DEUTERONOMY 14 You are the children of the Lord your God……for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, theLord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Dt 14v3-8 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS
Verse 3-21 because they are God’s people at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name - so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
Eat the tithe in the presence of the LORD.
Verses 24 and 25 Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. A joyful meal in the presence of the LORD our God, eaten by the whole family.
27, 28 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns…..28…..so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Every third year the tithe was not to be taken to the sanctuary but set aside for certain less privileged classes of people in the town and near the town where they lived. The Levites were part of this group of people also the alien, orphans and widows who were dependent on the community. The type of future community was to be one where the majority of people were self-sufficient.
DEUTERONOMY 15
Verses 1-6 - God’s ways spelt out, encouraging the reduction in poverty and His promise.
5 if only you fully obey theLord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6 For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised…..
And God's blessing flows when we are in right relationship with Him and want to please Him.
V7 Not to be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards the poor.
This is much more than keeping a law. 8 Rather, be open-handed and freely lend them whatever they need. This is not mere charity and free giving - in this case it is about lending to them what they need.
V9 Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought and how you can avoid helping the poor. Think of the poor’s predicament.
10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Freeing slaves from the Hebrew nation in the 7th year. Verses 12 and 13 see to it your slave doesn’t begin his/her new freedom in a state of destitution.
13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing-floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. GIVE TO HIM AS THE LORD YOUR GOD HAS BLESSED YOU.Remember how God loved and freed you when you were in Egypt v15.
Remember how God loved them, freed them, provided for them as sons of God. See Dt 14:1. Therefore they should treat their freed slaves as God treated them.
When you servant doesn’t want to leave you…because he loves you...he will become your servant for life - v16
To the greedy slave owner. V18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
The firstborn animals. See verse 19.
20 Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. No defects in your sacrifice - v21.
DEUTERONOMY 16
The three major festivals or pilgrimages are dealt with in this chapter:
a) Passover and Unleavened Bread. b) Weeks or "Pentecost" c) Booths
PASSOVER
V1 - spring, March, April. Remember your new freedom and new commitments.Verses 2-9 On the 7th day there was a closing ceremony.
V1 - spring, March, April. Remember your new freedom and new commitments.Verses 2-9 On the 7th day there was a closing ceremony.
FESTIVAL OF HARVEST - Spring
The Festival of Weeks - also called the Feast of Harvest. A celebration essentially of the gracious provision of God in the harvest and became part of the lives of Israelite life.
Verse 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.
A time of rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of the Lord in providing for another year.
Verse 11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name...Verse 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES/BOOTHS/HUTS Autumn
Joy!
Verse 13 Everyone to be joyful - the whole community.14 Be joyful at your festival – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
Blessing! 15 .....For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
Verses 16 and 17 is a summary.
LAST SECTION - on Judges, officers of the law for general cases. V18 Similar to modern judges and policemen.
No bribes.
19 Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.
To pervert justice is to act contrary to the character of God and become an object of God's curse. God does not take a bribe.
Dt 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
Verse 21 Syncretism is repulsive to God.
