Deuteronomy 14:22-29, Thoughts on Deut. 12-14

What we have called the “details” (the “statutes and judgments”) begin in Dt. 12:1. It continues through Dt. 26:19.  We will place a listing of topics, and will make just a few comments that we find helpful.    

·       Ch. 12: One place of worship.  In the shammah (Dt. 6:4-6) Israel confessed that the LORD is one.  The unity of God was behind the one place of worship.  YAHWEH was not one of many gods.  Thus Israel was to destroy all the places used in Canaanite worship (v1-4) and then await the time God would designate one specific place (v5).  Until that time, Israel’s practice was described as every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes (v8).  That same phrase is God’s description of time during the period of the Judges, a time before there was a centralized government (cf. Judges 17:6).  God’s choice of Jerusalem as the place where He would put His name came in the time of David, a man and king after God’s own heart.  Psalm 78 describes why God chose Judah and Jerusalem over Ephraim and Shilo. 

·       Ch. 13: Dealing with apostates.  The end of Dt. 12 (v29-32) warns against idolatry, and the related sin of adding to or taking away from His commands.  Since there is one God, His word must be meticulously guarded.  For that reason, Dt. 13 calls for total eradication of everything about those who would lead Israel into idolatry. 

·       14:1-2: Don’t mourn like the nations; you are holy to the LORD.  Death, of course, is a major event.  How we grieve in those times says something about our religion.  It tells whether or not we have hope after this life and how certain we are about life after death.  But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope (1 Th. 4:13).

·       14:3-21: Clean/unclean animals.  As in Lev. 11, this issue is based in Israel’s relationship with God.  You can let foreigners eat an animal that died of itself, but not Israel, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God (14:21).

·       14:22-29: Tithing.  Why was the tithe established?  You might think it was to care for the Levites, and you would be correct (v27).  However, the point of the Levites was to lead Israel in the worship of God.  Thus, the tithe was established that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always (v23).  This recognition of God opened up the floodgates of God’s blessing on Israel (v29; cf. also Mal. 3:8-12).  Giving to the LORD tells what you think of the LORD!

To this point (Ch. 12-14) there is an emphasis on the first two of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourself a carved image (Dt. 5:7-8).  What principles and practices do you have to honor the LORD in that way?