Deuteronomy 12 Summary

Moses commands Israel to utterly destroy all the pagan worship sites of the Canaanites — their altars, pillars, groves, and carved images — upon entering the land. In sharp contrast, Israel is to bring all its burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, vows, and firstlings only to the single place the LORD will choose to put His name, where the people are to rejoice before Him together with their households and the Levites. While ordinary slaughter of animals for food is permitted anywhere in the land (provided the blood is poured out on the ground and not eaten), all sacred offerings and tithes must be brought to that appointed place. The chapter closes with a solemn warning not to be ensnared by the religious practices of the dispossessed nations, not to inquire after their gods, and to observe exactly what God commands — neither adding to it nor taking from it.