Deuteronomy 12:5

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12:5-8, “But 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, and thither thou shalt come:[6] And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:[7] And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.[8] Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” God told the Israelites that they were going to a “place,” a geographical location, and God’s purpose for that place was “to put his name there.” God’s name is important. His name represents who He is. One of His many names in the Old Testament is Jehovah, which means the eternally existent One, the I AM. One of His names in the New Testament is Jesus Christ, which means Savior the Anointed One. In the Old Testament God had His name associated with a specific place in what is now Israel. But now in the days of the New Testament God no longer has His name associated with one specific place. Instead His name is associated with every person who believes in Him. It is good that believers in Jesus are called “Christians.” That gives each believer the great privilege of saying with honor, “I am a Christian.” “I take the name of Christ and apply it to myself.”

Deuteronomy 12:6 talks about tithes. Tithing is part of the old covenant. But tithing is not the requirement for giving for those under the new covenant. That is because we are not under law but under grace. The prescription for giving under the new covenant is found in Second Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” God wants your heart, not your things. If God truly has your heart, then He will have your things too. Those who want to emphasize tithing from the Old Covenant, and tell people that they are doing what God wants them to do when they tithe, are wrong also because just notice what it says in Deuteronomy 12:6, “And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks.” The Israelites were required to give much more than their tithes in order to do the will of God. For those who give ten percent and think that they are really sacrificing to serve God faithfully, the truth is that even according to the Old Covenant, they have come up short and have not given enough. If you are led of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will use you to advance His work when and how He wants you to. Make sure that you fulfill all of your financial responsibilities that God has given to you: pay your bills, support your family, save for difficult times, save for retirement. If there is also something you can do to advance the gospel of Christ, God will put that on your heart too: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give…”

God wants us to be happy. God said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 12:7, “ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto.” Sin brings regret, remorse, and sorrow. Goodness brings happiness and contentment and peace with one’s self and with the world. Notice that verse 12 not only is in the context of rejoicing because of obeying the Lord, but also rejoicing because of doing a job: “in all that ye put your hand unto.” It feels good to do a good job and to know that you have done it well. That is because it is God’s will that people on this earth work. You will never be happy unless you are doing some kind of work and accomplishing the best that you can accomplish at it.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12:8 one thing that they would not be doing once they were truly serving the Lord. Every man would not be doing “whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” The Bible does not allow anarchy. First of all every believer must be surrendered to the Lord’s will. Secondly, we must be obedient citizens in the country in which we live. God has created a hierarchy on this earth with God at the top. Everyone including the rulers will be held accountable for how they served God in that hierarchy. God wants us to live humble and submitted lives in every aspect of our existence. The following was written to Christians who lived in Rome under Caesar. It says in Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.[7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12:9-14, “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.[10] But 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 ye dwell in safety;[11] Then there shall be 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:[12] And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.[13] Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:[14] 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.”

There is a spiritual application for Christians today in regards to what the Lord said in Deuteronomy 12:9, “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.” There are many, many benefits to being a Christian and to being a follower of Christ in this life. It is probably impossible to name them all. But the best is yet to come. We have yet to inherit the greatest blessings that are stored up and prepared for us. What a tremendous future that God has planned for all His children. It says in First Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Another important spiritual principle found in this passage in Deuteronomy has to do with the absolute requirement that we go God’s way and not our own way. Once we accept Christ as Savior, we are called to follow Him. He is supposed to be making the big decisions in our lives, and not we ourselves. In verse 11 it says, “Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose.” And then in Deuteronomy 12:13, “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest.” And then once again in verse 14 God says, “But in the place which the LORD shall choose.” Even after you are saved through faith in Christ, your greatest enemy is your own strong will. Whenever you want something, can you truly surrender it to the Lord and ask for His will? If not, then you will be learning some hard lessons.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12:15-24, “Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.[16] Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.[17] Thou 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 freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:[18] But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, 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.[19] Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.[20] When 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.[21] If 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.[22] Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.[23] Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. [24] Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.” This passage of scripture is one of many places in the Bible that make it very clear that the Bible does not encourage and require anyone to be a vegetarian. As it says in verse 15, “Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God.” The New Testament gives the same message about eating the flesh of animals. It says in First Timothy 4:1-5, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;[2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” This passage also makes it clear that a false teacher would tell people that it is wrong to eat meat.

The passage in Deuteronomy 12:15-24 reminds us that many of the commandments related to diet in the Old Testament made sense from a scientific standpoint, and would have been good commandments to follow in order to stay healthy. For example, the commandment to not eat blood would have helped to keep the children of Israel healthy. Many diseases can be contracted from blood, and blood itself is just not good to ingest.

There is at least one important symbolism to note in Deuteronomy 12:23, “Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.” Nothing can live without blood, and so the Word of God says, “The blood is the life.” If something gives its blood, it has given its life. Jesus gave His blood on the cross of Calvary from all the wounds that were inflicted on Him. That was necessary because Jesus gave His life in order that we might have life. What a great Savior we have. He loves us so much. He took on human form and then He gave it all away for us when He suffered so greatly. You can bow at the feet of Jesus today and believe on Him.

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