Saturday, July 18, 2015

Deuteronomy 12: The Singularity

Something that may surprise Christians about the Old Testament Law is its emphasis on there being only ONE appropriate place to offer sacrifices and offerings to God.  Especially in Protestantism, we are familiar with many congregations and church buildings in which it is possible to serve God and present gifts.  In Judaism, however, there is only one acceptable location - "the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes as his habitation to put his name there" (vs. 4).  To offer a burnt offering or sacrifice "just anywhere" or at one of the "high places" was a serious sin.

Verses 13 and 14 repeat this instruction: "Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place you happen to see.  But only at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes—there you shall offer your burnt offerings and there you shall do everything I command you."  

Originally this meant the location of the Tabernacle, which will eventually find its home at Shiloh during the period of the Judges.  Later, under David and Solomon, the idea is to move the Ark of the Covenant out of the tent of meeting and into an ornate permanent structure called the Temple in Jerusalem.  Ever since that day, 3000 years ago, the ONE acceptable place to offer sacrifices to the Lord has been on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  

Why the requirement to only have one singular place of sacrifice?  If the One being worshiped was God, why couldn't that be done everywhere and anywhere?  The answer seems to be a concern in the Old Testament to keep the religion under the control of the high priest and to maintain all rituals ordered according to the Law.  To allow sacrifices to be offered anywhere would dilute the central authority of the priests and make it harder to ensure that idolatry was not creeping into the worship.  That was why the command against the "high places" was issued because that was where pagan worship had traditionally taken place.  

When a civil war erupted between the northern tribes and the southern tribes after the death of Solomon, this question of worship location became a central issue in their conflict.  The southern tribes (which controlled Jerusalem) continued to insist that, for all Jews, acceptable sacrifices could only be offered at the Temple.  The northern kingdom resisted what it considered to be a "religious monopoly" held by the south, so it instituted worship among the high places among its tribes.  This was a point of contention between the two nations for centuries.  The looseness and pagan influences of the "high places" eventually helped bring about the spiritual fall of the northern kingdom first and its political dissolution into what became Samaria.

The appropriate place of worship continued to be a live debate even during the time of Jesus.  Check out John 4 and Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.  She wants to know the acceptable location for worshiping God - on the Samaritans' mountain or only at the Temple in Judea?  In Jesus' day, the worship of God and the instruction of the Law was held throughout the nation in the system of synagogues, which most closely resemble our local churches today.  But there was still only ONE temple in Jerusalem at which the sacred offerings were to be presented.

However, the last Temple was destroyed almost 2000 years ago and has yet to be rebuilt due to its designated location being occupied by the Islamic Dome of the Rock mosque (how's that for a coincidence!)  That means that the Old Testament sacrificial system has been unable to be practiced in full since the destruction of the Temple by the Romans.  Good thing that Christians believe that Jesus Christ has fulfilled the requirements for atoning sacrifices once for all upon the cross of Calvary!







 

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