MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 (TOP)
GIVE!
(DEUTERONOMY 14:1-15:23)
The Law of Moses was to create a "holy people" among the nations. They were to be a "light set upon a hill" for the nations to discover the goodness that resulted from following God's word and the wisdom it imparts. In like fashion, the Bride of Christ, His church, is to be a light to the world so they would see our good worlds and glorify our Heavenly Father (Matt. 5:16).
For Israel this involved everything from practical health codes as seen in 14:3-21 to the generosity they were to show toward God's work and the poor. The "tithe" that provided support for the priestly tribe of Levite was to be a financial priority. To this was added a gracious provision for those in debt. Every seven years the bonded laborers who were working as slaves to pay back debt were to be released. God promised to prosper those who tithed and helped the poor with much more than they could have ever acquired without His blessing. This is true for God's people today. We are stewards, managers, of what has come from the hand of God. And one of the primary ways to glorify God in this world is to reflect God's generous heart toward a needy world. In fact when God sees a generous heart that will share God's blessings, He promises to bless the giver with even more.
Why is this so important? It is because God by His one definition is love, which is expressed in selfless giving. This is the message of the cross of Christ. We see this clearly when James describes God as "liberal" beyond understanding in giving to all who come to him in faith (James 1:4-5). Partner with God. Be a light in this world in our holy living and generosity whether with money, kindness, or forgiveness or whatever else you have received from God. Give and God will be revealed and you will be prospered.
NKJV BIBLE TEXT
Deuteronomy 14:1-15:23
1 "You are the children of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Clean and Unclean Meat
3 "You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.
9 "These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 "All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.
19 "Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.
20 "You may eat all clean birds.
21 "You shall not eat anything that dies 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 the LORD your God.
"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Tithing Principles
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 "At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
DEUTERONOMY 15
Debts Canceled Every Seven Years
1 "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD's release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Generosity to the Poor
7 "If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,' and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.'
The Law Concerning Bondservants
12 "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.
The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 "All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the LORD your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and your household shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD chooses. 21 But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.
| Improper Mourning v. 1 you are the children of the Lord your God– Chapter 14 continues on the theme begun in the end of chapter 13, which was the reward of God's Fatherhood to those who will come out of what is unclean to follow after Him. The only condition placed on receiving God's favor and closeness was that they would not imitate the practices of the religious pagans around them, but instead would seek to love God with all of their hearts. Beginning here in chapter 14, the Lord through Moses lists a series of specific things Israel is instructed to avoid because they characterize the worship of false, demonic gods. These prohibitions were meant to keep Israel pure from the idolatry o the people of Canaan. You shall not cut yourselves – The pagans were known to make cuts in their flesh in appealing themselves to their gods (1 Kings 18:28), often cutting into their foreheads, cheeks, and breasts. Sometimes the cuts in their skin spelled out the name of their god. This was, understandably, an abomination to the Lord. shave the front of your head for the dead – This phrase more literally means, "shave your eyebrows for the dead." Jeremiah 16:6 describes a current practice in the idolatry of his day in which the children of Israel were tempted to imitate the futile religions of the pagans by making the front of their heads bald in order to lament the dead. Clean and Unclean Meat v. 3 you shall not eat any detestable thing – The Lord through Moses begins to list for Israel the animals that were to be considered clean (kosher – "right or fit according to Old Testament Mosaic Law") for food and those that were not. Many commentators and historians have attempted to interpret the significance behind the animals which were considered kosher and which were not. Some scholars have taught that it was a matter of hygiene and others that it was based on which animals were used in the worship of false Canaanite gods. Still others have attempted to read into this list spiritual implications that are not easily defendable. The conclusion is that the issue is not as clear as we would like it to be. The important thing to remember is that in Mark 7:19 Jesus makes all food "clean," stating that it is "not what enters into a man which makes him clean...but that which departs out of his mouth." This was also reiterated in Acts 10:9-16. | v. 6 every animal with cloven hooves...and that chews the cud – Leviticus 11 gives much more detail concerning which animals were kosher and which were not. The main detail revealed here, which would distinguish an animal as clean for Israel's consumption, is that it must have a divided, or cloven hoof, and must be a ruminate, or an animal with more than one stomach. Many animals fit one part of this description but not the other, and therefore were to be considered "unclean." Again, one may go through these lists and attempt to make sense of the distinctions, but such attempts have proven for the most part futile. The point of this law is mainly a reminder that Israel was a holy people unto God, and that to be holy means to be different from the world around them. Therefore, the Lord desired that even in the diet that they ate they would have a constant reminder that they were different from other nations and called to be separate from the pagans around them. v. 19 every creeping thing – Literally "swarming thing" — This was a prohibition against eating flies, wasps, and the flying worms, which landed on their corn and bean plants. v. 21 anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien – This is one of the clear indications that the ordinances in this chapter were not meant solely to teach hygienic and healthful practices. Rather, they were to obey these ordinances as reminders of their holiness unto the Lord. God instructs the people not to eat of an animal that dies of "natural causes," which at first seems to be a logical prohibition based on what we know today about germs and diseases. However, the Lord then says that they may give those animals as food to the non-Jews who were living within Israel. Knowing that the rest of the Law clearly teaches a love for the alien within their gates, it is difficult to imagine that God would encourage the Hebrews to give something harmful to the strangers. This is simply another ordinance that teaches Israel to be constantly mindful that they and they alone were a chosen people unto God. you shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk – This command was also issued in Exodus 23:19 and 34:26, and was most likely given in rejection of a Canaanite fertility ritual. |
| Tithing Principles v. 22 tithe – The word "tithe" literally means "a tenth." Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites were commanded to offer to the Lord a tenth of all of their increase as a form of worship. As this verse explains, this was not simply a matter of tithing from a family's monetary income, but was a tithe that would be expected from their harvest of produce and livestock. More detailed explanations of the tithing requirements are found in Numbers 18:21-32 and Leviticus 27:30-33. The tithe had an important purpose of reminding the people that God is the One Who has provided all good things for them, and that their prosperity was not their own doing. v. 23 in the place where He chooses to make His name abide – The people of Israel were to bring their tithes to the Tabernacle, which was set up in a city that God chose when they entered the Promised Land. Although the tithe is more fully explained in other chapters, this passage emphasizes that God desired for them to celebrate his provision for them by enjoying a family meal in the presence of God and his people. | v. 24 if the journey is too long for you – The next few verses make provision for those that lived too far away from the Tabernacle to haul a tenth of all of their produce and livestock with them for that distance. In that event, they were to redeem their tithes where they lived by exchanging them for money, which they could then take with them on their journey in order to purchase what they desired to offer to God and enjoy the meal there. v. 27 you shall not forsake the Levite – This constant reminder to take care of the Levites is reiterated throughout the Law, due to the fact that the Levites were not allowed to own land nor work a trade other than the ministry of the things of God to the people. This basic principle is repeated in 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 and 1 Timothy 5:17-18. v. 28 store it up within your gates – This practical ordinance made provision for the support of the Levites. Every third year the Israelites were not to bring their tithe to the central place of worship in Israel but were to stay in their home towns and enjoy the sharing of their tithes with their local community of Levites. |
| Chapter 15 Debts Canceled Every Seven Years v. 1 at the end of every seven years – The Jewish calendar described in the Law was set up to revolve around several sets of seven units, and especially those of six units of labor followed by one of rest and freedom. This is exemplified in the ordinance to observe the seven-day week and Sabbath. Here, God further reveals that they were to handle the personal debt of their people by thinking of it in terms of seven-year periods as well, six of debt and one of freedom. If a Jewish citizen, for any reason forced, borrowed money from one of his countrymen, he was to make payments on the debt during the time allotted. But the lender was to release the borrower from the debt at the end of seven years. This would ensure that not only was there no long-term debt oppressing the people of Israel, but also that no family in Israel grew extremely rich at the expense of others. God demonstrates throughout the Law that He is very interested in the overall equality of His people Israel, rather than in some prospering and others falling into poverty. v. 2 because it is called the Lord's release – They are to honor this principle because it came directly from the heart of God to His people. It also serves as a constant reminder that God desires to see the poor taken care of in Israel. This was a reflection of the very heart of God, and reminds us that the desires God has for us and for our nation are not oppressive but much the same as those we would have for ourselves and our own nation. v. 4 except when there may be no poor among you – If Israel remained obedient and faithful to God, He would bless them in such a way that there would be no poor among them. Moses informs them in verse 11 that they will always have some poor in the land. But there were definitely periods in their history in which the nation as a whole was highly prosperous. Under David's reign, they followed the Lord most faithfully and reaped the benefits from that, mostly under the reign of his son Solomon. It is reported that under Solomon's rule, silver was so common in Israel that it was like stones (1 Kings 10:27 and 2 Chr. 1:15). However, Israel did not remain faithful to the Lord and by the time of Jesus' incarnation, He told them "the poor you will always have with you" (Mark 14:7). | v. 6 they shall not reign over you – Again, these promises were conditional upon Israel's love, faithfulness, and obedience toward God. When Israel later backslid, they were given over as slaves to many of the nations around them. However, God was still faithful to them and fulfilled promises He had made toward them. Scripture teaches that when Jesus returns and rules the world from Jerusalem for 1,000 years, Israel will be the center of the world in many ways and will be the seat of power over all other nations. Generosity to the Poor v. 7 your poor brother – The time and attention God gives to ensuring that Israel knows fully His heart toward the poor is noteworthy. God condescends from Heaven to care for the poor and needy and desires to see that heart reflected in the lifestyles of His people. Therefore, we can know that one cannot be a follower of God and at the same time harden your heart toward the needy. Rather, "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). v. 9 lest there be a wicked thought in your heart – The Lord knows the hearts of men (John 2:23-25), and here He predicts the selfishness and miserliness that even His people will display in not wanting to give to the poor. God knows that as He gives them the ordinance of the seven-year release of debts, there will be many who will refuse to give to the needy if they know that the seven-year mark is soon approaching, as the debt would then be cancelled. The Lord clearly announces that He will consider that to be a sin, and that there will be an outcry against such oppression. v. 10 for this thing the Lord will bless you – God's system of giving and receiving runs on faith. The children of Israel were to open their hands wide to the poor, knowing that they could not "out-give" the Lord. He promises here to watch over them, take note of every act of giving, and reward it with blessings that can only come from Him. In Matthew 6:1-4, God tells His disciples that we too are to give, as Jesus said, in secret, knowing that the Lord Who sees in secret will reward us openly. |
| The Law Concerning Bondservants v. 12 serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free – The Lord also ordains that the system of servitude in Israel is to revolve around sets of seven years. It is important to note that slavery in Israel was not like the slavery that most of us think of today. No Hebrew would ever be captured by force and made to serve a master against their will and at their own expense. Rather, selling one's self in servitude was an option available which could potentially get a person and/or their family out of an extremely difficult economic situation, for they had the choice of going to work for a wealthier individual who would in return pay off their debt and stave off their financial ruin. Furthermore, God declares here that no Hebrew was to remain a slave forever. They would serve for six years and be released to resume their former life on the seventh. This was, again, intended to prevent any one tribe or family in Israel from gaining too much wealth and power over others and create the dismal situation of a nation having polarized upper and lower classes. v. 13 you shall not let him go away empty handed – Again, the Lord demonstrates His heart of caring for the poor and oppressed. Verses 13 and 14 ensure that a man being released from slavery would not be cast out onto the street with nothing in his hand. Rather, when released he is to be given ("liberally") from his former master's livestock and produce in order that he might rebuild his life again. One reason (v. 15) that the Lord gives them for accepting this ordinance is the memory of their own years of slavery in Egypt. Remembering that difficult period of their history should teach them how to treat the poor, the strangers, and the enslaved of their own nation. | v. 16 I will not go away from you – A person who has spent time in servitude may not desire to leave his master's house and return to his former life. The reasons may be varied: he may realize that he has no way to support himself outside of his former master's home and care, he may have grown attached to his master affectionately, or he may have married into the family of his master or his master's other servants. In any case, the Lord provides an option for the servant to stay and remain in the master's house by becoming a "bondservant." The following verses describe the process of becoming a bondservant, involving the piercing of an ear on the doorpost of the master's house. The concept of the bondservant is picked up and used several times in the New Testament, as Paul the Apostle repeatedly names himself as a "bondservant of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1:1). In Philippians 2:7, Paul even reveals that Jesus Himself took on the form of a bondservant to God the Father for our sakes and exhorts us to have the same mind. The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals v. 19 all the firstborn males – Exodus 13:2 laid the foundation for the understanding that all of the firstborn animals in Israel were to be considered the Lord's and were not to be used for the normal purposes of labor but in sacrifice to Him. This was in response to the fact that God spared the firstborns from all their houses when the death angel passed over Egypt. Earlier in the Law, even the firstborn male children of the family were described as belonging to God, to be set aside for His service. But the Lord later informed them that He desired the entire tribe of Levi to be set aside for full-time service to Him rather than the firstborn of every home. v. 21 if there is any defect in it – A blemished animal or one that could be considered defective in any way did not qualify as a sacrifice unto God. It was only the best of their flock that they were to give to Him. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus, who was the only perfect, unblemished sacrifice that qualified to take away the sins of the world (Rev. 5:2-7). |
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