Deuteronomy 14-26

Original Outline by Gino Pace

Setting the stage:

• Deut 9:1_You are about to cross the Jordan and possess the nations.
• Deuteronomy means “second law”
• This is the rehearsal, or second delivery, of the law received from God at Mt. Sinai

This is a significant part of Deuteronomy because:

• This is Moses’ last charge to his people (The baton will be passed to Joshua)
  • He realizes his departure is at hand (God said “you will not enter”_ Numbers 20:12)
  • This is how the nation of God must be led, a conditional relationship (Israel do this, and I, God, will do that)
• They will no longer be able to go to Moses for Counsel, hence the reason for this book.

Where we are going tonight:

Overarching theme: God’s people are Holy and Set Apart

3 things are going to be talked about with this: We are going to dissect it like master physicians.

1. What does this mean?
2. What does this look like?
   1. Tithing
   2. Cancel Debts
   3. Not Conform but Transform
   4. Constant learning and practice
      1. Be Kings of the past
      2. Saturated in the word
   5. How is this possible?
      1. Only through Christ

PRAY

1. GOD’S PEOPLE ARE HOLY AND SET APART

Deut 14.    

Vs.1-2:

Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. ² You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

• Remember Context: The Jews spent 400 years enslaved in Egypt and 40 years wandering around in the desert, being exposed to many different worship practices. Now that the time has come for them to inhabit their own nation, much needs to be called to attention and corrected.
• Cutting themselves and shaving their hair was a practice the neighboring nations participated in.
  • God’s people are not to become a melting pot, but unique
    1. Holy and Set Apart = Wholly apart from the world / world system
  • We are Holy to the Lord. We never earned it and it is a valued privilege.
• Don’t be like them for you are mine!
  • “Be Holy for I am Holy.” à Be Wholly Apart from the world
    1. Lev 20:26
       • ²⁶ You must be holy because I, theLord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
    2. James 4:4
       • Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

• Don’t be like them, but like me! THE SAME GOES FOR US!
  • Rom 12:2
    1. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
  • COMPARISON: If they were under diverse influence from their neighbors, how much more so are we? Our culture breeds diversity and trend.

_____D.Q: WHAT MAKES NOT FOLLOWING THE TIDE OF OUR CULTURE SO DIFFICULT?_____ 

• Fitting the mold of the world is a constant temptation we as Christians are under (Comes up later in 17)

 

WHAT DOES BEING HOLY AND SET APART LOOK LIKE FOR THEM AND US?

Vs.3-21: Commentary on Diet

• Why would food matter?
  • Some animals may have been associated with the “messed up” worship practice of their neighbors

Vs.22-23 / 28-29: BEING GENEROUS WITH STUFF

²² “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. ²³ Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear (a.k.a respect) the Lord your God.

²⁸ “At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. ²⁹ Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.

• The topic of being generous with material wealth was discussed in Ch. 12 so we will not go too in-depth.
  • People were to give 10 percent of their produce to Him as an act of worship and an expression of thankfulness to his blessing.
  • People are to be generous with their money because the Lord has been generous with them.
    1. 1 Cor 4:17: ““What do you have that you did not receive?”

_____D.Q: WHAT ARE SIGNS THAT SOMEONE IS SELFISH WITH THEIR MONEY / POSSESSIONS?_____

• The end of this passage shows that others benefit from our generosity (Levites, poor, widows)
  • How much care and concern do we have monetarily and prayerfully for those who minister?

Deut 15.    

Vs.1-6: Cancel Debts: LOOKING TOWARDS THE INTEREST OF OTHERS

“At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. ² This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the Lord’s time of release has arrived.³ This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites—not to the foreigners living among you.

⁴ “There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. ⁵ You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. ⁶ The Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.

• What is this saying? Restate verse 1
• The main point: Under God’s design for order, the rich is not exploiting the poor and the poor is not taking advantage of the rich.
• What a nation under God’s leadership is designed to be like.
  • Israel would be the richest and most prosperous land in the world had they FULLY obeyed the Lord’s commands.
• Called to look to others from the standpoint of Love, not business.

Vs.7-11: Give Generously to the Poor

• Was Just discussed

 

Vs.12-18: Freeing Servants: BE TRANSFORMED,NOT CONFORMED

¹² “If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant^[a] and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.

¹³ “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹⁵ Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

¹⁶ “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. ¹⁷ In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.

¹⁸ “You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the Lord your God will bless you in all you do.

• We see it again, be generous for God is generous with you (15)
  • We are seeing a theme of continual generosity and an other’s centered focus.
• The individuals they are talking about are Indentured servants: Make a payment through a set amount of time serving
  • The people who took out loans were able to work off their debts through service.
  • 14 – Though the servant has worked off their debt, their master was to let them leave with abundant supplies.
  • The Lord still commands generosity.

 

Vs.19-23: Set apart firstborn animals for the Lord

 

Deut 17.    

Vs.1-7: Worshiping other Gods

Vs.8-13: Rules for the establishment of Law Courts

Vs. 14- 20: The King: CONSTANT LEARNING AND PRACTICE

 “You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ ¹⁵ If this happens, be sure to select as King the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.

¹⁶ “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ ¹⁷ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.

¹⁸ “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. ²⁰ This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel. –>Discuss Psalm 119? Connections?

• Qualities of Godly Kings:
• Select a King like other nations.
  • Desiring to be like other nations. Such an easy trap
• VS.15 – Must not be a foreigner
• VS. 16 – Must not build a large stable of horses.
  • Desiring to amass an army and take control into his own hands rather than trusting the Lord
• VS. 17 – Must not take many wives
  • Foreign alliances based on marriage
• VS. 17 – Must not seek after money
  • Material wealth
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, HAVING AN IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW
  • Reading would reveal God’s character, instilling a desire to love Him and fear Him more.
  • For the leader to think that he was better than his brethren and privileged to live above God’s laws would indicate that he wasn’t fit to lead the nation.
  • “Seeks to be first shall be last and he who seeks to be last shall be first.”
    1. Christ the ultimate example.
  • We are not exempt from the command to learn and read scripture.
    1. Christ in Matt 4 quotes from Deut 8_“Man shall not live on bread alone.”
    2. 1 Peter 2:2 “Long for pure milk of the Word.”

_____D.Q: WHAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT ABOUT A PERSON WHO HARDLY READS THE BIBLE VERSUS SOMEONE WHO DOES IF VERY OFTEN?_____

• We should ask ourselves what person we want to be?
• If the one who reads very often, consider ways to study and make reading the bible more exciting!

 

3. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? ONLY THROUGH CHRIST!

Deut 21.    

Vs.22-23: Cursed are those who hang from a tree

²² “If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree, ²³ the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

• This part is fascinating for it is heavily referenced in Paul’s letter to the Galatians and explains the connection with all of this stuff to the NT.
• This person committed a crime worthy of death.
  • Gal 2:19 – Sin is worthy of death and by these laws, I was condemned to die.
  • We are to be that person hanging on the tree!
• Praise God for Christ interjected.
• All of these laws were meant to point to something more important, the death of Christ.
• These laws were simply a picture, not the way a relationship with God was supposed to look like
  • Gal 3:24: “The Law came as a tutor to lead us to Christ.”
    1. Yet, we still see many people in other churches trying to do the “good thing” to earn God’s favor / acceptance.
       • IT’S POINTLESS!!!!!

• Verse 21 was quoted by Paul in letter to the Galatians referencing the finished work of Christ.
  • Gal 3:10
  • Gal 3:13
  • 2 Cor 5:21 “Became sin so that we can become the righteousness in Him.”
• Have we personally gone before God and asked that the work of His Son would apply for our mistakes?

RECAP

Overarching theme: God’s people are Holy and Set Apart

3 things are going to be talked about with this: We are going to dissect it like the master physicians we are.

1. What does this mean?
2. What does this look like?
   • Tithing
   • Cancel Debts
   • Not Conform but Transform
   • Constant learning and practice
     • Be Kings of the past
     • Saturated in the word
   • How is this possible?
     • Only through Christ