don’t dread the seventh

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

 

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Deuteronomy 15:8-10 (JDV)

don’t dread the seventh

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 canceling 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 a mistake.1

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

don’t dread the seventh

Both the weekly Sabbath and the seventh year for canceling debts were blessings from God designed for human freedom and rest. It would be an evil thing to look upon either of those gifts with foreboding. But that is what a stingy heart does. It only sees personal loss, not the gain of another. It fails to trust that God knew what he was doing when he brought that poor person to your door.

God hates stingy hearts. He is predisposed to judge the Scrooges of this world. He tends to hit them where they will hurt the most – their wallets. Be generous. Don’t dread the year of debt forgiveness.

Lord, build in us a desire to set our brothers and sisters free from the slavery of debt.

1חֵטְא

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hard hearts and tight fists

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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hard hearts and tight fists

Deuteronomy 15:4-7 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 15:4 “There will be no poor among you, however, because Yahveh is certain 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 over68 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 hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.

hard hearts and tight fists

Poverty should not exist among the Mosaic covenant Israelites. God wants to empower them and make them lenders, not borrowers. But if one of their brothers does become poor, it should not be regarded as a sign of punishment for disobedience. Instead, it should be seen as an opportunity to show kindness to them as a reflection of God’s character. To be stingy— to demonstrate hard hearts and tight fists toward the poor among them — is to violate the covenant.

So it is today. Individuals and churches who claim to follow Christ should open their hearts to the needy among them, and open their hands and wallets.

Lord, forgive us for ignoring the poor among us. Lead us into a generosity which reflects your character.

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seven year debt cycle

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

 

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seven year debt cycle

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

Deuteronomy 15:2 This is how to cancel debt: Every creditor is to cancel 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 forgive whatever your brother owes you.

seven year debt cycle

It can be extremely discouraging to know that no matter how hard you work, there is no way possible to pay your debts. Some debts are like that, and when they are actually someone else’s debts you have inherited, you can be tempted to just give up.

The same loving God who initiated the third-year tithe for the poor— also initiated the seven year debt cycle. The cycle took debt seriously, but made sure that it would not become a life sentence.

The cycle was also intended to work for creditors because it ensured short term repayment limits. But most importantly, the cycle was a reminder that God cared about those trapped in the bondage of debt and wanted to free them.

Lord, thank you for caring about all our lives— not just a narrowly defined religious part.

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a tithe for others

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a tithe for others

Deuteronomy 14:27-29

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.

a tithe for others

The third-year tithe was to be dedicated to the less fortunate ones in the community. The Levites had no land apportioned to them, so they participated in the third-year tithe. The foreign guest also had the opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness, and perhaps be drawn to put their trust in him. The orphans and widows as well were able to live better due to the generosity of those who followed this instruction.

The third-year tithe was a double blessing. It was an empowerment to the less fortunate ones who benefited from it. But it also helped the participants to feel connected to their wider community, and to make a difference among a larger family.

When I send my tithe in to my local church, by placing a check in the offering plate, or clicking on a donation link, I am doing something not unlike the third-year tithe. A part of my income will be going to empower my local community.

Lord, thank you for the double blessing we receive when we give.

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the terrible tithe

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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the terrible tithe

Deuteronomy 14:22-26 (JDV)

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.

the terrible tithe

There is nothing terrible about this tithe regulation. God is only requiring that his people enjoy themselves in his presence, and setting up a way for them to do that annually.

This tithe was intended to be a reminder of how good God has been to the Israelite. With a tenth of all he has produced in his fields and among his flocks and herds, and with his family all around him, he is to feast and be thankful. If the distance makes it too hard for him to carry it all, provision is made for him to sell his tithe and repurchase the feast in Jerusalem. And when he gets there, he’s the richest that he has been all year, and so is everyone else.

I don’t think the weekly tithe is required of Christians under the new covenant, but I personally recommend it. If I can share a tenth of my weekly income to share with the rest of God’s people in my home church, it is a testimony to God’s faithfulness to me, and it can be used to bring others to him. That’s not a terrible tithe either.

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness.

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carcasses and goat milk

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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carcasses and goat milk

Deuteronomy 14:21

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.

carcasses and goat milk

Following a list of animals that are forbidden for the Israelites to eat, there is this verse containing two (bizarre sounding) prohibitions.

First, even animals that are considered pure cannot be eaten if they are found dead, not properly slaughtered. It would be unclear what caused the death of the creature, so it could not be eaten in faith. Moses concedes that if non-Israelite guests wanted to eat it, it could be given away or sold to them.

Secondly, there is the prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk. The website Defending Inerrancy suggests eight possible purposes for this rule, then states:

“The truth is that we do not know for sure why God commanded this. But it does not really matter, since the Israelites knew exactly what they were not to do, even if they did not fully understand why. So while there is a problem in understanding the purpose of this passage, there is no problem in understanding its meaning. It means exactly what it says.”

There is no doubt that God had a specific purpose for this prohibition, and that the original audience (the Israelites in Moses’ time) understood that purpose. My guess is that it had mostly to do with being a unique people, set apart from the idolatrous pagans all around them.

Lord, make us a people set apart, so that we draw attention to you.

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a unique people

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a unique people

Deuteronomy 14:9-20 (JDV)

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 kind of hawk,

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

Deuteronomy 14:17 eagle owls, ospreys, cormorants,

Deuteronomy 14:18 storks, any kind of 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.

a unique people

Moses’ instructions about what kinds of sea or sky animals could be eaten had nothing to do with moral or spiritual holiness. They were intended to identify the Israelites as a unique people. The contamination that he spoke of was the loss of unique identity.

The new covenant also encourages uniqueness, but not in superficial things like eating and drinking certain things, or abstaining from certain things. Under the new covenant, our uniqueness is to be expressed by our character and devotion to Christ alone.

Lord, make us shine as your unique people, uncontaminated by the world around us.

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uniquely his

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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uniquely his

Deuteronomy 14:1-8

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 own 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 However, among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are 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.

uniquely his

This passage mentions three kinds of restriction. First, the Israelites were not allowed to cut themselves. Second,they were not allowed to cut a bald spot on their heads. Third, there were certain kinds of animal they could and could not eat. The only reason listed here was that the first and second prohibition had to do with the dead. So, there must have been a religious reason for cutting oneself or placing a bald spot on one’s head – in honor of, or perhaps in fear of – the dead. There was no ancestral reason for these practices, so it is presumed to be a common practice among the pagan Canaanites. The eating restrictions may have had a similar reason – to set the Israelites apart from those around them.

God’s people are to be different from all those around them because they are uniquely his.

  • Exodus 19:5-6a Now therefore, if you will really obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession among all peoples, because all the land is mine; and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

  • Deuteronomy 26:18-19 And today Yahveh has affirmed that you are his own possession as he promised you, that you are to watch all his commands, that he will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations he has made, and that you will be a sacred people to Yahveh your God as he promised.”

  • Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are uniquely his1 enthusiastic about doing good achievements.
  • 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a devoted nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Lord, we are uniquely yours. Show us how to show it.

1περιούσιος = uniquely one’s own.

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the penalty of permanent destruction

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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the penalty of permanent destruction

Deuteronomy 13:16-18

Deuteronomy 13:16 You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil for Yahveh your God. The city is to remain a mound of ruins permanently; it is not to be rebuilt.

Deuteronomy 13:17 Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that Yahveh will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your fathers.

Deuteronomy 13:18 This will occur if you obey Yahveh your God, watching all his commands I am giving you today, doing what is right in the sight of Yahveh your God.

the penalty of permanent destruction

Entire cities who defected to idolatry were to be devoted to destruction. Even the spoils from city were to be gathered and burned up. This is one of the Old Testament precursors to hell. It describes what God has planned for those who rebel against him and his word. But these cities did not experience “eternal conscious torment.” That phrase does not appear in the Bible.

But there is a phrase used by the apostle Paul which matches the picture we see here exactly. That phrase is “the penalty of permanent destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). That was the penalty the Israelite cities faced for defection.

Lord, we know that you cannot tolerate idolatry in your universe forever. We declare our loyalty to you alone.

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The infection of defection

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Deuteronomy 13:11-15

Deuteronomy 13:11 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will not do anything evil like this among you again.

Deuteronomy 13:12 “If you hear it said about one of your cities Yahveh your God is giving you to stay in, and this is what they say:

Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and this is what they said: ‘Let us go and worship other gods,’ which you have not known,

Deuteronomy 13:14 you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. Notice if the report turns out to be true that this repulsive act has been done among you,

Deuteronomy 13:15 you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Completely destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.

 The infection of defection

An individual who seeks to lead another Israelite into idolatry must be put to death, but what if an entire city chooses to defect? Does the size of the group somehow justify their decision to betray and abandon their God? Of course not. But a careful investigation must take place to see if it is really a choice to commit treason as an entire city.

If they are found guilty, they must be treated like the other cities that were devoted to destruction when the Israelites first came to the land. Defection is an infection, and left unchecked, it would spread to the other cities.

Under the new covenant, we have no such instructions. It is fortunate for many that we don’t, because many cities pride themselves on their defection from God and his holiness.

What we can glean from this text today is that our God is serious about eradicating sin  from our communities, not just individuals. He wants to rescue cities from sin. The deliverance he offers is more than just an individual rescue.

In the Gospels, we see Jesus weeping over the cities who rejected his message. He also pronounced woes upon them— predictions of coming judgment for their wickedness and refusing to respond to his gospel of grace.

Jesus did not call on us to destroy the infected cities, but we can follow his example by grieving over their defection, and prophesying their coming doom.

Lord, deliver our cities from their mutual defection. All around us, there are entire communities who are unprepared for the day of your wrath.

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