Deuteronomy 12
As we make our way into chapter 12, we read the following exhortation from Moses to the people of Israel:
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. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way. But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there (vv. 2-5; emphasis added).
In meditating on the emphasized portion of Scripture above, my mind goes to those individuals who say they don’t need to gather together with fellow believers to worship God. Rather, they often claim they can do so in the deer stand, on the lake, or somewhere else where they feel a connection with their Creator. Granted, I am not disputing that you can experience God in those moments, but I do wonder if the call to esteem God above all of creation has been replaced by something else that we, with clear hearts and eyes, would characterize as an idol.
Scripture is clear that, as we get closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ, we should “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). To do so, we must pray that God will reveal the idols we cherish in our hearts that draw us away from assembling with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and, like the Israelites were commanded to do, tear down and destroy those obstacles.
Notice also that the Israelites seemed to be very self-centered in their worship of God: “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes…” (v. 8). David Guzik recounts how, during this time period, “each Israelite pretty much conducted their own worship as they pleased. But God was not really pleased with this; worship was not a matter left up to whatever pleased the individual. Real worship is concerned with what pleases God.”[i] Likewise, Guzik goes on to state that “Much of what is called worship in today’s church really isn’t worship. It is self-focused, man-focused, and personal-experience-focused instead of being God-focused. Much of today’s worship is measured by how I feel instead of being measured by how God was honored and worshipped.”[ii]
Oh friends, wherever and whenever we gather with one another for worship, let it be done with the sole intent of blessing God with all our soul and all that is within us. May we never forget that our intent in meeting together is to bless His holy name, not ours (Psalm 103:1).
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Journal responses to the following prompts:
· Are there any idols in your life that you are putting ahead of the call to gather together with fellow believers?
· What is your primary motive for gathering together for corporate worship?
[i] Study Guide for Deuteronomy 12. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved June 9, 2026, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/deuteronomy/deuteronomy-12.cfm
[ii] ibid