It may not seem like such a radical concept to worship God in only one place, but the way that Deuteronomy phrases it, you would think it was a whole revolution.
The first seven verses of this chapter—which begin a five-chapter section on the Sanctuary in general—discuss the nature of worship.
Within those seven verses, there are two halves, each with its own description of worship. In Deuteronomy 12:1-3, Moses lays out the paganism that exists currently and how it should be eradicated. In Deuteronomy 12:5-7, Moses says that the worship of God will occur at a single location.
Between those two halves is a single verse: “You shall not act like this towards the Lord your God.”
With those words, Moses says that our behavior toward Jehovah will be categorically different than the way worship has always been before. Instead of everyone creating their own version of a “high place,” there will be one Temple. That’s where you’ll worship God.
Think about the day-to-day realities of this setup. If formal worship is restricted to only a few days throughout the year, away from your home, that means something has to take the place of regular devotion.
It seems like for Moses, prayer and study were designed to fill the gaps. Deuteronomy emphasizes these more than ever before, showing how private devotion fuels the rest of their lives.
Worship in a single location also requires significant travel on a regular basis from all adherents. Even if they were scattered among the different tribal inheritances, Jews would gather regularly together in one location, which creates harmony and community among an otherwise disparate group.
This may be why King Jeroboam created two different worship locations. Instead of traveling to Jerusalem (which was enemy territory anyway), now you could choose to worship in either Dan or Bethel—one in the south, and one in the north (1 Kings 12:25-33). How convenient!
Of course, it’s not like exclusive worship in Jerusalem was enforced, anyway. The first central location wasn’t set up until Joshua established Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), and then later, Jerusalem. After that, you read of high places where people worshipped regularly until Kings Hezekiah and Josiah tried to put a stop to it (2 Kings 18:4).
I’ve heard people argue that worship can happen any time, day or night. It doesn’t matter where you are; you’re able to praise God through prayer and through song.
I don’t necessarily disagree with that, but formal, communal worship needs to be emphasized among our people. It’s not something we just do when we feel like it, but a deliberate, intentional act that forces us out of our homes and into the company of the righteous.