Deuteronomy 18:1-14 - Inheritance and Service to God

Deuteronomy 18:1-14

The Portion of the Priests and Levites

1 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them.

3 “And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever.

6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, 7 then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.

Avoid Wicked Customs

9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.

Here the inheritance of the priests and their helpers in God’s house are described.  Their inheritance was not in the land but the LORD Himself, and their sustenance came from the sacrifices offered to God which they ministered for the people.  Certain parts of each selected sacrifice were appointed for them as described here in detail.  Since the tribe of Levi was chosen to serve as the priests ministering the sacrifices in the name of the LORD, they were afforded such rights to be fed and accommodated.  This is the pattern modern churches use to pay their pastors and provide living for them as well, whether in monetary compensation (1 Corinthians 9:9, 11, 13-14) or in a parsonage paid for by the church for him and his family to live in as an inheritance for serving the Lord Jesus Christ and ministering the gospel to care for the sacrifice made once for all by Jesus.  God has chosen certain men for this purpose, to minister the gospel to the flock as overseers we call pastors and elders that they may be supported as they commit their lives and livelihood to serve God and man in their callings.  The second part of this passage shows that fidelity to holy living is required by not only the priests but also all of God’s people, that we should not take on the ungodly customs and practices contrary to God’s word as the unbelievers around us do.  The promised land we are heading towards in the heavenly realm is full of God’s holiness in His presence where sin dwells no more and we are to live in preparation for that eternal reality even now just as Israel was called to do as they entered the physical promised land of Canaan then, a picture and type of that which is to come.  This means we abstain from worship of other gods of philosophical creations of man such as the occult, even to the seemingly innocuous horoscopes or tarot card readings or the more blatant ones such as blending the teachings of cults and other religions to water down and make the gospel and scriptures into something other than as they alphabet been given to us in their pure and true form.  Such teachings often are abominations to God (Galatians 1:6-7) and should be to us as well.  These include condoning homosexuality and adultery or other immoral acts as well as serving idols of false religions or of philosophies contrary to the teachings of scripture.  We, like God’s people of old, are to be blameless before the Lord in pursuit of purity in both body and soul, just as it has been appointed for us to live (John 15:16, Ephesians 2:10) and serve as priests (Revelation 1:6, 5:10) to our Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit living in we who are His.  We are called to inherit and serve our Lord in purity of mind and body. 

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 - Real Rulers Read God’s Word

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Principles Governing Kings

14 “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

We see that God wanted to set a ruler, a king, over His people (Romans 13:1) and not give the choice to the people themselves.  We always choose badly.  This ruler was to have a copy of God’s word with him at all times to read and follow, something modern rulers seldom ever do; they claim God or even Christ, yet do not heed the word of God sitting on public display somewhere.  The ruler was to come from the people, the nation, of God and not from another place where their God was not known and worshiped.  The king was not to be accumulating his own wealth or power base either.  He was not to turn the people back with his own wandering heart to the bondage of sin (Acts 7:39-40) in supporting it as Egypt represented here.  To rule well, the ruler was to keep (make back then since no printing press existed) a copy of the word of God, a scroll of the the scriptures, with the priests as witnesses that he actually did this.  This was to remind him to keep the word close and spend time reading it every day (Psalm 119:10-11) in order that he might revere the LORD God as his own sovereign who put him in place to guide his people.  He was not just to read, but put the words into practice to keep him humble and not privileged as more worthy or important than the others he served, a good example for leaders today that they do not do.  A long reign comes from a man who knows that a real ruler reads and follows God’s word in humility and service, not selfish pride and power or wealth building.  May God put such a godly man over us!

Deuteronomy 17:1-13 - Follow the Laws and Justice of the Land

Deuteronomy 17:1-13

1 “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.

2 “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4 and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. 6 Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

8 “If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 9 And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. 10 You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the LORD chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. 11 According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 12 Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.

Presumption and disobedience to the laws of the land require deliberation for sound and righteous judgment of a court.  Evil must be dealt with, either with repentance or sentencing for the crime with fair sentencing to match the crime.  We see here this begins with worshiping and acknowledging only the living God in heaven and not imaginary gods of man’s creation as what we live for.  In the days of Israel, those unrepentant idolaters and immoral citizens were punished harshly after diligence in determining innocence or guilt.  There had to be credible witnesses, not just the word of one person, and if found guilty the offender was to face the death penalty by stoning, with the witnesses casting the first stones to face their judgment that they just passed.  Evil must be put away from the population to avoid it spreading by emboldened criminals when they see crimes left unpunished.  We do not put people to death today for blasphemy or idolatry, and much immorality is now considered acceptable by the godless of our government laws because there is no theocratic government on earth anymore.  The principles of justice still apply with due diligence and proof by multiple witnesses to the crimes committed who themselves are held accountable for the sentence they pass.  Judges then were the priests to inquire further and then determine the just sentence of sound and godly judgment which was to be carried out by the people when determined.  That judgment was to be upheld and not changed to the right or left and not defied presumptuously as if we know better.  In those times, such persons were held in the utmost contempt of both court and God Himself and faced the death penalty for defying the sentence given under His guidance.  This was to cause the people to fear God’s judgment and respect the laws against doing evil in any form.  Laws with punishment to fit the crime need to be followed through with equally fitting sentences as a warning to others bent on evil.  We base some of our laws on these principles, minus the component of God’s honor and respect as the basis of the judgment and consequences, for we are not governed by God anymore but laws of faulty people, yet we are still called upon to follow those laws (Romans 13:1-2, 3-4) because God put those leaders over us and our consciences (Romans 13:5) are being tested for obedience to Him in this way. 

Deuteronomy 16:13-22 - Remember God’s Grace and Be Humbly Fair

Deuteronomy 16:13-22

The Feast of Tabernacles Reviewed (Leviticus 23:33–43; Numbers 29:12–40)

13 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. 15 Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

Justice Must Be Administered

18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

21 “You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God. 22 You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.

The feast of tabernacles celebrated the sojourning of God’s people in the wilderness when they had to live in tents until they settled in the promised land with permanent houses.  This was to be celebrated to remind them of God’s provision and promises all along the way to the fulfillment of all God had determined to provide them in His lovingkindness of grace.  They were to ensure they remembered and appreciated all they received from His hand by celebrating this sacred feast for an entire week.  All the able-bodied men were also to offer sacrifices as gifts to the LORD on this annual occasion and at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (a seven-day festival immediately following Passover, where participants eat only unleavened bread to commemorate the Israelites' hasty departure from Egypt) and the Feast of Weeks as previously mentioned in this chapter.  They were to not come empty handed, yet were only expected to give as they were able (2 Corinthians 8:12, 9:7-8) and not to meet a compulsory quota.  God was looking to expand their hearts through their willing obedience (Psalm 119:32) and not to lay heavy burdens on their conscience.  That has been the thrust of all the commandments from the beginning, to soften our hearts that we might have the laws of the Lord written on our hearts and guiding our minds to walk in the direction of His heart and goodwill for us.  This also applies to the second half of this passage concerning justice and fairness in our dealings with one another.  We understand the importance of judges needed to settle disputes and keep order because our fallen nature is ruled by sin to pervert justice, show partiality (favoritism), and even take bribes for personal gain at the expense of blinding the wise and twisting the true words of the righteous.  To love and see the blessings of God, we need to be fair and honest as He is, taking on the image of God shown to us in His Son that we may conform (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 3:22-23, 24, 2 Corinthians 3:18) to His image as we align to His righteousness in our dealings with one another.  He then mentions we are to keep ourselves from idols (1 John 5:21) which we all tend to do if we are not careful and observant in how we walk in Christ.  As Micah 6:8 reminds us, we are to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. 

Deuteronomy 16:1-12 - Remember and Celebrate our Passover!

Deuteronomy 16:1-12

The Passover Reviewed (Exodus 12:1–20; 23:14–19; 34:18–26)

1 “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.

5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you; 6 but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

The Feast of Weeks Reviewed (Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:15–21; Numbers 28:26–31)

9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

These are reiterated descriptions of the Passover and the Feast of Weeks after the harvest.  The Passover was significant because it reminded the people that their LORD had passed over death to them but delivered it to the firstborn of the nation who had them in harsh bondage.  It is also a picture and foreshadowing of Christ as our Passover (Exodus 12:23, 1 Corinthians 5:7), the firstborn of God (Exodus 13:15 , Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 11:28) who delivers from eternal death that we may join Him through His sacrificial lifeblood (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:22, Revelation 5:9) poured out for us, covering the entrance of our mortal houses that become temples (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Peter 2:5) of worship and thanksgiving for our deliverance from the Destroyer as those of Egypt were judged and sentenced to death without the protection of the lifeblood of the sacrifice covering them.  They were instructed to recreate the meal of haste with unleavened bread and bitter herbs along with the entire lamb sacrificed to cover their doorposts.  It was a meal of haste to quickly escape the bondage of those holding them enslaved as the adversary doe with us all in our sin until we are led out of sin’s bondage into the liberty (Luke 4:18, John 8:36, Romans 8:21, Galatians 5:1) of God’s Son.  We are to likewise remember our freedom from judgment on our sin (Romans 6:23) as we look back to the day of our salvation promised us from the foundation of the world that came to fruition at last when we received Jesus Christ through the gospel word and conviction of His Spirit.  We do this in celebrating the Lord’s Supper that was the true Passover meal celebrated first by Jesus with His disciples (Matthew 26:18-19, 26, 27-28) and is now a constant observation (1 Corinthians 11:26) for we His people now.  The feast of weeks after the harvest was also an important reminder of God’s provision to His people that they freely offer back (2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 8) to God of the bounty they are given with joy and deep gratitude as they recall their release from bondage and the little they had while enslaved in the rigor of their harsh conditions.  We also remember our lost state before we were in Christ and should find extreme peace and joy in our Beloved who sacrificed Himself to set us free from the harsh conditions of sin’s consequences and the punishment were were all due (Romans 6:23) apart from His saving lifeblood applied to our lives.  We should offer everything back to Him as the fruit of our labors in the harvest of spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) and the plenty of those we harvest (Proverbs 10:5, Matthew 9:37-38) with the gospel to their own salvation.  As 2 Corinthians 9:15 reminds us of God’s great sacrifice of the indescribable gift of His grace, we remember and celebrate our Passover!

Deuteronomy 15:12-23 - Redeemed Servants and Firstborn Sacrifices

Deuteronomy 15:12-23

The Law Concerning Bondservants

12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals

19 “All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the LORD your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and your household shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD chooses. 21 But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.

These two laws cover the redemption of Hebrew servants given their freedom after seven years of working for their owner (employer in today’s world) and the sanctification or dedication and treatment of firstborn sacrifices.  For the servants, they were to be worked for seven years and then set free, but not empty handed.  They were to be liberally paid in the currency of the day - namely, food and grain and wine.  The owners were told to recall how their people had been harshly enslaved in rigorous bondage and harsh treatment in Egypt, and then dwell on how the LORD had redeemed and saved them from that terrible treatment.  Because they were set free and redeemed, they should do likewise for their servants and not as the world does in harsh cruelty and without final pay or severance.  The servants who desired not to leave and continue to serve were to be identified as bonded servants with an awl piercing their ear as a mark of never ending ownership.  We see this as a shadow of the relationship of the believer to the Lord as our master and we as willing bondservants (Romans 1:1, 6:17-18, 22-23, Galatians 1:10) to Christ to serve Him forever as belonging to Him.  He then blesses us in all we do as His willing bondservants of grace in lives that are living sacrifices to the firstborn of God, His only Son.  We partake of Him who has no defect, the perfect sacrifice who covers our sin utterly and completely forevermore.  His blood we do partake of, for the lifeblood of animal sacrifices which could not cover our sin was not to be taken, yet His is because it redeems us fully and forever.  We must partake of His sacrificial lifeblood (Mark 14:24, John 6:51, 53, 54-55, 56, 1 Corinthians 11:25) in order to be united with God the Father, the firstborn resurrected sacrifice, through and in Him. 

Deuteronomy 15:1-11 - Forgiveness and Generosity of Grace

Deuteronomy 15:1-11

Debts Canceled Every Seven Years (Exodus 21:1–11; Leviticus 25:1–7)

1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

Generosity to the Poor

7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

These two paragraphs deal with forgiveness and generosity of grace.  First of all we are told about how debts were to be forgiven after seven years and was called the LORD’s release because they were to forgive others their debts as they had been forgiven (Matthew 6:12) by their LORD.  We are likewise reminded to forgive others whatever they owe us, but especially their debts of sins against us just as Jesus has forgiven us our debt of sin which we owed (Romans 6:23) in our lifeblood to God against whom all of us have sinned.  This is true riches of eternal value laid up in heaven in our love shown towards God and our fellow man, the summation of the moral law of the commandments.  This is investing in the heavenly kingdom which is our inheritance of grace alone, unearned by these actions but glorifying to our Lord in doing them.  Likewise, the people then and now are urged to meet urgent needs of the poor and lend even if we can expect nothing back.  We are to release them from their earthly debts as the Lord has released us from our spiritual ones.  We are not to look towards eternity and hold back lending with the thought of their receiving everything when they meet the Lord, for that is just as much as and excuse as these in the ancient times who refused to help when it was close to the seven year time of debt release because they would just have to return what the lent to the poor with no return for themselves.  This is wicked intent and is what the Lord Jesus was warning us about when the command to forgive as He has forgiven us was uttered.  The poor will never cease in the land as our Lord said (Mark 14:7), hinting at serving Him as the focus as we do not neglect these matters of meeting urgent (Titus 3:14) needs as well.  This is relying on and sharing God’s grace in tangible actions with true thanksgiving in releasing the debts of others as He has forever released us from our far greater ones against Him.  It is the forgiveness and generosity of grace. 

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 - Giving to God

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Tithing Principles

22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

This reminder is about giving a tenth of our lives to the Lord.  This meant primarily only possessions used as we do money today, but still carried the overarching principle of all we possess like the fruit of the labor of those to whom this was originally written.  Interestingly, they were permitted to convert their possessions into money for a long journey to avoid lugging everything they were to offer to God over a distance and then buy offerings to tithe as well as to enjoy for themselves to eat.  At the end of every three years, they were then to offer it to others in need as well as the priests who serve God in the temple, similarly to both hospitality ministries and supporting church pastors and staff who maintain the churches today.  We therefore follow this example to support the ministry and feed the needy among us as our tithes, whether an exact ten percent or other as well are able and willing (2 Corinthians 8:3, 8, 12, 9:6-7, Titus 3:14) to do.  God blesses those who love Him and others as living sacrifices who meet needs of those in need and those who minister the word (1 Corinthians 9:13-14) to us.  When we tithe in any way or amount, we are giving to God what He has entrusted to us as good stewards of His grace. 

Deuteronomy 14:1-21 - Keeping the Law

Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Improper Mourning

1 “You are the children of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Clean and Unclean Meat (Leviticus 11:1–47)

3 “You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.

9 “These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.

19 “Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.

20 “You may eat all clean birds.

21 “You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

These various ceremonial laws taught the children of God to discern good from evil as their discernment had been marred by the fall into sin in Eden’s Garden and they had to learn from God (Hebrews 5:14) how to tell the difference.  We are the same today, born with a fallen nature at enmity with our Creator and needing not various laws to adhere to in order to redeem ourselves from sin, but to come to the only one who ever kept all the laws perfectly on our behalf to redeem us by the selfless sacrifice of His own lifeblood on the cross of our curse of sin staining our souls.  Since we are also part of a holy people to our Lord, we need not concern ourselves with these laws which were to teach us to look to the Lord Christ to come Galatians 3:19, 22-23, 24-25) to find peace with God that can only be attained in Christ (Romans 5:1) and no system of religion to work ourselves to His acceptance.  We are accepted in the Beloved, beloved!  We work out the salvation we have been given by follow the moral laws of God from the heart now, not to earn our place but to please the one who chose and called us (Titus 2:14) out of darkness into his (2 Corinthians 4:6, Acts 26:18, 1 Peter 2:9-10) marvelous and indescribable light of hope as a special treasure to Him, eager to please Him and willingly following His word inscribed on our hearts with joy beyond description.  We find His Spirit now teaches us to discern the clean from unclean in our hearts, minds, and desires (and not merely in our food choices) as no rule ever could entirely or effectively.  The only prohibition that remains in place was given to the early believers and us (Acts 15:24, 29) that we do not eat what is offered to idols or the lifeblood of those sacrifices since our sacrifice [and sexual immorality since it betrays our commitment of marriage which is a reflection of the church and Christ - Ephesians 5:32] is only Jesus Christ and only His lifeblood cleanses us from (1 John 1:9) all unrighteousness.  Our righteousness is Christ’s and we are found blameless in him alone (James 2:10), He who kept every point of the Law (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:4) that we might come to Christ by faith and stop striving to become right with God on our own efforts in keeping the Law (Romans 3:23, 6:23, Titus 3:5, 6) that we are incapable of doing.  True keeping of the Law then is believing the gospel (John 5:24, Mark 1:15, 1 John 5:13) and receiving the person and work of God’s Son who kept every word given us as only the Divine could do. 

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 - Listen to and Follow the Truth

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Punishment of Apostates

1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—’and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.

6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8 you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

12 “If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13 ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods“‘—which you have not known— 14 then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. 16 And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18 because you have listened to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

Just as then, now we are also urged by the scriptures to continue in listening to the truth of God’s word and not be misled into error by those wielding powerfully persuasive teachings that only lead to idolatry and immortality of the soul and even the body.  We hear Moses here warning of such false statements of self-proclaimed prophets with “a word from the Lord” that is really only their own deception spoken convincingly enough to draw followers to themselves instead of the Lord God.  These come now from within as well as from out the church (Acts 20:29-30, 31, 2 Peter 2:1) as ravenous wolves ready to devour sound faith based on God’s word as they replace it with subtle errors to lead others off the narrow path to join them.  We must therefore know as much of the truth from study and reflection on God’s word to identify and avoid anything but clinging to worship of the only Lord Jesus Christ as we love God with all our lives and hearts and minds to keep His word because He alone has rescued us from the bondage of sin and called us to worship and follow only Him.  Certainly we do not follow the examples here of killing the false teachers or self-proclaimed prophets as was required then before the Spirit of God loved in the children of God to keep them from this evil, but we can keep them out of the assembly of the saints (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) when their unrepentant motives are revealed to keep the flock safe from such nefarious doctrines.  We are told to test all things by the word and Spirit given us (Acts 17:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 1 John 4:1-2) and to hold fast to what is proven right and true.  The temptation is to listen and desire a new thing or doubt the facts with speculative “what if” questions when we are convinced of the truths clearly given us and understood in our minds, hearts, and spirits.  We also need to understand that those things which are not clear in scripture may be claimed to mean some definite thing without scriptural proof and should beware if the explanation does not fit in the larger context and intent of the rest of scripture.  The enemy still tells us, “did God really say” as a way to misdirect us from the truth taught by the Spirit and through that same Spirit in fellow Christians.  May we keep alert for the roaring lion in all the avenues he uses against us, therefore as we listen to and follow the truth. 

Deuteronomy 12:1-32 - Do What is Right in His Eyes, not Yours

Deuteronomy 12:1-32

A Prescribed Place of Worship

1 “These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.

5 “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. 12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand. 18 But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands. 19 Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20 “When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26 Only the holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the meat. 28 Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Beware of False Gods

29 “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

There is a right way to worship the only right God, but there are many ways to worship what are not gods made by our own imaginations and worship the only true God in ways not honoring to Him.  Some of these are spelled out here by example.  Using images to worship in between us and God are blasphemous per the first commandment and should still be avoided, whether false idols of old or new statues placed in churches along the walls, windows, or other places.  Unfortunately, this practice is still popular in some places of misdirected religious worship today as people forget this lesson and err onward with justifying explanations contrary to God’s word.  We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices in the manner and places that He blesses, not fitting in with the world and losing the view of a holy God in places dishonoring and displeasing Him for the sake of popularity or presence among un as if to win them by unapproved means in God’s sight according to the examples and commands of scripture.  We should be considering these things and “seek the place where the LORD your God chooses” instead.  This means that we gather together in our places of worship for worship as we do all things (1 Corinthians 14:40, Colossians 2:5-6, 8) decently and in order and not following the philosophy of the culture that is contrary to the doctrine of Christ in scripture.  When He tells us that everyone was “doing whatever is right in his own eyes” and warned the people that “as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you,” this should sober us (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6, 8-9, Titus 2:6-7) to the battle against the gospel and we who are ambassadors of it (1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9, 17) as our adversary wages a campaign to discredit our testimony and drag us back into sin in our heart’s worship and fidelity to the truth.  Instead of doing what we are told what should be right in our own eyes, we should be aimed in the direction of God’s eyes for our lives.  This means we listen and heed His word that we may strive to continue to do “what is good and right in the sight of the LORD” as it is written here.  Our eyes are opened to false gods of the world by His word and Spirit as we see their end of destruction and refuse to follow the Buddha’s and false self-proclaimed prophets of clearly false religions as well as the more sublime lies that spring up (Acts 20:29-30, 31, 2 Peter 2:1) in the churches.  We need to therefore know the word of God well to be able to observe it in worship without adding to it or taking away from it (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 22:18-19) and being misled or misleading others from the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord whom we worship (John 4:23-24, Philippians 3:3) in spirit and truth.  The bottom line then is that we are to do what is right in God’s eyes, not our own or society’s.

Deuteronomy 11:1-32 - Do we Choose Blessings or Curses?

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Love and Obedience Rewarded

1 “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always. 2 Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the LORD your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm— 3 His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4 what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: how He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day; 5 what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; 6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel— 7 but your eyes have seen every great act of the LORD which He did.

8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 9 and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, 17 lest the LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.

18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

22 “For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory. 25 No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.

26 “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 29 Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? 31 For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. 32 And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.

Love for the LORD and obedience to God’s word bring blessings, while sinful disbelief with disregard for Him and disobedience to all He tells us results in adverse consequences.  Israel was warned of the failure to put His words int their hearts and souls, their entire lives.  Do we pit the scriptures into everyday practice to guide and lead our actions and speech or do we (1 John 2:15-16, 17) satisfy ungodly desires as the direction of our lives?  How much better to pursue the knowing and knowledge with wisdom in understanding of our Lord and His desire for our good in life and His glory in so living it!  May we do as God’s people here were told, to remember all the great things He has done for us and how He revealed His glorious nature to our hearts and minds and souls.  God provides for us in His divine providence to keep us from wanting any needed thing that is for our good (Philippians 4:11-12, 2 Peter 1:3, James 1:17, Romans 8:28) and we are blessed in our contentment (1 Timothy 6:6) as we follow His word in living it out in willing obedience to conform to His image (2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 11:1) as we imitate what Jesus taught and demonstrated to us in the life He lived before us as recorded in His word.  If we continue to disobey or disregard pleasing Him and putting first what His word tells us, then the curse of unfruitfulness and displeasure loom in our way to an abundant life of His pleasure in Christ.  We should be careful to observe all He has told us in the scriptures therefore, not to earn or keep our eternal salvation, but to lay up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20) that pleases Him as crowns of glory to His name and work to deliver us from our fallen nature’s idolatry and immorality.  We do this by keeping His word before our eyes as the Jews of old did with frontlets containing scripture on their foreheads, but with the true intention of that practice by keeping them in our thoughts and actions (1 Timothy 4:15-16, 2 Timothy 2:15) and not in a book left mostly untouched and unread on display upon a shelf.  There are true blessings of joy and fulfillment in Christ contained in these words recorded for us by those chosen by the Lord to make His will known for us to follow.  Let us never stop our pursuit of holiness as we reverently work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13) and rely on His Spirit working mightily (Colossians 1:29) in us with eternal blessings we already possess (Ephesians 1:3) that we might desire and do all contained in these pages until we stand before Him in the promised land of the Kingdom of promise by faith in God’s word and work in His Son.  Do we then choose blessings or curses as rewards or losses?