Deuteronomy 12
Joshua 12 contains a compilation about the territories the Israelites entered and conquered in the land of Canaan, and about the kings of those regions. This chapter is divided into two main parts: Verses 1–6 record the kings that Moses conquered on the east side of the Jordan, and Verses 7–24 provide a detailed record of the kings that Joshua conquered on the west side of the Jordan. Joshua 12 serves to show with careful detail Israel’s historical victories and that God’s promises were fulfilled in reality.
1verseThese are the statutes and the ordinances which you shall observe to do in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days that you live on the earth.
2verseYou shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
3verseYou shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods. You shall destroy their name out of that place.
4verseYou shall not do so to the LORD your God.
5verseBut to the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there.
6verseYou shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, your vows, your free will offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock there.
7verseThere you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
8verseYou shall not do all the things that we do here today, every man whatever is right in his own eyes;
9versefor you haven’t yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God gives you.
10verseBut when you go over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies around you, so that you dwell in safety,
11versethen it shall happen that to the place which the LORD your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to the LORD.
12verseYou shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
13verseBe careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;
14versebut 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.
15verseYet you may kill and eat meat within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the LORD your God’s blessing which he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.
16verseOnly you shall not eat the blood. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.
17verseYou may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your free will offerings, nor the wave offering of your hand;
18versebut you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God shall choose: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you put your hand to.
19verseBe careful that you don’t forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.
20verseWhen the LORD your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, “I want to eat meat,” because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.
21verseIf the place which the LORD your God shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.
22verseEven as the gazelle and as the deer is eaten, so you shall eat of it. The unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.
23verseOnly be sure that you don’t eat the blood; for the blood is the life. You shall not eat the life with the meat.
24verseYou shall not eat it. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.
25verseYou shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do that which is right in the LORD’s eyes.
26verseOnly your holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD shall choose.
27verseYou shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the LORD your God’s altar. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the LORD your God’s altar, and you shall eat the meat.
28verseObserve and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the LORD your God’s eyes.
29verseWhen the LORD your God cuts off the nations from before you where you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
30versebe careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
31verseYou shall not do so to the LORD your God; for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32verseWhatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
Detailed Contents by Chapter
- Verses 1–6: summarizes the events in which the Israelites led by Moses defeated King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan on the east side of the Jordan—then conquered that land.
- Verses 7–24: lists the kings Israel and Joshua fought against on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in the mainland of Canaan. A total of 31 kings are mentioned along with their names and cities, which suggests that Canaan at the time was divided into many small city-states.
Overall Meaning and Reflection
Rather than simply listing the many wars Israel experienced and its victories, this chapter shows that God’s promises were fulfilled one by one in history. It presents Israel’s victories not merely as military achievements, but as part of the narrative of God fulfilling His promise to give the land. In the final part of the chapter, as it hints that the realized victories are not merely the result of human ability, it leads readers today to think about the victory that comes when you walk with God.
Points for Reflection
- Through Israel’s victories and the list of conquests, we can reflect on whether we are also experiencing God’s guidance and victory in the journey of life we are living.
- As we look back on the life we have already lived, we can recognize that in our own lives there were also small “wars,” and that in each place, God’s work was taking place.
Try Applying It to Me
Through Joshua 12, you can learn that you need to adopt an attitude of remembering the times when God was with me in my own life and not forgetting the victories. Also, as you strive to live with gratitude for even the small victories of everyday life, make a commitment to trust that God will continue to guide you.
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