Chapter 14

 

LITV

Deu 14:1  You are sons to Jehovah your God; you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 

Deu 14:2  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; and Jehovah has chosen you to be a people to Him, a special treasure out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 

Deu 14:3  You shall not eat any abominable thing. 

Deu 14:4  These are the animals which you shall eat: the ox, the flocked sheep, and the flocked goat, 

Deu 14:5  the hart and gazelle, and roe deer, and wild goat, and antelope, and oryx, and moufflon. 

Deu 14:6  And you may eat every animal that divides the hoof, and divides two hoofs wholly, and chews the cud among the animals. 

Deu 14:7  But you shall not eat of those that only chew the cud, or those only dividing the cloven hoof: the camel, and the hare, and the rock badger; for they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof. They shall be unclean to you. 

Deu 14:8  And the swine, because it divides the hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead body. 

Deu 14:9  These you shall eat of all in the waters: you shall eat all that have fins and scales. 

Deu 14:10  And whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat. It shall be unclean to you. 

Deu 14:11  You shall eat of all clean birds. 

Deu 14:12  But you shall not eat of these: the eagle, the black vulture, and the bearded vulture, 

Deu 14:13  and the hawk, and falcons, and the kite by its kinds, 

Deu 14:14  and all ravens by their kinds; 

Deu 14:15  and the ostrich, and the great owl, and the sea gull, and small hawks by their kinds, 

Deu 14:16  the little owl, and the eared owl, and the barn owl, 

Deu 14:17  and the pelican, and the owl, and the cormorant, 

Deu 14:18  and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 

Deu 14:19  And every teeming thing that flies shall be unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 

Deu 14:20  You may eat of all clean birds. 

Deu 14:21  You shall not eat of anything that died of itself. You may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it. Or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. 

Deu 14:22  Tithing you shall tithe all the increase of your seed that the field yields year by year. 

Deu 14:23  And you shall eat before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear Jehovah your God all your days. 

Deu 14:24  And if the way is too long for you, so that you cannot carry it, because the place is too far from you which Jehovah your God shall choose to set His name there, when Jehovah your God shall bless you; 

Deu 14:25  Then you shall give it for silver, and bind up the silver in your hand. And you shall go to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose. 

Deu 14:26  And you shall pay the silver for whatever your soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for fermented drink, or for whatever your soul desires. And you shall eat there before Jehovah your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 

Deu 14:27  And you shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 

Deu 14:28  At the end of three years, even the same year, you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase, and shall lay it up within your gates. 

Deu 14:29  And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. 

 

Main Point(s): God points out that Israel is a set apart nation….holy. He then dispenses what a holy people are to eat since some things are considered “unclean.” Then, lays down the requirement of giving back through tithing.

 

1.    What is Israel described as in verse 1? What does this mean and why is it important? They are SONS of Jehovah. Sons: H1121 בֵּן bên bane From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name) – the root word means “to build.” It describes an inheriting status. The Israelites were responsible for building, representing and keeping the name of Jehovah relevant.

2.    Because of Israel’s status in verse 1, what are they supposed to be (2)? Compare to 1Peter 2:9-10. What does this mean for us? Deu 14:2  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; and Jehovah has chosen you to be a people to Him, a special treasure out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 1Pe 2:9  But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, 1Pe 2:10  "Once you were nobody. Now you are God's people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness. 
The implication of verse 2 is that they were to act/become holy. Peter clarifies it muck later, in Deuteronomy God has been revealing what it looks like all along. Loving Him, obedience, loving the humble.

Holy: - sacred, clean ..”out of all the people” (separated out)

3.    What is one way holiness would look like in the life of Israel (3-21)? Notice how this section begins and ends (2,21). The vey food choices they made were to be “clean” as dictated by God….because they are holy.
The word holy simply means sacred and clean. It’s implied consecration signifies a separation for God as is stated in verse two.

4.    What is another way that holiness would look like in the life of Israel (22-29)?
Tithing: Ten percent of the year’s increase as well as a tithing every three years for the Levites and the poor.

 

5.    Why did God command the people to tithe (23-26)? What was God wanting the people to do and what was God wanting to do with His people? What do we learn from this? “that you may learn to ear Jehovah your God”….how would tithing do this? It stands to reason that this was to be a time to remember where their blessings came from. Even more interesting is the command for them to “eat before Jehovah.” What does that mean? In the most physical sense, eating the fat of the land together, praising God, prayer together with God as the focus. This served not only as a reminder of their position before God and His grace and mercy, but this was also a unifying action.

 

6.    Why else was the tithe important (27-29)? Every three years, the tithe eating was to include the Levite, foreigner, and the less fortunate. The Levite had no land inheritance so God was commissioning a gift that would sustain them. There will be more instructions on providing for the priesthood as well. God’s system provided for the poor and those who fell on hard times.

 

7.    What was God’s goal (29)? “so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” This is an interesting argument against a “belief only” teaching when it comes to God’s blessings. “Belief” has never been the only requirement. The last generation before this one “believed” yet they fell in the desert because they lacked the faith to DO what God commanded.
God is JUST. Without a manifestation of our faith by our works, we do not afford God the opportunity for mercy. It’s as simple as that.

 

 

Additional:

Tithe: H4643

מַעַשְׂרָה    מַעֲשַׂר    מַעֲשֵׂר

ma‛ăśêr    ma‛ăśar    ma‛aśrâh

mah-as-ayr', mah-as-ar', mah-as-raw'

From H6240; a tenth; especially a tithe: - tenth (part), tithe (-ing).old testament tithing