Deuteronomy. Day 65, Choosing A King, Part One

Moses has been speaking of the era in which judges will rule in Israel. But a day is coming when the people will prefer a king to judges, saying, "Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." (1 Samuel 8:5b) Israel's request for a king will not take place until about four hundred years after Moses provides the instructions regarding a king here in Deuteronomy 17. The Lord knew Israel would someday ask for a king so He provided the rules for choosing one and the rules for the king to live by. 

It has been debated by scholars whether or not the Lord ever wanted Israel to have a king. On the one hand, when the prophet Samuel comes to the Lord in distress because the people have rejected him as judge (due to his age) and because they have rejected his sons as judges (due to their questionable morals), the Lord says to Samuel, "It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king." (I Samuel 8:7) This statement suggests that the Lord is not pleased with Israel's desire for a king. On the other hand, the Lord said many centuries earlier to Jacob, "Kings will be among your descendants," (Genesis 35:11b) and indicated that the family line of Jacob's son Judah would be the royal line of Israel. (Genesis 49:10) Whether this means it was God's perfect will for Israel to have kings or whether this means it was His permissive will for Israel to have kings, I cannot say. 

Because the Lord knows all things, four hundred years before Israel requested a king He told Moses what the people must look for in a king. He told Moses how the king must behave after he assumes the throne. Moses passed this information on to the congregation of Israel.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, 'Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,' be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses." (Deuteronomy 17:14-15a) Just as the Lord often does with us, He's going to give Israel what she wants. You and I may want a particular thing that's not necessarily the best plan for us but we'll plead for it and plead for it until the Lord lets us have it. A lot of times we'll realize after we get it that we were better off without it but we are stubborn children who sometimes have to be shown that the Lord knew best all along. The Lord is going to allow Israel to have a king, and we can't be sure whether this was the best plan for the nation or not, but if Israel is going to have a king the people must consult the Lord before making their choice.  

Israel's first king, Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, was anointed by Samuel upon the Lord's request in 1 Samuel 9:15-16. Does this mean it was the Lord's will for Israel to have a king or that it was His will for Saul the Benjamite to be elected? I think yes and no. The Lord knew Israel intended to have herself a king and would eventually select one with or without His permission, He knew Saul was capable of doing some good for a while (He said that Israel, who was crying out to Him for help from the Philistines, would find relief from the Philistines through the military prowess of King Saul), and He was granting their displeasing request to have a king "like all the nations around us" perhaps as a form of discipline for acting against their own best interests in rejecting Him as King. Saul did not turn out to be a spiritually righteous man or even a man of good worldly morals in the end. In that sense he was just like the kings of other nations---heathen kings who did not acknowledge the Lord or live by His holy precepts.

Saul was anointed king by Samuel upon instruction of the Lord in 1 Samuel 9 and then in 1 Samuel 10 the prophet called the entire nation together so lots could be cast to choose the man to lead Israel. At this assembly the Lord said through Samuel, "I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that have oppressed you. But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, 'No, appoint a king over us.' So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans." (1 Samuel 10:18b-19) The Lord was in charge of how the lot fell, for He'd already pointed Saul out to Samuel, but the Lord was giving Israel a king like that of other nations: an outwardly impressive man. Saul was from an influential family. 1 Samuel 9:1 tells us that Saul's father Kish was "a man of standing". Saul was the most handsome man in all Israel and was of unusually tall stature, standing a head taller than anyone else. (1 Samuel 9:2) To the human way of thinking, he was the perfect man for the job. He came from a background of wealth and influence. His looks were capable of making anyone stop and stare at him. He was tall enough to look intimidating to other kings and other armies, and as we've already learned in the Old Testament, some of the kings and some of the soldiers Israel would fight in battle were so tall they were called "giants". Yet where was this perfect man for the job when the lot fell on him? He was hiding! (1 Samuel 10:21-22) He knew the lot would fall on him because he'd already been anointed by Samuel but already he was resisting the will of the Lord, which would become a more and more obvious pattern of behavior throughout his reign.

When presenting Israel's first king to her, Samuel said of Saul, "There is no one like him among the people." (1 Samuel 10:24a) No one in Israel on that day had a more impressive outward appearance or a more impressive resume than Saul, even if he did have to be dragged out from behind sacks of grain and jars of water to be presented to the people. They shouted, "Long live the king!" (1 Samuel 10:24b)  And then Samuel "explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship". (1 Samuel 10:25a) Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties Moses is discussing in Deuteronomy 17, which we are studying today and tomorrow.

Whether or not it was ever God's perfect plan for Israel to have a king, He knew Israel would ask for a king and He provided the rights and duties of kingship for the nation to follow. Israel's first king, Saul the Benjamite, was not a godly man but God doesn't always put a man in power who will be a blessing to a nation in every way. Sometimes God allows a leader to rise to power in order to discipline a nation. Saul did some good things for Israel and Saul did some bad things for Israel. By the time his reign was finished, I think the people longed for a king who had a heart for the Lord. They longed for a godly man who would be a blessing upon them. The Lord already had a man picked out, a man whom He said had a heart like His. (1 Samuel 13:14) This man will be David of Bethlehem, of the line of Judah. 

I do not believe the Israelites would have accepted David as king if he had been presented to them first. He was still a teenager when Saul was crowned king. He was not overly tall or impressive; he was a young skinny shepherd boy. He had a heart for the Lord but, when requesting a king like all other nations had, the people weren't looking at hearts. They were looking at the outward appearance. Saul fit the bill and David didn't. But by the time Saul's reign ends, David will be a battle-hardened grown man whose troubles and trials have made him not only physically strong but also spiritually strong. David's primary qualification for the kingship will be that he has a heart like the Lord's and that the Lord intends to use him to bless Israel, but he will also possess the power and reputation of a mighty man by the time he ascends to the throne. He will fit the bill in every way, both in the outward appearance and in the inward places of the heart. 

It's always best for us to consult the Lord and obey His instructions in everything we do. It's best to do things in His way and in His timing. But even when we mess up and get out of sync with Him, He is merciful to us. It may not have been His will for Israel to ask for a king. Or it may have been His will eventually but they asked for a king at the wrong time. Or it may have been the right time but they wanted the wrong kind of man. And yet all was not lost. The Lord didn't let the nation fall. When Saul was at the pinnacle of his wickedness, the Lord removed him and installed a better man in his place. In so doing He helped the people to see where they had gone wrong but at the same time He blessed them. I think they probably repented of wanting a king like other nations had. I think they regretted thinking a man like Saul would be a blessing to them. This put them in a position to receive blessings from the Lord.

There have been times when I've wanted something so badly that I've gone against the Lord's will. There have been other times when what I wanted was also His will for me but not yet. I got ahead of Him. In both these types of situations I made a mess out of things. But God has been gracious to me. He keeps helping me get back on track. This isn't a license for us to sin and get outside of the will of God or get ahead of God. We always bring hardship on ourselves when we do that, so even if the Lord helps us out of our troubles and keeps us from ruining our lives, we're still going to have to face some consequences of our poor decisions. That's why the best thing we can do is seek His will right from the start. We'll avoid a lot of heartbreak if we do.

Deuteronomy. Day 64, The Supreme Court Of Israel

Moses has been discussing matters of law lately and today he talks about what the local judges are to do when faced with very difficult cases.

"If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge---whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults---take them to the place the Lord your God will choose." (Deuteronomy 17:8) Sending a legal case to the house of God is sending it to the highest court in the land. We can compare this to our practice in the United States of sending cases to the Supreme Court. 

Up until now the most difficult cases in Israel were brought to Moses. We were told in Exodus that Moses took the advice of his father-in-law who saw that he was overworked and on the verge of collapse. His father-in-law told him to choose capable men to hear and judge cases so that Moses wasn't spending most of his time listening to legal disputes all day long. After choosing the men to do this job, we were told, "They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided for themselves." (Exodus 18:26) Moses won't be going into the promised land with Israel. Even if he were going, he isn't going to live forever and a type of Supreme Court needs to be established for all the future generations. 

When a very difficult case comes before the local judges, they must take the case to the house of God in this manner: "Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict." (Deuteronomy 17:9) 

The priests and the chief magistrate are to render the verdict. They are in the best position to know all the laws of the Lord and to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider His precepts while studying the case and rendering a verdict. "You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left." (Deuteronomy 17:10-11)

The ruling is final and is to be obeyed. If the judges of the lower courts refuse to accept the verdict and carry out the proper penalty, they are in contempt of court. Contempt for the court, under these circumstances, is contempt for the Lord Himself. This is His court. The verdict was given by Him to the highest magistrate and the priests. To disobey the ruling is a capital offense. "Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again." (Deuteronomy 17:12-13)

If people aren't going to abide by the decisions of the highest court in the land, there's no point in having a high court. But without such a high court, law and order will break down in the nation. Very soon the people would lose respect for their officials, for the law, and for the Lord Himself if the verdicts of Israel's Supreme Court aren't accepted and obeyed. Why would anyone obey the rulings of lower courts if nobody is accepting the rulings of the highest court? If verdicts given by the Lord aren't respected, the entire congregation is in danger of forsaking the Lord entirely. The citizens must respect and abide by the decisions of the court because these decisions are made with the Lord's guidance. Having contempt for this court is having contempt for the Lord at whose house the hearings are held and under whose direction verdicts are rendered. The nation that has contempt for the Lord is under a curse but "blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord". (Psalm 33:12a)

Deuteronomy. Day 63, Judging Idolatry/Examples Of Idolatry

In Friday's study Moses spoke of the importance of impartial behavior among Israel's judges. Today we take a look at some examples of idolatry and the penalty for someone who is proved to be guilty of it. We also look at some legal safeguards intended to help prevent false testimony against innocent persons. 

Idolatry isn't always a complete rejection of the Lord in favor of some other religion. Idolatry can also be the mixing of pagan practices with the worship of the one true God. The Israelites are about to enter Canaan where they will see many types of monuments set up in honor of false gods. The heathen tribes of Canaan planted groves where sinful festivals were held. They erected "Asherah poles" which were sometimes trees or other times poles made from tree trunks around which rituals and orgies were held to this "mother goddess". Altars and sacred stones and carved images, in honor of various gods, dotted the landscape. The Israelites were not to allow these to remain because this would create the temptation to reuse them or make more items like them, either alongside their worship of the Lord or instead of their worship of the Lord.

Moses warns the people about mixing idolatry with true religion. "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates." (Deuteronomy 16:21-22) Why might someone set up an Asherah pole beside an altar to the Lord? Because Asherah (known by several other names in several cultures) was believed to be the wife of the chief god of these pagan religions. So, in setting up a monument to Asherah beside an altar of the Lord, the person would be placing the Lord's "wife" next to Him. 

But the Lord has no wife, not in that sense. He is not married to a female deity. Instead, in the Old Testament we often find the Lord referring to Himself as the husband of Israel, or Israel as His wife. He compares His covenant with Israel to the marriage covenant. In the New Testament we find that the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ is His church. A number of times in His sermons the Lord Jesus refers to Himself as the "bridegroom". On the night before the crucifixion, at the Last Supper, He makes what symbolically amounts to a marriage proposal to His followers by promising He's going home to the Father's house to prepare a place for them and that, when the dwelling place is ready, He will return and take them home with Him. This is what a young man would say to his betrothed. The young man would go home and build onto his father's house or build a dwelling on his father's property and then, when the father thought everything looked satisfactory, he would tell his son to go get the bride. Also in the book of Revelation we find the church being referred to as the bride of the Lamb. So we see why it would be such a sin to put up a monument next to the Lord's altar in honor of some false female goddess who is the Lord's wife. There is no deity who is the Lord's wife. His marriage covenant is with the human beings who love, honor, and obey Him. 

On the surface our next verse may not appear to be connected to idolatry but the Lord placed it in the middle of a passage regarding idolatry for a reason. "Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to Him." (Deuteronomy 17:1) The word translated as "detestable" is the same word we find translated in other passages as "abomination". It's a word the Lord uses to describe something idolatrous or something unclean. To offer a defective animal to the Lord is an indication that the bringer of the offering does not regard Him as holy---that the person does not really love Him and is only going through the motions of honoring and obeying Him. Heathens could get away with offering defective animals to their gods because their gods didn't exist. Their gods didn't demand righteous living. Their gods didn't ask them to give their best. Their gods weren't going to discipline them for bringing detestable things to the altar. But the Lord is not going to accept worthless offerings because He doesn't accept worthless worship. True worship must come from the heart and, if the person's heart is right with the Lord, he will bring to the Lord what is good and will worship the Lord in His way. 

The judges of Israel are to take action when they are informed that a fellow citizen has been committing idolatry. "If a man or a woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of His covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly." (Deuteronomy 17:2-4a)

A thorough and careful investigation has to take place because the penalty for idolatry is death. The judges can't just accept one person's word that idolatry has taken place. There must be clear and compelling evidence that such a crime has been committed. In ancient Israel the religion and the government were so closely intertwined that to commit idolatry against the Lord was to commit high treason. It was to commit high treason against the King of kings. In all the governments of that time, high treason was a capital offense. Carrying out the death penalty is a serious matter and should never be done unless the preponderance of evidence leads a judge or jury to believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person committed the crime for which he stands trial. "If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness." (Deuteronomy 17:4b-6)

One person's word is not enough to convict anyone of idolatry. Two or more people must actually witness the accused committing idolatry. Suppose a man hates someone so much that he'd like to see him dead. If the testimony of one witness was sufficient to pass the death penalty, he could accuse the person he hates of idolatry and have him executed. To prevent false testimony of this type, two or more witnesses must be able to give firsthand testimony and their testimonies must agree with each other. When questioned separately their statements have to line up. If they give conflicting statements then the case will have to be thrown out of court. It still might be possible for two or more people to conspire with each other to have someone put to death, and they might be able to plan ahead exactly what they will say when questioned under oath, but a person being questioned under oath can't anticipate every question he will be asked. Witnesses who are lying might answer the questions in ways that differ from each other, thus revealing to the judges that the case has no merit.

Another safeguard is put in place to help prevent the bringing of false cases to court. The people who accuse their fellow citizen of idolatry must be willing to be the first to throw stones at him as his execution is being carried out. "The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 17:7) It's one thing for a man to wish someone dead and to give false testimony against him that will cause the government to put him to death. It's another thing to have to take part in his execution. No matter how strong the hate the accuser may harbor in his heart, most people would shrink back from having to administer a deadly injury upon another human being unless what he was saying about the person was true. Having to deliver a life-threatening blow to another human being is intended not only to prevent false testimony but also to make sure witnesses really saw what they think they saw. Perhaps the witnesses actually believe they saw their fellow man engaging in idolatrous behavior; before they give their testimony to the judges they must ask themselves, "Am I so certain about what I saw that I'm willing to throw stones at this man and help put him to death? Am I absolutely sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that he actually did what I think he did?"

The eighth commandment says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." This means we are forbidden to lie about our fellow man under oath or under any other circumstances. Lies are capable of destroying lives, literally or figuratively. The Lord's people are to have nothing to do with giving false testimony or spreading rumors or engaging in gossip. Some of the weirdest rumors I ever heard were about myself or about people close to me. These were things none of us had done or even thought about doing but once a lie has been let loose it's nearly impossible to reign it back in. There will always be some people who will believe it's true. This means the victim of the lie is having their good reputation sullied or some of their relationships damaged or their livelihood threatened. Just as a person had to carefully consider whether he actually saw his fellow man committing idolatry, we have to carefully consider anything we say about our fellow man. And we also have to remember that we can't justify gossiping by using this old adage, "It's not gossip if it's true." To use the words of the philosopher Socrates who didn't even serve the God of Israel, before we say anything we must ask ourselves not only if it's true but also, "Is it good? Is it kind? Is it useful? Is it necessary?" If a heathen idolater like Socrates thought gossip was to be avoided, surely the Lord's people should avoid it. We must, "put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor" and speak "only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs". (Ephesians 4:25,29)

Deuteronomy. Day 62, Appointing Judges/Fairness In Judging

Moses speaks of appointing judges in the towns to hear cases and make rulings on them. "Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. 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. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you." (Deuteronomy 16:18-20) 

The Lord "shows no partiality and accepts no bribes" (Deuteronomy 10:17) and His people are to be like Him. Cases must be judged on the evidence alone. It doesn't matter whether any of the parties to the case are rich or poor, famous or unknown, influential or an ordinary citizen. A blessing is promised if the judges will judge fairly: the blessing of continued possession of and enjoyment of the promised land. Discipline will come if justice is perverted. We see in the book of Malachi the Lord's displeasure over the wicked judgments being made by the religious leaders of the land, for He stated they were under a curse due to their unfair treatment of the people: "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all people, because you have not followed My ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law." (Malachi 2:9)

Job, who according to the Lord was the most faithful and God-fearing man on the earth during his day, said of the accepting of bribes: "The company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes." (Job 15:34) Job took comfort in knowing that the righteous Judge who sees all things will discipline those who accept bribes to pervert justice. They won't get away with their greedy ways forever.

David said the person who enjoys close fellowship with the Lord will be, among other things, a person who "does not accept a bribe against the innocent". (Psalm 15:5b) Solomon spoke of the judgment that falls on those who pervert justice and the blessing that comes to those who refuse bribes: "The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live." (Proverbs 15:27) Also in the book of Proverbs we learn the importance of fairness in a nation's leadership, "By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down." (Proverbs 29:4) 

In the book of Isaiah the Lord found fault with those leaders who were perverting justice in exchange for monetary gain, saying, "Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them." (Isaiah 1:23) Cases brought by the poor and needy weren't even being heard because cases brought by the wealthy were given priority in exchange for money.

When the Lord foretold judgment upon Jerusalem, He said one of the reasons judgment was coming was because of the perversions of justice that were taking place. "In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten Me, declares the Sovereign Lord." (Ezekiel 22:12) 

When the Lord appealed to Israel to repent and turn back to Him, one of the sins of which she was guilty was the perversion of justice. "There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts." (Amos 5:12) Yet in spite of the Lord's many warnings of coming judgment, there were false prophets and leaders who misled the people by claiming the Lord would never allow the nation to be invaded or conquered. The Lord told the people not to listen to these lies. Because He is righteous and He judges fairly, they were to ignore those who proclaimed that no discipline would be meted out. "Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord's support and say, 'Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.' Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets." (Micah 3:11-12)

The Lord certainly will discipline the individual or the nation that judges unrighteously and oppresses the poor and needy. In ancient Israel the false prophets and the leaders who had gone astray due to their love of money assured the people that because the Lord's temple was in their midst He would not allow invasion or destruction. But the Lord doesn't dwell in temples. The Lord wants to dwell in people's hearts. What good is it to have His house in people's midst if people's hearts are far from Him? 

You and I are to treat our fellow man fairly, regardless of their economic condition or their social or political standing. If we work with the public, we are to show the same courtesy and consideration to everyone we serve. If we are in a position to hire people for jobs, it should not matter if they are related to someone influential. At work, at school, in public, and in church we must love and care about everyone and not be swayed by who they are or by how much money they have or by whether or not they can return a favor. 

We will conclude with an example provided to us by James, one of the brothers of Jesus and the leader of the Christian church at Jerusalem. He clearly demonstrates to us how wrong it is to show partiality according to someone's wealth or status. "My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:1-4) 

James says this behavior is evil and it should not be found among the people of God. God loves the poor and takes up their cause when they are mistreated. "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of Him to whom you belong?" (James 2:5-7) 

Not all wealthy people behave in unrighteous ways but it's true that many people have chosen wealth (gained by any means possible) over a relationship with the Lord and this causes them to behave sinfully against their fellow man. James reminds the Christian church that anyone who shows partiality is as wicked as any wealthy, influential judge or political leader. "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." (James 2:8-9) What law have they broken? The law of Moses, given by God and passed along to the people by Moses in passages like the one we are studying today in which Moses says, "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. Follow justice and justice alone." And if we follow justice and justice alone, the Lord will be pleased. He said He would be pleased with the Israelites if they judged fairly and that He would allow them to live in and possess the land He promised to their forefathers. He will help us to be content and to find satisfaction in our lives and with what we have if we love our neighbors as ourselves.

Deuteronomy. Day 61, The Festival Of Tabernacles

In Chapter 16 Moses has briefly been going back over the instructions for Passover and for the Festival of Weeks. Today he reminds the congregation about observing the Festival of Tabernacles. 

"Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress." (Deuteronomy 16:13) When the Lord gave this festival to be observed by Israel, He said, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord's Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no work." (Leviticus 23:33-36) 

The Festival of Weeks, which we talked about yesterday, was a type of harvest holiday because it began seven weeks after the people first began reaping grain. It takes place in late spring. The Festival of Tabernacles is also a type of harvest holiday because it takes place near the end of harvest when people have threshed their grain and have gathered their grapes from the vine. This is a fall festival. In 2021 it begins at sundown on September 20 and ends on the evening of September 27.

It is to be a time of joy and thankfulness for all that the Lord has provided. "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." (Deuteronomy 16:14) If the Lord had not commanded that this holiday be observed and that no regular work was to be done on the first and last days of the holiday, the servants could not have attended. People who were not self-employed might have been forced to work too. Also it would have been easy for those who were self-employed to skip the holiday because of how much work they had to do. This is a mandatory "vacation" for everyone so that all the congregation of Israel can rest, rejoice, and recuperate in the presence of the Lord. The Lord who created the human body knows exactly what the human body needs. For our physical and mental health we need days off from work. For our spiritual and emotional health we need to take breaks from our everyday responsibilities to focus on the Lord. Holidays such as the ones commanded by the Lord were for the benefit of everyone so they could be healthy and strong physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

We know in that the time came when Jerusalem was chosen as the religious capital of Israel. (The tabernacle will be located in more than one place during the conquest of the promised land until King David moves it to Jerusalem where his son Solomon will build the first temple.) But in Moses' day the people didn't yet know where they would be required to celebrate the mandatory holidays. He tells them that, when they get into the promised land, the Lord will tell them where to celebrate these festivals and that is where they must observe them. As we said earlier in our study of Deuteronomy, if we are going to worship the Lord we must do it in His way. Part of worshiping Him in His way is holding festivals where He tells the congregation to hold them. "For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place He will choose. 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." (Deuteronomy 16:15) There are blessings involved in worshiping the Lord in His way. If the congregation had elected to worship Him somewhere other than an approved location, they would have been living in disobedience to Him. The Lord is a good father and does not bless disobedience anymore than a good human parent praises and rewards a child for doing the opposite of what they've been told. 

The Festival of Tabernacles is one of three yearly holidays which every able-bodied Jewish man was commanded to attend. (The other two are Passover and the Festival of Weeks.) These were holidays of pilgrimage for any man living at a distance from the center of worship. But whether the persons attending the Festival of Tabernacles were coming from near or far, everyone was to lodge in temporary shelters (tabernacles) during this holiday. "Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 23:42-43)

The festival commemorates Israel's years in the wilderness and the way the Lord protected and provided for the people during that time. It also celebrates the fact that the Lord, in a sense, lived in a temporary shelter with them, for His tabernacle was in the midst of the camp. 

You and I can have a Festival of Tabernacles of the heart every day, if you think about it, because we have so much to thank the Lord for! He has protected us and provided for us. He has been with us every step of the way. We have never been alone or out of His sight. In gratitude for all He has done for us, we must worship Him in His way by bringing the offering of praise and thankfulness. As the Apostle Paul put it, we should "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise---the fruit of lips that openly profess His name". (Hebrews 13:15) Because we have been blessed, we owe it to the Lord to be a blessing to others: "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:16) If we are going to worship the Lord in His way we will have a grateful heart toward Him and a loving heart toward our fellow man. We will also stay closely connected to the Lord through prayer and praise, which King David compared to an offering, saying, "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (Psalm 141:2)

Deuteronomy. Day 60, The Festival Of Weeks

As we begin Deuteronomy 16 we find Moses speaking briefly about two festivals we studied earlier in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. Today we will see what he says about the celebration known as the Festival of Weeks. 

First we see when the Festival of Weeks takes place. "Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain." (Deuteronomy 16:9) This is the harvest celebration also known as Pentecost. When Christians think of Pentecost we think of an event that took place in Acts 2 when, following the ascension of Christ, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers in a way like never before. We can see the symbolism here: just as Pentecost (a harvest festival) took place a specific number of days after Passover, the first harvest of souls for Christ took place on Pentecost---a specific number of days after He was crucified on Passover week. It was on that first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ that the Apostle Peter preached his first sermon on the gospel message and three thousand people were saved and baptized. 

The Festival of Weeks is a time of joy and thanks. "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. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His name---you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you." (Deuteronomy 16:10-11) 

The rejoicing taking place here is rejoicing in the Lord. Harvest itself is a joyful time because hard work has paid off and there will be food for the winter, but the congregation is always to keep in mind that there would be no harvest without the Lord. It's the Lord who gives people the strength to plow and plant and reap. It's the Lord who places the nutrients in the soil that makes things grow. It's the Lord who sends rain to water the fields. Without Him there would be no harvest. Therefore the congregation is to assemble at His house and rejoice in His presence in an attitude of gratitude. They are also to give to the Lord, even though nothing anyone gives the Lord could begin to compare with all He has given to mankind. They are to give willingly and cheerfully in proportion to how much they have been blessed materially. 

Not only will the people be giving thanks for the harvest but in addition they are to give thanks for freedom from slavery. "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees." (Deuteronomy 16:12) No matter how many generations pass, the congregation is always to look back to the time the Lord rescued their forefathers from Egypt and be thankful for His deliverance. In this same way, no matter how many years have passed, we should be thankful that the Lord rescued us from slavery to sin. It will be twenty-nine years in August since the Lord rescued me from slavery to sin on the day I accepted Christ as Lord and became a child of God. I am still thankful. That was a greater miracle than anything else He's ever done for me and I'm still rejoicing over it.

If we have been rescued from slavery to sin we should want to give back to God. Good works don't save us but if we are saved we should naturally want to do the things our Lord would do. If we belong to Him we should look like Him, so we will close today's study with what the Apostle Paul had to say on the subject of having been rescued from slavery to sin and on the subject of giving back to God by doing the things He would have us do. 

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." (Deuteronomy 16:1-2) He says, "You used to follow the ways of the world and do the things the devil tempted you to do." He says we all, before our conversion, followed the sinful desires of our own flesh. "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath." (Deuteronomy 16:3) But God, to whom all thanks belong, had mercy on us. The harvest (our freedom from sin and our new life in the Lord) came from Him. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7) We are saved by faith, not by works, but if we have been saved then we should want to do the good works Christ would do. And, in so doing, we honor the God who had mercy on us. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Deuteronomy. Day 59, Observing Passover In The Promised Land

The Israelites have been observing Passover every year during their sojourn in the wilderness. As Moses has been doing throughout the book of Deuteronomy, he continues to provide the people with a refresher course of all the Lord's instructions before they enter the promised land. Moses knows he will not be entering the promised land with them and he wants to set them up for spiritual success there.

"Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv He brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for His name." (Deuteronomy 16:1-2) On the first Passover before the exodus from Egypt, the blood of the Passover lambs was applied to the door posts of the homes of the Israelites so the death angel would pass over them when he saw their faith displayed by the blood. Only the Egyptians suffered the loss of their firstborn sons. The Israelites are to forever commemorate being spared loss and being rescued from Egypt by observing Passover each year.

In preparing the first Passover meal there was no time to wait for dough to rise so no yeast was added to it. The people ate unleavened bread on Passover night and for several days afterwards because the dough they took out of Egypt with them contained no yeast. Yeast (leaven) is often used in the Bible as a symbol for sin; its removal from a person's house symbolizes consecrating their hearts to the Lord, so the Lord gave these instructions regarding yeast and Passover: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord---a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel." (Exodus 12:14-15) Eating bread with yeast during this time brought with it the penalty of excommunication from the congregation of Israel. Moses reminds the congregation of the rule regarding having only unleavened bread at Passover. "Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste---so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. Let no yeast be found in your possession in your land for seven days." (Deuteronomy 16:3-4a)

Christians observe the Lord's Supper instead of Passover. Jesus kept Passover with His disciples and in this meal He used the cup of wine and the unleavened bread as symbols of the blood He would shed and the body He would offer as a sacrifice for our sins. But although Christians don't observe Passover, we could make a comparison to the removal of yeast from the home to the searching of our hearts we must do before taking part in the Lord's Supper (also known as taking communion). The Apostle Paul instructs us, "Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup." (1 Corinthians 11:28) We must pray and examine our hearts before participating in the Lord's Supper, therefore removing the leaven of sin from the house of our hearts. Like a person searching and sweeping their house for leaven before Passover, we are to be searching and sweeping our hearts for sin and we are to repent of anything the Lord brings to mind. Only then do we eat the bread and drink the cup.

None of the meat from the Passover lamb is to be saved as leftovers. "Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning." (Deuteronomy 16:4b) Worship is not to become stale. True worship is always going to be refreshing and renewing. Any meat left over was to be burned, not kept and allowed to grow stale or dry or spoiled. Also I think there could be some symbolism here that parallels the one-time sacrifice of Christ. Just as the Passover lamb didn't need to be kept and eaten on multiple days, the sacrifice made by Christ only had to be made once. He only died once and we are only saved by faith in Him once. We are not required to be "resaved" over and over again because He is continually refreshing and renewing us. Our salvation is just as valid today as it was on the day we accepted Christ as Lord. 

Passover will be observed at the central location of worship. "You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you except in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. Roast it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work." (Deuteronomy 16:5-8) Passover is to be a community event. The first Passover was observed by the entire congregation in their community in Egypt and the people are always to observe it together as a congregation. 

It is very important for believers to gather together in the name of the Lord. We gather together to learn about Him, to remember all He has done for us, and to thank Him for His blessings and mercy on us. This encourages us in the faith as a community and as individuals. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers, and this is never truer than when believers are gathered together in the name of the Lord.

 

Deuteronomy. Day 58, The Symbolism Of The Firstborn Male Animals

The remainder of Chapter 15 deals with consecrating (setting apart) the firstborn male animals from the flocks and herds to the Lord. 

In Exodus the Lord said to Israel, "Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, whether human or animal." (Exodus 13:1-2) And He said, "After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He promised on oath to you and your ancestors, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord." (Exodus 13:11-12) These consecrated animals were offered to the Lord, or they could be redeemed (kept by the owner by offering a substitute allowed by the Lord), and of course the firstborn sons were not offered to the Lord but were redeemed. About these procedures the Lord said, "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?', say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand." (Exodus 13:14-16)

We see that the purpose of setting aside as an offering the firstborn male of each female farm animal is to commemorate the delivery of Israel from Egypt. When the Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh to ask for Israel's release, He told Moses to say to Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord says: Israel is My firstborn son....Let My son go, that he may worship Me." (Exodus 4:22-23a) Pharaoh refused to heed the Lord and the Lord said, "But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son." (Exodus 4:23b) The offering of the firstborn male animal not only commemorates Israel's deliverance from Egypt but also symbolizes Israel's blessed position as the Lord's firstborn. In addition, it is a reminder of how the Lord had to strike down all the firstborn of Egypt to humble the wicked Pharaoh enough to let the people go. 

The Lord said that these animals are to be consecrated to Him after He has brought the people into the land of Canaan. The time is at hand and Moses is going back over this information for the sake of the generation that is about to enter the land. Forty years have passed since the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt and, due to the rebellion of that first generation, the entire congregation has dwelt in the wilderness until the first generation (aged twenty and up at the time of their emergence from Egypt) has passed away (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb who will enter the promised land due to their faith in the Lord and their refusal to rebel against Him). As he has been doing throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is teaching a refresher course to the new generation because they were either not born when these things happened or were still minor children at the time these things happened. 

"Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep." (Deuteronomy 15:19) These animals were dedicated to the Lord and were not to be used to perform work and were not to be used for their wool. They wholly belonged to the Lord and their owners could not use them in any way to benefit themselves.

As with most offerings brought to the Lord, the bringer of the offering retains a portion to eat with his family. As we've discussed before, the meal is to be eaten in a spirit of joy and thankfulness. It is to be eaten reverently as if the Lord is sitting at the table with them. "Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He will choose." (Deuteronomy 15:20)

Only the best can be given to God. If anything is wrong with the firstborn male animal, it cannot be offered to the Lord. Its owner can slaughter it for food if he chooses but not as a sacrifice. He would be eating it in the same ordinary way he would eat any other animal of his flock or any wild game he killed while hunting. "If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer. But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water." (Deuteronomy 15:21-23) Because an animal with a defect cannot be offered to the Lord, it doesn't matter whether the people attending the meal are in a state of ceremonial cleanness. But the rule about blood applies to all meat. The blood cannot be eaten, whether the meal is ceremonial or whether the meal is casual. 

The Lord referred to Israel as His firstborn. Because Pharaoh refused to release the firstborn of the Lord, the Lord took the life of Pharaoh's firstborn. To commemorate the mighty deliverance of the Lord, the Israelites are to consecrate the firstborn males of their flocks and herds to the Lord as a memorial of what the Lord did for them. In addition to this, the offering of the firstborn male animal pointed forward to the day when the Lord would give His literal firstborn---God the Son---to deliver mankind from the power of sin and death. God planned to give His very best to ransom the souls of the humans He created: the Lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:19) Therefore, no one in Israel is to offer to the Lord a lamb or any other animal that has a blemish or defect. 

We owe the Lord our best because He didn't withhold His best from us. He asks far less of us than He asked of Himself. We owe Him our love, our thanks, and our obedience.

Deuteronomy. Day 57, Having A Servant's Heart

For the past several days Moses has been counseling the congregation of Israel on matters of borrowing and lending and also about giving to the poor. A borrowing/lending agreement between two Israelites was to be forgiven at the end of seven years, even if some of the debt remained outstanding. The same rule is to be followed regarding anyone who has made himself or herself what we would call an "indentured servant".

In most translations of the Bible you'll see such persons referred to as "slaves" but the type of contract we'll be looking at today would be best described as indentured servitude which is defined as "a contract between two individuals, in which one person worked not for money but to repay an 'indenture'---or loan---within a set time period. Indentured servitude was not slavery as individuals entered contracts of their own free will." Our portion of Scripture is speaking of a contract made between two Israelites in which a person indentures himself or herself as a servant to one of their fellow citizens in order to work off a loan or in exchange for room and board. A contract like this is not to be lifelong (unless the servant chooses to make a lifelong contract at the end of the initial agreement, which we'll talk about later) and the person who is "master" in this contract does not own the servant. This is nothing like the type of slavery with which we are familiar when our forefathers shamefully bought and owned and mistreated fellow human beings. Although the Bible refers to a man or woman as having "sold" themselves into servitude, this doesn't mean they were literally owned by anyone. 

Moses says, "If any of your people---Hebrew men or women---sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free." (Deuteronomy 15:12) The contract between the master and the servant was cancelled the seventh year.

The master isn't to send his former servant away without anything with which to start their new life. "And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today." (Deuteronomy 15:13-15) In everything they do, the Lord's people are to behave in ways that reflect the character of the Lord. The Lord loaded the Israelites down with good things when He brought them out of slavery. Before He rescued them, He promised, "I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." (Exodus 3:21-22) The Lord kept His promise when He led Israel out of Egypt: "The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:35-36) Because the Lord didn't bring the Israelites out of slavery empty-handed, the citizens of Israel are not to send away a servant empty-handed. 

A servant does not have to leave his master if he doesn't want to. If he's happy with his employment he may decide, when his original contract is up, to remain with his master from now on. "But if your servant says to you, 'I do not want to leave you,' because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant." (Deuteronomy 15:16-17) The piercing of the ear symbolized the lifelong contract between the servant and his master. In most versions of the Bible this procedure is referred to as opening the ear. 

This same symbolism is found in the books of Psalms and Isaiah. The following segments of Scripture regard the Lord's servant willingly choosing to submit himself or herself to the Lord forever. King David pledged his lifelong service to the Lord by saying to Him, "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire---but my ears you have opened." (Psalm 40:6a) David didn't mean he wasn't required to bring the proper sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. What he meant was that what the Lord really wants from a person is his or her heart. Sacrifices and offerings mean nothing if the bringer's heart is far from the Lord. David was pledging his allegiance to the Lord forever when he used the symbolism of the pierced ear (opened ear) in his psalm to the Lord. 

Next we look at a passage from Isaiah which is generally considered to be a Messianic prophecy, so we must read it as if it is being spoken by the Lord Jesus. "The Sovereign Lord has opened My ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered My back to those who beat Me, My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard; I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting." (Isaiah 50:5-6) Because the Lord Jesus came into this world as a man, He submitted Himself to the Lord as a human being is commanded to do, and He uses the symbolism of the pierced ear when speaking of His willing livelong servitude to God the Father. Because He was obedient to the Father, He suffered the things He suffered on this earth. He did it with a servant's heart because He loved the Father and wanted to be obedient to Him. 

If we belong to the Lord, we must reflect His character in everything we do, and that means having a servant's heart. The Apostle Paul put it like this: "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

If Jesus was willing to die a torturous death on a cross in order to be a servant to God the Father, we should not fail to display a servant's heart by doing the things the Lord commands us to do in serving our fellow man. It should not be considered a hardship to treat people with love and mercy and generosity. Moses tells the congregation of Israel not to be upset if their servants want to leave after the contract is up instead of deciding to serve them for life. They also must not begrudge giving their servants the necessities for starting a new life. "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." (Deuteronomy 15:18)

The Lord is pleased when we treat people the way He's commanded us to treat them. We are not being good servants of our God if we don't love our neighbors as ourselves and if we don't treat others the way we want to be treated. The Lord Jesus gave all He had to show God's love to mankind. We aren't being asked to sacrifice our lives as He was asked to do; we are simply being asked to show God's love for mankind in the way we interact with them. He will bless us for being obedient to Him in these matters. 

Christ's obedience was rewarded as well, and we can be comforted by knowing that His ultimate and exceedingly costly sacrifice brought Him the greatest honors of all. "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) 

The servant's heart of Christ brought glory to God the Father and earned Him the greatest rewards that can be given. If you and I have a servant's heart we bring glory to God the Father and are assured He will bless us.

Deuteronomy. Day 56, Caring For The Poor

In yesterday's portion of Chapter 15 we looked at matters of borrowing and lending. We studied the rule in ancient Israel that debts must be forgiven after every seventh year. Today we talk about helping the poor and about how no one in Israel was to use the year of debt forgiveness as an excuse not to give to the needy.

You'll recall from Thursday's study that the seven-year rule applied only to money borrowed by an Israelite from an Israelite. The Israelites were not to borrow from foreigners but they could lend to foreigners. A foreigner was obligated to pay his debt in full; there was no seven-year rule for debt forgiveness in contracts like this. I'm sure an Israelite could choose to forgive a debt owed to him by a foreigner, but he was not required to. He was required to forgive only the debts of his fellow citizens.

You've probably heard the saying, "Rules are made to be broken," and while that isn't true it is true that human beings will often use rules in the wrong way in order to justify doing something that isn't merciful. Moses is going to remind the congregation that they aren't to refuse to help the needy by using the excuse that they are about to have to forgive some debt.

Moses says, on the authority of the Lord, "If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: 'The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,' so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing." (Deuteronomy 15:7-9a) Let's say a man has lent a sum of money to a fellow citizen and the entire sum has not been paid back yet. The year of debt forgiveness is coming up and he knows he'll probably end up taking a loss on this particular venture. And let's say his neighbor is sick and unable to work and is having trouble affording food for his family. The man who lent money to someone can't turn a blind eye to the plight of his neighbor just because the lending contract hasn't gone as expected. He can't say, "Sorry, friend, but I'm going to have to write off a loan as a loss pretty soon. I can't give you money for a load of groceries for your kids to eat." The seven-year rule is not meant to be used as an excuse to withhold help from the needy. Using rules to avoid being merciful is something we frequently find Jesus criticizing His fellow citizens for in the gospel accounts. 

Here is another example: If a man's needy neighbor asks to borrow money, the man isn't to say to himself, "It's almost the year of debt forgiveness. If I lend him money I surely won't get it back. I know he's going without some basic things right now but I don't want to lose my money." He is to lend the money anyway. He is not to refuse mercy because of the upcoming seventh year.

The Lord is the defender of the poor and needy. If they cry out to Him because their fellow man won't help them, Moses assures the congregation that the Lord hears such a prayer and takes action. "They may appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin." (Deuteronomy 15:9b) Jesus found many of the religious leaders of His day guilty of these types of sins and He declared them hypocrites. They would use a law such as the one about breaking the Sabbath in order to refuse aid to someone in trouble on the Sabbath. They would break the commandment about honoring their father and mother by pointing to a law that said money promised to the Lord was an irrevocable promise; in order to keep from helping their elderly parents they would put the money in the temple treasury and allow their parents to go without. People were twisting the Lord's words in order to suit their own uncharitable, unmerciful desires. The only times we find Jesus criticizing anyone in the gospels is when He sees hypocrisy like this. An unmerciful attitude makes Him angry. The Lord has been merciful to us and it's a sin to refuse mercy to our fellow man. 

Moses assures his listeners that the Lord rewards those who are merciful. "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." (Deuteronomy 15:10) The wise King Solomon said the same thing that Moses is saying to the congregation of Israel here in Deuteronomy 15: "Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses." (Proverbs 28:27) Solomon also said, "Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." (Proverbs 14:31) King David warned that the Lord fights on the side of the needy and takes up their cause against their oppressors: "I know the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." (Psalm 140:12) The Apostle Paul advised the members of the Christian church that the Lord rewards those who aren't stingy toward the poor. "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

Helping others out of the abundance of what the Lord has given us is something the Lord expects. No one gives more generously and more freely than the Lord and if we are His children we should want to imitate Him. Remember when you were a kid and you imitated things your parents did? If we are truly the children of God then we ought to behave a lot like Him. People should be able to tell that we belong to Him. 

Poverty is something that will never be fully eradicated until the Lord comes to reign over the earth. Until then we are living in a fallen world where people may fall prey to the temptation to be greedy. People may give in to the temptation to refuse to hold out a helping hand to others. Also, since we live in a fallen world, bad things happen here such as financial hardships, sicknesses and accidents, and death. A person can end up in dire financial straits through no fault of his own. Or a person can end up in poverty due to bad choices and sinful living. There are various causes of poverty and until the Lord sits on the throne of David and rules in righteousness over the earth there will always be people we can help, which is why Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." (Matthew 26:11a) And He said, "The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want." (Mark 14:7a) He wasn't saying, "Poverty is going to be a problem until the kingdom of God comes. You won't be able to overcome it." He was saying, "Poverty is going to be a problem until the kingdom of God comes. You are to alleviate suffering whenever it's within your power to do so." 

One person can't help everyone but one person can help someone. If we each have that attitude, a lot of good deeds are going to get done. A lot of empty bellies are going to be filled. We are not to be overwhelmed by the enormous issue of poverty but are instead to do what is within our power to do. We aren't to let the size of this problem discourage us but are instead to allow it to encourage us to be merciful. And let's not forget that when we help others we help ourselves too. As several wise men of the Bible said, when we give generously the Lord blesses us.

Deuteronomy. Day 55, Canceling Debts

The practices of lending and borrowing in ancient Israel were to be set up in such a way that a person would not put himself in long term debt or bankruptcy. This was accomplished by having a system in which a person's debts had to be canceled at the end of every seventh year. 

I don't know if you've ever found yourself in a position of needing a financial debt canceled but I found myself in that position once. About eleven years ago someone close to me accessed personal financial information of mine that allowed them to pretend to be me to obtain a large cash transfer from one of my credit cards. The money had been used by the time I was made aware of what had happened, I was unable to prove to my credit card company that fraud had taken place, and my household was in bad financial shape at the time due to my husband being out of work. There was no way we could pay the money back. My credit card company agreed to waive two thirds of the amount if I agreed to paying the other third back within a certain number of payments. When I received the letter from my credit card company showing the amount of debt they were waiving with the word "forgiven" typed next to it, I was overwhelmed by the grace of God when I thought about how I owed an enormous penalty due to all my sins but that He had written "forgiven" next to the list of my many sins. A time of hardship was turned into a time of rejoicing because, though financially I was in a rough spot, all was well with my soul thanks to the love and mercy of my God! This is how gracious the Lord is that He can use even a bad time to make us feel like jumping up and down and shouting for joy!

The example above was a financial situation that wasn't my fault, but we can also be faced with the temptation to borrow or spend more money than is wise, so the Lord gave the Israelites guidelines to follow to keep them from borrowing unwise amounts of money. These guidelines also helped to prevent people from making unwise lending decisions. "At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed." (Deuteronomy 15:1-2) A person had to think about whether he could reasonably pay back the money within seven years so he wouldn't be defrauding his lender and so he wouldn't dishonor his own reputation. Unforeseen circumstances could crop up, of course, such as several bad crop years or personal sickness, but otherwise the person had to consider whether his income would support the payback of the loan. The person lending the money would need to think about whether the person asking for the loan would be able to pay the money back within the allotted time. If not, the lender would have to consider whether he would be able to withstand the loss if he ended up having to cancel the debt after the seventh year. This helped both borrower and lender from getting themselves in financial trouble. The Lord loves His people and, like any good father, He wants his children to make wise financial decisions.

The rule about canceling debts after the seventh year did not apply to contracts in which an Israelite made a loan to a non-Israelite. "You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you." (Deuteronomy 15:3) I am sure the Lord wanted everyone to make wise financial decisions whether they were believers in Him or not, but unbelievers make a lot of unwise choices in life and He knew sometimes those unwise choices might include borrowing money they would try to get out of repaying. They may have tried to take advantage of the seven-year rule if it had applied to them. To avoid this, if a non-Israelite borrowed money from an Israelite, he would still owe the remainder of the debt after seven years. He would have to work out some type of terms for repaying the loan, even if that meant losing his home and his possessions or becoming what we'd call an "indentured servant" to work off the money owed. 

The Israelites were to try to avoid borrowing money at all because the land the Lord will give them will be so good for crops and livestock that anyone willing to do their part in making a living will not lack anything they need. "However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, He will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you." (Deuteronomy 15:4-6) 

For the most part, the Israelites would not need to borrow from each other, but the Lord instituted the seven-year rule because He knew there would be occasions when a person might need borrow a sum of money up front Some examples I can think of would be to go into business for their trade of occupation, or to build a house because they're going to get married, or to put up barns or storehouses because they plan to work with livestock or crops. The person was to carefully consider whether the amount he's borrowing can be paid back and the lender was to carefully consider whether the loan is a good risk. 

Based on our text it appears that an Israelite who wanted to borrow money could only borrow from a fellow Israelite. He wasn't to become indebted to a foreigner. Just as the seven-year cancellation of debts did not apply when an Israelite lent money to a foreigner, I believe it would not apply when an Israelite borrowed money from a foreigner. Not borrowing from foreigners meant the citizens of Israel would not have to fear having their homes and land seized by foreigners (Israel's land was to remain with Israel's citizens always) or having themselves and their family members seized and enslaved by foreigners. 

The Lord wants us all to be responsible with our finances. He wants us to spend wisely and invest wisely and borrow wisely. We must give wisely too; it's important to check out the reputation of any charity or cause to which we'd like to donate money. We want to make sure the money is actually going to benefit the people or animals we want to help. The Lord loves us and wants us to use what He's blessed us with in ways that honor Him and in ways that are helpful to us and our families and to those in need. We may not be able to control things such as job layoffs or sicknesses that cause us to be unable to work, but if we are careful to consult the Lord on big decisions and if we carefully consider how we're using every dollar He's blessed us with, we'll find ourselves in far fewer financial predicaments than we would otherwise.

Deuteronomy. Day 54, Blessed To Be A Blessing

The remainder of Chapter 14 deals with tithes and offerings. I've chosen to title today's study "Blessed To Be A Blessing" because tithes and offerings are things that are given out of what the Lord has given us. In turn, our giving blesses others.

In Leviticus 27:30 we learned of the tithe (the tenth) that is owed to the Lord. "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord." These tithes supported the Levites, to whom the Lord was not giving territory in the promised land. They were to make their living through the work they were doing for the Lord, not by being farmers or shepherds or herdsmen or tradesmen. The Lord said, "I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting." (Numbers 18:21) If the congregation doesn't bring their tithes, the Levites and their families will suffer deprivation. This is why the Lord was so angry in the days of Malachi the prophet, for the people were slack in bringing their tithes to the storehouse and the Lord declared that they were robbing Him by not bringing what they were obligated to bring. (Malachi 3:8-12) This disobedience showed disrespect for the Lord and it deprived the priests and Levites and their families of things they needed.

When bringing the tithe, a small portion of it was eaten in a ceremonial meal but the remainder of the tithe was given to the priests. The ceremonial meal was to be eaten in an attitude of thankfulness and in the attitude that the person was sharing the meal with the Lord. Though the Lord did not literally sit down at the table and ingest food with the bringer of the tithe, in a spiritual/symbolic sense it was as if the bringer of the tithe and the Lord were breaking bread together in fellowship. When Moses speaks in our next verse about eating the tithe of grain, he is not saying that the bringer of the tithe eats the whole tithe. He's speaking of the portion of the tithe the person eats. "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." (Deuteronomy 14:23)

These tithes were to be brought to the tabernacle and later to the temple after it was built. Because the tithes of some people would be so large (due to being wealthy) it would place a great deal of hardship for a person living a long distance from the house of God to transport enormous amounts of grain, wine, or animals. In cases like this the person could sell these items for money in his hometown, take the money with him to the nation's religious capital, and then use the money to buy appropriate tithe offerings to take to the house of God. "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 the Lord your God will choose to put His name is so far away), then exchange the tithes 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." (Deuteronomy 14:24-26) The bringer of this type of tithe retains a portion of it for the ceremonial meal just as the bringer of the other types of tithes do.

Not all of the Levites worked at the tabernacle (or the temple) at the same time. They worked on a rotating schedule, so when not at the Lord's house they would be at home in the towns the Lord assigned to them. The tithes brought to the Lord's house weren't only for the Levites present at the time; they were to be distributed among the Levites in their towns. "And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own." (Deuteronomy 14:27) The Levites in the towns benefited from the tithes and offerings brought to the Lord's house. So did the needy. Every three years there was to be a distribution from the Lord's house to the storehouses in each town. "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 foreigners, 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." (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)

We can see why it made the Lord so angry when the congregation failed to bring their tithes and offerings. It meant people were going to go hungry. This is why the Lord declared, "You are under a curse---your whole nation---because you are robbing Me." (Malachi 3:9) He was offended for the sake of the people who were doing without, in addition to being offended for the sake of His own honor. 

One of the reasons the Lord blesses us materially is so we can bless others. To use a modern phrase, we are to "pay it forward". 

Deuteronomy. Day 53, Avoiding Unclean Pagan Foods

Chapter 14 contains a list of both unclean and clean foods (which were previously listed in Leviticus) and I believe Moses' intention in restating these rules is to give the Israelites a refresher course because their entry into the promised land is at hand. The original list was provided to the generation that came out of Egypt, for the Lord intended them to go up and begin taking the land within a couple of years after He gave them their freedom, but they rebelled when they heard there were fortified cities and men of giant stature in the land. Israel has now been out of Egypt forty years and Moses is speaking to the new generation---the generation that will be willing to charge ahead at the Lord's command---and it's important to speak the Lord's laws and commandments directly to them just as he did to their fathers who have since perished in the wilderness.

Just as the congregation was told in yesterday's passage to avoid pagan funeral practices, today they'll be told to avoid eating the unclean foods that pagans eat. The tribes that currently inhabit the promised land have eaten anything and everything; they've even drunk blood in their idolatrous religious festivals. Many of the foods these tribes have eaten have been scientifically proven by our day to cause a multitude of health problems. The Lord wants Israel healthy and strong. Avoiding the foods the Lord says are unclean will help the Israelites to avoid many of the ailments suffered by other tribes and nations.

This list contains a pretty even mix of clean and unclean foods, so it isn't a negative list by any means. It's not just a bunch of "don'ts" and in fact it begins with foods that the people are permitted to eat. I think a lot of the unbelievers of the world assume that to be a child of God means we have to observe a list of "don'ts" and that it's a restrictive and boring thing to be obedient to the Lord. Nothing could be further from the truth! What could be more exciting than knowing and serving the Creator of all things? What could be more empowering than knowing the Almighty loves us and fights for us? What could be better than knowing He has our best interests at heart and wants us to enjoy the things that are good for us and wants us to avoid the things that are bad for us? When the Lord says a thing is unclean, He's not trying to be a spoilsport and keep us from enjoying something that's fun. He's trying to keep us from getting sick or getting hurt. 

Let's begin the list now. "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 divided hoof and that chews the cud." (Deuteronomy 14:3-6) No one is going to go hungry by avoiding unclean foods. The Lord isn't placing difficult or impossible restrictions on the people's diet; they only have to follow a simple rule here which is that if an animal has a divided hoof and also chews the cud, it is clean. Next we see some examples of animals that do not meet these qualifications. "However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses." (Deuteronomy 14:7-8) I ate a bite of rabbit meat once without knowing it was rabbit. As the joke goes, it tasted like chicken, but once I knew it was rabbit I didn't eat a second bite. I am put off by wild game in general and prefer not to eat any of it, plus rabbits eat their own droppings. They process their food twice to get all the nutrients possible out of it but this is probably the main reason they are on the list of unclean foods. Animals who chew cud are, in a sense, processing their food twice but the cud has not passed through the bowels as a waste product and therefore the chewing of cud does not render an animal unclean. 

"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 14:9-10) The rule about water animals is as simple as the rule about land animals. Two qualifications must be met: the animal must have both fins and scales. If the animal has fins but no scales, it is unclean. It if has scales but no fins, it is unclean. Things like shrimp, crabs, oysters, and lobsters are unclean. Catfish is unclean because it has fins but no scales. Tilapia, for example, is clean because it has both fins and scales. I have a fresh package of tilapia in my fridge right now to cook for supper tonight. I have eaten shrimp a number of times in the past but will probably not eat it again after reading about why shellfish are unclean. Shrimp are bottom feeders which means they eat waste products and parasites. They are high in cholesterol. If not cooked well enough they are far more likely to give us a foodborne illness than undercooked fish with fins and scales. Their digestive system is not capable of expelling harmful chemicals the way the digestive systems of clean water creatures do. That's why shellfish can contain high levels of mercury and other harmful substances that get into the water. The Lord forbade certain foods for good reasons. The ancient Israelites weren't medically advanced enough to know all the reasons why certain foods were bad for them but they were to trust that the Lord made these rules for their own good. Even in our day we might not fully understand exactly how the eating of certain meats affects our health but we can be sure any food the Lord considered unclean in the Old Testament is still unclean today. It's best to avoid it.

"All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. But any winged creature that is clean you may eat." (Deuteronomy 14:19) Having wings doesn't always render a creature unclean unless the creature is an insect. Birds have wings and birds such as domesticated chickens, ducks, and geese are clean. They are not scavengers or birds of prey. Predatory and scavenger birds are not clean. Things like buzzards and vultures come to mind when we think of scavenger birds. Things such as hawks and eagles and vultures are examples of predatory birds. Nothing in these categories is to be eaten.

"Do not eat anything you find already dead." (Deuteronomy 14:21a) The reason for this rule is pretty obvious. The risk of illness is quite high when consuming an animal that has already begun to decompose or that has died of an unknown cause. It doesn't matter whether the dead animal was on the clean list or not. If a farmer goes out to his fields and sees that one of his cows has keeled over dead, he is not to butcher it for food. He has no idea what killed the cow or whether the illness is communicable to humans. Also he won't know exactly how long the animal has been dead; undercooking something that has begun the process of decomposition can cause food poisoning or transfer parasites to the digestive system of the person. This is why a man who finds one of his sheep torn apart by a wolf must not eat the sheep even though a sheep is a clean animal. Illness or parasites could have been transferred to the sheep by the wolf or the sheep might have been dead long enough for insects to have begun doing their job on the carcass. We've all seen flies on carcasses by the roadside and we know how quickly this process begins to take place on anything dead left out in the open. Clean animals can be rendered unclean by their manner of death and by things that take place with the carcass after death. 

The Israelites weren't to eat any animal found dead but other cultures didn't have such religious restrictions or personal scruples. If a foreigner had nothing against eating a sheep or cow that was found dead or that had been killed by predators, the animal could be given or sold to the foreigner for food. I'm assuming that the origin of the meat was made clear to the foreigner. I don't think the Israelites were passing off the food as having been slaughtered properly. "You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 14: 21b)

We complete our segment with a rule that we saw earlier in Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk." (Deuteronomy 14:21c) It's believed by many Bible scholars that this rule derived from a pagan ritual which the Israelites were not to imitate. The segments of Deuteronomy that we studied yesterday and today have to do with not imitating pagans in funeral rites or in foods, so the likelihood is high that the cooking of a baby goat in its mother's milk was something the heathens of Canaan did in some sort of idolatrous ceremony. It's also quite likely that the heathens cooked and ate the young goat whole without draining the blood, which is another practice forbidden by the Lord. 

Moses is reminding the Israelites that they are not to lower their standards once they arrive in the promised land. You've probably heard the expression, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Well, that's not the Lord's way. He's not saying, "When in Canaan, do as the heathens do." The Israelites are not to imitate people who don't know the Lord. They are to stand out from the crowd. They are to be different from every other nation on earth. They are the children of the Lord and that is to be evident in everything they do. The Lord is different from all the 'gods' of the nations and His people are to be different too. If His people aren't different, how will anyone look to them as examples of godly living and how will anyone feel compelled to ask them about the one true God? The same can be said of us today. If we behave just like the unbelieving world, how will anyone know we believe in the Lord? Why would anyone ask us about Him? Why would anyone have any desire to know Him if they don't find anything admirable in those of us who claim we already know Him? The Lord is holy and His children must be holy too. They must look like their Father or else unbelievers will conclude they don't belong to Him at all.

 

Deuteronomy. Day 52, Forbidden Pagan Burial Rituals

We previously touched on some of Chapter 14's material earlier in the Old Testament but Moses repeats these instructions with some added detail in Deuteronomy. It's important for him to repeat these instructions because Israel will soon be entering the promised land where all types of heathen rituals have been conducted and where all sorts of unclean foods have been consumed.

In our segment today Moses mentions some pagan burial rituals and reminds the Israelites they aren't to imitate any of these practices. "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 earth, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession." (Deuteronomy 14:1-2) 

Moses is saying, "Don't behave like people who don't know the Lord. The heathens may cut themselves to display their grief to the 'gods', believing the sight of the blood will be accepted as an offering by these false deities so rewards will be given to the departed loved one's soul. They may tattoo themselves with the names of the dead or with the names of false deities to commemorate the funeral rites of a deceased loved one. They may cut their hair off and dedicate it in the name of a false god or use the cut hair for the purpose of interpreting the pattern of fallen hair as a method of divination. You are the Lord's people and you must not dabble in the occult or in idolatry." 

The Apostle Paul said something quite similar to Christians when urging them not to behave like heathens when a loved one has died. "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Paul was speaking about the hope of resurrection, which unbelievers lack but in which believers trust. The Lord's people aren't to grieve like pagans who think souls go to some unknowable, shadowy underworld where happy or pleasurable circumstances cannot be counted on. Paul was reassuring his readers that their believing loved ones, who have died, will be resurrected in immortal bodies just like Christ's. Knowing this, there's no reason for despair. There's no reason for inflicting cuts on oneself in grief or trying to consult the spirit world.

The Bible makes it as plain as day that it's wrong for us to try to contact departed loved ones or to have anything to do with the occult or with any type of divination. This includes things which are marketed as "entertainment" such as having our palm read, using a Ouija board, consulting horoscopes, having astrological charts cast for us, letting someone read Tarot cards for us, attending a séance, or going on any of these ghost hunting excursions that have become popular in recent years. I could probably name a few more things that fall into the occult/divination category but you already see where I'm going with this. The Lord's people should have nothing to do with such things.

When the Lord forbade pagan burial rituals to the Israelites in Leviticus 19:27-28, He said that the people must not cut their hair at the sides of their head or at the edges of their beard for the dead. Also He said they were not to cut their bodies or make tattoos on their bodies for the dead. He laid down these rules immediately after saying, "Do not practice divination or seek omens." (Leviticus 19:26b) This is because the pagan funeral rituals are closely related to such occult practices as divination and the seeking of omens. The Lord's people must not blend heathen religious rites with their worship of the one and only God. If they do they will wander from the truth and fall into idolatry.

We have to be careful in our own day not to add heathen elements to our worship of the Lord. We have to be on guard against becoming superstitious or legalistic, for that's how all the other religions of the world operate. The best way to worship the Lord in the right spirit is to know what He has said about worship in the Scriptures. Trying to obtain salvation by works is what heathens do and the Bible plainly tells us that faith is the means to salvation, for we'll never be perfect on our own. Obsessively chanting or performing specific rituals to obtain favor and blessings is what heathens do; there is no benefit in us doing such things and Jesus actually spoke out against it in Matthew 6:7. You won't find the Lord telling us in the Scriptures that we have to try to find our way to salvation on our own by doing enough good works to outweigh our sins. You won't find the Lord telling us we have to chant a prayer a specific number of times in order to be heard by Him. You won't find Him telling us to consult mediums or go around seeking signs and wonders in order to know how we're supposed to live in this world. If we study the Bible regularly and meditate prayerfully over it and take it to heart, we can avoid allowing things to creep into our worship that don't belong there. Moses is reminding the Israelites in Deuteronomy 14 of what the Lord has said about funeral rites so the people won't allow the wrong kind of things to creep into their worship.