The fastest way to get your kids to do something is to tell them they aren’t allowed to do it. Why is that?
I think it has to do with our original nature…the “operating system” that we have from birth. That system always wants to make the decisions and be in control. That’s why you hear children say “you aren’t the boss of me” or “I don’t want to do it” or “you can’t tell me what to do”. We want to make decisions on our own. And, when someone tells us what we can’t do…there is a reaction inside us, a rebellion against someone trying to exert authority over us. (I’m talking above my pay grade..but you get the point)
When God told the people “don’t eat these types of animals” there were probably two reasons. 1. something about the animals wouldn’t be good for the people. or 2. they needed to have an “off limits” category so that they could battle their original operating system.
The way we fight against our original nature is to deny it. We refuse to do what it wants us to, so when it wants to do something different from what God wants…we choose to do God’s will, and not our own. Mission accomplished.
I wish it were that easy.
This passage also goes into some detail about tithing. I hadn’t noticed the verse 14:23 before, that says “doing this will teach you to always fear the Lord your God.” The word (yare’) is most often used in the Bible to convey being afraid. It’s the same word used when Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden, the same word for when Joseph’s brothers found their money hidden in their sacks, and the same word used when Moses realized that people knew he had killed an Egyptian. Three times it means “reverence” but 188 times it means “fear” and 78 more times in means “be afraid”. 39 times it means “terrible or dreadful”. You get the point. Tithing was meant to instill a sense of holy fear into the people. Probably not reverence, more like the feeling you get when you don’t pay a fine, or you walk out of the store with your groceries without paying for them. It seems to me that God set this up so that we would have a sense of obligation along with an implied punishment for not paying the tithe. You owe the tithe, keeping it for yourself is stealing from God (His words, not mine: Malachi 3:8-9.)
Moving along to the festivals, I wax humorous. You could make a good case for buying steaks and beer with your tithe and having a large party. By the way, don’t forget to invite the preachers (Levites) 14:25. So, in our discussion about “bringing the tithe into the storehouse” let’s not get too carried away!
On the more serious side, the festivals all had a “festive” side to them. (maybe that’s why they’re called “festive-als” They were supposed to be happy, celebratory times when community got together and acknowledged God’s blessing. I’m sure there was a somber element, but the overall theme was celebration. I wonder why God had to tell the people to celebrate? They used their tithes to buy party foods. Why would you have to direct them to do that? Wouldn’t they do it anyway?
Maybe not. Maybe they would have said “I’m not spending my hard earned income on throwing a party where people who haven’t earned can come and be entertained or fed”. But God wanted the party. That seems strange to even think about. I am more comfortable with the idea that God wants work to be done than I am with the idea that He wants celebrations to occur. Then again, I have always been more Martha than Mary. Three times a year, most of them had two celebration days….some had more. It’s something to think about.
While we are discussing the tithe, notice that every third year the tithe went to a local community. In this way, every community received 3.3% of the income from each household. From the very beginning the Lord had a community care program set up. You could look at it like a
welfare system, or a taxation plan, but either way, there was a commandment that addressed care for persons in the community.
Faithfully,
PR