The Ground of Gathering: Deuteronomy 12:11-32

Deuteronomy 12:11‑32  •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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Deuteronomy 12:11-3211Then 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: 12And 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. 13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14But 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. 15Notwithstanding 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. 16Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 17Thou 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: 18But 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. 19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. 20When 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. 21If 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. 22Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25Thou 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. 26Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose: 27And 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. 28Observe 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. 29When 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; 30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou 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. 32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (Deuteronomy 12:11‑32)
This place which the Lord would “choose ... to put His Name,” is mentioned more than twenty times in Deuteronomy. This would show us how important a matter it is. Ought we not to be exercised about the scriptural ground of gathering today? A common expression in Christendom is very misleading. People are told, “Go to the church of your choice.” How contrary to the truth of God! The Church is not a building, or an organization of men, for the Word tells us Christ is “the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:1818And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)). The true Church is composed of all who are saved and indwelt by the Spirit of God (Acts 2:4747Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:47); 1 Corinthians 12:13).
Knowing this, we are not of our own wills to choose where to go, but we are to be guided by the Word as in all things. Like the disciples, when the feast of remembrance was first instituted, we must ask the Lord, “Where wilt Thou that we prepare?” Many meeting places of Christendom are not founded upon the truth of God, but upon the thoughts of men. They are not gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus, but instead meet under man-made names and have leaders of their own choice and appointment. Such are like those spoken of in Colossians who were not “holding the Head” (Colossians 2:1919And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. (Colossians 2:19)).
Some persons think lightly of these things, but God’s Word is clear. If He charged Israel so definitely and often about that place, how can we consider it unimportant? Has He not exhorted us to be found “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:33Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3))? Let us be exercised before Him about these things! Are you gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus?
Although the Israelites might have a long distance to travel to the place the Lord had chosen, it still was the only place God acknowledged. We are not just to look for a place of gathering nearby, but for the place chosen of the Lord — in accordance with His Word.
A Separated People
The people are reminded here of the importance of not eating blood. It was to be poured out upon the ground, for in this way they acknowledged that life belongs to God.
They were also warned not to copy the nations around them. We sometimes want to do things just to be like others. Christian boys and girls, and we who are older too, are in danger of copying the world in our ways, of wanting to go places and do things they do, but we, like the children of Israel are to be a separated people unto the Lord. We are particularly warned, as they were, not to be “conformed to this world.” We read that the Lord Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:44Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:4)). May the Lord give us grace to be “imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:11Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (Ephesians 5:1), JND), instead of being imitators of this poor Christ-rejecting world!
There was to be no change made in what God had commanded. The people were told again, as they had been before, not to add to it, nor to take from it, for it was the Word of God. What a warning to any who would set aside any part of God’s Word, as well as to those who tell us of further revelations. Let us cling to the Bible.
Further Meditations
1. Why was it important for the Israelites not to eat blood?
2. What’s wrong with going to the church of my choice as long as there are real Christians there and they don’t deny the Trinity and key fundamentals of the gospel? What Scriptures can you give that show that we aren’t left to make the decision on our own?
3. Another excellent booklet that you might find helpful in considering the subject of the ground of gathering is Christ the Centre: Why Do We Meet in His Name Alone? by C. Stanley.