Question 1

What does it mean that Israel is the children of the Lord and a holy people?

Accepted Answer

When God calls Israel his children and a holy people, he is talking about a special relationship he chose in love, not because they were better than others. As children belong to their father, Israel belongs to God in a close, family way. Being holy means they are set apart for him, marked off from other nations in how they live. This is why their grief customs, food, and worship are different. Their daily choices are meant to show that they belong to the Lord and trust his ways.

Question 2

Why are the Israelites told not to cut themselves or shave for the dead?

Accepted Answer

The command not to cut themselves or make baldness for the dead is about staying away from pagan mourning customs. The nations around them used these acts in their grief and often tied them to idol worship. God’s people are told to grieve in a different way because they belong to him and have hope. Their bodies are not to be marked by the ways of idol worshipers. This law protects them from copying the religions around them and reminds them that even sorrow should honor God.

Question 3

Why does this passage list clean and unclean animals for food?

Accepted Answer

The list of clean and unclean animals teaches Israel which foods they may eat and which they must avoid. Land animals need to both chew the cud and have split hooves, fish must have fins and scales, and certain birds and flying creatures are forbidden. These rules serve at least two purposes. They guard the people from uncleanness linked with death and blood, and they clearly separate their daily habits from other nations. Every meal was a reminder that they were different because they belonged to the Lord.

Question 4

What is the meaning of not seething a kid in its mother’s milk?

Accepted Answer

The line about not boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk has been read in more than one way, but it clearly sets a boundary. Many understand it as blocking a pagan ritual that used this act in worship to other gods. It may also teach respect for the order God built into creation, not mixing life and death in a cruel way. Either way, God is drawing a line so his people do not blend their worship with the customs of the nations around them.

Question 5

Why are Israelites forbidden to eat animals that die by themselves?

Accepted Answer

They are not to eat anything that dies of itself because its blood has not been properly poured out, and it may carry disease or uncleanness. For a holy people, even food must reflect care about purity and life. The meat may be given or sold to a foreigner who is not bound by these laws, but Israel is to live by a stricter standard. This rule keeps them mindful that death and blood are serious matters before God and that their calling is to stay clean in his service.

Question 6

How did tithing work in this passage, year by year and every three years?

Accepted Answer

There are two patterns here. Each year they were to set aside a tenth of their crops and animals and bring it to the place God chose for his name. There they would eat and rejoice before the Lord with their household and include the Levite. Every third year, instead of taking it to the central place, they stored that year’s tithe within their towns. Then Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows could come, eat, and be satisfied. Both kinds of tithes tied worship to generosity and care for others.

Question 7

Why are the Levites mentioned so often in the tithing instructions?

Accepted Answer

Levites are mentioned because they had no land inheritance like the other tribes and depended on the tithes for their daily needs. Their work was serving in God’s worship, so the people’s giving was both support for them and obedience to God. When Israel brought tithes and shared their feasts, they were not to forget the Levite in their gates. To neglect them would be to neglect the worship life of the nation. Caring for Levites showed respect for God and his appointed servants.

Question 8

What does this passage teach about caring for the poor and needy?

Accepted Answer

The three-year tithe especially shows God’s care for the poor. Israel was to store a tenth of their increase in their own towns so that Levites, strangers, fatherless children, and widows could come and eat until they were full. These were the people without land or strong family support. God ties his blessing on their work to how they treat such people. This means holiness is not only about food and rituals but also about opening their hands to those in need.

Question 9

How does eating before the Lord with tithes show worship and joy?

Accepted Answer

They were told to bring their tithe to the place God chose, then use it to buy food and drink and eat there before him. This turned giving into a shared feast with God at the center. It taught them to fear the Lord by remembering that everything they had came from him, yet it was also joyful. They were to rejoice with their families and include the Levite. Worship here is not only offering something up, but also gladly enjoying God’s gifts in his presence.

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.

Clean and Unclean Animals

Giving Tithes

Clean and Unclean Animals

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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.

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Clean and Unclean Animals

Giving Tithes

Clean and Unclean Animals

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