Unclean Meat, Tithing

In the description below about mourning, it also describes in general how God see His people, which is: "a holy people", "chosen to be a people for Himself", "a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth". Such precious words of how the Almighty thinks of us should never be forgotten especially in our times of need.

Continuing on this book of Life in which God instructs His people how to live, note that these are not commandments but practical instructions. These instructions concern the physical, such as what to eat rather than spiritual commandments like Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbour. When the physical instructions are taken to be spiritual, they can be a form of oppression. The physical instructions are probably there to keep God's people physically healthy and sound, especially when it comes to food.

Looking in detail of what is allowed and forbidden food, the Israelites must not eat animals "that chew the cud or have cloven hooves". In terms of seafood, most fish are acceptable but all other sea creatures are forbidden. The forbidden ones probably include crab, lobsters, oysters, etc which although we may consider delicacies, modern science have also found them to be high in cholesterol. In terms of winged animals, most birds can be eaten accept those like eagles, owls, raven, vultures and so on. It is interesting to see that the list of forbidden winged creatures seem to be those birds that are meat eaters. Again, God may have hygiene in mind when forbidding the selected winged creatures.

The principle of tithing is explained briefly and the actual material to be tithed was the produce of the people. These may be grain, oil, wine, firstborn of the herds or flocks; and only when it is too difficult to tithe these that the money can be used to tithe as a substitute. This helped the people recognize that their bountiful crop or herd is a blessing from God, hence it is right for them to give those items back. The call to tithe is also accompanied by a call to rejoice in the tithing and also to not forget the Levites, those who are specially chosen to serve the Lord full time and not able to make a living for themselves.


Deuteronomy 14

Improper Mourning

 1 “You are the children of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.


Clean and Unclean Meat
  
3 “You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat,[a] the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.
9 “These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.
19 “Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.
20 “You may eat all clean birds.
21 “You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Tithing Principles
  
Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.