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out of all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling place, and there you shall go. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households in which the Lord your God has blessed you. "'You shall not at all do as we are doing here today, "'every man doing what is right in his own eyes. "'For as yet, you have not come to the rest "'and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. "'But when you cross over the Jordan "'and dwell in the land which the Lord your God "'is giving you to inherit, "'and he gives you rest from all your enemies roundabout, "'so that you dwell in safety, "'then there will be the place where the Lord your God "'chooses to make his name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.

Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see, but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes. There you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. However... or of the heave offering of your hand. You and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all to which you put your hands.

Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. When the Lord your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, let me eat meat, because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock, which the Lord has given you, just as I have commanded you.

And you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them. The unclean and the clean alike may eat them. Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life. You may not eat the life with the meat. You shall not eat it, you shall pour it on the earth like water.

You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. Only the holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. And the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the meat. Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them. after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, how did these nations serve their gods?

I also will do likewise. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. For every abomination to the Lord, which he hates, they have done to their gods. For they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. Amen. Well, as we have had cause to reflect several times, the largest of the exhortations on the planes of Moab is this one, and it's from chapters 5 to 28. And it does seem that chapters 5 to 11 seem to focus on the central concern of the heart.

Remember the Shema is given here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And so the internal effect of God's law upon the people of God. And then chapters 12 to 26 seem to unfold the specifics in terms of the external application of that internal appropriation of the law of God. And remember that chapter 11 mentions the mountain of blessing, which is Gerizim, and the mountain of cursing, which is Ebal. You see that again in chapter 27. So those mountains somewhat bracket chapters 12 to 26. where again the emphasis is more on the external nitty-gritty day-to-day application of fleshing out God's law in the context of the promised land that the Lord had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And so the particular concern of chapter 12, among others, is the central sanctuary. And it's not a particular place specifically, but the idea that where God calls them to worship. Now, eventually Israel is going to have a temple and eventually it's going to be housed in Jerusalem. And eventually that's going to be the hub of religious worship in all of the nation. So, that's not Deuteronomy chapter 12, but the specific emphasis is that the children of Israel are to worship where God tells them to worship, a central sanctuary, a place approved by God, because God knows the tendency of their hearts, they're prone to wander and prone to leave the God that they love, and because they will not dispossess the land of the Canaanites, they may be desirous to go a hankering after the gods of the Canaanites. And so Deuteronomy 12 functions as a bit of preventative maintenance with reference to the children of Israel.

So I want to look at the four sections. We won't look at every jot and tittle, but the first section is the exhortation concerning the conquest and verses one to seven. Secondly, you have a warning concerning their present conduct in verses 8 to 14. Third, the legislation concerning the killing of animals in verses 15 to 28. And then finally, the warning concerning false worship in verses 29 to 32. So if up to this point the focus with reference to the heart has been on the object of worship, God, the living and the true God, in fact littered throughout chapters 5 to 11 are emphases, repeated emphases on guarding against idolatry.

Remember that the first commandment defines the object of worship, the second commandment demands defines rather the manner in which we worship. And that seems to be the central thrust here in this emphasis on a central sanctuary. We're not to worship the living and true God the way that the heathen or the pagans worship their false gods. We're not to co-opt pagan worship practices and bring them into the very sanctuary of the Most High. So we not only need the right object, the living and the true God, but we need the prescribed manner, the way that He defines with reference to our approach to Him.

So let's look first at the exhortation concerning the conquest in verses 1 to 7. Again, the necessity of obedience. Klein says, having delineated the inner spirit of theocratic life in chapters 5 to 11, Moses goes on to detail the ordinances and institutions of the theocracy's outward form in chapters 12 to 26. And again, the longest of the exhortations in terms of loyalty. So the emphasis on the central confession of faith, the living and true God, is that one alone whom we are to worship. Chapter 12 comes along and says, and you need to worship Him the way that He says that you're supposed to worship Him.

So the necessity of obedience is repeated there in verse 1, and then the practice of obedience is going to be seen in two specifics according to verses 2 to 7. First, the conquest of Canaan, and secondly, centralized worship in Israel in verses 5 to 7. But if you notice specifically in verses 2 to 4, we see repeated an emphasis on holy war, an emphasis on the policy governing holy war. This first arises in Exodus chapter 23 at verses 20 to 33, and then it's repeated again in Deuteronomy chapter 7. And if you were to compare Deuteronomy chapter 7, specifically verses 1 to 5, you will see that God commands the children of Israel to go into the land of Canaan and to utterly dispossess the land of the Canaanites.

They're not to make social alliances with any of the Canaanites. They're certainly not to make political alliances with any of the Canaanites, and especially they're not supposed to make religious alliances with any of the Canaanites. Here in chapter 12, the only specific is the religious alliances that are addressed.

Notice in verses 2 and 3, you shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every grain. And according to verses 2 to 4, where they would utterly dispossess all the religiosity that is extant in the land of Canaan, and that they would take over, and then it would be seen in the centralized worship in Israel in verses 5 to 7.

Notice that the Lord prescribes the place. The Lord prescribes the place. Look back for just a moment at verse 3. It says, and you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, burn their wooden images with fire. You shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy, notice, their names from that place. Verse 5, but you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling place, and there you shall go.

Christopher Wright says to remove the names of Canaan's gods was to remove their presence and their power, just as the putting of Yahweh's name in a place was to fill it with His availability and His nearness. But they could not coexist. The names of other gods must be deleted, destroyed, along with all their paraphernalia. The change must be radical. So you've got to dispossess Canaanite religion and put in its place the true religion of the living God.

And that's the specific emphasis there in terms of verse 5. You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling place, and there you shall go. Again, there's going to be a temporary site in Shiloh prior to the actual temple. But once it's consolidated, David consolidates political and religious power in Jerusalem, it becomes the hub, it becomes the center for orthodoxy. So right now, that absent, nevertheless, you don't worship where the pagans worship, you worship where God Most High commands you.

Again, Wright says that the emphasis, the text is primarily concerned with the purity and exclusiveness of Israel's worship and its distinctiveness from Canaanite religion rather than with the centralization of Israelite worship as such. That is, the text does not demand a single place instead of many places of Israelite worship, but an exclusive place for the worship of Yahweh as opposed to the places of Canaanite worship.

Again, it's a consolidation, it's a solidarity, and it's a move in the direction of preventative maintenance. And I think Dale Ralph Davis has a very excellent comment on the preventative maintenance aspect. This is from his commentary on the book of Joshua. If you remember in the book of Joshua, when you get to chapter 22, you've got a division that the River Jordan has created naturally.

You've got tribes on the east side, East Manasseh and Gad and Reuben. The rest of the tribes have settled on the west side of the River Jordan. Well, the tribes on the east side of the River Jordan build an altar. They erect an altar. And when the West Side brothers hear about this, they want to go and destroy them, which again, they're thinking in terms of Deuteronomy chapter 12. They engage in diplomacy. They're able to resolve the situation. The Eastern tribes weren't making a competing worship center. It was more of a monument. That's kind of how the story ends.

But Davis makes this observation concerning this particular situation. So the Western tribes were concerned about the Eastern tribes who had erected an altar. So that's just the broadest stroke in terms of what's going on in Joshua 22. But Davis says a look at Deuteronomy 12 answers this. There, Israel is commanded to offer their only sacrifices only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, out of all Israel's tribes. This place stands opposed to all the places where the Canaanites had customarily conducted their orgies.

The restriction of sacrifice to one sanctuary was preventative theology, intended to preserve the purity of worship. To oversimplify, it meant one altar, one faith, and one people. But allow such worship wherever folks hankered to experience God, And it would soon take on a Canaanite color, soak up Canaanite belief, sport Canaanite practices, adore Canaanite gods. In short, it would at one blow kill both fidelity to Yahweh and the unity of Israel. So to the Western tribes, wind of another altar suggested man-chosen worship and sacrifice and wreaked of the first step toward apostasy. Again, I think that's the specific direction that chapter 12 in Deuteronomy functions.

You've identified the living and the true God, but that living and true God isn't worshipped the way that the pagans throw their kids into the arms of Molech. The living and the true God demands a specific type of worship that He alone commands. Your job is to be obedient. Your job is to be observant. Your job is to be careful with reference to compliance with the command of the living and true God.

And then notice as well, the emphasis is on God's dwelling place. Verse five, again, you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling place. And there you shall go. His dwelling place sounds a lot like first Timothy chapter three and verse 15, the house of God. which is the church of God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.

I'm going to argue tonight, as the chapter concludes, it ends with what we call the regulative principle of worship. And I would argue that that is consistent. That is absolutely consistent that the householder, the dweller and occupier of the house, the homeowner, as it were, gets to define what conduct is acceptable in his house. We all function this way in our own homes. We all function this way in our own domain. And yet when it comes to the very house of God, people have a problem not co-opting pagan practices and bringing them in to new covenant worship.

The principle stands, the principle abides, and the principle is upheld everywhere in scripture. God's dwelling place demands obedience, not creativity and not innovation. So God prescribes the place, and then God prescribes the manner. Notice in verses six and seven, the place of sacrifice. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. And then the attitude of the worshiper. Notice in verse seven, and there you shall eat before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice.

This is one of the arguments against the regulative principle. It's too restrictive. It's too constricting. It's not enough freedom. It's not enough spontaneity. It's not sort of the kind of way that we could just express ourselves. Brethren, the problem with man is expressing himself.

What God requires is that we obey Him precisely at the level of corporate worship. And I would submit that a proper embrace and appreciation of the regulative principle sets us free in terms of joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving. Nothing promotes joy more than a clean conscience before the living and true God.

So notice again, there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households in which the Lord your God has blessed you. Again, Wright says Canaanite depravity was to be replaced by Israelite purity. But Israelites could still enjoy their worship physically and emotionally. Eat and rejoice.

This idea that you've got to degenerate into pagan orgies in order for worship to be a good time, again, is pagan thinking. The pagans worshiped gods from the waist down. The people of the living and true God worshiped God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. They don't do it with their glands, they do it with their minds and they bring glory to the one who calls us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. So the exhortation concerning the conquest. Then notice secondly the warning concerning their conduct.

According to God through Moses on the plains of Moab, things aren't shaping up so beautifully at this point. Verse 8, you shall not at all do as we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. Now, brethren, that is true in all of ethics, right? We don't do what is right in our own eyes with reference to the second table. We don't argue that that person doesn't belong on God's green earth, so I'm gonna eradicate him. We don't argue that, oh, sexual restrictions are binding, and they're not spontaneous, and I don't get to express myself, so I'm gonna just operate according to my own autonomy and my own independence. In all of ethics, it's bad to be a self-willed man. In all of ethics, it's bad to lean on autonomy and independence.

But what's the context? Worship. First and second commandment issues. So again, notice in verse eight, you shall not at all do as we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. You're probably familiar with that phrase from the book of Judges.

Every man did what was right in his own eyes. That's not given as a favorable commentary. That's not saying, oh, look at how Israel has evolved. They're all doing whatever is right in their own. No, no, no, no. That's a bad thing. We're not supposed to do what is right in our own eyes. But again, the particular emphasis in the entirety of Chapter 12 is doing what is right in our own eyes relative to worship.

Asking pagans. I noticed that you guys have, you know, fornicating parties when you worship Baal. Maybe that's something we could co-opt and bring over to the worship of Yahweh. And before you think that's outlandish, we already see that happen in Numbers 25. It's already taken place where they think, you know, the pagans got it going on in this regard. Let's take that or borrow that and bring it over to the worship of the living God.

So every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes is strictly forbidden in the worship of God. So the problem and the potential, the problem is, is that it seems like this was already happening. And again, generally in terms of all ethics, but specifically and practically in terms of this whole issue of worship, you're not supposed to ask the pagans for advice on fulfilling worship. Brethren, this sounds so much like, I don't mean to be an old mean guy and super hypercritical, but the stuff that goes on in Christian worship today, It's not divinely authorized, it's pagan sought.

Let's find some CEO who's successful in the business world, pick his brain, and figure out what works in the church. You know, today I saw on social media there's a United Church that has a seminar, I think this weekend or it was last weekend, on maid. Well, for me, I'm not shocked because it's the United Church.

I mean, I don't expect them to even be able to say Jesus, let alone think properly concerning the sixth commandment. But again, the most loose definition of church is actually entertaining a speaker to come and communicate. I doubt it was a denunciation of maid. I doubt it was a rejection of maid.

And I doubt that because every children's life matters. We saw that at the United Church in our town, and I just shot off a quick email and said, what about abortion? Well, that's controversial, and we don't take a position on that. So it's only politically expedient children's lives that matter, not the pre-born. That doesn't seem to matter.

But even closer to the evangelical world, the sorts of things that pass for Christian worship, reflecting on what we find here in Deuteronomy chapter 12, independence and autonomy and creativity and innovation are probably the worst things to ever introduce into the worship of the living and true God. So the potential here is that you may do your own thing and end up in gross sin and rebellion against God. And so the corrective seems to follow here in verses 9 to 14 verses 9 and 10. You're going to be blessed. You're going to be blessed. Verse nine.

For as yet, you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit and he gives you rest from all your enemies roundabout so that you may dwell in safety, then notice the blessings that God gives to his people. have as their purpose the response of his people in authorized worship and glory given unto him. Notice in verses 11 and 12, you go to the place commanded by God, you sacrifice what God commands, and you experience the joy in the worship of God. So in other words, the provision of the land, rest and safety is in order to worship God obediently. It's not the end in and of itself that you get the land, you get safety, and you get peace or rest, but it's so that you may utilize those good gifts and glorify God.

There's a similar emphasis in Romans chapters 1 to 11, which is the explanation of the Christian gospel, and then Romans 12, verses 1 and 2. Therefore, brethren, I beseech you, by the mercies of Christ, that you present your members as instruments of worship unto the Lord God.

I just butchered that because I was thinking of chapter six in there as well. Romans chapter 12, and he calls this a rational or reasonable service. Again, discoursing at length on the glory of the gospel in chapters one to eleven. He says in chapter 12, verse one, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that You present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable or rational service.

Right? It makes sense. God has freed you. God has saved you. God has justified you freely by his grace. He's sanctifying you. He's promised you glorification. So that what? So that you may present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world. Don't think like the pagans. Don't co-opt pagan thought relative to either the worship of God or any of the other ethics that we are supposed to be imbibing, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The same sort of flow seems to be indicated here. God's going to give you this land. He's going to give you this rest. He's going to give you this safety so that you may worship him aright. so that you may enjoy the living and true God, so that you may glorify Him in the way that He has called you to.

And then there's a warning in verses 13 and 14. Again, prohibition against unauthorized places, verse 13. And then specifically, the necessity of the Lord's commanded places in verse 14. But in the place, verse 14, which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings and there you shall do. Notice, all that I command you. hard-pressed to read through the book of Deuteronomy and conclude that God's okay with strange fire in the worship of God.

God's okay with us compromising or paring off what we perceive to be boring or rough edges. God's okay with us co-opting certain pagan practices and bringing them into the worship of God. Why is it that God was not okay with that in the Old Covenant, but God's okay with it in the New Covenant?

That seems to be a very pressing question in my mind, especially when there's an underlying principle marking Old Covenant worship in Deuteronomy 4 that marks New Covenant worship in Hebrews 12, verse 29. for our God is a consuming fire." Huh, intriguing that the apostle would invoke that passage, our God is a consuming fire, in Hebrews 12, 29, after enjoining the church, the new covenant church, on the necessity of offering up acceptable worship. So in Hebrews 12, 28, Just taught on the regular principle a couple of weeks ago. What's acceptable worship?

It's not acceptable to the pagans. We don't go survey 10 pagans and say, what is it that you're looking for in worship? Well, we like orgies. We like, you know, drinking parties. We like, you know, shooting heroin and getting in touch with the spirit. Okay, let's bring that into the household.

No, no, no. Acceptable worship is that which is acceptable to God. Remember that Jesus in John four tells the Samaritan woman, God is spirit and those who worship must worship what? in spirit and in truth. I think that's a reference to triunity. The spirit of truth, the truth incarnate, Trinitarian worship defined by that blessed God. But here, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably.

Acceptably as defined by who? Certainly not me. Seriously, not you. But acceptable, defined by God. With, notice, reverence and godly fear. It's not supposed to be a rock concert. It's not supposed to be levity and frivolity. It's not supposed to be casual hour. It's not to be, you know, sipping lattes and, you know, just, you know, cheering one another on. No, no, there's supposed to be reverence and godly fear. But then notice, our God is a consuming fire.

Intriguing that that principle from Deuteronomy 4.24 is brought into this new covenant arena Underscoring acceptable worship with reverence and godly fear. I think those who have a problem with the regulative principle of worship have more to do than just simply say, well, you know, the Bible doesn't teach it. The Bible most certainly does teach it. It's incumbent upon you to prove that it doesn't. So back to Deuteronomy, chapter 12, the bit in the middle versus 15 to 28 is a bit tricky. And I'm going to try to make it as simple as possible.

When they were wandering through the wilderness, okay, there was food or animals that were killed for sacrificial purposes and animals that were killed for non-sacrificial purposes. Right? They had to eat. The Israelites had to eat. Kind of an interesting thing. They shared that in common with all of us. We got to eat.

So when they were at wilderness wandering, there does seem to be specific locales that were available for the killing of animals, irrespective of whether they were sacrificial or whether they were non-sacrificial, just family feast-type meats. Well, in the Promised Land, it's not going to be like that. They're going to have their own places. They're going to have their own freedom. They're going to have their own ability to kill animals and to eat animals, irrespective of what's going on in terms of the cult.

And that means the religious apparatus of Old Covenant Israel. And so the legislation in verses 15 to 28 deals with three specifics. In verses 15 and 16, the Israelites food. The decentralization of common, non-sacrificial feasts. Not all animals killed were sacrificed. So notice in verses 15 and 16. However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all...

Because that question would come up, right? If the emphasis is upon God-ordained locations for religious practice, and in the past, because we were wandering in the wilderness and we didn't have, you know, vast swaths of earth, we typically selected a portion of the camp where we killed animals, whether they were for sacrifice or non-sacrifice. So the idea might be, well, we're still sort of under that. And if God chooses a place for the killing of sacrificial animals, then that must mean we must always travel to that place to kill our non-sacrificial animals. I think that's probably a good thing to head off at the past.

So that's what verses 15 and 16 speak to. However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God, which He has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.

Only you shall not eat the blood, you shall pour it on the earth like water. That binding principle stays intact. Whether it's sacrificial or non-sacrificial, the ingesting of blood is always denied, Leviticus chapter 17. But if you look at this, whatever your heart desires, you don't get the vibe that old covenant Israel was going into the promised land and it was gonna just be horrible.

It flowed with milk and honey and there was plenty of meat. I love when verse 20, The carnivore people would love this, when the Lord your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, let me eat meat, because you long to eat meat. You may eat as much meat as your heart desires. God is good. The context, the concept is that they're entering in from the plains of Moab into the promised land. It's a land of promise. It flows with milk, it flows with honey. There's lots of animals you get to kill, you get to eat. The liberty given by God according to the blessing of the Lord, your God, which he has given you.

And then notice in terms of authorization, the unclean and the clean may eat of it. That speaks concerning the person. If you were unclean, you didn't participate in sacrificial food because you weren't clean and ready. But for regular food, whether you were unclean or clean, you got to eat.

And the same with the animals. Notice in verse 15, of the gazelle and the deer alike. They weren't utilized for sacrificial meals, but you could put them on the kitchen table or the dining room table. You could barbecue those and eat as much as you wanted.

So again, the idea being is that the Lord God chooses that place for worship, that place where you're to sacrifice, but if you live outside of that particular area, feel free within your own gates to kill whatever it is you want that doesn't violate any necessary commandment of God and mow down and enjoy the fruit of God's blessing in the promised land.

Verses 17 to 19, the centralization of the sacrificial feast. So decentralized eating with reference to eating, but centralization with reference to the sacrificial feast. So again, prohibition, verse 17, you may not eat in your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil or the firstborn of your herd or your flock or any of your offerings which you vow of your free will offerings or of the heave offering of your hand. That which is set apart for religion, that which is set apart for sacrifice, that which is consecrated to the cult.

Yeah, you got to go to the central place. You got to go to the place that the Lord your God chooses. Verse 18, but you must eat them before the Lord your God in a place which the Lord your God chooses you and your son and your daughter and your male, your male servant, your female servant, and Levi who is within your gates and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God and all to which you put your hands. Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land." Again, the specifics in Deuteronomy 18, a bit later to follow. Don't let the Levites die.

They didn't get tribal inheritance. They lived off the benevolence and the generosity and the kindness of the people of God. And so there was a vested interest in certain portions of certain sacrifices, but the gist seems to be that the rest of the tribes had, you know, kindness and benevolence toward the Levites. They didn't say, well, you know, brethren, you live on love and fresh air. Hopefully it all works out for you. No, they were generous and they helped the Levites out.

And then the pivot comes to the Israelites' future in the land in verses 20 to 28. And basically, it's a repetition of what has been laid down. So here's the legislation. Eating food, 15 and 16. Eating sacrifice, verses 17 to 19. And then your future in the land. God's blessing, verse 20. We've already seen that.

Eat meat. Again, if I was a Christian carnivore diet promoter, Deuteronomy 1220 would be my text. Maybe I should write a book. Rick Warren did, didn't he, on the Daniel diet or some weird thing? I'm kidding. I would never write a book on... carnivore dieting from Deuteronomy, somebody's going to do that eventually, and it's going to be all the emphasis in the Christian world, because the Christian world can be very weird. You see, the blessing of God, again, the non-sacrificial feasts, verses 21 to 25, duplicating what you see in verses 15 and 16. The sacrificial offerings, verses 26 and 27, duplicating or repeating what you see in verses 17 and 18. And then of course, as we come to expect, throughout these exhortations on the plains of Moab, The emphasis on obedience.

Verse 28. Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. And then the final portion is the warning concerning false worship. The warning concerning false worship. Note the specific warning is verses 29 to 31. And then the principle is given to us in verse 32. So the warning, the occasion is verse 29.

So when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them that are after they are destroyed from before you and that you do not inquire after their God saying, how did these nations serve their gods?

I also will do likewise. Again, this isn't just confined to the plains of Moab and, you know, the particular time frame that Moses is about to lead the children of Israel on the conquest or Joshua is going to take them on the conquest and dispossess the land and, you know, vanquish all their religious sites.

This is a perennial problem. The church is not to seek out help from pagans when it comes to worship. Again, if somebody says, well, that's in the Old Testament, that's not repeated in the New Testament. It sure is. Our God is a consuming fire, Deuteronomy 12, 29. And our worship is to be acceptable, and it is supposed to be punctuated with reverence and godly fear.

Paganism doesn't promote that. Paganism doesn't produce that. And therefore, the Christian church is not at liberty to co-opt paganism and bring it into the worship of the living and true God. So when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations, Israel is commanded to engage in the conquest, but it is the Lord who conquers. And the take heed there, verse 30, is a very, very severe take heed. Do not inquire after their God saying, how did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise. And then note the command. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.

See, first and second commandments are different in terms of function. closely connected, absolutely connected. First commandment defines the object of our worship. Second commandment defines the manner in which we worship that object. And I don't mean object as if it's, you know, a phone. God, most high, the object of the sentence.

Who is it that we worship? You see, brethren, what we'll find and what you've already seen back in Exodus chapter 32 is when, you know, this golden calf popped out from the fire. What did Aaron say? This is your God who led you out of the land of Egypt.

So the predication of false things to the true God is an act of idolatry. You cannot worship the true God falsely and think that everything is okay. Now, brethren, I think that is a lot of what happens in Old Covenant Israel. I don't think it's a complete, we don't believe in Yahweh, there's no such being as Yahweh, we're just gonna bow to Baal, we're gonna bow to Asherah, we're gonna bow to Moloch, we're gonna bow to Dagon. No, it was a mingling, it was a syncretism, it was a bit of this and a bit of that, and we'll bring that to Yahweh, and hopefully he'll accept it just fine. Well, he's telling you he's not going to accept it just fine.

He is not going to have truck with those things that the pagans practiced in terms of worshiping their gods. So verse 31, you shall not worship the Lord your God in that way for every abomination to the Lord, which he hates. they have done to their gods.

And then as an example of that, for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. You think that would be enough to scare the children of Israel off from asking questions of the pagans on how is it that we worship our God? Well, it didn't. And you think it would be enough to scare off new covenant Christians from asking the pagans on how should we worship our God?

But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to. You see, God does not want our creativity. God does not want us to express ourselves. God does not want us to co-opt paganism, bring it into his sanctuary, and present it to him as strange fire. No, God demands our allegiance.

God demands our obedience. And then the principle given is verse 32. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has commanded. It's just that simple. And it's probably too simple.

Because in this new covenant era, we've got such gifted people in our ranks. I mean, they got to play their instruments. They got to present their strange fire. They've got to engage in their gifts. Because after all, God wants it that way. We need to be very careful before we start answering what God wants. God wants what God commands. And again, great liberty in your home If you want to do the tango in your living room and offer up whatever, I'm not going to say go ahead and do it, but it's a different story than bringing it to the sanctuary of the living and true God.

So the old covenant emphasis, the object of worship, the first commandment defines. The manner of worship, the second word defines. New covenant worship is guided by and grounded in those same first two commandments, what do we always say? This is a teaching moment for me. What do me and Cam always say about the moral law? Does anybody remember? Perpetuity, yes. You guys are listening, that's great. I say that with tongue in cheek. Transcovenantal perpetuity. whatever covenant you're in, first and second commandments apply. Right?

So for the arguments against the regulated principle of worship, which is basically verse 32, whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. You got to get rid of the first and second commandments. You got to get rid of first Timothy three 15.

I write, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself, sorry, 1 Timothy 3.14, how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, or Hebrews 12.28, acceptable worship.

The confessional definition, I think, is excellent. 22.1, the light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is just, good, and does good to all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted, and served with all the heart and all the soul and with all the might.

Even pagans can discover that. The light of nature reveals that. The light of nature reveals that there's a God. The light of nature reveals that he's sovereign, that he's all powerful, and that he deserves to be worshipped. But the light of nature does not prescribe for us how that worship is carried out.

So the confession goes on to say, the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself and so limited by his own revealed will that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan. under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. Again, that makes sense, doesn't it? I think it does. This isn't, you know, special pleading here.

Brethren, I'm arguing that we do what God commands. I mean, hopefully I win that argument that nobody would, we can't, we're not supposed to do what God commands. See, the problem with the non-regulative principle is that they smuggle in another premise. Yeah, of course we do what God commands, but we're also free to do what he doesn't forbid. Hmm.

OK, so if the pagans can speak to worship, and we don't find a place anywhere that God specifically forbids that pagan practice, that's OK? No, not according to 1232. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. So the identification of the principle given here is the regulative principle. The explanation, again, do what God commands. The consistency?

The reference in 12.5, to put his name for his dwelling place, and in 1 Timothy 3.15, the house of God, which is the church of the living God, doesn't it make sense that the dweller slash owner gets to describe, define, and explain what is to be done in his house? I think it makes perfect sense. And then the blessedness of the principle. You're always blessed obeying God.

Ask Nadab and Abihu how it worked out with reference to the strange fire offered up, as they're breathing their last. Hey, was it worth it, fellas? They'd gurgle out, no, obey God. I'd like to think they would have gurgled that out. The blessing of worship defined by God. Remember that verse eight in our text is cautionary, not empowering. Every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes is not said favorably or with the sanction of God. And the blessing of joy that is consistent with the worship of God. 12.7 and 12.12 indicates that when they imbibed these principles or this principle in this manner, they would find blessing and joy in the presence of God. Well, I will pray and then we have an assignment. Should you choose to accept helping?

We need to get all the tables in the middle of the room and all of the chairs. Nothing can be against the walls. And you're probably thinking, boy, he springs out on us now. Fun guy, but they're doing some work in here. It's questionable whether we'll have Bible study next Wednesday. So check your emails. Looking at our brother who's gonna be making this pretty and beautiful. So right now, just help us to get the tables in the center.

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity of the principle in 1232. And we pray again that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and help us to be faithful and consistent with reference to the worship of God in this local church, and we pray that you would cause us to rejoice in your grace and in your mercy. Certainly you are a God who gives generously, and you give profusely, and we give all glory and praise to you for that grace, that mercy that we know, and then those temporal benefits that you load us with daily. We ask that you would go with us, watch over all the brothers and sisters in our church, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen.