Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:1

Bird's-eye view

This opening verse of Deuteronomy 17 sets a crucial standard for all true worship. Positioned within a section of laws that will address idolatry, justice, and kingship, this command regarding sacrifice establishes a foundational principle: God is holy, and He must be approached with the best, not with leftovers. The prohibition against offering a blemished animal is not an arbitrary aesthetic preference on God's part. It is a deeply theological statement about His worth, the seriousness of sin, and the nature of substitutionary atonement. This verse functions as a guardrail for the heart of Israel's worship, ensuring that their offerings reflect a genuine honor for Yahweh and not a grudging, corner-cutting convenience. Ultimately, this law, like the entire sacrificial system, is a magnificent arrow pointing forward to the only truly unblemished sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose perfection alone could satisfy the demands of a holy God.

The Lord here defines what is unacceptable in worship, labeling the offering of a flawed sacrifice an "abominable thing." This is strong language, placing such an action in the same category as idolatry and gross immorality. It teaches us that God cares immensely about the how of our worship, not just the that. It is not enough to simply go through the motions; the attitude of the heart, reflected in the quality of the offering, is paramount. This verse, therefore, is a call to wholehearted devotion, a rejection of cheap grace, and a prophetic anticipation of the costly and perfect grace that would be revealed in the gospel.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 17 follows immediately after instructions on establishing local judges and forbidding idolatrous practices like setting up Asherah poles or sacred pillars (Deuteronomy 16:18-22). The flow of thought is natural and seamless. Having just prohibited the worship of false gods, Moses now clarifies the proper worship of the true God. The integrity of the justice system and the purity of worship are two sides of the same coin; both are essential for the health of the covenant nation. This verse serves as a bridge, moving from what not to worship to how to worship correctly. The subsequent verses (17:2-7) detail the severe penalty for idolatry, reinforcing the gravity of the chapter's theme: covenant faithfulness requires both exclusive loyalty to Yahweh and honoring Him in the manner He prescribes. The principle established here, that God deserves and demands our best, undergirds all that follows concerning justice and righteous leadership in Israel.

Key Issues

The Grammar of Worship

Every act of worship is a theological statement. It is a sentence spoken to God, and that sentence has a grammar. When an Israelite brought an animal to the altar, he was saying something. If he brought the prize of his flock, a strong and healthy animal without spot or defect, he was saying, "God is worthy of my best. His holiness is perfect, and my sin requires a perfect substitute." But if he brought a lame, blind, or sickly animal, one he was probably glad to get rid of anyway, he was saying something entirely different. He was saying, "God can be fobbed off with my leftovers. My convenience is more important than His glory. This whole business is a bit of a chore, so let's get it over with as cheaply as possible."

God declares that this second statement is an abomination. It is a grammatical error of the highest order in the language of worship. It is a lie spoken in the holy place. God is not interested in receiving our trash. He is not a cosmic disposal service for our unwanted things. Worship that costs us nothing is worth nothing. This principle is not just about livestock; it is about the posture of the human heart before a holy God. He sees the blemish on the sheep, but more importantly, He sees the blemish in the heart of the worshiper who brought it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep which has a defect or any blemish, for that is an abominable thing to Yahweh your God.

“You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep which has a defect or any blemish...” The command is direct and clear. The two primary animals of sacrifice, the ox and the sheep, are named as representatives of the whole system. The prohibited quality is any defect or blemish. This would include anything from a broken leg to a lame foot, from blindness to a skin disease. The animal offered as a substitute for the sinner had to be, in its physical form, a picture of perfection. Why? Because it was a type, a foreshadowing, of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter picks up this very theme when he says we are redeemed not with perishable things, but "with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:19). The physical perfection of the animal pointed to the moral and spiritual perfection of the ultimate sacrifice. Every time a priest inspected an animal and found it flawless, it was a prophecy of the sinless Son of God who would one day offer Himself. To bring a blemished animal was to offer a flawed gospel, to preach a defective Christ.

“...for that is an abominable thing to Yahweh your God.” This is the reason, and it is a weighty one. The word for abominable thing (to'evah) is one of the strongest words of disapproval in the entire Old Testament. It is used to describe idolatry, homosexual practice, and child sacrifice. To place the offering of a lame sheep in this category is startling. It tells us that God views corrupt worship with the same abhorrence as flagrant paganism. Why? Because it is an assault on His character. It is to treat the Holy One of Israel as though He were a common, careless, pagan deity who could be bought off with cheap trinkets. It is a profound act of disrespect disguised as an act of piety. It is hypocrisy at the altar. As the prophet Malachi would later thunder against the priests of his day, "When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor?" (Malachi 1:8). The argument is simple: if your earthly governor would be insulted by such a gift, how much more the King of Heaven?

Application

We no longer bring bulls and sheep to an altar, for the final, perfect, unblemished Lamb of God has been sacrificed once for all. But the principle of Deuteronomy 17:1 is absolutely binding on the Christian. Our entire life is now to be an act of worship, a living sacrifice. Paul tells us to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). The question for us, then, is what kind of sacrifice are we presenting?

Do we give God our best, or our leftovers? Does He get the firstfruits of our time, our energy, our money, our attention? Or does He get what's left over at the end of a long, weary week after we have served every other master? Do we offer Him sharp, focused minds in prayer and study of His Word, or do we give Him the drowsy, distracted dregs of our consciousness? Do we engage in our work with excellence, diligence, and integrity, doing it "as for the Lord," or do we cut corners and do just enough to get by? These are not small questions. To offer God a blemished service, a half-hearted and distracted worship, a lazy and compromised obedience, is to commit an abomination. It is to say by our actions that He is not worthy of our best.

The good news of the gospel is that our acceptance before God does not depend on the perfection of our offerings. It depends entirely on the perfection of Christ's offering. He is our unblemished sacrifice. But because we are united to Him, and because His Spirit dwells in us, we are now called and enabled to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Him (1 Peter 2:5). Gratitude for His perfect sacrifice should motivate us to strive, by His grace, to give Him nothing less than our very best in every area of our lives. We don't do this to be saved, but because we are saved.