[15] Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.[16] And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.[17] And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;[18] When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.” The punishments were very harsh because this is the Old Testament. Of course, these types of punishments would not be applied today because we live in the age of the New Testament. Look at how harsh these punishments were: the false teacher is put to death, anyone who accepts the teachings of the false teacher is put to death, and if everyone in a particular town accepts the false teachings then the whole town is destroyed and everyone in it. There is no such thing as freedom of religion or freedom of speech in this situation. How fortunate we are that Jesus put aside the old covenant and gave us the new covenant that has an emphasis on mercy and forgiveness and grace: the harsh punishments are done away with. This shows one of the problems with the Islam religion: in some ways the Koran is like the Old Testament, as least as far as the harsh punishments are concerned. But because of Jesus, we have advanced beyond the harsh punishments. The religion of Islam has never advanced in that way. This is just one more of the many advantages of being a Christian and having the New Testament that Jesus gave to us.

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