SCRIPTURE: DEUTERONOMY 14
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.” (Deuteronomy 14:8)
“Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.” (Deuteronomy 14:9)
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” (Deuteronomy 14:22)
CLEAN AND UNCLEAN FOOD (vs. 1-21)
You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Do not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided, you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it doe snot chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses
Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat, for you it is unclean.
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat” the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
All flying insects that swarm are unclean to you; do not eat them. But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.
Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien living in any of your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
TITHES (vs. 22-29)
Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall at there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have not allotment or inheritance of their own.
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
The actions described here refer to a cult of the dead. Many other religions today have some kind of worship of or service to the dead. But Christianity and Judaism are very different from other religions because they focus on serving God in this life. Don’t let concern or worry over the dead distract you from the tasks that God has for you while you are still alive.
Reasons why the Israelites were forbidden to eat certain foods:
- Predatory animals ate the blood of other animals and scavengers ate dead animals. Because the people could not eat blood of animals they found dead, they could not eat animals that did these things either.
- Some forbidden animals had bad associations in the Israelite culture just as bats, snakes, and spiders do for some people today. Some may have been used in pagan religious practices. To the Israelites, the unclean animals represented sin or unhealthy habits.
- Perhaps some restrictions were given to Israel just to remind them continually that they were a different and separate people committed to God.
Although we no longer must follow these laws about food, we can still learn from them the lesson that holiness is to be carried into all parts of life. We cannot restrict holiness only to the spiritual side, we must be holy in the everyday practical part of life as well. Health practices, finances, use of leisure – all provide opportunities to put holy living into daily living.
The prohibition against cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk may reflect a Canaanite fertility rite. Or it may just mean that the Israelites were not to take what was intended to promote life and use it to kill or destroy life. The commandment is also given in Exodus 23:19)
The Bible makes the purpose of tithing very clear – to put God first in our lives. We are to give God the first and the best of what we earn. For example, what we do first with out money shows what we value most. Giving the first part of our paycheck to God immediately focuses our attention on him. It also reminds us that all we have belongs to Him. A habit of regular tithing can keep God at the top of our priority list and give us a proper perspective on everything else we have.
The Bible supports an organized system of caring for the por. God told his people to use their tithe every third year for those who were helpless, hungry ore poor. These regulations were designed to prevent the country from sinking under crushing poverty and oppression. It was everyone’s responsibility to care to those less fortunate. Families were to help other family member, and towns were to help member of their community. National laws protected the rights of the poor, but helping the poor was also an active part of religious life. God counts on believers to provide for the needy, and we should use what God has given us to aid those less fortunate. Look beyond your regular giving and think of ways to help the needy. This will help you show your regard for God as creator of all people, share God’s goodness with others, and draw them to Him. It is a practical and essential way to make faith work in everyday life.