“Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 12:30 Mean?
Moses warns against a specific temptation: after God destroys the Canaanite nations, don't be curious about how they worshipped. Don't ask "how did these nations serve their gods?" and then imitate them. The curiosity is the snare. The question itself is the first step toward the practice.
"Snared by following them" — the word "snared" (naqash) means to be trapped, to be caught in a baited device. The trap isn't the worship itself. It's the investigation of the worship. You get caught before you participate — by asking the question that leads to participation.
The prohibition is against syncretism through curiosity. God doesn't just forbid the worship of other gods. He forbids the investigation that makes the worship attractive. Don't study how they did it. Don't research their rituals. Don't satisfy the curiosity that wonders what it would be like. The question is the snare.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'questions' (curiosities about things God has forbidden) are you entertaining that could become snares?
- 2.How does the progression (curiosity → investigation → imitation) describe the way temptation actually works?
- 3.Is there something you're 'researching' spiritually that Moses would say is the snare itself?
- 4.Does the command to avoid even investigating other worship seem extreme — or does your experience confirm its wisdom?
Devotional
Don't even ask the question. "How did they worship?" is the first step toward "I want to try it."
Moses identifies the trap before it springs: curiosity about other gods' worship. Not participation — curiosity. The question "how did these nations serve their gods?" seems innocent enough. It's research. It's cultural awareness. It's just asking.
And Moses says: the asking is the snare. The investigation is the first coil of the trap. You don't get caught by jumping into pagan worship feet first. You get caught by leaning in just close enough to see what's going on. And the seeing produces the wanting. And the wanting produces the doing.
"Even so will I do likewise" — that's where the curiosity leads. The question starts academic and ends imitative. I just want to understand becomes I want to try becomes I do it regularly. The distance between "how did they worship?" and "even so will I do likewise" is shorter than you think.
God destroyed these nations for their practices. Their worship was so corrupted — child sacrifice, sexual ritual, spiritual manipulation — that the land itself vomited them out (Leviticus 18:25). And Moses says: don't be fascinated by what God found disgusting enough to destroy. The destruction should answer your curiosity. You don't need to know more.
Some doors are locked for your protection. The curiosity that picks the lock isn't wisdom. It's the first step into the snare.
Don't ask the question. The question is the trap.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared by following them,.... Their examples and customs, and so be drawn into…
This caution is based upon the notion generally entertained in the ancient pagan world, that each country had its own…
There is not any one particular precept (as I remember) in all the law of Moses so largely pressed and inculcated as…
Transition to the Laws in 13 (and those in Deu 16:21 to Deu 17:7)
When settled in W. Palestine Israel shall not inquire…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture