Deuteronomy 12:5

“But unto the place which the Lord your God, etc.] The Targum of Jonathan is, that the Word of the Lord your God: shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there; to place his tabernacle, set up his worship, take up his residence, and cause the Shechinah, or his divine Majesty, to dwell there, as the next clause explains it; out of what tribe it should be chosen, and where it should be, is not said. Maimomides f117 gives three reasons for it; he says there are three great mysteries why the place is not clearly, but obscurely mentioned; 1) lest the Gentiles should seize upon it, and make war for the sake of it, supposing this place to be the end of the law; 2) lest they in whose…”

“unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose . . . to put his name there . . . thou shalt come--They were forbidden to worship either in the impure superstitious manner of the heathen, or in any of the places frequented by them. A particular place for the general rendezvous of all the tribes would be chosen by God Himself; and the choice of one common place for the solemn rites of religion was an act of divine wisdom, for the security of the true religion. It was admirably calculated to prevent the corruption which would otherwise have crept in from their frequenting groves and high hills--to preserve uniformity of worship and keep alive their faith in Him to whom all their sacrifices…”

““To put his name there” means to manifest to men His divine presence. The Targumists rightly refer to the Shechinah; but the expression comprehends all the various modes in which God vouchsafed to reveal Himself and His attributes to men. The purpose of the command of the text is to secure the unity, and through unity the purity of the worship of God. That there should be one national center for the religion of the people was obviously essential to the great ends of the whole dispensation. Corruption began as soon as the precepts of the text were relaxed or neglected: Compare the case of Gideon, Judges 8:27; of Micah, Judges 18:0; of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 12:26 ff. The words “the place which the…”

“To put his name there - That is, to set up his worship there, and which he shall call by his name, as his house, or his dwelling - place; namely, where the ark should be, the tabernacle, or temple: which was first Shiloh, and then Jerusalem. There is not one precept in all the law of Moses, so largely inculcated as this, to bring all their sacrifices to that one altar. And how significant is, that appointment? They must keep to one place, in token of their belief. That there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man. It not only served to keep up the notion of the unity of the godhead, but the one only way of approach to God and communion with him in and by his son. Deuteronomy 12:6”

“12:5 his name will be honored: The name of the Lord represents the Lord himself. God lived among his people in a designated location by placing his name there (see Exod 3:13-14).”

“But unto: Deu 12:11, Deu 16:2, Deu 26:2; Jos 9:27, Jos 18:1; Kg1 8:16, Kg1 8:20, Kg1 8:29, Kg1 14:21; Ch1 22:1; Ch2 7:12; Psa 78:68, Psa 87:2, Psa 87:3; Joh 4:20-22; Heb 12:22; Rev 14:1 habitation: Exo 15:2, Exo 25:22; Num 7:89; Kg1 8:27; Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14; Isa 66:1, Isa 66:2; Act 7:48-50; Eph 2:20-22; Col 2:9 Deuteronomy 12:6”