Holy Feasting and Common Grilling Text: Deuteronomy 12:15-19
Introduction: One God, One Altar, Two Kinds of Meals
As Israel stands on the plains of Moab, on the very cusp of entering the Promised Land, God, through Moses, is laying down the foundational charter for their national life. And at the heart of that life is worship. We moderns tend to think of worship as something that happens for an hour on Sunday morning, a spiritual top-up before we get back to "real life." But for Israel, and for us, worship is the whole of life. It is the central organizing principle of reality. And so, God is intensely interested in the details of how He is to be worshiped.
In the preceding verses, God has established a radical principle: the centralization of worship. No more scattered altars on every high hill. No more syncretistic borrowing from the Canaanites. There will be one place where God chooses to put His name, and that is where the formal, sacrificial worship of Israel will occur. This is not about divine real estate; it is a theological declaration. There is one God, and therefore there is one authorized way to approach Him. This principle, of course, runs straight as an arrow to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true Temple, the true Altar, and the only place where we can meet with God.
But this centralization raises a practical question. If you live a hundred miles from the central sanctuary, and you want to eat a lamb chop for dinner, do you have to travel for a week to do it? The pagan world collapsed the sacred and the profane; every meal was a sacrifice to some deity or other. God, in His wisdom, distinguishes. He separates the holy from the common. This passage is a lesson in applied theology for the dinner table. It teaches us that there is a difference between a potluck in your backyard and the Lord's Supper at His table. Both involve food, both should be done with gratitude, but they are not the same thing. God is drawing a bright line between holy feasting and common grilling, and in that distinction, He teaches us about the nature of sacrifice, the meaning of blood, and our covenant responsibilities.
The Text
"However, you may sacrifice and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall be glad before Yahweh your God in all that you send forth your hand to do. Beware lest you forsake the Levite all your days upon your land."
(Deuteronomy 12:15-19 LSB)
Common Meals with Uncommon Gratitude (v. 15)
We begin with the liberty God grants for ordinary life.
"However, you may sacrifice and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer." (Deuteronomy 12:15)
The word "sacrifice" here is better translated as "slaughter." This is not talking about a formal offering on an altar. This is God's gracious provision for a Tuesday night barbecue. The principle is this: because of the centralization of worship, the slaughter of an animal for food at home is now desacralized. It is made common. Previously, in the wilderness, every animal slaughtered for food had to be brought to the Tabernacle as a peace offering (Leviticus 17:3-4). But that was a temporary arrangement for the camp. Now, in the land, God is making life livable. He is saying, "You don't need to be a priest to grill a steak."
Notice the qualifier: "according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you." This is not an autonomous right. It is a gift. Your ability to provide for your family, the health of your flocks, the prosperity of your hand, it is all a blessing from God. Therefore, even a common meal should be received with uncommon gratitude. Every meal is an occasion to remember the Giver. This is the principle Paul carries into the New Covenant: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4).
Then we have a fascinating provision: "the unclean and the clean may eat of it." This is not referring to unclean animals, like pigs. The dietary laws are still in effect. This refers to the ceremonial state of the person eating. Someone who had touched a dead body, for example, was ceremonially unclean and could not participate in the holy things at the sanctuary. But God says that uncleanness does not prevent you from eating dinner at home. He is distinguishing between ritual purity required for formal worship and the basic functions of daily life. Your ceremonial status does not put you off your food. This common meal is treated like the eating of wild game, "as of the gazelle and the deer." You do not offer a deer on the altar; you just hunt it and eat it. So it is now with the domestic flock you slaughter for your own table.
The Blood Belongs to God (v. 16)
But with this liberty comes a stark prohibition.
"Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water." (Deuteronomy 12:16 LSB)
This is a foundational principle of biblical religion, going all the way back to Noah (Genesis 9:4). The blood is sacred. Why? Because, as the Scripture says elsewhere, "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Life is a gift from God, and the blood is the symbol and carrier of that life. Therefore, the blood belongs to Him. It is reserved for one holy purpose: atonement. "I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Leviticus 17:11).
Even in a common meal, where the animal is not a sacrifice, the blood must be honored. You are to treat it with a sort of respectful disposal. You pour it on the ground like water, returning it to the earth. You are not to trifle with it or consume it. This law creates a constant, visceral reminder for the people of Israel. Every time they prepare meat, they are handling the mystery of life and death. They are being taught, at a gut level, that sin requires the shedding of blood, the pouring out of a life. This is a kindergarten lesson that points straight to the cross. The blood of bulls and goats could never truly take away sin, but they were faithful types and shadows, training the people to look for the one, final sacrifice whose blood would not be poured out on the ground like water, but presented in the heavenly places as an eternal atonement for our souls (Hebrews 9:12).
Holy Things in the Holy Place (v. 17-18)
Next, Moses draws the line between the two kinds of meals with unmistakable clarity.
"You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh your God will choose..." (Genesis 12:17-18a LSB)
Here is the other side of the coin. The common meal can be eaten at home. But the holy meal cannot. The tithe, the firstborn, the vowed offerings, these are all "holy things." They belong to God in a special way, and therefore they must be consumed in His presence, at His house. The tithe mentioned here is the festival tithe, where an Israelite family set aside a tenth of their increase to be joyfully consumed at the great annual feasts in the central sanctuary.
This is a theology of feasting. Worship is not a grim, dour affair. It is a party. God commands His people to come before Him with their best, and to eat, drink, and be glad. And this is not a solitary joy. Notice who is included: "you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates." This is a corporate, covenantal celebration. It includes the whole household, from the patriarch to the lowest servant. Everyone gets to come to the party. This is a picture of the gospel, where the invitation goes out to all, and the feast of the kingdom is for every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The key phrase is "before Yahweh your God." This is what makes the meal holy. It is eaten in His presence, as an act of communion with Him. And the required response is joy: "and you shall be glad before Yahweh your God in all that you send forth your hand to do." God commands our gladness. A sullen Christian is a contradiction in terms. Our worship, our giving, our fellowship, it should all be characterized by a robust, celebratory joy, because we serve a God who has blessed us in everything we do.
Remember the Minister (v. 19)
Finally, the passage concludes with a specific and perpetual command.
"Beware lest you forsake the Levite all your days upon your land." (Genesis 12:19 LSB)
Why this particular exhortation, tacked on to the laws about eating? Because the Levite is uniquely vulnerable in this new arrangement. The other tribes are receiving an inheritance of land. The Levites' inheritance is the Lord Himself (Numbers 18:20). They are set apart for the full-time ministry of the sanctuary and the teaching of the law. They do not have farms or flocks in the same way. Their livelihood depends entirely on the faithfulness of the people in bringing their tithes and offerings.
So, when you come to the central sanctuary to feast, you must include the Levite. He is your minister, your teacher. You are to ensure that he partakes in the joyful feast that his ministry makes possible. This is not just about being nice; it is a matter of covenant justice. The Apostle Paul picks up this very principle and applies it directly to the New Covenant ministry: "Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:13-14).
To neglect the support of your pastors and teachers is to "forsake the Levite." It is a disobedience that strikes at the heart of God's provision for His people. A healthy church is one that cheerfully and generously supports the ministry of the Word, enabling their Levites to devote themselves to their calling without distraction. This is a command for "all your days upon your land." It does not expire.
Conclusion: From the Table to the Table
This passage, then, gives us a robust theology of the table. We have the common table at home, and the holy table at the sanctuary. At our common tables, we eat with gratitude, remembering that all we have is a gift from God. We also remember the sanctity of life, pouring out the blood and acknowledging that our lives are forfeit without a sacrifice.
And this gratitude and sobriety at our own tables should prepare us for the joy of the Lord's Table. The holy feast in Deuteronomy was a shadow. The people ate the tithe of their flock in God's presence. But we are invited to a greater feast. We come to the true sanctuary, which is Christ, and we eat not a symbol of our blessing, but the very sign of the blessing itself. We come to the Lord's Supper.
At this Table, all the themes of our passage converge in Christ. He is the central sanctuary, the only place to meet God. His blood was not poured out on the ground like water, but was shed for the remission of our sins, the blood of the new covenant. This is the ultimate holy meal, eaten "before the Lord." And it is a meal of commanded joy, where we, our sons, our daughters, all of us together, rejoice in what God has done. And at this table, we are served by our ministers, our Levites, whom we are commanded not to forsake.
So let us learn the lesson of the two tables. Let us eat our common meals with hearts full of thanksgiving for God's provision. And let us come to the Lord's holy meal with hearts full of joy for His provision in Christ, the Lamb whose sacrifice turns all of our lives into a festival.