Deuteronomy 12-14:

Destroying the Pagan gods:
Part of the Israelites’ mission in taking of the land of Canaan was to utterly destroy the pagan religion there, and the inhabitants worships of demonic entities.  God reiterates that the Israelites are to erase the Canaanites’ evil pagan cult from the land: “You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains and upon the hills and under every green tree; you shall tear down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Ashe′rim with fire; you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their name out of that place.” (Deut. 12:2-3)

Do Not Drink Blood:
God also warns the Israelites not to follow the practices of the Canaanites, in their rites and rituals, including drinking blood.  “Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.” (Deut. 12:16) And again: “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.” (Deut. 12:23-24) This is a similar forbiddance as with Leviticus 7:26.  Unlike the Canaanites who drink blood in their pagan rituals, the Israelites are to pour it onto the earth.  Likewise, God warns the Israelites: “You shall not do so to the Lord your God; for every abominable thing which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.” (Deut. 12:31) Yahweh admonishes the Israelites to separate themselves from the pagan cultures around them. The Israelites are to be a distinct, set-apart, and holy nation, and not following the ways of the demonic pagan cults.

Worship in the Proper Place and Right Way:
“But the holy things which are due from you, and your votive offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to the place which the Lord will choose, and offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat.” (Deut. 12: 26-27)

Dreamer of Dreams Shall Be Put to Death:
“But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.” (Deut. 13:5)  The main goal of God at this point is to purge all evil and rebellion from the midst of the Israelites.  This is a simple people, living in simple times, the Bronze Age. They lived under idolatry in Egypt for 400 years as slaves.  They are prone to idol worship.  Yahweh is pruning idolatry from their midst.  This pruning includes removing false prophets from their midst who lead the people astray.  Similarly, “And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.” (Deut. 13:11)

Pagan Practices Forbidden:
Some of the pagan practices among the Canaanites were shaving, cutting and tattooing themselves. The Israelites were supposed to be different, set apart, holy.  “You are the sons of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.  For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.” (Deut. 14:1-2)  Then, Moses reiterates the clean and unclean animals that the Israelites may eat and not eat, as told in Leviticus.

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