Holy people, holy eating, holy giving

14:1 You are children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald for the sake of the dead. 14:2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth. 14:3 You must not eat any forbidden thing. 14:4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 14:5 the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep. 14:6 You may eat any animal that has hooves divided into two parts and that chews the cud. 14:7 However, you may not eat the following animals among those that chew the cud or those that have divided hooves: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger. (Although they chew the cud, they do not have divided hooves and are therefore ritually impure to you). 14:8 Also the pig is ritually impure to you; though it has divided hooves, it does not chew the cud. You may not eat their meat or even touch their remains. 14:9 These you may eat from among water creatures: anything with fins and scales you may eat, 14:10 but whatever does not have fins and scales you may not eat; it is ritually impure to you. 14:11 All ritually clean birds you may eat. 14:12 These are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14:13 the kite, the black kite, the dayyah after its species, 14:14 every raven after its species, 14:15 the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the falcon after its species, 14:16 the little owl, the long-eared owl, the white owl, 14:17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 14:18 the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, the bat, 14:19 and any winged thing on the ground are impure to you – they may not be eaten. 14:20 You may eat any clean bird. 14:21 You may not eat any corpse, though you may give it to the resident foreigner who is living in your villages and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. 14:22 You must be certain to tithe all the produce of your seed that comes from the field year after year. 14:23 In the presence of the Lord your God you must eat from the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the place he chooses to locate his name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 14:24 When he blesses you, if the place where he chooses to locate his name is distant, 14:25 you may convert the tithe into money, secure the money, and travel to the place the Lord your God chooses for himself. 14:26 Then you may spend the money however you wish for cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and enjoy it. 14:27 As for the Levites in your villages, you must not ignore them, for they have no allotment or inheritance along with you. 14:28 At the end of every three years you must bring all the tithe of your produce, in that very year, and you must store it up in your villages. 14:29 Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

The Lord chose Israel to be his holy people, so their life had to show that they belonged to him. That holiness shaped what they ate, how they worshiped, and how they used their produce.

Moses first reminds Israel who they are. They are children of the Lord, a holy people, chosen and treasured by him. Because of that, they must not copy pagan mourning practices for the dead.

The chapter then gives clean and unclean food laws. Israel may eat certain land animals, fish with fins and scales, and clean birds. They must not eat what God called impure. These rules taught them to live by the Lord’s holy distinctions.

Israel also must not eat an animal that died on its own. They must avoid a forbidden practice with a young goat and its mother’s milk. Even food and daily habits had to show reverence to the Lord.

Then Moses turns to tithes. Each year Israel must bring a tithe of their produce and enjoy it before the Lord at the place he chooses. If the place is far away, they may turn the tithe into money and use it there to buy food and drink for a joyful meal before God. This was meant to teach them to fear the Lord always.

Israel must also remember the Levites, who had no land inheritance. Every three years the tithe was to be stored in the towns so the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows could eat and be satisfied. In this way, reverence for God, joyful worship, support for the Levites, and care for the needy stayed joined together under the Lord’s covenant.

• Israel belonged to the Lord as his holy, chosen people.
• Holiness touched ordinary life, not only worship.
• Israel was not to copy pagan mourning customs.
• God gave clean and unclean food laws to shape Israel’s covenant life.
• The tithe was for joyful worship before the Lord and for care of the Levites and the vulnerable.
• The Lord joined obedience, reverence, worship, and generosity together.

• Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald for the dead.
• Do not eat forbidden food.
• Do not eat carcasses.
• Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• You must tithe all the produce of your seed each year.
• Do not neglect the Levites.
• Bring support every three years for the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows.
• The Lord will bless obedience and generous provision.

This chapter belongs to the Mosaic covenant and shows what it looked like for God’s holy nation to live under his rule in the land. It highlights God’s concern for worship, daily conduct, and mercy for the weak within Israel’s covenant life.

God still cares about all of life. His people should not separate worship from daily habits or generosity. The food laws are not binding on the church, and Deuteronomy’s tithe should not be copied as a simple formula without its covenant setting. But the lasting lesson remains: belong to the Lord, honor him in ordinary life, worship him joyfully, and remember those in need.

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