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Deuteronomy Chapter 14 "Meats." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location We are now entering the health laws, the laws that determine what we should eat, and what will cause us to get sick. These health laws are still in existence today. We can determine by what we eat whether each of us will maintain good health in our flesh body. This chapter will not only teach us what these laws are, but what rituals have taken their place. Remember that none of the law is completely done away with, except we update it and bring it to our generation. An example of this is when Christ was crucified, all the law that pertain to blood sacrificing were fulfilled in Christ's death on the cross. That meant that there would be no more animal sacrifice. To do so after the death and resurrection of Christ would be blasphemy against God. Jesus Christ the Son of God shed the only blood that would be necessary for the forgiveness of sin. So when these sacrifices are called for in the Old Testament, we know that those animal sacrifices for our generation applies to our sacrifice given for our love for God, for the Father giving us His Son to be our Savior. Health food, according to the plan of God will keep your physical body healthy. So to break one of these health laws is not a sin unto death, but it is a sin that will bring you bad health. When God created the animals and placed them on this earth, certain of these animals were to be scavengers. They would become the living vacuum cleaners of the beaches, in the waters, and on the face of the earth. Their purpose was to eat the dead flesh of other animals, and clean up the the land and waters. If dead flesh continued to lay in the open rotting away, in time it would bring disease to the entire earth and no man or women could exist in such an environment. The pig cleans up the domestic barnyard, the vulture cleans up the dead rodents while the live rodents clean up the dead insects and other minute creatures. The shark cleans up the oceans, and so on; whereby the dead, diseased and filth of the earth are removed and their poisons transferred into the bodies of the scavengers. Those carcass' poisons were not meant by God to enter into our human bodies, not even after they had been removed by these scavengers and become part of their bodies. This is why we have the health law, and when our Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, it did not change the purpose of the pig, the vulture, the rat or the shark, they are all still scavengers, and they still do what they have always done. They clean up the environment that they live in. To say then that God did away with the health laws is pure stupidity, for you would be intentionally opening your physical well being up to sickness and disease by eating one of these scavengers. God knows exactly what animals are fit to eat, and which will make us sick and diseased, and He gave that information to Moses. That information is what is called the "health laws", and that is what this chapter is all about. The rule that we should follow is that if the animal is a carnivorous, or eats the flesh of other animals, you do not eat that animal. This applies to animals of the earth or the fowls of the air. You eat the animals that eat the plants of the earth, such as the cows, sheep and so on. We know that when cows have been fed flesh of other dead animals, they catch the "mad cow disease", which can kill you if eaten. When scientists experiment with things that go against God's laws, mankind pays the price. So remember that if you want to be healthy, than follow these rules. Deuteronomy 14:1 "Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead." If you are a child of God, you know that there is nothing that you can do for the dead. Their soul has been removed from this dimension of this earth age, and they have entered into another dimension of the heavenly realm with our Father. It is to late for those in the physical realm to have an affect on their soul. The "dead" as spoken of here also has a deeper meaning, such as the "nekros" and the "nekrus" in the Greek. For the deeper scholar it goes deeper than we are going to study here. The fallen angels are also called the "dead", because they have already been sentanced to death for their refusal to enter this earth age through the womb of a woman. If you know that at the death of a loved one his soul goes back to be with the Father, you do not have to go through all sorts of rituals for the dead. The death of a loved one that is in the Lord becomes something that you should rejoice over, and be happy for that departed soul. Those that are left behind in the flesh will miss the diseased, for they will leave a great void in the lives of the ones still in these flesh bodies. It should be the desire of all Christians to be back with the Father, for that is the hope of our salvation in Christ. Our crown is eternal life, not in these flesh bodies, but in our soul that lives eternally with our heavenly Father in His kingdom. Deuteronomy 14:2 "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." Moses is speaking directly to Israel here, and pointing out that we have been chosen to be a [peculiar people] which is a treasure of our Heavenly Father. So why would God play favorites with the different peoples of the earth? He didn't. There was a certain family of people that God selected to be the lineage that our Savior would be born in. That lineage of Messiah was through father Abraham, Isaac and his son, Israel. God had a purpose for all of the twelve tribes, not just the tribe of Judah. The blessing promises that God gave to Abraham was passed on through Isaac, and Jacob, and on to Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. However the right to rule, and of the law was given to Judah. Within those ten tribes that made up the "house of Israel", the nation to the north of the "house of Judah" [Jews], goes the promise of God to Abraham. The promise was that His people would become as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, and these people of the house of Israel would be blessed. That blessing today exists in the Christian nations of the earth, including America, Canada, and England and the other Christian nations. However, the real treasure of Israel was that Christ, the promised Messiah would come through the lineage of Israel. Without our Lord Jesus Christ there would be no Savior, nor hope of Salvation, but only death. If Christ did not come to earth in the flesh, there would be no overcomers, however, in Christ and upon repentance salvation is open to all souls of every race. It was essential that Christ be born the virgin, of this "peculiar people", that had not mixed with the tainted blood of the fallen angels, and according as the God said that He would come in His Word. The blessed virgin Mary's mother was of the tribe of Judah, while her father was a full blood Levite. Jesus was born into the priest line of the the Levites, and the king line of tribe of Judah. That is why Paul writes that He was born after the order of Melchisedec. Hebrews 7:14 "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." Hebrews 7:15 "And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another Priest," Paul is speaking here of the lineage of Jesus. Notice that Moses established that the Messiah's lineage would be through Judah, yet another part of that lineage would come through the Levitical priesthood, through Mary's mother and father. Matthew chapter one gives us the blood line of Joseph, the husband to be of Mary, however, this lineage had nothing to do with the conception of Jesus Christ, except in the manner of the law of an adopted Son. In Luke 3:23-38 there is another genealogy, only this one is of the virgin Mary. The term given here, "Which was the.." would be better translated "by law". This is giving Joseph's Father in law's lineage. It is Mary's father's lineage through the seed of David to Abraham, and on to Adam. When a female was the only child by law, of a family, when she married the seed line of her father would be passed on to her husband. Today we still practice this, and it is called "the in-laws". Jesus lineage to the tribe of Levi comes from her mother, which we derive from Luke 1:35, 36. "And the angel answered and said unto her, "The holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy Thing Which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:36 "And Behold, thy cousin Elisabeth. she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren." Elisabeth was married to Zacharias, and thus by law for Zacharias to be serving the feast of the "order of the course" [Abia], both Zacharias and his wife must be of full Levite lineage. We know that Mary's father was of Judah by the lineage given in Luke 3, so the relationship of Mary to Elisabeth had to have come through Mary's mother. Jesus Christ's lineage came through both the King line and the Priest line, and this made Him the rightful heir to the very throne of God, through the Father. Hebrews 7:16 "Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. " Jesus Christ's right to the Throne came not by the command of a carnal man's order, but by the order and authority of Almighty God. Hebrews 7:17 "For He testifieth, "Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.:" It is Almighty God Himself that testifieth that Jesus Christ "is a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec". This comes from Psalms 110:4: "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews 7:18 "For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof." Man just could not live by that law, so there had to be "a disannulling", or dismantling of the death sentence that was placed on all men and women under the law. That was the weakness of the law. This was done at the cross of Christ, whereby by believing on Jesus name and repenting we could be freed from the death sentence placed on all men by the law. Hebrews 7:19 "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw night unto God." The law didn't save anyone. We draw nigh unto God through Jesus Christ, He is the hope of our salvation. Through the drawing of the Holy Spirit, His Spirit is in us, and we are in Him. That means that our priest now is not here on earth, but He is sitting at the right hand of the Father as our advocate when we fall short of the law and repent. Jesus is behind that veil of secrecy whereby He knows everything, and He hears and controls everything. So we see that God protected the seed of Christ through these peculiar or treasured people. The fallen angels had every intension of polluting the seed line of these Israelites, and God protect them. This is why Moses gave strict orders not to mix with the heathen, nor give their sons or daughters over to them in marriage. The fallen angels took the daughters of these different peoples to marriage, and their offspring were of mixed blood polluted with the fallen angels. That is what a "bastard" or [mamzer in the Hebrew, #4464] is, it is the mixing of blood lines between an Israelite father and non-Israelite mother or vise versa. And to this day it is the greatest insult of slander that one person can say of another Israelite. An illegitimate child by a Israelite father and a Israelite mother is not a "bastard" [mamzer], for the bastard is a hybrid, a mongrel in human flesh. However after the death of Christ, all races and people have salvation through the blood of Christ, even a mamzer, when they by faith come to Him in repentance. Deuteronomy 14:3 "Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing." There are many things that God called an abomination. This now is getting into the health laws, and what we should and should not eat. Deuteronomy 14:4 "These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat," Deuteronomy 14:5 "The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois." There is a good reason that these animals are good to eat. The "pygarg" is a mountain goat, the "wild ox" is what we call the antelope, and the "chamois" is a mountain sheep. They are all eatable and right for food. Deuteronomy 14:6 "And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the clift into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.." Every beast that parteth the hoof, does not include the horse for it has a solid hoof. The sheep, goat and cow all have a parted hoof, that is parted into two claws, and chews the cud. The purpose of the cud is the processing and digesting of the vegetation of their food. These animals are not eaters of any form of meats of other animals, but of plant live. Deuteronomy 14:7 "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." So this group of animals chew their cud, but you are not going to eat of them anyway, and many of them will have the cloven or divided hoof. The camel and horse are included in this group. The jack rabbit is also included in this group, and is referred to as the "hare" here. There is a lot of difference between the cotton tail, and the jack rabbit. The "coney" is a badger for it is of the rodent family. Deuteronomy 14:8 "And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of the flesh, nor touch their dead carcase." In the case of the swine or pig, even though it has the divideth hoof, because it does not chew the cud it is marked as unclean. When you get sick, one of the first things that a doctor will take you off from is pork. The pig does not have sweat glands to eliminate the poisons of its body. The only passage for it's poisons is through its draught or its fat cells. Remember that the eating of pork is not a sin unto death, but it can sure cause trouble for your physical body systems. It can make you ill when you take of these unclean animals. When you break the first five of the ten commandments you have broken the spiritual laws of God, and you will be in trouble with God. When you break the last five commandments, you have broken the civil rules dealing with civil law, and you will be in trouble with you neighbor. However if you break these health laws, the only one that you will be in trouble with is yourself for it is you that will suffer with the sickness and disease. The sin you deal with will be the pain and suffering you may go through. It is your own body that will suffer. Deuteronomy 14:9 "These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales ye shall eat." The bottom fish and scavengers suck their food off the bottom, and survive off the dead and filth of the bottom. The fish that are good to eat must have fins and scales. Deuteronomy 14:10 "And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you." This includes shrimp, and crabs and other shell fish creatures of the water that live on the bottom of the waters. Those of the fish family do not necessarily go along with the same criteria for the other animal families, pertaining to the eating of vegetation. Deuteronomy 14:11 "Of all clean birds ye shall eat." Deuteronomy 14:12 "But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray," The "ossifrage" is also of the eagle family and these hawks are birds with very long claws. The "ospray" are the scavengers of the sea, known as the sea gull. Deuteronomy 14:13 "And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind," The "glede" is of the vulture family, while the "kite" is of the falcon family. These birds are the hunters and scavengers of the bird families. They hunt rodents and other small animals, as well as taking the rotted carcasses of the dead animals for their food. Deuteronomy 14:14 "And every raven after his kind," Deuteronomy 14:15 "And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind," The "owl and the night hawks" are very unclean, the "ospray and the cuckow" are both of the sea gull family of birds and are not to be eaten. These are classes of hunters of other birds or rodents. Deuteronomy 14:16 "The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan," This "swan" named here is the big horned owl. Deuteronomy 14:17 "And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant," The "gier eagle" is of the vulture family, and the "cormorant" like the pelican, it gets its food by diving into the sea and hunting for its pray. It eats most everything that moves that can enter into its wide bill. Again, these are all hunter birds and scavengers. Deuteronomy 14:18 "And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat." The "stork" is a very dirty bird, while the "heron" is the parrot. The "lapwing" is getting close to the rodent family, and is a kin to the bat. Deuteronomy 14:19 "And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten." This goes for all sorts of rodents, bugs, and worms. Though the locust and grasshopper was called the food of the prophets; they are not a creepers, for there is a great difference. The ostridge is a very unclean bird also, and like the stork and heron we are not to eat of it. Deuteronomy 14:20 "But of all clean fowls ye may eat." Remember that the health laws are for your maintaining of good health. Deuteronomy 14:21 "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 the kid in his mother's milk." It doesn't matter what the creature, fish, beast or bird, if that creature has died of itself it is not to be eaten ever. You may ask, why would God say it was okay to give these meats to the stranger in the gates, or sell it to the aliens? The use of strangers here means that they were not of Israel, and they were of peoples that are on the diet of these foods. Usually they did not have food laws of their own to live by. The people of the many other nations did not bleed their animals for their food. This would be common food to them, and their bodies were use to eating such foods. The blood causes the flesh to spoil when it is left inside after the animal is dead. These strangers and aliens simply have no thought of God's ways, and all flesh was considered good food to them. Much the same as most Christians treat the health laws of God today. It doesn't matter to most Christians what they eat; ham, bacon, shrimp, or even a sea gull, it is all good to them if it is cooked. Here in the Midwest the catfish is considered real good eating, even though it is the biggest garbage collector of our rivers and ponds and lakes. Their preacher tell them it is okay for God's health laws are over and done with, and that is all that matters to them. They hold man's traditions higher than they do God's instructions for their eating habits. Even if an animal was a clean animal, if it was not bled properly when it was slaughtered, it would still be unclean. The "seething a kid in its mother's milk" has nothing to do with the health laws, In fact it would be very tasty. However this has to do with the love that our heavenly Father has for the rest of His creation within the animal kingdom. After the mother birthed the little creature, to take that kid, and broil it in the very milk that was suppose to nourish it. It is the adding an insult to God's creation, and rubbing salt into the wound, so to speak. In this God is asking us to be kind to all of His animals. When you are not kind to His animals, God has His ways of making you pay for your insults to Him. We see this love in the pet lovers care for their animals, for they will treat their pets like a member of their own family. A farmer treats his animals with great pride and care, for he will place their well being before that of his own. This is what this is referring to, that we learn to care for the animals. The very hunters that hunt for sport and food, care very much for the well being of the very animals that they hunt. We have animal rights and humane societies today that will take you to court if they see you mistreat your animals, or even a wild animal. Deuteronomy 14:22 "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year." Deuteronomy 14:23 "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." The "tithe" of the increase, and the "firstlings" of thy flocks and herds belong to the Lord. To men and women in a profession or in labor, the first tithe or tenth of what ever your increase or wage, it belongs to the Lord. The tithe is not yours to spend, but that first increase belongs to the Lord. This is God's part, and you give it to show your reverence and respect for Him in obedience to Him. This is all part of the law, and there is nothing within the law that has been simply dropped, but everything that was taken away by the blood of Christ, was replaced with something else. So if you can not find where something of the law has been replaced by the blood of Christ in the New Testament, than it still exists. Deuteronomy 14:24 "And if they 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 chose to set His name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:" Remember back in chapter twelve we touched on God's special places where the tithe was to be brought, to Shiloh, to Jerusalem and so on, well here God is addressing what should be done with the tithe and first fruits when it cannot be brought to these location. This is when the crops in the field would be to much produce and cattle to be driven to far to reach the location God had appointed. When God blesses you with a gain, He expects His tenth, and your location and distance from the church house will not be a barrier to your fulfilling this act. When God blesses us today through a ministry that is to far to attend, this is what God expects us to do. Moses is looking ahead to future generation, to a thousand generation and even to this day. Deuteronomy 14:25 "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:" God is telling us to sell those products, those cattle where we live, and turn that product into money that you can carry easily to the place where God tells you to give. Deuteronomy 14:26 "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: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household," So God is telling us that when you get to that location, you take the money that you have in hand, and replace it back to what you raised to provide for your household. If you raised cattle, than buy cattle, if sheep than buy sheep. If your a brewer, than that is what you will buy to take to the house or temple of God. After you have done this, then the entire household is to take part in the sacrificial meal of that year. It would be sort of like our thanksgiving meal. God blessed your family, and you took time to give to the Lord His portion, than after all this is completed, you and your families sit down to a big meal and give thanks to God for the blessings. The tithe went to the Levitical priesthood and became their livelihood as well as for the care of the temple or house of God and the widows and orphans. We know that these animal sacrifices are not given any more since the death and resurrection of Christ, for God said, I don't want your burnt offerings, but I want your love. God intends to have your love or you will pay for withholding it from Him. Christ replaced the burnt offering so this sacrificial meal that they were required to take part in was replaced by the great commission. This is what the tithe is for, to take the gospel to all the people of the world. This is only talking about the tithe that rightly belongs to God. Up and beyond this are another offerings called the love offering, or the offering for the poor. This offering is to give for the needs of the poor, and it is not part of the tithe. Deuteronomy 14:27 "And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee." At the time of this writing and just after, the Levitical priesthood could not own land or properties. They did not have the opportunity to have outside jobs, nor raise crops and herds of their own. Their duties were that of doing their duties in the temple and at the altar, as well as the teaching of the law. They sat at the gates of the city and in the temple to serve the children of God. God is telling us that these men and women and their families and are not to be forsaken when you enjoy the blessings that God has given to you. The Levitical priesthood also took care of many of the things that are on the shoulders of the government today. They took care of the widows and orphans, and what we call the social security today. Much of what we pay taxes on today, such as the executive, judicial and legislative bodies of government, were all handled by the Levitical priesthood and included in this ten percent. The Levitical priesthood carried out the punishment under the law, and it was the government beside being the spiritual leaders of the community. Today the tending to the orphans and the needy comes under the love offerings, and not the tithe. Today the tithe is given to cover the great commission of Mark 16:15. Mark 16:14 Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had see Him after He was risen." Judas was dead at this time, so there are eleven of Jesus disciples that remained together through His Christ's ministry. As these disciples were together arguing in disbelief, Jesus appeared to them and scolded them for their unbelief. I'm sure that each of the disciples stood there and took Jesus words humbly as they finally realized exactly who Jesus was. Mark 16:15 "And He said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The "gospel of Christ" is His death, burial and resurrection that has to be preached to every one of God's creation, no matter what their race, people or tongue. There were many language barriers these disciples of Christ would face as they scattered out from Jerusalem, and around the world. Much is known of where these men went, and most of them met with great tribulation and even death for their preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before the preaching could take place, new languages had to be learned so they could teach with understanding. Jesus instructions were to "Go ye into all the Word and preach the gospel", and that is what the purpose of the tithe is for. This is the great commission that Jesus gave to them and every generation to our today. Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." We are to follow in Christ's footsteps, and in that He was baptized, so also should we be baptized. Many wonder if one is not baptized, does that mean that they are not saved? The foremost requirement of Salvation is ones Faith that allows him to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that Jesus lived the perfect life, then suffered as the Scriptures prophesied and taught that He did; then died on the cross for our sins, and rose on the third day, as the Scriptures said that He would. When you believe this, than your repentance to the Father is "in Jesus name", for you understand that in Christ is the only way to the Father, and the only way to salvation. If you do not believe this, than your sins will damn you, for there is no other way that man can find salvation. Mark 16:17 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;" "These signs" are those things that make it obvious that the Holy Spirit is with that individual. You either have Christ in you, or you do not. If the Holy Spirit is within you, you will do those things that are the fruit of the Spirit. The "new tongues" spoken of here is not the same as the "unknown tongues" spoken on Pentecost day, but they are new languages. For the teaching and preaching to take place a new language must be learned first, before the gospel can be brought forth with understanding. It is going to take an effort on the part of the missionary before he or she can be ready to teach the gospel with understanding. Mark 16:18 "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Spiritually speaking Satan is the serpent, and his offspring through Cain, the Kenites are the serpents that we face. We will also face the evil spirits of Satan. The drink that is spoken of here that is the deadly thing, are the traditions and false doctrines that are given out, and their deadly lies simply will not hurt you when you know the truth. The poisons and filth in the words that people will use against you will not harm you when you are in and following the will of God. We are to live our lives so that our character will be such that it just doesn't matter what people say about us, for our character will stand the test. Liars and gossip spreaders can spread all the lies they want, and they run off you like water off a duck's back. That is what taking the poison means here. These are all "signs" that the Holy Spirit is in you and you are in Christ. Our tithe is for the sake of giving out this great commission, and when we cannot do the work, we are to take part in the work through our tithes. It is with the tithe that the local church needs are taken care of, the missionaries are sent, television time is purchased, and all the other needs concerning the spreading of the gospel are taken care of. When we do our part in the commission, than God blesses us. All the burnt and blood offerings are done away with today, and Christ is in their place. Deuteronomy 14:28 "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:" You pay the tithe as you receive the crops, the wages or the increase. The children of Israel are in the wilderness, and they will take three years to go in and posses the land and plant their crops to where there is an increase. However as they receive what ever crops or increase in their heards, it must be given then. Now in verse twenty eight Moses switches from the tithe, to what is called the love offering for the poor. This is what is called the "free will offering". This leads to the "sabbatical year", which is the seventh year. Deuteronomy 14:29 "And the Levites, (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." Here again Moses is reminding us that the Levites [the priests and ministers of God] are set aside for the sake of taking care of the spiritual needs of the community. God would not allow our people to give inheritance or land to them, for He requires the people to take care of them and their families as they serve. The love offering went to the Levites, however every third year the love offering was to go to the poor. Today many teach that "you owe three tithes", and they try to collect all three for themselves with their begging bags. This part of the giving does not go to the preacher, but to the poor, and it is all part of the free will offering. That portion is given of your own free will to show your love for God, and it is not given as an obligation. If it is an obligation then it is as a vow and not of your free will. When it is given as a vow to a person it is not to God but for a personal commitment. It becomes a debt in the eyes of God, and not an offering. Much of the caring for the widows, orphans, and poor today is done with our money through governmental agencies. The giving of the free will offering is directed by our vote, and distributed by you through those we vote into office. However in Moses day, these forms of government did not exist. God does not expect you to give away all your blessings that He has given you, but that you enjoy your increase, after your tithe had been given. If you gave the free will offering, than God gave blessings for those gifts. We will go into this in the next chapter.
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