Deuteronomy 12

Study Guide 20: Deuteronomy 12-26 WAYS OF WORSHIP Overview This section of Deuteronomy contains the detailed stipulations of the covenant which governed the relationship between God and His Old Testament people. Chapters 5-11 of Deuteronomy affirmed the basic principle of love which God’ s gift of Law expresses. Then Moses reviewed the Law given earlier at Sinai, and highlighted specific ways in which God’ s people could express their love for Him. In essence this chapter explores a variety of ways of worship: ways in which God’ s people can honor, glorify, and love the Lord their God.

Ways of Worship

One placeDeu_12:1-32; Deuteronomy 16:1-22 One GodDeu_13:1-18; 17-18 TithesDeu_12:1-32; Deuteronomy 14:1-29 Clean and UncleanDeu_14:1-29; Deuteronomy 23:1-25 CompassionDeu_15:1-23; 24-25 JusticeDeu_19:1-21 WarDeu_20:1-20WORSHIP. In the Old Testament, “ worship” is usually sahah, “ to bow down” or “ to prostrate oneself out of respect.” ‘ Asab, “ to serve,” is also translated “ worship.” The underlying idea is to show respect and reverence, not only in a worship service where God is praised, but in every aspect of one’ s life. Our lives are to be expressions of worship of God. TITHE. Ten percent of all that the Promised Land produced was to be set aside by Israelites as “ holy to the Lord” and to be used as He commanded.

Commentary The people of Israel, who were so deeply loved by God, were to return that love in worship by showing respect and reverence for God in every way. In these chapters of Deuteronomy we find a number of mixed themes — special instructions about tithes, about ritual cleanness, about war, justice, and compassion. At first glance they seem unrelated. But what ties them together is the fact that every action commanded describes another aspect of a life so intimately linked to God that all the godly Israelite said and did could be considered an act of worship. As you plan to teach from this section, it’ s possible to survey these themes, or to focus on any one of them which seems to suggest ways in which Christians can show loving respect for our God today.

One Place: Deuteronomy 12:1-32; Deuteronomy 16:1-22Many of the ritual elements of Israel’ s worship are explained by a simple phrase we find repeated in Deuteronomy 12:1-32. “ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way” (Deuteronomy 12:4, Deuteronomy 12:31). The worship of God must be as distinct from the worship of pagan idols as God Himself is from dead wood and stone. A basic feature of pagan worship was its localization. The peoples of Canaan called their gods Baals, a word which means “ master” or “ owner.” The baals were thought of as owners of their area — a hillside, a valley, a plot of land, or a larger section of territory. One worshiped the local Baal as an act of respect, for it was thought to control the fruitfulness of the land. Because of this localized concept of a deity’ s rights and powers, Canaan under the pagans was filled with “ high places” — spots on the tops of hills or groves of trees set aside for worship of the local deity. Many years later, when the Assyrians resettled the Northern Kingdom of Israel after deporting most of its Jewish inhabitants, the people resettled there took up the worship of Yahweh along with worship of their old gods. They did not do this because they respected Yahweh as Lord God Almighty. They did it because He was viewed as the God of that land, and it was wise to show respect for One who controlled the fertility of the fields they plowed! But God is God of the whole earth. His sovereign power extends over all! To truly worship God, His overarching sovereignty must be acknowledged and He must be worshiped for who He truly is. God is no local deity — and it would be totally inappropriate for Him to be worshiped as if He were nothing more than God of these few trees, that plot of land. So God commanded Israel that, when they entered the land of Canaan, they were to “ destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:2). In place of these localized places of worship, God promised to choose one place where He would put His name. “ To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Deuteronomy 12:5-6). This command is repeated and underlined (Deuteronomy 12:11-14). Israel was to worship “ only at the place the Lord will chose in one of your tribes.” When the people first entered the land they worshiped wherever the tabernacle was located. That was the one place where God met with His people, and where the sacrifices the Law ordained could be made. Some 400 years would pass before David established Jerusalem as his capital city, and set aside a mount on which his son Solomon would build the promised temple of God. Deuteronomy 16:1-22 reviews again the three pilgrim festivals, religious feasts which were to be held annually at the central place of worship. Here again the “ one place” theme is repeated. “ You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you except in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His name” (Deuteronomy 16:5-6). What is the significance for us of these crystal clear instructions to Israel? Primarily they serve as a reminder of the wonders that are now ours as Jesus’ people. Corporate worship in Israel was to be focused in the one place on earth where God’ s presence was established. But where is God present today? God is present in His people — God has come in the person of the Holy Spirit and taken up residence in you and me! No wonder Jesus taught, “ Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). For many today, “ worship” is an experience generated by the stately music and quiet surroundings of some beautiful sanctuary. The church is just a building, and worship is a Sunday kind of thing. But we Christians do not worship God in their way! Instead we gather together, realizing that we ourselves are the church and that Jesus, living in each one, is the living focus of our praise. In Old Testament times God’ s special presence was in one place. Today His special presence is felt whenever we who love Jesus come together to worship and honor our Lord.

One God: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; 17-18 Again and again Moses emphasized the total commitment to God that personal relationship with Him demands. “ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘ Let us go and worship other gods’ . . . do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death” (Deuteronomy 13:6-9). It was absolutely essential for the spiritual future of Israel to maintain a complete and total commitment to God. However, God carefully protected His people against the kind of thing that marked the Spanish Inquisition — false and anonymous accusation. Deuteronomy 17:1-20 repeats the command that a person who traffics with other gods should be put to death, but specifies “ on the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.” And then “ the hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death” (Deuteronomy 17:6-7). What might be so attractive as to turn the hearts of the Israelites to pagan gods? One answer of course is found in the immorality which was associated with Canaanite religious rites. But another is located in man’ s sense of helplessness in a universe too big for control. One aspect of pagan religions was their suggestion that through magical means a person might gain control over his or her environment and other persons. Through the seers and diviners of paganism people were offered some insight into the future, and some hope of controlling or guarding themselves from future events. Twice in these chapters Moses dealt with the question of those who seemed to have some supernatural powers that offered supernatural help and guidance. The key passage is found in Deuteronomy 18:1-22, and is the background against which we must understand the role of the prophet in Israel. When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord. Deuteronomy 18:9-13While God’ s people were forbidden to consult pagan or occult sources for information, God knew that there would be times when the written Law did not provide enough guidance to know God’ s will in a specific situation. So Moses promised that the Lord would raise up for them a prophet like him from among their own brothers. They must listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:18). The prophet, then, would be God’ s own spokesman, giving Israel the guidance required to live in a given situation in the will of God. As God said, “ I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18). There was no reason, ever, to turn to pagan gods. God was ready and able to meet every need of His dearly loved people. These chapters also tell the Israelites how to distinguish a true prophet from a false prophet. These tests are: The prophet must be an Israelite “ from among your own brothers” (Deuteronomy 18:18). He will “ speak in My name,” and anyone who prophesied in the name of other gods was to be put to death (Deuteronomy 18:20). What he says will happen will actually take place, for “ if what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.” Such pseudo-prophets are not to be feared, for the words of a true prophet will always come true (Deuteronomy 18:22). Anyone who encourages the following of other gods, even if he works miracles, is to be rejected and put to death. The Word of God stands as an objective test of the prophet’ s message. God does meet all the needs of His people. To look elsewhere for guidance or aid is to treat Him with contempt. We are to count on God to meet our every need, for He truly is committed to us. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Why do some turn to the occult today? Bring to your group meeting the astrology column from several newspapers. Break into teams of five or six to compare the “ advice” in several columns. What do group members observe about the advice? How do items for their “ sign” relate to their actual experience? In the whole group again, share observations. Then discuss: “ Why do people turn to the occult for advice? Why are spiritists, palm readers, astrologers, and others so popular? How should Christians, who do believe in a spiritual world, view the occult?” Then study together Deuteronomy 18:9-22, in the context of the message of Deuteronomy 13:1-18; 17-18. How wonderful that God commits Himself to guide us Himself! And how important that we look to Him alone to lead.

Tithes: Deuteronomy 12:1-32; Deuteronomy 14:1-29The Old Testament speaks of tithes and freewill offerings in its discussion of how God’ s people can worship the Lord with their possessions. The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words summarizes the teaching of this and other Old Testament passages as follows: At first glance, the concept of tithing seems simple. Leviticus 27:30-33 says: “ A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock — every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’ s rod — will be holy to the Lord. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.” Ten percent of everything the land produced was to be set aside, to be used as God commanded. Other passages expand our knowledge of Old Testament tithing. Numbers 18:21-32 instructs that tithes were to be used to maintain the Levites. That tribe was set apart to serve God, and its members were not given a district when Israel possessed the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 12:5-14 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29 introduce another tithe, to be collected every third year for local distribution to the needy. Some argue for as many as three separate tithes designated in these passages. It is likely that there were at least two: the annual 10 percent taken for the support of those who served the Lord, and the third-year tithe taken to sustain the widow and orphan. These tithes were not to be viewed as a burden. They were to express both love and trust for God, as the Lord promised to bless the works of His people’ s hands (Deuteronomy 14:29). Giving was thus no threat to security. In fact, it showed confidence that God would make the land produce. As Malachi announced later to a then struggling generation that withheld the payment of the tithe. “‘ Test Me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘ and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’ “ (Malachi 3:10). The Old Testament reports giving that goes beyond the tithe. This is most clearly expressed in the nedabah, or voluntary contribution. The emphasis here is on a giving that flows spontaneously, expressing devotion to the Lord. It is not a gift given out of a sense of duty, nor to win promised blessings. The voluntary contributions are most often associated with the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 36:1-38) or the temple (1 Chronicles 29:1-30; Ezra 1:4). Psalms 119:108 speaks of prayer as a voluntary offering, and God is praised for His own generous voluntary offerings to man (Psalms 68:9), even when His people had not been faithful to their covenant commitments (Hosea 14:4). The Lord has always been concerned with the heart attitude of worshipers. The grateful believer who did not find the required tithes enough to express his or her devotion was invited to bring free will offerings as well. Giving in the Old Testament then was an expression of trust and reliance on the Lord as well as a loving response to Him. The funds collected were used to support Israel’ s worship, and particularly the priests and Levites who served the temple, and also as a “ safety net” for care of the widowed and the poor. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT How does the tithe in the Old Testament compare and differ from our contemporary concepts of giving? Begin by asking your group to brainstorm a list of statements about Christian giving. They’ ll want to include statements on amount to give, motivations, use of money, etc. When a relatively complete picture of giving as your groups understands it has been developed, break up into teams to study the key passages mentioned in the previous quote (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:21-32; Deuteronomy 12:5-14; Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Deuteronomy 26:12-15). Each team is to compare and to contrast what they find in the Old Testament with the statements on their list. Come together and share what each team has found. Then discuss: “ What can we learn about giving from the Old Testament? What principles might apply to us today?” NOTE: The practice of tithing is not taught in the New Testament. The basic passage on giving in the New Testament is 2 Corinthians 8-9.

Clean and Unclean: Deuteronomy 14:1-29; Deuteronomy 23:1-25The concept of “ clean” and “ unclean” in these early books of the Old Testament is primarily ritual in nature. That is, ceremonial uncleanness is in mind, which is a state or condition that has an impact on one’ s relationship with God. A person who was ceremonially unclean could not take part in the worship ceremonies of Israel. Later the prophets pick up the concept of uncleanness and apply it to Israel’ s moral condition (Nehemiah 7:64; Isaiah 59:3; Isaiah 63:3; Lamentations 4:14; Daniel 1:8; Zephaniah 3:1; Malachi 1:7, Malachi 1:12). Sin, not ritual, is the thing which ultimately separates human beings from God. Why was this ritual aspect of cleanness and uncleanness built into the worship of Israel? In part as a teaching aid, to indicate that no one can approach God presumptuously. And in part as another element in a system of laws that was designed to make Israel different from all other nations. Only a people who are separated to God from every competing influence can live out the commitment that covenant life requires.

Compassion: Deuteronomy 15:1-23; 24-25 Strikingly, the laws of interpersonal relationship that are emphasized in the Book of Deuteronomy are uniquely compassionate. They stress the care of the poor (Deuteronomy 15:1-11) and of servants (Deuteronomy 15:12-18). Just a few samples demonstrate the great sensitivity expressed in these statutes, which help us see that our respect for the Lord is to find expression in our loving care of others. “ If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married” (Deuteronomy 24:5). “ Do not take a pair of millstones — not even the upper one — as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man’ s livelihood as security” (Deuteronomy 24:6). “ Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it” (Deuteronomy 24:14-15). “ When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow” (Deuteronomy 24:19). Deuteronomy 25:1-19 introduces the practice of “ levirate marriage.” A near relative of a man who died childless was to take his widow as a secondary wife. The first child of that union “ shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:6).

Justice for All: Deuteronomy 19:1-21Instructions concerning cities of refuge are included here too (see the discussion on Numbers 35:1-34). Important justice principles are repeated in this chapter. First, in criminal cases, testimony of at least two witnesses is required (Deuteronomy 19:15). Second, in criminal cases a person who brings false charges against another is to be himself punished with whatever penalty is prescribed for the crime (Deuteronomy 19:16-19). How fascinating if this were applied to civil suits in our own day. A person who filed a false or malicious suit would be liable to pay the person charged the amount he tried to gain.

War: Deuteronomy 20:1-20It’ s particularly difficult for us to place war in the context of worship. Yet even this feature of Israel’ s experience was governed by God’ s loving laws. War is always tragic. Yet in this world, wars come. How good to see that even in the conduct of war God teaches His people to act in a responsible and compassionate way. What are the unique features of war as it was to be conducted by God’ s people? First, when war began a priest was to encourage God’ s people not to fear: “ The Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory” (Deuteronomy 20:4). Israel was to rely not on military superiority or advanced weaponry, but on God. Second, after the exhortation, army officers were to excuse persons who had just married, or built a new home, or planted a new vineyard. In addition “ any man afraid or fainthearted” was also excused. Only those with a strong trust in God were invited to battle. The fearful were to go home “ so that his brothers will not become disheartened too” (Deuteronomy 20:8). Third, when the army marched to an enemy city, the army was to “ make its people an offer of peace” (Deuteronomy 20:10). The people of a city that surrendered were not to be harmed, but would become subject to Israel. If the city resisted, the men were to be killed but the women and children spared. Fourth, when a city was under siege the Israelites were told, “ Do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20) The land and its productivity were not to be destroyed in battle rage. Finally, one regulation here has troubled many who find it hard to reconcile with their understanding of God. That is the regulation which says, However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them — the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — as the Lord your God has commanded you. Deuteronomy 20:16-17But God went on to explain. These nations so corrupted by paganism and immorality were deserving of divine punishment, even as Sodom and Gomorrah had been. But now God would use Israel as His instrument, not fire that falls from heaven. Also, complete destruction was a necessity. As the text explains, these peoples must be totally wiped out, “ otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 20:18). The centuries that followed demonstrated the wisdom of the Lord. Israel did not completely destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. And generation after generation was led into idolatry and away from God by the peoples whom Israel allowed to survive. At heart, worship is not just what happens on a Sunday morning. Worship is that heart reverence for God that finds expression in every aspect of our lives. We do worship God by coming together as His people. But we also worship by turning to Him for guidance rather than to any other source. We worship Him with our possessions. We worship in the compassionate love we show others, and in the totally honest way we deal with disputes. We can even worship in the way we conduct war, showing trust and fearlessness, seeking to save the lives of our enemies, and being careful not to destroy the land from which they must derive a living.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read and meditate on what Jesus said about worship recorded in John 4:23-24.

Explore

1. Put the following definition of worship on the chalkboard: Worship is any way that we honor, love, and show respect for God. Ask your group to react to this definition. Do they agree or not? Is the definition specific enough? How do group members think of worship?
2. Introduce the definition of worship given in the overview of this lesson, and outline the issues identified there that are covered in Deuteronomy 12-26.

Expand

1. Let group members select from the topics covered in this chapter any areas that interest them. Form teams by interest groups, to examine relevant Old Testament chapters. After 30 minutes let teams report.
2. Or focus on either Old Testament giving or on the occult. Follow the process outlined in “ link-to-life” above.

Apply Go around the circle asking each other to complete this sentence: “ This week I will worship God by. . . .” Close in prayer, thanking God for letting us respond to His love and for so many different ways to express our praise.