If there is any doubt, this is one of the many chapters that make it clear the endpoint would be the glorification of Israel. It is declared here that the Gentiles will see their righteousness. Israel will be redeemed and renewed. God will turn around the circumstances and when Israel is restored, it will be a beacon to others. They will be call a "Holy People" (meaning set apart) and they will be "Sought Out".
Isaiah 62
Assurance of Zion’s Salvation
1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
But you shall be called Hephzibah,[a] and your land Beulah;[b]
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.
6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer give your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.”
10 Go through,
Go through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
Lift up a banner for the peoples!
11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.’”
12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
Showing posts with label holy people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holy people. Show all posts
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Law of Tithings, Israel the Special People
Tithing to God has been there even before Abraham tithed to God in the presence of Melchizedek. Now as the Israelites are preparing to settle in the promised land, God instituted tithing formally. God used tithing to remind the Israelites about their deliverance from Egypt. So tithing follows the rejoicing of the Israelites as they enjoy the blessings of the new land. Tithing is also a sign of obedience as the Israelites obey other laws spelled out by God. The tithes are specifically stated to be given to the Levites, the stranger or the non-Israelite living among them, the fatherless and the widow. The last three groups of people are mentioned in various places in the Old Testament and is the subject of God's compassion.
The last paragraph reminds them that the Israelites are specially chosen by God, set apart from other people - this is a meaning to be holy. They are called to obey God's command and remain faithful.
Deuteronomy 26
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
1 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your[a] God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian,[b] about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”;[c] 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 11 So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”’[d]
A Special People of God
16 “This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. 18 Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken.”
The last paragraph reminds them that the Israelites are specially chosen by God, set apart from other people - this is a meaning to be holy. They are called to obey God's command and remain faithful.
Deuteronomy 26
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
1 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your[a] God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian,[b] about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”;[c] 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 11 So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”’[d]
A Special People of God
16 “This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. 18 Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken.”
Thursday, December 16, 2010
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.
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.
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