What did God say about body markings, edible foods, a festival budget and budgeting for the needy? What’s a New Testament principle in giving to the needy? Let’s examine Deuteronomy 14.
What did God think about body markings, like cutting and shaving the head?
Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:1-2 KJV)
Why did God forbid eating abominable things, was it purely ceremonial or a health law?
You shall not eat any abominable thing. These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. And any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that one you may eat. Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan [rock hyrax], for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses. (Deuteronomy 14:3-8 LSB)
What kinds of fish, birds or insects were considered to be edible?
These you may eat of everything that is in the water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, but anything that does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. You may eat any clean bird. But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, and the red kite, the falcon, and the kite in their kinds, and every raven in its kind, and the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk in their kinds, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, the stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat. And all the swarming insects with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. You may eat any clean bird. You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the stranger who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a stranger; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. (Deuteronomy 14:9-21 NASB)
What was the budget item that came to be called the second or festival tithe? What if the place was too far to transport live animals?
Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive 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 eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. (Deuteronomy 14:22-27 NIV)
What was the purpose of what came to be called the third or poor tithe? Would the extra tenth in the 3rd and 6th year, leaving out the 7th year of release and the 50th year of jubilee, give each family a budget item for the needy of 2.8% on top of leaving corners of the fields for them to harvest? Was this a community storehouse administered by the city government, in the city gates?
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 [city] gates. 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 [city] 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 14:28-29 NKJV)
What is a New Testament approach to giving to ministers, strangers, fatherless and widows?
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NLT)
What did God say about body markings, edible foods, a festival budget and budgeting for the needy? What’s a New Testament principle in giving to the needy? You decide!
