Deuteronomy 16:21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
Idol temples and altars were surrounded by thick groves and trees, which became the resort of the abandoned of both sexes, and in which, under plea of idolatrous worship, excesses of the vilest kind were perpetrated. For this reason God forbade the planting of trees near his altars, lest his people should become, or seem to be, like the heathen. See also Isaiah 57:5; 65:3; 66:17; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6; Ezekiel 6:13; 20:28; Hosea 4:13. Some suppose the word “grove” here to mean a high wooden pillar, planted in the ground. See note on Judges 3:7 (#222).