Reflections on Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14 (Contemporary English Version)

1. People of Israel, you are the LORD's children, so when you mourn for the dead, you must not cut yourselves or shave your forehead.
   
2. Out of all the nations on this earth, the LORD your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the LORD, so don't behave like those who worship other gods.
   
3. Don't eat any disgusting animals.
   
4. You may eat the meat of cattle, sheep, and goats; wild sheep and goats; and gazelles, antelopes, and all kinds of deer.
   
5. (SEE 14:4)
   
6. It is all right to eat meat from any animals that have divided hoofs and also chew the cud.
   
7. But don't eat camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. These animals chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. You must treat them as unclean.
   
8. And don't eat pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don't even touch a dead pig!
   
9. You can eat any fish that has fins and scales. But there are other creatures that live in the water,
   
10. and if they do not have fins and scales, you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.
    
11. You can eat any clean bird.
    
12. But don't eat the meat of any of the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes. You must not eat bats.
    
13. (SEE 14:12)
    
14. (SEE 14:12)
    
15. (SEE 14:12)
    
16. (SEE 14:12)
    
17. (SEE 14:12)
    
18. (SEE 14:12)
    
19. Swarming insects are unclean, so don't eat them.
    
20. However, you are allowed to eat certain kinds of winged insects.
    
21. You belong to the LORD your God, so if you happen to find a dead animal, don't eat its meat. You may give it to foreigners who live in your town or sell it to foreigners who are visiting your town. Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
    
22. People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest.
    
23. Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the LORD your God.
    
24. But suppose you can't carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped. If you live too far away, or if the LORD gives you a big harvest,
    
25. then sell this part and take the money there instead.
    
26. When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too.
    
27. And since people of the Levi tribe won't own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.
    
28. Every third year, instead of using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse.
    
29. The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.
    

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    Moses continues his messages to the Israelites as he prepares them to enter Canaan. In preceeding chapters he spoke to them about being loyal to God and forsaking any hint of idolatry. In this chapter he emphasizes their special relationship to God as the only nation on earth that God had chosen "to be His special people." (14:2) As such they should not participate in the pagan practices of the surrounding nations such as cutting themselves or making bald spots on their heads as a practice of mourning.
    
    Furthermore, they were to be different from the other nations in their dietary practices.  The purpose of these dietary laws has been a source of debate for centuries. The various thoughts concerning them go from having hygienic value to their being used in pagan cultic practices to being symbolic of good and evil. Given the context and the difficulty in applying any of these other approaches consistently throughout the list, I prefer to see them as an additional distinction God made to show Israel's unique relationship to Him. Their recognition and acknowledgment of God was to be observed in every area of their lives. Just as they were not to cut themselves or make bald spots as a practice of mourning to distinguish themselves from the pagans, they were not to eat just any food as a further distinction.
    
    Moses then moved to the topic of tithing. Tithing from their produce of crops and livestock had been addressed in the covenant given them at Sinai. This was to go to the Levites as an offering to the Lord. The portion mentioned in this chapter was to be eaten by the Israelites in the presence of the Lord at the tabernacle. It is not clear whether this was a portion of the tithe mentioned in Numbers or a second tithe to be taken from the remaining 90% as some think. In either event, when they were established in their new land, they were to travel annually to the central sanctuary for this meal, bringing their food with them, to recognize God as the source of their prosperity. They could bring a tenth of their grain, new wine, and oil, or firstborn of their herd and flock. If the distance they had to travel was too great, they could sell the produce or livestock and bring the proceeds with them to purchase something for the meal when they arrived at the location of the sanctuary.
    
    As a provision for the less fortunate, every third year they were to store the food within their own communities to be used for the foreign residents, fatherless, and widows among them as well as the Levites who were dependent on them for their food. Their generosity would be rewarded with God's blessing of the work of their hands.