This small group Deuteronomy 12 Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 12 Bible Study And Discussion Questions – A Place To Worship God
Outline
I. A place to worship God (1-14)
II. Rules for burnt offerings and eating meat (15-28)
III. Worship God in the right way (29-32)
I. A place to worship God (1-14)
Discussion Questions
• What is the theme of this chapter?
• What is the main point in verses 2-4?
• Why did God tell them to destroy the Canaanite places of worship?
• What was the danger in ignoring them or simply repurposing them?
• Did these become problematic for Israel in the future? If so, how?
• What is the universal principle behind the instruction to destroy the high places?
• How can we apply this principle today?
• What are some ways that the world influences Christians and the church today?
• What are some ways that modern churches might be influenced subtly by worldly ideas and become syncretic?
• Why was it important to have a set place for the people to worship God corporately?
• Without a set place and uniform standards, what mindset might the people drift toward (see verse 8)?
• What place did the Lord choose for corporate worship?
Cross-References
James 4:4 – You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
2 Timothy 2:22 – So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
The high places – Here is a list of some of the verses that mention how the high places would later ensnare Israel: 1 Kings 3:2-3, 12:31-32, 14:23, 15:14, 22:43, 2 Kings 12:3, 14:4, 15:4, 15:35, 16:4, 17:9, 11, 29, 17:29, 32.
Judges 21:25 – In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. The Canaanite places of worship – The Canaanites worshiped many gods. They did this in certain locations that were dedicated to those gods. Because they worshiped gods of the mountains, hilltops and mountaintops were deemed sacred. It was believed that they were closer to the gods. Superstition was attached to these physical locations. Some trees were also believed to be sacred and symbols of fertility. Special significance was therefore placed on trees. Presumably, large or ancient trees might become locations for this superstitious worship.
2. Israel was commanded to destroy these places of worship – Israel was not to adopt or repurpose these locations. God did not want His people to be enticed and ensnared by the evil Canaanite religion. These places of worship would have been in naturally beautiful or awe-inspiring locations. It would be easy for the people to be tempted to simply move in and worship Yahweh in those places.
Reflect – Why would this be dangerous?
Using those places could be a door to further temptation. Here are some reasons.
• Those places would have superstitions connected with them. It would be easy for Israel to fall prey to those same superstitions.
• Those places were a reflection of a misunderstanding of God. God is not limited to a place. He is not more present on a mountaintop or under a tree. By using those places of worship, Israel would be building on the same false assumptions. Such thinking would cause people to think that God was not omnipresent. They might think that he might see them on the high place, but not in their own tent. This could encourage them to sin, thinking that God would not see them.
• There were many evil practices associated with these locations. It would be extremely difficult to separate those practices from those places.
• Using the high places was like accommodating one aspect of the Canaanite religion. It was taking one step down a slippery slope. Once they started down that path, it would be difficult to stop.
Syncretism was a very dangerous thing. It reared its head when the Israelites created a golden calf and called it Yahweh and worshiped it.
God did not want His people to be influenced by the world around them. He did not want them to take things from the world and mix them in their worship of Him. He wants to be worshiped the right way. Throughout the Torah, we see that He set very clear rules for everything. Even the tabernacle was to be built a specific way with specific materials to a specific size.
Our faith is not bottom-up. That means that we do not try to find ways to God on our own. He has revealed Himself and His ways to us. It is top-down. He tells us what He expects and it is our job to follow Him.
John 4:24 – God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
In order to avoid syncretism, Israel was to wipe out any vestiges of the Canaanite religion by destroying their altars, pillars, and idols. These were even to be burned to leave no trace of them.
Application – We should be careful not to flirt with the world. If something is a source of temptation to us, we need to deal with it. Jesus made this clear in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 5:29-30 – If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Consider if there is anything in your home that could be a source of temptation. Share what you can do to deal with it so that it will never ensnare you or your family.
Application #2 – Churches should be careful of syncretism.
We live in the world and it is difficult to be totally separate from it. Here are just a few examples of how a church might move toward syncretism.
• Looking for pastors who function like a CEO. Focusing on their charisma and eloquence instead of their character.
• Running churches like a business. Focusing on finances, numbers, or other worldly metrics of success instead of fulfilling the Great Commission.
• Getting involved with ecumenicalism by promoting or accepting non-Biblical beliefs in the name of unity.
• Allowing the changing beliefs and values of the culture at large to infiltrate and influence the church (examples include attitudes toward homosexuality or transgenderism.)
• Adopting things from the world, like concert-style worship without thinking through the issues biblically.
God calls us to be discerning. We should be in the world, but not of the world.
Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3. Worship God at the place He will choose – The key instruction in this passage is for God’s people to worship Him at the chosen place. They were to go there, take their sacrifices there, and bring their tithes there.
A central place of worship would help protect pure teaching and proper practice of God’s law. The priests there would know the law and faithfully teach it. Having a clear standard would keep everybody on the same page, the right page.
Without a clear and uniform standard, people could easily drift away into false religions. Religious rituals could be forgotten, corrupted, changed, or added. Each tribe, village, or family might end up with their own religion. Eventually, this happened to the Northern kingdom after the split with Judah when they set up their own corrupted place of worship (1 Kings 12:26-30).
Reflect – How do the teachings of the Protestant Reformation and the ideals that every person can worship God individually wherever they are fit in with this?
We should note that our situation today is vastly different than the Jews in Deuteronomy. At that time, there was very limited access to Scripture and that Scripture was not complete. Most people could not read. They were unable to study Scripture for themselves to learn God’s will for them. As a result, they had to rely on a “professional” to teach them.
Also, Israel was a theocracy. God was their king. He sent prophets and leaders to directly tell His people what they should do. It was at these corporate gatherings that these instructions were often passed to the people.
Today, most people in the modern church have full access to the whole of Scripture in their own language. It is possible for them to study it and understand it themselves, directly hearing from God.
The priesthood has been fulfilled in Christ and today every person is a priest.
1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
When Israel was just entering the land, the danger was that the individual tribes would go their own ways and the people would be ensnared by false religion and idolatry.
This selfish and prideful attitude was already evident before they even entered the land.
Deuteronomy 12:8 – You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes.
A stronger top-down system was necessary to keep the people in line and on track.
At different times, Shechem (Joshua 24), Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), and eventually Jerusalem were set as the place for corporate worship.
Joshua 18:1 – Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.
Application – We can worship God individually wherever we are. However, we should not drift too deep into individualism. Some people say, “I don’t need the church or traditional Christianity. I will follow God in my own way on my own.” This can be a very dangerous line of thinking. God has not created us to be isolated. Isolation brings many types of temptation.
Churches are certainly not perfect. Yet true worship and theology is protected in the church because “in the abundance of counselors, there is victory.” Where a person on his own easily can go astray following strange doctrine, a person with unorthodox doctrine in the church is likely to be confronted and helped. This happened when Aquila and Priscila helped Apollos develop a better understanding of the gospel (Acts 18:18-28).
God, in fact, commanded believers to meet together corporately.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We are social beings. God designed us to encourage and help each other, sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).
Do you regularly meet with and open up to other believers? Or do you isolate yourself? How does God want you to change based on what we have learned in this chapter?
II. Rules for burnt offerings and eating meat (15-28)
Discussion Questions
• What is the key point of verses 15-28?
• What were they not allowed to do anywhere?
• What were they allowed to do?
• What prohibition was given in regard to eating meat?
• Is there anything in this passage that touches on the ideals of being a vegetarian?
Cross-References
1 Corinthians 8:8 – Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.
1 Timothy 4:3-5 – Who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Acts 15:29 – That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Meat could be eaten anywhere – The people had one location for corporate worship. Burnt offerings had to be brought there. But that did not apply to the routine butchering of animals and eating meat. This could be done anywhere in the land. A clear distinction is given between slaughtering animals for sacrifice and butchering animals to eat.
2. God gives meat for people to enjoy – In many circles, it is a fad to be vegetarian. Some even consider that to do so is very spiritual. However, we should be clear. Scripture does not endorse the vegetarian lifestyle. Many Scriptures teach that God gives meat for people to enjoy.
Genesis 9:3-4 – Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
Paul said it is wrong to forbid eating certain foods (1 Timothy 4:3-5). Note that it is not wrong to choose not to eat certain foods. If a person prefers not to eat meat, that is perfectly fine. No one is required to eat meat. But it is wrong to require others to follow this same lifestyle or to judge people who do eat meat.
Believers should not be distracted by these issues. It would be a far better use of time to share the gospel instead of pushing a vegetarian agenda. Instead of saying, “Think of the animals!” let us tell people to “Think of Christ!”
3. Do not eat blood – While eating meat was acceptable, eating blood was not. Blood was a symbol of life. Multiple prohibitions against eating blood are recorded in Scripture (Genesis 9:4-6, Leviticus 17:10-14). By not eating blood, they showed their respect for life and for their Creator.
Blood sacrifice was the method they used to make atonement for their sins. Ultimately, Jesus would shed His blood for our sins. Therefore, blood is closely connected to atonement (Hebrews 9:12-14, 22).
In the early New Testament church, the council at Jerusalem also told the churches not to eat blood (Acts 15:29).
Reflect – Can Christians eat blood today?
One interesting note, is that steaks, even rare, have virtually no blood. The red color in the meat is primarily fat, water, and myoglobin.
4. The Levites should not be neglected –
Deuteronomy 12:19 – Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.
The Levites’ livelihood depended largely on the tithes brought in by the other tribes. They did not have the same amount of land as the other tribes. Their time was mostly to be spent in service to God. But if people didn’t tithe, they would be forced to provide for themselves and in turn, neglect their ministry duties.
This exact problem occurred during the time of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 13:10-12 – I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.
A worker is worthy of his wages (1 Timothy 5:18).
Application – Missionaries, pastors, and other Christian workers will not have as much time to minister unless they are supported. How can you support Christian workers?
III. Worship God in the right way (29-32)
Discussion Questions
• What is the danger of just asking questions about other gods?
• In what kind of situations can curiosity be dangerous?
• When is it better to completely avoid a topic instead of asking more questions about it?
• How can curiosity be a door to temptation?
• What reason did Moses give that they should totally avoid the Canaanite religion?
Cross-References
James 1:14-15 – But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 – And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Curiosity can be dangerous –
Deuteronomy 12:30 – Take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’
There are many warnings in Scripture against idolatry. This one is somewhat unique because there is a warning against even asking questions about the idols. It reminds us that curiosity can be dangerous.
“Curiosity is a kernel of the forbidden fruit which still sticketh in the throat of a natural man, sometimes to the danger of his choking.” – Thomas Fuller
Satan can use a person’s curiosity to ensnare them. A person may wonder about how some sin feels or what it looks like. “I am just going to have a quick look,” the person says, before being ensnared.
Here are a few examples of highly addictive or hazardous temptations that can prey on the curious.
• Sexual immorality
• Porn
• Drugs
• Smoking
• The occult
Paul warned believers to stay away from even the discussion of such things.
Ephesians 5:3 – But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
A person might think that just one look or one touch is enough. But that one look or touch will likely draw that person back for more. At that point, the fleshly desires will not be easily quenched.
Proverbs 27:20 – Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
Application – Do not be curious about sinful things. Curiosity killed the cat. Do not go for that first look or first touch. Be careful to protect your kids from that as well.
2. They do every abominable thing the Lord hates – The native Canaanite religions were wicked. This wasn’t a “even that religion has something good” kind of a situation. They were depraved, even practicing the worst abominations like child sacrifice.
Application – Choose one thing discussed in this lesson and write down how you will apply it to your life in the next week.
