Deuteronomy 12:27, commentary and pictures

The command belongs to the law rehearsed to Israel just before crossing the Jordan into the promised land, recalling what God had taught them and pressing the importance of keeping His commands. Its direction about blood is that the blood of the sacrifices was to be poured on or around the altar of the Lord, whence it was carried away through drains provided for its passage. The tabernacle and later the temple were not planned to accommodate public gatherings as modern churches are, but were intended as slaughtering places for oxen, sheep, and goats, centered on the great altar on which the sacrifices were burned.

The portions claimed by the priests were cooked in fixed places nearby, while the crowded outer courts made the sanctuary look like a great slaughterhouse, keeping exact outward form but doing little to inspire prayer and praise. The permission in the chapter to eat what one desires is limited by its specific prohibition of unclean animals in the same context, so its broad expressions about eating include only foods God has permitted. The sacrifices themselves were gifts for approaching God, proportionate to the sins of the one making the offering. The pouring out of the blood was meant to emphasize the offerer's desire to dedicate his life to holiness, as an offering of personal life dedication.

It was also designed as a symbol of faith in the vicarious death of One yet to come, requiring a broken spirit and a contrite heart. No prayer, praise, or oral testimony by the beneficiary was any part of the program, so the butcher-like work was entirely fleshly or carnal. Through priestly laxness and want of teaching the service degenerated into mere mechanical observance without spiritual benefit.