Deuteronomy 15:12

Deuteronomy 15:12 says, And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.  Moses said that if a Hebrew man or woman had sold themselves into slavery to another Hebrew, then on the seventh year thay they were to be set free.  For some, this might have meant that they had only served for a year or so.  Verse thirteen adds, And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:  Verse fourteen adds, Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.  Moses said that when the person was released from bondage, he or she was not to be sent away empty handed, but was to be given liberally of the possessions that God had blessed the man freeing them with.  We today, even if God has richly blessed us, too often do not want to share those blessings of material things with others, and especially not liberally. Verse fifteen concludes, And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.  Moses said that they were to remember that God had freed them when they were bondsmen in Egypt, and that He didn't send them away empty handed.  As followers of Christ, God has freed us from the bondage of sin, and He liberally provides for our needs afterwards, if we put our faith in Him to do so.  Verse sixteen states, And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;  Moses then told them that a person under bondage to them might not want to leave, because the man had been so good to them.  After God frees us from sin and we begin to faithfully serve Him, we should never want to leave Him.  Verse seventeen adds, Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.  Moses said that if the man or woman didn't want to leave, the master was to run an awl through their ear into the door of his house, and this would be a sign that he or she had willingly bonded themselves to him from then on.  We don't have a physical sign of being a servant of God today, but once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are bonded to Him forever.  Verse eighteen continues, It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.  I believe this referred to those who wanted to be set free, and not to those who wanted to stay.  Those that the man released he was to release freely without it feeling like a burden to him.  I believe we can apply this to forgiving others today, which we should never feel is a burden to us, but is done freely.  Verse nineteen declares, All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.  Moses reminded them once again that the first born of their flocks belonged to God, and they were to not use them for their own benefit in any way.  What we dedicate to God today, His tithes and our offerings, we should never attempt to then use for our own purposes.  Verse twenty adds, Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.  Moses said that they could eat of the sacrifice after it had been offered to God at the place He specified.  They were to do this perpetually.  Verse twenty-one says, And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.  Any firstborn with a blemish or physical defect was not to be sacrificed to God.  God wants the best, and if we accept Jesus Christ, we become spiritually perfect to God, and as long as we live by the direction of the Holy Spirit, we remain that way.  Verse twenty-two adds, Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. Verse twenty-three continues, Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.  Though they were not to bring the first born that had some defect to the altar, they weren't to keep it either.  They were to kill it and eat where they were, just as would have happened if they had sacrificed it on the altar.  The first born still belonged to God and was not theirs to keep.  We as Christians belong to God, and everything that we have is His.  Moses also again reminded them that they were not to eat the blood of the sacrifice.  This represented the life of the animal. 

Deuteronomy 15:7

Deuteronomy 15:7 says, If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:  Moses said if there was a poor man who was Israelite with the land that God had given them that the other people of Israel were not to harden their hearts against him.  We also should never harden our hearts against our fellow Christians if God has richly blessed us.  Verse eight adds, But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.  Moses said they should open their hand and loan him what he needed. They were not to just open their heart, or empathize with him, but were to open their hand and actually do something to physically or materially help him.  We today as followers of Christ are to do the same.  Verse nine continues, Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.  Moses warned them against thinking that the seventh year, the year of release, was near and allowing this to keep them from helping the person.  We today should never allow whether a person, especially a fellow Christian, will be able to repay us to keep us from helping them.  God has told us that we can never out give Him, so we need to live as though we believe it.  Verse ten states, Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.  Moses said no matter how close it was to the year of release that their heart should not be grieved because they were loaning the man something that he would never have to repay, because God would bless all that they did because of it.  We may miss the blessings of God today because we refuse to help those in need if we figure that they can never repay us.  Verse eleven adds, For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.  Moses said that the poor would never cease to exist in the land of Israel, and those who had the ability to help them should never cease to do so.  We might think that since they were all Israelites that God would bless them all materially the same, but this was not the case, just as it isn't today.  As followers of Christ, we should see everything that we have as a blessing from God, not something that we somehow deserve more than other Christians.  

Deuteronomy 15:1

Deuteronomy 15:1 says, At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.  Ever seven years, the people of Israel were to make a release.  Verse two adds, And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release.  This release was for every creditor to release the debtor from his debt.  He was not to seek repayment from the man's brother, neighbor, or anyone else, because the release was God's release, meaning that God had commanded it.  As followers of Christ, we are forgiven of our sins every day and not just every seven years, but we are also called on to forgive the debts of others, just as God forgives our debts.  Verse three continues, Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;  This release did not apply to those who were not Israelites, but to their people of Israel only.  They could reapply, or not release, the debt of strangers, or none Israelites.  We can make this apply to release from the penalty of sin only for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but I believe it also tells us that how we treat our Christian brothers and sisters in financial matters should be different than the world would treat them.  Matthew Henry points out that the seventh year was the year that the Israelites were to do no planting and harvesting, so there really would be no way for those who were already barely surviving to repay any debt, and says that this applied to debts to maintain daily needs and not to business debts.  Of course, the Bible really doesn't specify if this applied to some specific debts and not others.  Verse four states, Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:  Moses said that this would not apply when there were no needy among the people of Israel because of God's great blessings.  If the people of Israel lived by God's guidance, there should be no group that had more than they needed while others didn't even have enough to survive.  If we put our faith in God, and He richly blesses us, we should not leave our fellow Christians to suffer without even enough to meet their basic needs.  Verse five adds, Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.  Moses said these things would only be true if they obeyed God's commandments.  When it comes to how we treat our fellow Christians, we must obey God's laws if we expect His continued blessings.   Verse six continues, For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.  Moses said if they obeyed God's commandments, that they would lend to many nations, but  not borrow from them, and then they could reign over many nations, but none could reign over them because of debts to these nations.  They needed to put their faith in God alone, and so must we today.  

Deuteronomy 14:22

Deuteronomy 14:22 says, Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.  Moses told the Israelites that they were to tithe on all the increase that their crops brought forth.  We sometimes seem to want to figure out the least that we can tithe, but I believe that God wants us to tithe on everything, and even give above that.  We may receive less of a blessing from God because of our unwillingness to give generously to Him.  Verse twenty-three adds, And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.  Moses said they were to eat before their God in the place He had chosen and that they were to bring all their tithes to Him there, so that they could learn to fear Him, or hold Him in the highest respect.  We as followers of Christ, His people by our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, need to bring our tithes and offerings to Him wherever He leads us to worship Him today.  We are to hold God in awesome respect, but I do not believe we are to fear Him if that implies to be afraid of Him.  God will always want what is best for us.  Verse twenty-four states, And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:  Moses then addressed what they were to do if they were too far away from the place that God designated for them to gather and worship Him and to bring everything to Him there.  As Christians today, we are seldom to far away from a place of worship to bring our tithes and offerings to God there.  Verse twenty-five adds, Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:  Moses said if they were too far away to bring all the literal tithes of their crops and livestock to God at the place He designated as the central place of worship, that they were to sell the crops and livestock and bind the money they received for them to their hand and bring it to a place that God designated.  God was still in charge.  We generally are already being paid our increase in money, and all we need to do is bring our tithes and offerings to God at the place He designates.  Verse twenty-six continues, And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,  This money was to then be used to buy food and drink to celebrate the goodness of God.  Verse twenty-seven says, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. This was after the Levites received their portion.  We must always remember to take care of those who serve God as ministers and any other area of service today with our tithes and offerings first.  Then, the rest is to be used in a way that honors God and celebrates His goodness to us.  Verse twenty-eight adds, At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:  Moses said that every third year they were to bring all the increase before God and lay it up within the gates of the place of worship that God had designated.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.  Moses said that they were to do this so that the Levites, the strangers, the fatherless and the widows within the gates would have enough to eat and be satisfied.  Then, the LORD would bless them.  We today need to do all that we can to provide for those in full-time ministry and for widows and orphans, even if they are strangers to us.  Then, God will richly bless us.  

Deuteronomy 14:11

Deuteronomy 14:11 says, Of all clean birds ye shall eat.  Next, Moses listed all the birds the people of Israel could eat, calling them clean birds.  This was not just Moses decision, but God's.  If anyone starts to tell us as Christians what we cannot eat today, it is their decision and not God's, and we should not base what we can and cannot eat on what they say.  Verse twelve states, But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,  Moses then began to list the birds that they could not eat.  Verse thirteen adds, And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,  Verse fourteen continues, And every raven after his kind, These were birds of prey and birds that ate dead flesh.  Verse fifteen says, And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,  Verse sixteen adds, The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,  Verse seventeen continues, And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,  Verse eighteen states, And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.  These are still birds that we probably wouldn't eat today, because it wouldn't be healthy, but even they are not forbidden for moral reasons.  Verse nineteen states, And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. Verse twenty adds, But of all clean fowls ye may eat.  Moses concluded his list of what was prohibited, then said that all clean birds could be eaten, and those were any not listed as forbidden.  Matthew Henry points out that these rules applied only to the Israelites, and not to the rest of the world.  We as followers of Christ really have no rules or restrictions, dietary or otherwise, that do not apply to the rest of the world.  The only difference is that we believe and obey them and they don't.  God's law is universal, even if it is not accepted.  Verse twenty-one declares, Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.  Moses then told them that they could not eat anything that died naturally,  but they could give it to a stranger to eat, or even sell it to them.  These animals likely would not have had the blood drained from them.  The people of Israel were to do this because they were a holy people, not because of who they were physically, but because of their relationship with God.  So are we today as followers of Christ.  Moses also added that they were not cook a kid, or young goat, in its mothers milk.

Deuteronomy 14:1

Deuteronomy 14:1 says, Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.  Moses said they were the children of God and they were not to cut themselves nor shave their heads in mourning for the dead.  They were not to harm or even disfigure themselves because they still had a heavenly Father, no matter who died, and if the person who died was truly a child of God, they had simply gone on to their heavenly home.  Verse two adds, For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God,  and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Moses said they were a holy people, chosen by God and not by their own goodness.  They were to be a peculiar people, different in their values from all other people.  As followers of Christ, we are a holy people because of Who our God is, and not because of who we are of our own merit.  We, like Israel, are to be  peculiar people, set aside from the values of the world to live by God's law.  Verse three states, Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.  Moses then said that they were not to eat any abominable thing, and then he told them what would be considered abominable.  Of course, after the death of Jesus, these restrictions were removed by God, so we are free to eat these animals today.  Verse four adds, These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,  Verse five continues, The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.  Verse six concludes, And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.  The people of Israel were given a large variety of animals that they could eat, and we are given an even greater freedom in what we eat today.  Nothing that we eat is going to make us spiritually unclean.  Verse seven says, Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.  Some animals, such as the camel, hare and coney, chewed the cud but did not have a cloven, or divided hoof.  Verse eight adds, And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.  Swine were also included, because they did not chew cud.  These restrictions were to set the people of God apart from the rest of the world.  We today are set apart by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and then living by His laws.  Verse nine states, These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:  There were also restrictions on what fish the people of Isreal could eat.  If the fish had fins and scales, they could eat it.  Verse ten adds, And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.  If the animal coming from the water did not have fins and scales, it was not to be eaten.  This would have included things such as eels, catfish, shrimp, clams, and oysters, and I personally am happy that these restrictions were removed when God told Peter that what He made clean Peter was not to call unclean, and neither should we.

Deuteronomy 13:12

Deuteronomy 13:12 says, If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,  Verse thirteen adds, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;   Moses then spoke to them about hearing someone in any city that God had given them calling on them to go and worship other gods.  These were people who had seen God's power and goodness, but who were still willing to turn away from their covenant relationship with Him.  As Christians, we have a covenant relationship with God, and nothing should ever tempt us to turn away from Him.  Verse fourteen continues, Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;  Moses said that the first thing they should do was to diligently seek the truth about what had been said.  As followers of Christ we should always seek the truth before we act, especially if it involves others being accused of something that goes against God's word.  Verse fifteen states, Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.  Moses then told them that if they determined it to be truae that they had turned away from God to follow false gods,that they were to kill all the inhabitants of the city and to utterly destroy the city.  Turning away from God to chase false gods brought extreme punishment, but it was in the world to come where the consequences were truly bad.  Those who had turned away from God would be forever separated from Him.  Verse sixteen adds, And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.  Moses said they were to burn all the spoil of the city, and the city should never be built again.  We need to completely destroy everything that would lead us away from God, and never attempt to build anything on it again.  Verse seventeen continues, And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;  Moses then warned them to not attempt to keep anything from this city for themselves so that God would turn away from His fierce anger and have compassion on them and multiply their numbers as He had promised to do.  God's promises to us are always dependent on our obedience to Him, starting with accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We cannot claim to accept Jesus Christ and still worship anything else.  Being a Christian is never about getting more material wealth.  Verse eighteen concludes, When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.  Moses said that if they wanted to receive the blessings of God that they would have to listen to His voice and keep His commandments.  If we want to receive the blessings of God today, we must first listen to His voice calling us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and if we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, we are God's forever.  Still, even though we cannot be saved by obeying God's commandments,  because we will always fail to keep them all, once we are saved by faith, we should do our best to obey all of God's commandments.