Deuteronomy 12:1 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth
I have to tell you, looking at babies makes me feel claustrophobic. Our first grandchild came home from the hospital recently, and I observed his parents wrapping him up in his blanket tighter than bark on a log. They just wrapped, wrapped, wrapped, kind of like a butterfly in a cocoon. I thought, “Man, that looks really tight and restrictive.” I was told that it made him feel safe and warm, like being in the womb.
Israel had been in bondage in Egypt, and they were about to be born into a wide-open, new land, much like a new infant going from the safety of its mother’s womb into a wide-open world. In Deuteronomy 12 Moses addresses the people of Israel, “These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.” So, God gave this land, and they were going to possess it. They were going from a very restricted place to a very wide-open space. There were still restrictions and limitations, judgments and statues that would help them live productive lives.
Israel had been in transit in the wilderness for some time, but they had been fairly close together geographically. There was the tabernacle in the center of camp, and the twelve tribes were camped around it. They had been in relatively close proximity to the tabernacle where God’s manifest presence was, but were soon to be in a wide-open land. The tabernacle would not be as close in proximity to any of them. So, God was giving them some limitations, some boundaries to channel themselves in this new land.
I see three purposes for these limitations. One is to emphasize the singular nature of God. They were going into a land that had many gods, and they were to be reminded that there was but one God, Jehovah. Second, the limitations were to emphasize the purity of God and the way He was to be worshipped. It was not up to them how they were to worship God. It was up to God how He was to be worshipped. Third, in a day where they were far apart from each other, the limitations emphasized the unity of these tribes. They were not unified geographically, but they were unified in the way they thought, spiritually and mentally. What follows are two distinct elements which bring to us one distinct lesson. The elements are the generosity of God and the limitations God placed upon His people.
What of the limitations? Six times in this chapter you find reference to the place where they were to worship. The tabernacle was movable, but they weren’t to decide themselves where they were to worship Jehovah. Verses 11 and 13 say, “A place which the LORD your God shall choose… Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest.” So, the Bible emphasizes the limitations: this is the God and this is the place.
They weren’t to rely on their sight. They were to rely on God. Verse 8 says, “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” They were in a wide-open new land, but it was not up to them to decide where to worship or what to do. Verse 25 says, “Thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.” So, it is God’s sight you should rely on, not your sight or what other people are doing.
Verse 30 tells them not to enquire after the gods of the land or how the people worship them. Men make gods; God made us. If God made us, then He determines how we are to worship Him. In verse 32 God says not to add to or diminish what He has said.
Throughout this chapter God tells Israel, “There is a limit, the place where you worship. It is God’s sight, not your sight that you should trust. It is God’s ways, not the ways of the pagans that you should follow. Don’t add to My words, and don’t take away from My words.” These are a lot of what you might call limitations, but the context for all this is the generosity of God. Verse 10 says that God gave them this land. The Canaanites didn’t surrender the land, and Israel didn’t grab this land. God made this land; God owns this land; and God gave the land.
In verse 18 and numerous other places, the Bible talks about rejoicing. When you worship God, eat meals with your family, and go about your day, rejoice. God’s limitations were not to limit their joy, but to limit their sorrow. Verse 20 says, “When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border.” They were going from a constricted place into a wide-open, new land. It was very important for them to remember the singular nature of God, the purity of the worship they gave Him, and the unity they were to have one with another as His people.
The upshot of all this is that God is generous. Let Him limit or channel your life. This is not to limit our joy, but to limit our sorrow. In verse 31 the Bible makes reference the god Molech. The people of the land would kill their own children as sacrifices to Molech. So, God was not limiting their freedom; God was limiting their sorrow. God is a generous God.
Are you letting God channel your life today? Are you letting God limit you? What about your ambitions? It is not wrong to have ambitions, but it is wrong to have ambitions without consulting God. What does God actually want? These people weren’t just going willy-nilly in a wide-open land. They were following the guidance of the God who made the ground upon which they stood, the ground He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What about your worship? Worship is to be informed by God and not the way we feel or what we want. The worship of God is about attributing worth to the transcendent God who created the universe, not having pleasure or gratification for ourselves. Do you feel restricted or hemmed in by God? If you do, maybe it is time to look at the generous nature of the God who gives us joy and who enlarges our borders.