John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 12:2
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods ,.... The temples erected for the worship of them by the Canaanites, of which there were many, as appears by the various names of places given them from the temples in them, as Bethshemesh, Bethbaalmeon, Bethpeor, and others: upon the high mountains and upon the hills : which they chose to worship on, being nearer the heavens, and which they thought most acceptable to their gods; and some... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 12:1-4
From those great original truths, That there is a God, and that there is but one God, arise those great fundamental laws, That that God is to be worshipped, and he only, and that therefore we are to have no other God before him: this is the first commandment, and the second is a guard upon it, or a hedge about it. To prevent a revolt to false gods, we are forbidden to worship the true God in such a way and manner as the false gods were worshipped in, and are commanded to observe the instituted... read more