Deuteronomy 12:2
You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The command to destroy these worship sites isn't just about physical locations; it's about eradicating every trace of the names and memories associated with those foreign gods. God desires Israel to remember Him solely in the way He has revealed Himself, not through lingering remnants of other spiritual influences.
As the Israelites prepare to enter and conquer the Promised Land, God lays out specific instructions for how they are to live and worship there. This command follows immediately after the general instruction to live by God's statutes and judgments, emphasizing the critical importance of eradicating all vestiges of the idolatrous practices of the nations they are displacing. The verse explicitly details the types of places and methods used by these nations in their worship of false gods.
Imagine stepping into a new land, a land promised to you by God. But it's filled with the shrines and symbols of the people who lived there before. What are you supposed to do with them?
God's command here is stark: 'You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods.' This wasn't about a casual clean-up; it was a radical, complete eradication.
Why Such Severity?
The Israelites were commanded to destroy worship sites 'upon the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.' Why target natural settings?
This command directly confronts the temptation to blend the worship of the true God with the natural world, a common practice among ancient Near Eastern peoples.
Nature's Allure
This passage directly commands Israel to destroy the altars and break down the pillars of the Canaanites, echoing the thoroughness demanded in Deuteronomy for eradicating idolatry.
Leviticus 26:30This verse describes the devastating consequence of Israel's future disobedience, where their places of worship will be destroyed and their gods rejected, mirroring the severity of the command in Deuteronomy.
Jeremiah 2:20The prophet Jeremiah references the very practices mentioned in Deuteronomy—worship on high mountains and under green trees—as a sign of Israel's unfaithfulness to God, showing how this command was still relevant and violated centuries later.
1 Kings 18:40This passage depicts Elijah executing the command from Deuteronomy by destroying the prophets of Baal and then killing them at the brook Kishon, demonstrating the practical application of eradicating idolatrous sites and practices.
Romans 6:13Paul uses the imagery of presenting our bodies as 'living sacrifices' to God, which parallels the Old Testament command to dedicate oneself and one's worship solely to the Lord, by purging all remnants of idolatrous practices.
gillDeuteronomy 12:2: "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:"
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods,.... The temples erected for the worship of them by the Canaanites, of which there were many, as appears by the various names of places given them from the temples in them, as Bethshemesh, Bethbaalmeon,…
calvinDeuteronomy 12:1-3: "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."
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
Diruetisque aras earum, et statuas earum confringetis, lucos earum comburetis igni, et s…
The command to destroy these worship sites isn't just about physical locations; it's about eradicating every trace of the names and memories associated with those foreign gods. God desires Israel to remember Him solely in the way He has revealed Himself, not through lingering remnants of other spiritual influences.
As the Israelites prepare to enter and conquer the Promised Land, God lays out specific instructions for how they are to live and worship there. This command follows immediately after the general instruction to live by God's statutes and judgments, emphasizing the critical importance of eradicating all vestiges of the idolatrous practices of the nations they are displacing. The verse explicitly details the types of places and methods used by these nations in their worship of false gods.
As the Israelites prepare to enter and conquer the Promised Land, God lays out specific instructions for how they are to live and worship there. This command follows immediately after the general instruction to live by God's statutes and judgments, emphasizing the critical importance of eradicating all vestiges of the idolatrous practices of the nations they are displacing. The verse explicitly details the types of places and methods used by these nations in their worship of false gods.
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"You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree." — The command to destroy these worship sites isn't just about physical locations; it's about eradicating every trace of the names and memories associated with those foreign gods. God desires Israel…
