PEACE

PEACE

Isaiah 2:17-22

¹⁷ Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. ¹⁸ The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. ¹⁹ They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the LORD and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ²⁰ At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live, ²¹so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the LORD and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ²² Stop trusting in human beings, whose life’s breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?

There is something special about the Christmas season. It occurs at the end of the year for most of the world. It is a time of great excitement and activity. But the fact that the Advent season falls at the end of the year makes it a moment for reflection. Even amid the busyness of events, we seem to find time to pause and consider what truly matters in life. For many of us, Christmas is a time spent with family. It’s an opportunity to strengthen our relationships. For many, it’s also a time to reconnect with our faith. When we think about that baby in the Manger, we are reminded that we are part of a story unfolding before us, where God is actively involved in our daily lives.

I heard a sermon years ago titled “We Interrupt This Program.” That’s what God is doing at Christmas. He interrupts our lives, making us pause and think about what truly matters. That’s what God did when He sent His only Son to be born in Bethlehem. Life has gone on much the same way for generations, until Jesus came. The Christmas season is a time for us to pause and recognize that we are part of a universe in which God plays an active role.

The themes related to the Advent weeks help us reflect on these ideas. Last week, we focused on the theme of hope. We examined Ecclesiastes 9 and saw very little hope in that passage. Yet, Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9 encourages us to enjoy life. The only reason enjoying life is wise is that there is more to life than what is under the sun. Solomon did not know all the details of what God had planned for us. But he understood that there is more to life than just what is under the sun. We now know more than Solomon did. We know that there is hope beyond the grave because Jesus came and promised eternal life at the resurrection. Therefore, we have even greater cause to hope in our God.

This week’s Advent theme is peace. The passage we are looking at says very little about peace. But there is an essential reason for that, which I think will become more evident as we study this text. So let’s look at what the prophet Isaiah says in today’s text.

Isaiah describes the terrible Day of the LORD.

The day of the Lord is a common topic among the Old Testament prophets. The typical prediction they make is that God will come to judge the world. Malachi predicted a day when the world would burn like a furnace. He said that “all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up. It will not leave even a root or branch” (Malachi 4:1).

It is the same day of the Lord that Malachi mentioned, which Isaiah also refers to in today’s passage. He is describing a time of great fear for those living on the earth because God’s wrath has arrived. He depicts those trying to hide from the coming destruction and all the proud individuals caught in the web of God’s wrath, humiliated.

This message is a warning to everyone. The final verse tells us to stop trusting in human beings, whose life breath is in their nostrils. It questions why they should receive special treatment. Of course, in our world, people often get special consideration. We depend on many to tell us what life is and what truly matters. Many of these individuals are proud, arrogant, and even reject God and the Bible. Still, we are tempted to trust them because they are prominent, wealthy, and influential.

But Isaiah’s message is clear: those who are proud, arrogant, influential, and rich will be targets of God’s wrath on the day of the Lord. We are warned not to favor such people. All proud individuals will be humbled; their pride will not save them. Their rebellion against God will be remembered, and they will face the punishment of eternal death in the lake of fire.

Isaiah says that the day will reveal what people have trusted in.

He talks about how people of the world trust in the proud, the rich, the arrogant, and the influential. They have placed their trust in the wrong people. They should have trusted the humble, the meek, the righteous, and the pious. But these people they chose to reject. Instead, they selected those who would rule over them, exercising power because of their strength. But Isaiah states that on the day of the LORD, everyone will realize that that strength was actually a weakness. Everyone will see that they backed the wrong side. They trusted those who deceived them. They trusted those who boasted in their unrighteousness. But the day of the LORD will reveal the righteousness of Christ and shame all the unrighteous. Isaiah explains that those proud men will be humiliated. He says that those arrogant men will be brought low. He affirms that the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

A second thing that people have trusted in is idols. In Isaiah’s day, idols were everywhere. The entire culture was fascinated by idol worship. Today, we don’t build personal idols or have family idols. But that doesn’t mean we don’t trust in idols. Anything that replaces God in your life is an idol. In that way, idolatry is still alive and well in every culture on Earth. On the day of the Lord, our idols will be exposed for what they truly are.

Isaiah says that the idols will be thrown away that day. He describes people hiding in caves and holes in the ground, trying to escape the terrible judgment of the Lord and His majestic splendor when He rises up to terrify the earth. What will happen to those idols? He says that people will toss their silver and gold idols—crafted for worship—into caves where rodents and bats live. They will be discarded because people will finally realize those idols are worthless.

For our generation and country, we will also find that many idols in our lives did not live up to their promises. Those without Christ might cling to their idols, but these idols cannot protect them from God’s coming judgment.

There is a warning for us in this message today. It reminds us to trust in the right things. Many people are demanding that we trust them, and many things seek to take up our lives and time. But only God and His word are genuinely deserving of our trust.

The consistent view of the Day of the LORD in the Old Testament was one where God would come to judge. But it also taught true believers that the day of the Lord would be a day of deliverance for them. God was very concerned that people would be caught off guard on judgment day. He wanted to ensure that everyone had a chance to repent and come to Christ before the Day of the LORD. That is why the Old Testament also spoke of another day. This day would be when God sent a special message to everyone, telling them how to prepare for the day of the LORD. That day was Christmas Day.

Before the day of the lord, God sent a message of peace.

The biblical God is a God of judgment, but He is also a God of compassion. He does not want anyone to perish but desires all to come to repentance. Therefore, it makes sense that God would make every effort to reach as many people as possible with the message of peace, preventing them from suffering His judgment. God’s plan included a message designed to capture people’s attention and help them avoid trusting in the wrong things. The message needed to be strong enough for the world to notice and clear enough for people to see the difference between following God and following idols.

God’s message of peace was not written in a book. It was not carved into a sculpture. It was not an audible recording. God’s message of peace was a person. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son. Jesus himself was the message that God sent to prevent people from facing his wrath on the day of the Lord. Those who put their trust in Christ protect themselves from that terrible day of the Lord.

The angel told the shepherds not to be afraid because a Savior is born in Bethlehem. The angel choir sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

Paul taught that Christ is our peace because he has united us all as children of God. He said that Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So, we have bad news and good news today. The bad news is that a terrible day of war and destruction will come in the future of this planet. The good news is Jesus, because he makes it possible for us to have peace with God now and to avoid that coming destruction.

We sing of the baby Jesus sleeping in heavenly peace. The truth is, he is our heavenly peace. He is the Prince of Peace. He will finally bring peace to this world at war.

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17:1 “Do not sacrifice to Yahveh your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, because that is repulsive to Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 17:2 “If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that Yahveh your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of Yahveh your God and violating his covenant

Deuteronomy 17:3 and has gone to serve other gods by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky – about which I have commanded –

Deuteronomy 17:4 and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. Notice if the report turns out to be true that this repulsive act has been done in Israel,

Deuteronomy 17:5 you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.

Deuteronomy 17:6 The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.

Deuteronomy 17:7 The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 17:8 “If a judgment is too complicated[1] for you – concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults – cases disputed at your city gates, then go up to the place Yahveh your God chooses.

Deuteronomy 17:9 You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the judgment.

Deuteronomy 17:10 You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place Yahveh chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you.

Deuteronomy 17:11 You must abide by the instruction they give you and the judgment they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you.

Deuteronomy 17:12 The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there ministering to Yahveh your God or the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:13 Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.

Deuteronomy 17:14 “When you enter the land Yahveh your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will place a king over me like all the nations around me,’

Deuteronomy 17:15 you are to place over you the king Yahveh your God chooses. Place a king from among your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you or one who is not of your people.

Deuteronomy 17:16 However, he must only acquire a few horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses because Yahveh has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

Deuteronomy 17:17 He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must acquire a manageable amount of silver and gold for himself.

Deuteronomy 17:18 When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

Deuteronomy 17:19 It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear Yahveh his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these prescriptions.

Deuteronomy 17:20 Then his heart will not be exalted above his fellow citizens, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.

[1] פָּלָא = complicated, overwhelming. Deuteronomy 17:8; 28:59; 30:11.

Deuteronomy 17 quotes:

“In the closing lines of chapter xvi, Israel is w-arned against the most distant approach to the religious customs of the nations around. “Thou shalt not ])lant thee a grove of an}’ trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image which the Lord thy God hateth.” They were carefully to avoid everv thing which might lead them in the direction of the daik and abominable idolatries of the heathen nations around. The altar of God was to stand out in distinct and unmistakable separation from those proves and shady places where false gods were worshiped, and things were done which are not to be named.* In a word, every thing was to be most carefully avoided which might in any way draw the heait away from the one living and true God.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. pp. 258-259.

“There had to be at least two valid witnesses against the accused person in order for a case to be established and the death penalty to be put into effect. One witness was not sufficient in a case of this severity, for in the last resort, the evidence would consist merely in one man’s word against that of another fellow Israelite. For the application of the principle of two or more witnesses in the NT, see Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:1, 1 Tim. 5:19. The way in which the execution was to be carried out emphasizes the burden of responsibility for truthful testimony that rested on the witness in a case involving capital punishment.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (pp. 250-251). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16:1 “Set aside the month of Avib and watch the Passover to Yahveh your God, because Yahveh your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Avib.

Deuteronomy 16:2 Sacrifice to Yahveh your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where Yahveh chooses to have his name dwell.

Deuteronomy 16:3 Do not eat leavened bread[1] with it. For seven days, you are to eat matzah[2] with it, the bread of hardship– because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry — so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 16:4 No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.

Deuteronomy 16:5 You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns Yahveh your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 16:6 Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where Yahveh, your God, chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 16:7 You are to cook and eat it in the place Yahveh your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning.

Deuteronomy 16:8 Eat matzah for six days. On the seventh day, there is to be a solemn assembly to Yahveh, your God; do not do any work.

Deuteronomy 16:9 “You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.

Deuteronomy 16:10 You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks to Yahveh, your God, with a spontaneous voluntary offering that you give in proportion to how Yahveh, your God, has empowered you.

Deuteronomy 16:11 Enjoy the face of Yahveh your God, in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the guest, the fatherless, and the widow among you.

Deuteronomy 16:12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully watch these prescriptions.

Deuteronomy 16:13 “You are to celebrate the Festival of Huts[3] for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.

Deuteronomy 16:14 Enjoy yourselves at your festival – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the guest, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates.

Deuteronomy 16:15 You are to hold a seven-day festival for Yahveh, your God, in the place he chooses because Yahveh, your God, will empower you in all your produce and all the work of your hands, and you will certainly have joy.

Deuteronomy 16:16 “All your males are to appear three times a year before Yahveh your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Matzah, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Huts. No one is to appear before Yahveh empty-handed.

Deuteronomy 16:17 Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the empowerment Yahveh your God has given you.

Deuteronomy 16:18 “Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns Yahveh your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with ethical judgment.

Deuteronomy 16:19 Do not deny justice or show partiality to[4] anyone. Do not accept a “gift” because it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 16:20 Pursue justice – justice, so that you will stay alive and take possession of the land Yahveh your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 16:21 “Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for Yahveh your God,

Deuteronomy 16:22 and do not set up a standing stone; Yahveh, your God hates them.

[1]חָמֵץ = (anything) leavened.

[2] מַצָּה= Matzah (unleavened bread). Deuteronomy 16:3, 8, 16.

[3]סֻכָּה = hut. Deuteronomy 16:13, 16; 31:10.

[4]literally “recognize the face of”

Deuteronomy 16 quotes:

“WE now approach one of the /nost profound and comprehensive sections of the book of Deuteronom}-, in wliich the inspired writer presents to our view what we may call the three great cardinal feasts of the Jewish j’ear, namely, the passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles ; or, redemption, the Hoi}’ Ghost, and the glory. We have here a more condensed view of those lovely institutions than that given in Leviticus xxiii, where we have, if we count the Sabbath, eight feasts ; but if we view the Sabbath as distinct, and having its own special place as the type of God’s own eternal rest, then there are seven feasts, namely, the passover. the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of first-fruits, Pentecost, trumpets, the day of atonement, and tabernacles.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 219.

“The three major festivals or pilgrimages are dealt with first in this chapter: (a) Passover and Unleavened Bread (vv. 1–8); (b) Weeks, or “Pentecost” (vv. 9–12); (c) Booths (vv. 13–15); vv. 16–17 are a summary section relating to all three festivals and indicating the common theme linking the legislation in this section of Deuteronomy. The legislation concerning the officers of law (vv. 18–20) introduces further legislation relating to: the king (17:14–20); priests (18:1–8); prophets (18:9–22). Verses 21–22 contain a brief portion of legislation relating to the sanctuary of the Lord.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 240). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

“These laws and commands (relating to the judge, priest, king and prophet) are considered by some scholars to make up Israel’s constitution, but this view needs to be balanced by the fact that they belong to the overall structure and concerns of the book, and may not have had an independent existence.”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 16 links:

doggedly pursue justice
Egyptian sand
extending the family
in retrospect- lex rex
in retrospect- remembering
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, June 6, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, June 8, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, June 8, 2021
no new places
our Asherahs and standing stones
stretch limbo
three festivals

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15:1 “At the end of every seven years you must revoke[1] debts.

Deuteronomy 15:2 This is how to revoke debt: Every creditor is to revoke[2] what he has lent his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother because Yahveh’s release of debts has been proclaimed.

Deuteronomy 15:3 You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must revoke whatever your brother owes you.

Deuteronomy 15:4 “There will be no poor among you, however, because Yahveh is sure to empower you in the land Yahveh your God is giving you to take possession of as an inheritance –

Deuteronomy 15:5 if only you obey Yahveh your God and are be careful to follow every one of these commands I am commanding you today.

Deuteronomy 15:6 When Yahveh your God empowers you as he has promised you, you will lend to many nations but not borrow; you will have control over[3] many nations, but they will not have control over you.

Deuteronomy 15:7 “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land Yahveh your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.

Deuteronomy 15:8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has.

Deuteronomy 15:9 Be careful or else there will be this wicked thought in your heart, and this is what you say: ‘The seventh year, the year of revoking debts, is near,’ and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to Yahveh against you, and you will be guilty of failure.[4]

Deuteronomy 15:10 Give to him, and don’t be stingy when you give. Because of this, Yahveh, your God, will empower you in all your work and in everything you do.

Deuteronomy 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, and this is what I say: ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.’

Deuteronomy 15:12 “If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.

Deuteronomy 15:13 When you set him free, do not send him away empty-handed.

Deuteronomy 15:14 Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your wine press. You are to give him whatever Yahveh your God has empowered you with.

Deuteronomy 15:15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahveh, your God, redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.

Deuteronomy 15:16 But if your slave says to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ because he cares about you and your family, and is well off with you,

Deuteronomy 15:17 take an awl and pierce through his ear into the door, and he will become your slave permanently. Also, treat your female slave the same way.

Deuteronomy 15:18 Do not regard it as a hardship when you set him free because he worked for you six years—worth twice the wages of a hired worker. Then Yahveh, your God, will empower you in everything you do.

Deuteronomy 15:19 “Commit to Yahveh your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock.

Deuteronomy 15:20 Each year, you and your family are to eat it before Yahveh, your God, in the place Yahveh chooses.

Deuteronomy 15:21 But if there is a defect in the animal, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you may not sacrifice it to Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 15:22 Eat it within your city gates; both the contaminated person and the pure may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or deer.

Deuteronomy 15:23 But you must not eat its blood; pour it on the land like water.

[1]שְׁמִטָּה

[2]שׁמט

[3]מָשַׁל

[4]חֵטְא = failure. Deuteronomy 15:9; 19:15; 21:22; 22:26; 23:21, 22; 24:15, 16.

Deuteronomy 15 quotes:

“Tlie morning and evening lamb, as we know, pointed ever to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world;” the Sabbalh was the lovely type of the rest that remainelh to the people of God ; the new moon beautifully prefigured the time when restored Israel shall reflect back the beams of the Sun of Righteousness upon the nations ; the passover was the standing memorial of the nation’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage ; the year of tithing set forth the fact of Jehovali’s proprietorship of the land, as also the lovely way in which His rents were to be expended in meeting the need of His workmen and of His poor ; the sabbatic jear gave promise of a bright time when all debts would be canceled, all loans disposed of, all burdens removed ; and finally, the jubilee was the magnificent type of the times of the restitution of all things, when the captive shall be set free, when the exile shall return to his long-lost home and inheritance, and when the land of Israel and the whole earth shall rejoice beneath the beneficent government of the Son ol David.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 205.

“Having had the free service of a slave for six years, there would be those who, for reasons of dependence or greed, would find it very difficult to release the slave. They were to free the slave willingly, however, for his six years of service were equivalent to17 the wages of a hired man—that is, the slave had worked for no pay, and the wages that would have been paid to an employee for the same labor were to be considered as full repayment for the debt that had caused the slavery in the first instance.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 239). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14:1 “You are sons of Yahveh your God; do not cut yourselves or place a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead,

Deuteronomy 14:2 because you are a sacred people to Yahveh your God. Yahveh has chosen you to be his possession out of all the peoples on the face of the land.

Deuteronomy 14:3 “You must not eat any repulsive thing.

Deuteronomy 14:4 These are the animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats,

Deuteronomy 14:5 deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, ibexes, antelopes, and mountain sheep.

Deuteronomy 14:6 You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.

Deuteronomy 14:7 Among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are certainly not to eat these: camels, hares, and hyraxes, though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves– they are contaminated for you;

Deuteronomy 14:8 and pigs, though they have hooves, they do not chew the cud — they are contaminated for you. Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.

Deuteronomy 14:9 “You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales,

Deuteronomy 14:10 but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales – it is contaminated for you.

Deuteronomy 14:11 “You may eat every pure bird,

Deuteronomy 14:12 but these are the ones you may not eat: eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,

Deuteronomy 14:13 the kites, any kind of falcon,

Deuteronomy 14:14 every kind of raven,

Deuteronomy 14:15 ostriches, short-eared owls, gulls, any hawk,

Deuteronomy 14:16 little owls, long-eared owls, barn owls,

Deuteronomy 14:17 eagle owls, ospreys, cormorants,

Deuteronomy 14:18 storks, any heron, hoopoes, and bats.

Deuteronomy 14:19 All winged insects are contaminated for you; they may not be eaten.

Deuteronomy 14:20 But you may eat every pure flying creature.

Deuteronomy 14:21 “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a guest within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a sacred people to Yahveh, your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Deuteronomy 14:22 “Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.

Deuteronomy 14:23 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of Yahveh your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell so that you will always learn to fear Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 14:24 But if the distance is too great for you to carry it since the place where Yahveh your God chooses to place his name is too far away from you and since Yahveh your God has empowered you,

Deuteronomy 14:25 then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place Yahveh your God chooses.

Deuteronomy 14:26 You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything your throat desires. You are to feast there in the presence of Yahveh, your God, and enjoy it with your family.

Deuteronomy 14:27 Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

Deuteronomy 14:28 “At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your city gates.

Deuteronomy 14:29 Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the guest, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates, may come, eat, and be satisfied. And Yahveh, your God, will empower you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Deuteronomy 14 quotes:

“The opening clause of this chapter sets before us the basis of all the privileges and responsibilities of the Isiacl <if God. It is a familiar thought amongst us that we must be in a relationship before we can know the alfections or discharge the duties which belong to it. This is a plain and undeniable truth. If a man were not a father, no amount of argument or explanation could make him understand the feelings or affections of a father’s heart ; but the very moment he enters upon the relationship, he knows all about them.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 175.

“Dead creatures. Eating the meat of an animal that has died a natural death is prohibited. While it is possible that the meat was prohibited because of the likelihood of contamination, which would occur quickly in a hot climate, it is more likely prohibited because the animal had not been killed in the proper fashion and the blood drained out (see 12:16). For this reason, the animal could be eaten by a resident alien or sold to a foreigner, neither of which would have been possible if the meat was already bad. The Israelites were not to eat such meat, which would be ritually unclean, because they were a holy people to the Lord.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 232). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 14 links:

a tithe for others
a unique people
carcasses and goat milk
in retrospect- a Father’s right
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, June 7, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, June 7, 2023
the terrible tithe
uniquely his

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Month: December 2025

PEACE

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17 quotes:

Deuteronomy 17 links:

Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16 quotes:

Deuteronomy 16 links:

Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15 quotes:

Deuteronomy 15 links:

Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14 quotes:

Deuteronomy 14 links: