Deuteronomy 12:5 ¶ 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. 9 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. 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 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. 25 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 enquire 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.
When they come into the land God commands the Israelites to come
to worship at a central location that He will choose Himself.
Consider verse 8 for a moment.
8 Ye shall not do after all
the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is
right in his own eyes.
This command reflects back to Numbers as well.
Numbers 15:39 And it shall
be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the
commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own
heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
This is the foundational belief that underscores what many
Americans believe is their right, their liberty. The Israelites stumbled over
this attitude many times.
Judges 17:6 In those days
there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own
eyes.
Judges 21:25 In those days
there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own
eyes.
Proverbs 21:2 ¶ Every way
of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
There are many good sermons to be preached out of this thought.
Who are the unclean in verse 15?
Leviticus 5:2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether
it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the
carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall
be unclean, and guilty. 3 Or if he touch
the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be
defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be
guilty.
Leviticus 11:21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping
thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap
withal upon the earth; 22 Even these of
them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind,
and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. 23 But all other flying creeping things, which
have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. 24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever
toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
Leviticus 17:15 And every soul that eateth that which died of
itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country,
or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and
be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
Blood is forbidden to be consumed in
verse 16 and 23-25 as it is before and after the Law.
Genesis 9:4 But flesh with
the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Acts 15:29 That ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and
from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Not only does God reinforce the central official worship of Israel
but He also demands that they take care of the Levites, who have no land
inheritance. Remember that land and livestock are the primary source of wealth
in the ancient world and in fact until not many hundreds of years ago.
God warns them about seeking after other gods or even being
curious about how they are worshipped. He lays out some things that He wants no
part of, including human sacrifice.
Verse 32 is often used in the King James Bible debate as a warning
about using other versions which add or remove verses but literally it is about
the commands that God gave Israel. Be careful when you use a verse for a
purpose to which it was not intended.
No comments:
Post a Comment