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I'll just pick up reading in 
Deuteronomy 14 at verse 1. You are the children of the Lord 
your God. You shall not cut yourselves 
nor shave the front of your head for the dead. For you are a holy 
people to the Lord your God. And the Lord has chosen you to 
be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples 
who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any detestable 
thing. These are the animals which you 
may eat, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, 
the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat, the antelope, 
and the mountain sheep. and you may eat every animal 
with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and 
that chews the cud among the animals. Nevertheless, of those 
that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such 
as these, the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax, for they 
chew the cud, but they do not have cloven hooves. They are 
unclean for you. Also, the swine is unclean for 
you because it has cloven hoofs, yet does not chew the cud. You 
shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses. These 
you may eat of all that are in the waters. You may eat all that 
have fins and scales. And whatever does not have fins 
and scales, you shall not eat. It is unclean for you. All clean 
birds you may eat, but these you shall not eat. The eagle, 
the vulture, the buzzard, the red kite, the falcon, and the 
kite after their kinds. Every raven after its kind. The 
ostrich, the short-eared owl, the seagull, and the hawk after 
their kinds. The little owl, the screech owl, 
the white owl, the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 
the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the 
bat. Also, every creeping thing that 
flies is unclean for you. They shall not be eaten. You 
may eat all clean birds. You shall not eat anything that 
dies of itself. You may give it to the alien 
who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell 
it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people to 
the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat 
in its mother's milk. You shall truly tithe all the 
increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 
And you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place where 
he chooses to make his name abide, the tithe of your grain and your 
new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your 
flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 
But if the journey is too long for you so that you are not able 
to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God 
chooses to put his name is too far from you, where the Lord 
your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money. 
Take the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord 
your God chooses. And you shall spend that money 
for whatever your heart desires, for oxen or sheep, for wine or 
similar drink, for whatever your heart desires. You shall eat 
there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and 
your household. You shall not forsake the Levite 
who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance 
with you. At the end of every third year, 
you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year 
and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has 
no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the 
fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come 
and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you 
in all the work of your hand which you do. Amen. I think just at the outset the 
underlying principle is the same as what we find in Deuteronomy 
13 and of course in the entire law code given by God through 
Moses his servant, the fundamental importance of covenant faithfulness 
to Israel's Lord. That's what is highlighted here 
in these morning rites, in these dietary wrongs, and in these 
principles concerning the tithe. It is fidelity to God most high, 
primarily seen in their distinctiveness or holiness which does separate 
them from the peoples around them. So very much connected 
to what we find in Deuteronomy 13. If the false prophet or the 
dreamer of dreams tries to entice you to go after other gods, you 
destroy him. If your family member entices 
you to go after other gods, you destroy him. If one of the cities 
in Israel or one of the Israelite cities in Canaan has apostatized, 
then you destroy them. You don't want that to affect 
the others and infect the entire community, because once that 
happens, then all of the people will be going astray from the 
Lord. The same thing is true with the 
customs of the peoples around them. If you mourn like the pagans, 
it won't be long until you're worshipping their gods. If you 
eat like the pagans, it won't be long until you're worshipping 
their gods. That's the undergirding principle 
here, and that's what God is addressing. through Moses. I'll 
just read a quote from Meredith Klein. I think he highlights 
or he gives a good introductory statement. He says, Israel was 
a distinctive nation that must be manifested throughout the 
ceremonial dimension of the nation's life. That's what's in view here. 
We'll have cause to look at that in a little bit more detail as 
we move along. Remember that prior to our study 
of the law, we not only looked at the three-fold use of the 
law, but we looked at the three-fold division of the law. The law 
of God divides into three categories. There is the moral law, that 
is, the Decalogue. the Ten Commandments, the law 
given by God from Sinai that codified what God had originally 
written on Adam's heart in the garden. Our confession of faith 
wisely sees moral law is there based on God's creation. It is hardwired into us. It was 
summarized, codified, given again or given afresh at Sinai, but 
not fundamentally different. What the Ten Commandments are 
is what God gave to Adam in the garden. Then there is judicial 
law, and we might call that civil law, and that deals with the 
polity, the civil polity functioning in the land of Canaan. You know, 
there was a law that they were to put a roof or a fence up on 
the roof of their house so that if somebody were to fall and 
die, they would be held civilly responsible or criminally responsible 
for that. So the judicial law is the application 
of moral law to concrete settings in life. And then there were 
ceremonial laws, those things that were distinct, those things 
that were unique. to Israel that set them apart 
as the people of God. Our confession of faith speaks 
of the ceremonial law this way. It says they were typical ordinances, 
partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, 
sufferings, and benefits. and partly holding forth divers 
instructions of moral duties, all which ceremonial laws, being 
appointed only to the time of Reformation, are by Jesus Christ, 
the true Messiah and only lawgiver, who was furnished with power 
from the Father for that end, abrogated and taken away. The 
book of Hebrews is a great expression of the ceremonial law being fulfilled 
in and through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. So there are things unique to 
Israel in this particular situation. I am not going to advocate tonight 
that you can no longer eat bacon with your eggs. I believe that 
we can eat bacon. I believe those dietary restrictions 
have been lifted. They have been done away with. 
They have been fulfilled in the person and work of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. But all that to say, those ceremonial 
aspects put the people in a separate category, highlights their distinctiveness 
from the nations around them. That's what Klein says, that 
distinctiveness must be manifested throughout the ceremonial dimension 
of the nation's life. Whether in connection with death, 
verses 1 and 2, or life, verses 3 to 21, the ceremonial practice 
of the people must reflect their peculiar sanctity. Their sacred 
consecration was also to be displayed in the consecration of the fruit 
of their life's labor to the Lord their God, verses 22 to 
29. So whether it's a funeral, or 
food, or tithing, the principle remains the same, fidelity to 
our covenant Lord. That is what is highlighted here 
in Deuteronomy 14. So let's look at these mourning 
rites in verses 1 and 2. Notice verse 1, you are the children 
of the Lord your God. This goes back to Exodus chapter 
4 when God highlights his choice of Israel and he calls them my 
firstborn. They weren't the first nation 
in the earth, but rather firstborn. There are highlights or indicates 
their preeminence. There's special status. When 
we get to Paul's use of firstborn as he applies it to the Lord 
Jesus, it doesn't mean he's the firstborn creature, but rather 
it means he's the preeminent one. He has special status. He 
is the only begotten of the Father. So God, already back in Exodus 
chapter 4, highlights the reality that Israel is His firstborn 
son. And then of course in Deuteronomy 
we have seen this referred to. Go back for just a moment to 
Deuteronomy 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 29, 
then I said to you, do not be terrified or afraid of them. 
The Lord your God who goes before you, he will fight for you according 
to all he did for you in Egypt before your eyes. Now notice 
verse 31, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your 
God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you 
went until you came to this place. beautiful imagery there that 
God takes Israel his firstborn and he carries them through the 
wilderness remember we have seen that even in that context they 
had thought they had concluded that God brought them out of 
Egypt to the wilderness to kill them or because he hated them 
everything was... nothing could be further from 
the truth it was because God loved them that he carried them 
through the wilderness and then he says this in Deuteronomy chapter 
8 as well Deuteronomy chapter 5 8 verse 5, you should know 
in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God 
chastens you. So this imagery is used up to 
this point. Notice though in Deuteronomy 
14.1, the emphasis is not on God's fatherhood of Israel, though 
that's in the background to be sure, what is emphasized is Israel's 
child ship before God. In other words, since he is your 
father, you are to live in a particular way. Since He is your Father, 
you are to conduct yourselves as children of the Living God. Again, this is a New Testament 
theme Paul picks up on in Ephesians chapter 5. We are to walk as 
sons of God. We are to conduct ourselves in 
a manner that is consistent with our adoption by God through Jesus 
Christ. We are blood-bought children 
of God, and the emphasis of the New Testament is that we live 
that way. Well, the same thing was true 
here. They have been brought out of Egypt, they have been 
redeemed by the sovereign hand of God, they have been brought 
into marvelous light, and as a result, you are the children 
of the Lord your God. Now notice the specific prohibition. You shall not cut yourselves, 
nor shave the front of your head for the dead. Now, the commentators 
all refer to this having been a Canaanite practice. This is 
not my area of expertise. All of these animals indicated 
in verses 3 through 21, not my area of expertise. I can encourage 
you to read the comments and to read the commentaries to get 
more backdrop. But suffice it to say, the Canaanites, 
in connection with mourning rites, with funerals, would cut themselves 
and would shave certain portions of their head. It identified 
the reality that they were in conjunction with their fellow 
Canaanites honoring the God of the deceased. And so when an 
Israelite cut themselves or shaved their head in like manner at 
one of their funerals, it was not an expression of their distinctiveness. It was not an expression of their 
holiness or their separateness. They were borrowing They were 
imbibing the customs of the Canaanites used in concert with pagan worship. They were taking that and using 
them in relationship to Yahweh of Israel. Remember, the first 
commandment prohibits other gods. The second commandment prohibits 
the worship of the true God in a false way. You're not supposed 
to make for yourself an idol. Yes, of course, and call it Baal 
and bow down to it as Moloch. But you're not supposed to make 
an idol and use that as a means or a vehicle to worship the true 
and living God. That is just as bad as having 
other gods before the Lord, the regulative principle of worship. 
God regulates, God specifies, God defines for us how we are 
to approach Him. And He has not sanctioned that 
we identify with pagans when it comes to our funerals. Israel 
was not supposed to grieve as the world grieved." I don't think 
that's what Paul had in mind in 1 Thessalonians 4.13, but 
that's certainly an application. They were not supposed to grieve 
as the world grieved. They were not supposed to cut 
themselves. They were not supposed to shave the front of their head 
for the dead. That's the specific modifier 
in view here. Now notice the reason. Again, 
this is a reason that has been given already. It's verse 2. It says, For you are a holy people 
to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people 
for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are 
on the face of the earth. verbatim quote from Deuteronomy 
chapter 7 verse 6. Remember, Deuteronomy 7 was the 
plan for the conquest. Go into the land of Canaan. Utterly 
dispossess the land of the Canaanites. Destroy everything that they 
would use in conjunction with their idol worship. Destroy it. Do not have any truck with it. 
Get rid of it. Demolish it. Devastate it. This 
was the reason for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. 
The Lord has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special 
treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." 
What is being underscored here seems to be this idea of distinctiveness. They're not the Canaanites. They're 
not to worship like the Canaanites. They're not to grieve like the 
Canaanites. They're not to cut themselves or shave their heads 
like the Canaanites, but rather they are a holy people. They 
are a chosen people. They are a special treasure above 
all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. And as a result, 
they were not to mourn like the pagans at funerals. Now, of course, 
they would mourn. Of course, they would weep. Of 
course, they would cry. But they could not imbibe these 
pagan ideals that the Canaanites employed in their funeral services. So that's the first item with 
reference to distinctiveness. The second is dietary wrongs. There are prohibitions here on 
what they could and could not eat. Now again, We might read 
this, especially as 21st century North Americans who may have 
had a nice pork roast tonight, not that I did, but we might 
have done that and come here and said, whoa, wait a minute, 
what's going on with all of this? The idea seems to be separateness 
or holiness. Notice the clean and the unclean 
animals categorized into three groups, which reflect the original 
creation account. Animals from the land, from the 
water, and from the air. There are prohibitions as to 
what they are to avoid. There are prescriptions as to 
what they are free to eat. There are general guidelines 
in terms of hoofs and cut. I don't know if I say hoofs and 
sound like a southerner. or hooves can sound like a Canadian. I don't know. I think it's hooves. 
But those are the general principles in terms of what they could eat 
and what they couldn't eat. Animals from the land, animals 
from the water, animals from the air. It's almost identical 
to what we find in Leviticus chapter 11. If there's any difference, 
it's a few more game animals, probably reflecting the geography. They were no longer in one locale. 
They had been on their journey into the land of Canaan. A more 
hilly region would have different sorts of game animal. And so 
what God is speaking to is that condition, that geography, that 
newfound meat that they would have when they come into the 
promised land. So if there's any difference 
in terms of the listings here, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 
14. It's simply some additions in 
terms of animals that would be available for them with reference 
to food. So very straightforward. We don't need to spend time and 
say, you know, first of all, what is an ox? You know, the 
ox has four legs and he has hooves and he chews the cut. I mean, 
these are ruminants. You guys all already know these 
sorts of things. It's a list here prescribed in 
terms of what they were supposed to eat and what they weren't 
supposed to eat. Now many have speculated as to 
the reason why. Again, I am not going to divorce 
us from that concept of holiness or distinctiveness. When I say 
holiness, I don't mean first and foremost here moral purity, 
though that's involved. The root idea of holiness is 
separateness. It is sanctified. It is set apart. It is consecrated for a noble 
use. God's already indicated that 
these people are holy in that sense. The Lord has chosen you 
to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples 
who are on the face of the earth. They are a holy people. This 
holiness code was to reflect this. What they ate showed or 
signified who they were in terms of their covenant God. But some 
have speculated that hygiene was the concern. Don't eat pig 
because you're going to get sick. We eat pigs, some of us do anyways, 
and we don't generally get sick. So that's not a universal rule. 
Now, you might say, well, back then, they raised pigs in a bit 
of a different manner. They weren't as clean as the 
pigs we have today, if that is even a reality. I'm looking at 
Roger. Do you eat pork? OK, all right. I'm meeting with spies here, 
like we don't like pork. I love pork. Yes? And they treat 
us like pigs as well. Yeah. And bears have that too, 
right? That's why when you shoot a bear, 
you've got to freeze it. Right, but that's probably not, 
and I'm just using an illustration here with reference to the pig, 
but any of these animals, some have seen in the animals of the 
air that what is prohibited are carnivorous birds, or birds of 
prey. But the hoop, is that right? 
Hoopoe? I didn't Google that one. The hoopoe and the bat aren't 
carnivorous. So you don't have sort of these 
strict categories that you can automatically conclude that it's 
hygiene driven. In fact, when we get to that 
animal that dies on its own, Israel is prohibited from eating, 
but not other people. So what is at view there? Distinctiveness, holiness, separateness. We'll look at that in just a 
moment. So some have speculated that it's hygiene. Don't eat 
pork today, because you'll get a bellyache, or you'll get whatever 
that disease is that Rebecca mentioned. I find that kind of, 
when you think about it, it's sort of ridiculous because the 
nations around it That's right, yeah. Right, right. And then the second speculation 
is that the prohibited animals were associated with Canaanite 
religion. In other words, don't use the 
pig because this tribe worships the pig. But that doesn't always 
bear out because bale worship included the bull. The bull was 
prominent with reference to bale worship, and yet bulls were not 
on the unclean animal list. So that's not an airtight category 
either. So what we're arguing, or what 
I believe is in view here, is eat these animals because it 
separates you or keeps you distinct from the peoples around you. 
Distinctiveness. And here I quote Christopher 
Wright. I think he's right on with this 
statement. He said, the food laws were thus 
a daily reminder to Israel of their status and role in God's 
purpose and of the consequent call to holiness. In fact, some 
of the commentators suggest that some of the categories are almost 
a bit arbitrary. And some have seen in that it's 
an identifier, a reminder to Israel that out of the pool of 
these peoples, God chose you. God doesn't have a moral axe 
to grind with a pig. God made the pig. The pig reflects 
God's created order. It's not a horrible thing. We 
don't look at pigs and say, you mangy, wretched creature on God. No, God made the pig, and it's 
good. There are some categories, though, 
that would indicate that God is showing something of what 
we find in Deuteronomy 8.3. You don't live by bread alone, 
but you live by every word that proceeds from my mouth. If I 
say don't eat a pig, don't eat the pig. If I say don't eat the 
jackdaw, don't eat the jackdaw. Again, I didn't Google that. 
I don't even know what a jackdaw, if it landed on my head, I wouldn't 
know it was a jackdaw, right? God commands, God prescribes, 
but what Wright is alighting on is very appropriate, I think. 
He said, the food laws were thus a daily reminder to Israel of 
their status and role in God's purpose and of the consequent 
call to holiness in other more morally significant areas of 
personal and social life. I mentioned that threefold division 
in the law. Search the prophets. You will 
never find them coming and nailing the nation for eating jackdaw. 
You will never see them going after the people for engaging 
in the breach of the ceremonies. Though that was not permissible, 
what they always prosecuted was violation of the moral law and 
its social repercussions. So if anything, the prophets 
dealt with moral and judicial within the body politic of Israel. So even within the old covenant 
law, there does seem to be this separation or this distinction 
or division within the law itself. And if anybody's interested, 
A lot of people have a problem with this reformed view, this 
reformed understanding. There's an excellent book by 
Philip Ross called From the Finger of God. It's an explanation of 
the threefold division of the law, and he shows and indicates 
that within the Old Covenant itself, it was built in this 
division. God says, it's not sacrifice 
that I desire, it's obedience that I desire. There is that 
division within the law itself. But in this instance, what he 
says is that this food would be a daily reminder for us to 
maintain holiness in some of the more significant areas of 
personal and social life. If I can't have jackdaw with 
my pagan neighbors, I certainly can't go worship Baal with them. 
If I can't have a bat, if that's what they're inclined to eat, 
with my neighbors, I certainly can't fornicate with my neighbors. 
See, it would be an ongoing reminder of their distinctiveness as the 
people. Here's what Wright goes on to 
say. He says, holiness was woven into everyday life. I like that. What's for dinner, 
mom? Well, what God has commanded, 
son. It's woven into everyday life. He says every meal should have 
reminded the Israelite family of God's commitment to them and 
their commitment to God. And then this statement, I think, 
is just beautiful. He said, a God who governs the 
kitchen should be not easily forgotten in the rest of life. A God who governs the kitchen 
should be not easily forgotten in the rest of life. If I can't 
eat jackdaw, I certainly can't go over here and fornicate with 
my Canaanite neighbors. You see, there was an ongoing 
reminder. It was woven into their their 
conduct, into their code, into their life, that they were a 
distinct people, a unique people. If we begin to eat like they 
do, if we cut our heads and mark ourselves the way they do, if 
we engage in the same sorts of things they do, it won't be long 
before we find ourselves bowing before the gods that they do. So those are the unclean and 
clean animals. Notice the dead animal. Verse 
21a. You shall not eat anything that 
dies of itself. You may give it to the alien 
who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell 
it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the Lord your 
God. The one finding the animal would 
not be able to verify if it was ritually killed according to 
the law. Leviticus 17 prescribed how they 
were to butcher. And so if you happened upon a 
dead animal, which probably is not the best idea in the world 
to just munch on anyway, who knows how it died, but we would 
not be able to verify if in fact it had been killed ritually according 
to the law. But as well, it's not hygiene 
because these people could have given it to the alien. It's the 
idea here. We have strangers in the land. 
We have not killed them to get rid of our immigration problem, 
but served them dead animals so that's not the way it was. We've got aliens that are new 
in our land. They're starving to death. Let's 
not destroy these animals. We can give it to them, or we 
can sell it to a foreigner. So it's not a hygiene concern. 
It's a holiness concern. They are to be distinct. They 
themselves are supposed to eat things killed according to the 
law, which indicates that the heathen were not subject to these 
ceremonial laws. They were not subject, they were 
not bound by these kosher laws concerning what they could and 
what they could not eat. And then the final aspect in 
this list of dietary wrongs is the boiled kid of verse 21b. You shall not boil a young goat 
in its mother's milk. Again, this is a difficult one. Much greater minds than I have 
searched these things out. Craigie says this, this prohibition 
no doubt reflects a practice common in Canaanite religion 
which was not to be permitted in the religion of the Israelites. You're not supposed to do this. 
don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk. Harmon says this 
prohibition still has relevance today for the Jewish people in 
that it continues to provide the rationale for Jewish food 
laws forbidding meat and milk products being eaten together. 
No cheeseburger based on this verse. Right? Can't have a meat 
and a milk product occupying the same butt. So if you're a 
Jew consistent with the Old Testament, you subscribe to these things, 
you better not be at A&W getting a cheeseburger. Make sure you 
ask it with no cheese. So that's the prohibitions against 
the sorts of things that they were to avoid in terms of what 
they could and what they could not eat. This was not moral law. This was ceremonial. Now, of 
course, the ceremonial law for the Israelites carried a moral 
connotation. If they broke these ceremonial 
laws, they were guilty of sinning and unfaithfulness with reference 
to the God of Israel. So mourning rites, dietary wrongs, 
and finally the tithing principles, verses 22 to 29. Now, if we compare 
this with Leviticus 27 and Numbers 18, you'll see some, not differences, 
but you'll see various nuances in terms of the tithing laws. 
This has led MacArthur to suggest that what we have in chapter 
14 of Deuteronomy is a second tithe, and a third tithe. I don't 
think we need to go to that length. I think that all three passages 
can be combined together to provide information about the tithe with 
reference to God and Israel. Notice the command. You shall 
truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field 
produces year by year. So it's dealing with grain. It's 
dealing with those things that you grow. Notice in conjunction 
with this tithe, there was a festival, a feast, a celebration, a time 
of rejoicing. Notice in verse 23, on the time 
or at the occasion of the tithe. This doesn't mean you ate all 
the tithe. More than likely, no Israelite 
could eat all the tithe. That would be a lot of food. 
You're taking 10% of what you've produced. You're giving that 
to the Lord. But the Lord says, from that 
you may take a portion and have this celebratory meal together. Enjoy the fruit of your labor. 
What's the end game here? When we're enjoying the fruit 
of our labor, we're enjoying the presence and the power of 
God who provided this for us. In other words, rejoicing is 
an expression of thanksgiving. That's why they were to engage 
in this celebratory feast. So notice, verse 23, you shall 
eat before the Lord your God, in the place where he chooses 
to make his name abide. That was the emphasis of chapter 
12. Remember, when they got into the land of Canaan, they were 
not free to worship wherever they wanted. There was centralized 
sanctuary. There was a specific locale. 
Initially, it was probably Shiloh. There are evidences that it possibly 
was in. Bethel at times, it would ultimately 
be centralized in Jerusalem under David's reign. But specifically 
here they are told, with reference to this tithe, you're to eat 
it in the place where the Lord chooses. In other words, this 
is religious expression. This is honoring the Lord your 
God. This is praising and worshiping 
and delighting in Him. So you shall eat before the Lord 
your God in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, 
the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the 
firstborn of your herds and your flocks. Notice that you may learn 
to fear the Lord your God always. It's an interesting thing, isn't 
it? take some of the portion of the 
tithe and have a feast. In fact, as we move on through 
this passage, God's not Ebenezer Scrooge. God is very liberal. God says, take the money and 
buy whatever your heart desires. And yet, what is the fundamental 
principle here of verse 23? In this time of feasting, we 
are to learn the fear of the Lord. Again, Christopher Wright 
says, inculcating the fear of God could be achieved during 
a family party just as much as during family prayers. In other 
words, this is life lived under the sovereignty of God. It's 
not compartmentalized, this due on Saturday, go to worship on 
Sabbath, have long faces, look terrible, look upset, look unhappy, 
and then the rest of the week rejoice yourselves in your work, 
in your wife, or in your family. No. Whatever your hand finds 
to do, do it with your might. Do it under God. Do it for His 
glory. Rejoice in the Lord who has brought 
you out of darkness into marvelous light and who has conveyed these 
blessings upon you. Take the tithe, take these items, 
and have a celebration with your family. primarily to learn to 
fear the Lord, as well to demonstrate thankfulness through rejoicing. 
When you hand your kid something that he likes and he's joyful 
and happy, you feel the love, don't you? Right? If your kid is some ingrate, 
and he says, eh, I didn't want it, you want to smack him in 
the head. But when he's in joy, I'm speaking metaphorically, 
spank him where God says to spank him, in the manner that is consistent 
with the Bible. It's funny, with my daughters, 
I tell them, smack your kids. We didn't smack our kids. We 
tried to lovingly discipline them according to the scripture. 
Anyways, if you hand your child something and they rejoice, in 
that joy is an acknowledgment of thanksgiving. And generally 
on the heels of that joy are expressions of thanksgiving. 
God says, take the fruit of your labors, enjoy a portion of it, 
rejoice in it, learn how to fear me, and express thankfulness 
to the Lord your God. We will see later on in Deuteronomy 
one of the curses that would be one of the means whereby God 
would drive them out of the land is because they'd go into the 
land, would receive all these good gifts, and they wouldn't 
be thankful. Remember Paul says this in 1 Timothy chapter 4. 
He talks about doctrines of demons in the latter days where men 
would expressly deny marriage and things or meat. Marriage and meat. What is Paul 
saying? These are good things. These 
aren't bad things. Everything is good if it's sanctified 
by prayer. In other words, when God hands 
you a steak, don't say, well, no, I'm just too holy to eat 
that. No, thank the Lord for it and chow down. This is what 
God is saying to these people. Learn to fear the Lord. Demonstrate 
thankfulness through rejoicing. and acknowledge that the prosperity, 
the joy that you have comes as a result of your God and your 
Father. It's not Baal who reigned on 
your fields. It's not the Canaanite deities 
that caused this produce. It is not what those pagans are 
worshiping that has yielded this good stuff. Rather, it is God 
the Lord who has given it to you to enjoy. So fear Him, rejoice 
in Him, and acknowledge that prosperity came from the Lord. 
Craigie says by returning a tithe to God regularly, the people 
would learn to fear the Lord, and know that prosperity did 
not depend on irrigation or advanced agricultural techniques, but 
on the beneficence and provision of their God." That's a great, 
great mindset with reference to giving. Paul underscores these 
same sorts of principles when he highlights the reality of 
giving in the life of the church. It's not drudgery, it's not pain, 
it's not suffering, it's not killing, it's a time to express 
our thankfulness to God, acknowledge His kind provision in our lives, 
and a time to help those who are less fortunate than we are 
as these tithing laws speak to here in Deuteronomy chapter 14. 
People that grudgingly give are not enjoined with the spirit 
of what Paul endorses in the book of 2 Corinthians or what 
we find here. This is a time of joy. They're 
not going to the temple, I've got to get all this stuff away. 
Now that's what they devolve into. That's what they fall into. By the time we get to Malachi, 
they say, what a weariness to go to the temple. What a terrible 
thing to take the best of my flock. Honey, find the one that's 
lame. Find the one that's maimed. Find 
the one that's blind. If we can't find one in the flock, 
let's steal one from someone else. That's how it devolved 
into. That was the evil extent. that 
it fell prey to, but tithing as an institution in Israel was 
to be a time of rejoicing in the Lord, learning to fear the 
Lord, thanking the Lord, and acknowledging the Lord for his 
prosperity in our lives. And as we'll see, it also funded 
the community in terms of servicing those who did not have the sorts 
of provisions that many people in Israel had. So you see, it 
was a win-win situation and God speaks to that here. It's a time 
of joy and thanksgiving and a time to learn to fear the Lord. Notice 
the qualification of verses... Did you have a question? I'm 
sorry. Right. Daniel 1, they refused 
to eat the meat. There's different interpretations 
as to why. Was it in terms of Leviticus 
11 and the dietary prohibitions? That's a different sort of an 
investigation. You know, there's competing theories 
as to why Daniel and his friends didn't eat that particular meat. 
I mean, they could have said, we don't want pork chops, but 
we'll have that venison. No, I mean, there's something 
going on there. Could it have been that? Yes, 
some think it was. There are other ideas, though, 
in terms of what it might have been. But all this to say, notice 
the qualification here in verse 24 to 26. Verses 24 to 26. Basically, 
it's this. God's going to choose a central 
place for you to bring your tithe. If you can't carry it all there 
because you've got too much, sell it in your city and take 
the money to the location of the central sanctuary. Make sense? Or if the journey is too far, 
Right? In that instance, you can enjoy 
that feast where you are. So these are the built-in qualifications. Verse 24. If the journey is too 
long for you so that you are not able to carry the tithe, 
or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his name 
is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 
then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your 
hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. So 
basically what you do, in either instance, if you have too much 
to take there, or it's too far. sell what you have or exchange 
what you have for money, then go to the place where the central 
sanctuary is, purchase items there, and enjoy the time of 
feasting unto the Lord. Verse 25, you shall exchange 
it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place 
which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall spend that money 
for whatever your heart desires, for oxen or sheep, for wine or 
similar drink. For whatever your heart desires, 
you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall 
rejoice. Again, it's a time of joy, a 
time of blessing, a time of happiness. I have this idea in the church, 
I mean, if we can jump Covenant here for just a moment, what 
an irritant that God would actually tell me I have to give my money. 
I mean, come on. How dare him? Doesn't he know 
my hand prospered me? My ingenuity got me this? It's 
my hard work that provided all this stuff? No, God says, I am 
the Lord. The earth is mine. I give you 
certain things to steward over. This in the old covenant is how 
you are to function. This in the new covenant is how 
you are to function. Don't buck against it. Don't 
resist against it. Don't rebel against it. There 
is blessing in this. There is joy in this. There is 
happiness in this. It's a time to teach your children 
we ought to fear the God of heaven and earth who gives us power 
to make wealth, who gives us power to go to work. Praise God 
from whom all jobs come. Praise God that we have refrigerators. Praise God that we have the meat 
that we enjoy. Children, praise the Lord. This 
is a time to promote the fear of God. At a party or at prayer, 
wherever we find ourselves, whether we rise up, whether we walk by 
the way, or whether we lie down, we're to be taking every thought 
captive to the obedience of Christ and pointing them to our benevolent 
God who has provided these things for His people, for their well-being. Built in as a reminder, verse 
27, you shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, 
for he has no part nor inheritance with you. I mean, you might grow 
however much pounds of grain. You might have all the wine that 
every vat can hold, and you might have all the livestock in the 
world. Levi doesn't get a portion. He doesn't have his own property. 
He doesn't have his own land. He is dependent upon the goodness 
of God and the generosity of God's people, right? It's great to be dependent upon 
the goodness of God. It's not always so easy to be 
dependent upon the generosity of God's people. By the time 
I get to Malachi's day, they're stealing sacrifice. Probably 
looking after the Levites wasn't their primary concern. That's 
why the Levites were probably all messed up and teaching things 
that were false and wrong, probably trying to get more money. I mean, 
it's a vicious cycle. So he builds in here a prescription 
not to forsake the Levite who is within your gates. When you 
parcel up the land or when you parcel up the land in the book 
of Joshua, the Levites are going to be left without a portion. 
Don't forget them. Cough up. Be benevolent. And then verses 28 to 29. The 
triennial tithe. The triennial tithe. The every 
third year tithe. What we're saying is the sabbatical 
cycle. The seventh year was the sabbatical. Sabbath year, certain laws, certain 
things prescribed. We'll find out about that, God 
willing, next time. But here, every third year, you 
shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and 
store it up within your gates. You see what you're doing every 
third year? You're putting things aside. Notice verse 29, And the 
Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and 
the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within 
your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied that the Lord 
your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you 
do. Disbursement for the needy ones. The Levite benefits, the stranger 
benefits, the fatherless benefit, and the widow benefit. This is 
one prong in a several prong approach to deal with the poor. Remember the Bible is not communistic. It's not socialistic. The poor 
you will always have with you. That doesn't mean you just make 
that a settled acceptance. Well, there's always going to 
be poor, so, you know, too bad for them. No, built into Israel 
was this triennial tide. Built into Israel was this funding 
of a storage place so that the downtrodden and poor could benefit 
and prosper. There will be gleaning laws, 
the law of the fallow, allow the year or the field rather 
in the Sabbath year to lay fallow so that the poor among you can 
go out and eat. You see, it was built in to help 
and assist those who did not have the same sorts of blessing. 
Not everybody in Israel was able to take a piece of property and 
turn it to gold. Not any more than everybody in 
Canada can do that, right? Not everybody has the same skill 
set. Not everybody's as sharp when 
it comes to dealing with those sorts of economic matters. Not 
everybody has a green thumb. Some people could probably have 
difficulty planting a lima bean. let alone yielding a crop from 
a field to sustain their family. So what we do in this triennial 
year is we allot the tithe for storage or for the actual persons 
that stand in need. The gleaning laws and then there's 
laws concerning debt, usury, loans, all those things are built 
into the infrastructure so that the community as a whole is exercising 
kindness and charity to those in need within the community. 
So that's the tithing principle. So you see, in each of these 
three instances, each of these three areas, Israel is called 
to be distinct from the heathen around them. In that regard, 
it flows naturally from the urban revolutionaries that closed down 
Deuteronomy chapter 13. I mean, it's kind of an interesting 
flow of thought here. Right? The end of Deuteronomy 
13, go in and kill everybody with the edge of the sword, take 
all their stuff and burn it as a burnt offering unto the Lord. 
Chapter 14, don't mark yourself, don't cut yourself, and don't 
cut your hair when you're mourning for the dead. sort of an interesting 
transition there. I would submit, but the principle 
is the same. It's God the Lord whom you serve. Whether you are having to deal 
with urban revolutionaries, you're at a funeral for a family member 
or a friend, you're sitting down to supper, or you're dealing 
with the tithe. In each of these areas, you need 
to be different than the Canaanites around you. Because the moment 
you start to imitate their practices, you will then open the door to 
worshiping their gods. And the genuine, primary, overarching 
concern in this section is the first table of the law. You shall 
have no other gods before me. You need to guard yourself. You 
need to be on guard. Watch over your heart when you 
enter into the land of Canaan. Well, let us close in prayer. 
Our Father, we thank you for this, your holy word. We thank 
you for the principles that shine so clearly in this passage of 
scripture. And God, as we consider our place in the new covenant, 
certainly that principle stands fast. We are to be a holy people. We are your special treasure. 
We are your people, as Titus 2 tells us. And we pray that 
you would help us to be a people deeply committed to the Lord 
Jesus, believing the truth, having sound doctrine, and then living 
consistently with that truth. We ask that you would cause us 
to be zealous for good works, cause us to let our conduct be 
worthy of the gospel, and truly to reflect the glory of God in 
our lives. We just thank you for your mercy 
to us again. Thank you for saving us, and 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.