Deuteronomy 14:1-29
1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
4 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
14 And every raven after his kind,
15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
19 And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth:a and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
THE VAIN SHOW OF MOURNING
(vs.1-2)
The dignity of Israel's outward relationship to God as sons required them to act with proper dignity. The ungodly nations practiced such things as cutting themselves and shaving the front of their head to show how they respected people who had died. This was vain hypocrisy, a show of religiousness intended to draw attention to themselves. The Lord Jesus reproved even the loud weeping and wailing of people around the house of Jairus at his daughter's death (Mark 5:38). Cutting oneself, shaving the hair, weeping and wailing, can do nothing for the person who has died. In fact, if it is a believer who has died, this is really cause for quiet thankfulness that he or she is with the Lord. If an unbeliever, it is too late then to be of any help, though hearts should be subdued before God. It is perfectly right that one should weep in feeling the loss of a loved one, as the Lord Jesus wept in sympathy with Mary and Martha (John 11:32), but to put on an outward show is repulsive.
Israel ought to specially regard this instruction for they were a holy people, chosen by God, a special treasure above all other people (v.2). The Church of God today has a higher dignity than this, for she is invested with heavenly blessings, her inheritance being in heaven (Ephesians 1:3).
CLEAN MEATS CONTRASTED TO UNCLEAN
(vs.3-21)
Leviticus 11:1 has before laid down laws concerning this subject, and these verses reinforce them. A number of animals are listed as being clean and therefore fit for meat for Israel (vs.4-5). These included animals that had cloven hooves and also chewed the cud. Any animal that lacked one of these were not fit for Israel's consumption (v.6). A list of some of these is found in verses 7 and 8.
As to water creatures, all having fins and scales were permitted for food: if not, they were not to be eaten (vs.9-19) No particular feature is mentioned as to birds, however, that were to be refused. Yet those that are mentioned are those that feed on carrion (vs.12-19). In all of these things there is vital spiritual significance. For though under grace there is no longer any restriction as to eating these creatures (1 Timothy 4:4), yet if we feed on what is spiritually unclean, we shall be badly affected by it. The believer has so much excellent spiritual food that he should fully avoid what is harmful. How well it is that we take to heart the Lord's words, "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feed on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:57). Can we dare to make room for a diet that is contrary to this pure and living food?
Clean animals chewed the cud, speaking of the character of meditation, which is vital to every believer. Having cloven hooves speaks of a balanced walk, which preserves from being trapped in mud and enables a more sure-footed walk in rocky paces. We need this in a world of adversity. As to water creatures, fins propel the fish through the waters, a contrast to the inert settling down that unbelievers prefer. Scales are a protection also which we need from the elements of the world. The unclean birds teach us that we are not to accept that which feeds on corruption.
Israel was not to eat anything that died of itself. Yet they were allowed to give it to an alien or sell it to a foreigner, for these were not under the same laws as Israel, and could decide for themselves what they would eat. There is no indication that such things would be harmful physically. Of course one should be cautious in case of animal died of poisoning.
An interesting note is added here that a young goat was not to be boiled in its mother's milk, for the milk is intended as nourishment, just as the Word of God is intended to nourish young believers (1 Peter 2:2), not to boil them! We should be careful how we use the Scriptures, for young believers need the nourishment and encouragement of God's Word. If we use the Word against them in a harsh, critical way, this is like boiling a kid in its mother's milk.
TITHING
(vs.22-29)
We read of Abram tithing all the spoils of his victory in battle, giving this to Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High God (Genesis 14:18). This tithe was totally voluntary, not because of any law. Jacob promised to give a tithe (one tenth) of all that the Lord would give him (Genesis 28:22), but there is no record in Scripture of his every paying it.
But the law in Israel required everyone to tithe all the increase of whatever kind, whether grain, wine or oil, or the firstborn of their flocks and herds. InNumbers 18:21 we read of all the tithes in Israel being given to the Levites for their support, and of the Levites being required to give a tithe of the tithes to the Lord (v.26). Yet it seems here inDeuteronomy 14:1 that the people were allowed to eat of their tithes "before the Lord your God," sharing those tithes with the Levites (vs.27-29).
If they lived a long distance from Jerusalem, they were allowed to sell the tenth of their produce for money and bring that money to Jerusalem, where they would spend it for whatever food they desired to eat "before the Lord" (vs.24:26). For the Lord desired them to rejoice before Him rather than to consume their produce with selfish greed, apart from God's presence.
However, their providing for the Levites was to be every third year, when they were to store up the tenth of their produce. The Levites were entitled to this, along with strangers, fatherless and widows who might be with them. When comparing this with Numbers 18:21, we may not clearly see the exact way in which all this was done, but Numbers 18:24 speaks of the tithes the children of Israel "offered as a heave offering to the Lord" as being given to the Levites. This may explain why there seems to be a contradiction in these accounts. For we know God never contradicts Himself.
In the New Testament, rather than being commanded to give tithes, believers are encouraged to give only as they may purpose in their hearts, in appreciation of the pure grace of God. How good to be reminded that "God loves a cheerful give" (2 Corinthians 9:7).