The Tabernacle, Temple, and Sanctuary: Deuteronomy Chapters 14 to 34

By Dennis Herman

This book shows how Moses reviewed everything he taught Israel over the previous years. He knows he will never walk into the promised land. Moses can see the land, but God told him, he would not be allowed to cross over into the promised land with the people he raised over the past forty years.
Moses grew to know those people like his own children. Moses watched each of their parents die on that long wilderness journey. Moses lost count of the sons and daughters he had to comfort.
As Moses stood in front of Israel, teaching them what God instructed him to teach, Moses felt a deep desire to leave Israel with the best instructions he was capable of providing. Moses knew, he was about to climb that mountain to die. Moses left all those complaints and trials behind him in the desert as he addressed Israel with last minute instructions. Moses showed his concern for Israel as he spent his last days doing what Moses was called to do, prepare Israel for the promised land.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365305375

Book preview

The Tabernacle, Temple, and Sanctuary: Deuteronomy Chapters 14 to 34

The Tabernacle, Temple, and Sanctuary

Deuteronomy Chapters 14 to 34

Written by Dennis Herman

Copyright © 2016 Dennis Herman

All rights reserved

ISBN-978-1-365-30537-5

The Tabernacle, Temple, and Sanctuary: Deuteronomy Chapters 14 to 34

by Dennis Herman

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Or send a letter to:

Creative Commons

171 Second Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA 94105

USA

Bibles:

NLTse New Living. Translation®. SECOND EDITION Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

KJV King James Version

MKJV Modern King James Version Sovereign Grace Publishers

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) (NLTse) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1 Clean and Unclean Foods Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14:1-5 NLTse  (1)  Since you are the people of the LORD your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.  (2)  You have been set apart as holy to the LORD your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.  (3)  You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean.  (4)  These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,  (5)  the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the addax, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.

I know some people have read a million sermons on clean and unclean animals. And people have written a million studies on the subject. I've yet to see a single study leaning on God's laws of context to look at the subject.

What is the law of introduction and summary? The introduction tells us the main theme in the chapter. The last few verses summarize the main theme in the chapter. The question today still lingers, are there still clean and unclean animals?

As serious students of scripture, we've learned we have to first look at the physical aspects before we can hope to understand the spiritual lessons. I'm not about to review that list of clean and unclean animals Moses recorded. Nor am I going to add a bunch of information to clarify the eating habits of animals to determine if they are clean, disease free, or unclean, capable of carrying and transmitting diseases. When we look back, we see how God warned Israel against drinking blood from ceremonially clean animals. So all animals have the tendency of carrying and transmitting diseases. Since God warned about drinking blood, we know to look at other aspects of unclean animal's meat for diseases.

I'm not going in that direction, but I'm going to stick to what I've done in this entire series of books. I am going to follow the laws of context to look at dietary laws. Look at how Moses introduced this chapter. Since you are the people of the LORD your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. You have been set apart as holy to the LORD your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

Two details stand out. Israel was God's special treasure. God pointed that out before He introduced dietary laws. That has to say something to people. Before that, God made it clear, people weren't to cut or shave themselves. Look at what God associated that cutting and shaving to. Death. Since God chose to warn people against following pagan funeral rituals to introduce his dietary laws, what does that tell you?

Of course we have to look at the summary in this chapter to see how it compares to the introduction. Remember, they have to teach the same theme. And remember, God often uses contrasts to teach the same lesson.

Deuteronomy 14:26-29 NLTse  (26)  When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food you want--cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and celebrate with your household.  (27)  And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.  (28)  "At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year's harvest and store it in the nearest town.  (29)  Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all your work.

Once again, God looked ahead to when Israel was in the promised land. We instantly see the contrast between pagan rituals and the Levites. We also see a contrast between death, or the funeral in the introduction, and the feast mentioned in the summary.

God told Israel to not to follow pagan rituals. But told Israel to celebrate with the Levites. To invite Levites to the festivals. Don't forget the Levites. What connection does that have with teaching about clean and unclean animals? Remember where the Levites got their food from. The main source of food came from a portion of some of the sacrificial offerings. Now you have to ask yourself. Would anyone offer God an unclean beast? Would any of the Levites allow the sacrifice of an unclean beast? Would any Levite accept a portion of an unclean beast? Now you have something to think about when you decided to study about clean, and unclean meats, and if the laws apply today.

Now we can't forget the fact, in the last chapter, God was making the point to trust Him and not those prophets Israel was going to see in the promised land. Laws of context tells us, those stories are related in a spiritual sense. We have to respect those rules of context to see the spiritual lessons, and how they not only help explain, but reinforce physical aspects of every law and lesson.

God covered one other detail in this chapter we have to look at.

Tithe

Deuteronomy 14:22-25 NLTse  (22)  You must set aside a tithe of your crops--one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.  (23)  Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship--the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored--and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.  (24)  Now when the LORD your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe.  (25)  If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the LORD your God has chosen.

God made tithe relatively easy to understand. Tithe means one-tenth. In those days income was mostly based on crops and herds. That's all God mentioned. Did God have a good reason for omitting wages? Maybe that was because everyone in the promised land received their own land. So everyone had the ability to grow crops and raise herds. Tithe was simple back then. God gave them everything, and they returned a tenth.

That tenth was given to the Levites. One of the few laws from the Old Testament every Christian denomination agrees on.

God did cover the sale of crops. Sometimes it was easier to sell the crops then to transport the actual crops. Now what does tithe have to do with clean and unclean animals? Those crops were given to the Levites. God didn't expect His Levites to live on a total meat diet. They needed their fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and olive oil. God made sure they had a good diet. Another example showing how God was looking ahead, and over them. Even when we don't seem to notice.

Chapter 2 Debts Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15:1-6 NLTse  (1)  At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.  (2)  This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the LORD's time of release has arrived.  (3)  This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites--not to the foreigners living among you.  (4)  There should be no poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession.  (5)  You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.  (6)  The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.

If there was one Old Testament law I would like to see people following, it is this one. Of course I'm not including the Ten Commands in that list. Those are Commands, not laws. There is a difference.

God didn't want to see His people suffer in any way, shape, or form. God protected their health, made sure they knew how to treat their neighbors, as well as strangers. God made sure they knew not to experiment with other religions, and get rid of any influences from other gods. And God wanted them to live debt free in the land He was giving them.

This of course is another example where God showed His ability to look ahead and see the future. God knew how His Commandments and laws were going to be ignored, modified, altered, and amended. God knew, people were making plans to get ahead before they saw the land He was giving them. God knew, many of the Israelites had their eyes set on gathering up all that gold and silver everyone had been carrying around for the past forty years. And it wasn't going to stop with the gold and silver.

Not one of those prophets God warned about were going to share any information like the type God revealed to Israel. Back in Egypt Moses was told exactly what would happen if Pharaoh denied their request. Moses didn't see the future in a vision or dream. Moses delivered a direct verbal message from God. Moses was provided limited details on each plague, and only one plague at a time. That showed us how God works with His prophets. Nothing has changed. Look at how other prophets communicated with God and delivered messages. Prophets were told only a small amount of information. Just enough for people to make a decision. No one knew details until the event took place. Then God gave another message. And other event followed. Prophets lead people to God by slowly increasing their faith in God, when people choose to believe God's messages.

Look at what could have happened if they believed God. Israel would have been blessed beyond belief. Nations and people would have come to them to borrow money. And to learn from them. Not how to make money, but how to follow God. Israel had a choice in front of them, and only time would tell how they reacted to God's blessings.

Be Generous

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 NLTse  (7)  "But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them.  (8)  Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.  (9)  Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the LORD, you will be considered guilty of sin.  (10)  Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.  (11)  There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.

Another example of God showing how He sees the future. God knew, not everyone was going to be good at managing their farms or money. But God wanted to take care of those people. God didn't kick people to the side of the road because they made mistakes. This is another important lesson God wanted His kingdom of priests to learn. People will be different, but that is no reason to ignore them.

God wanted people to give because it was the right thing to do. Not because there was a profit in the transaction for them. Not to bring attention to themselves. God wanted people to help other people to – well show a little part of God's true image. To show other people, God blessed me to bless others.

Slaves

Deuteronomy 15:12-15 NLTse  (12)  If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.  (13)  When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed.  (14)  Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the LORD your God has blessed you.  (15)  Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

I think every Christian has to ask, why would God include this law? How could anyone who spent their entire lives as a slave ever think of doing that to another person? But as we've seen, God looked into the future and saw how Israelites would soon adopt the ways of the world. Slavery was one of those things they just couldn't resist.

No wonder God kept telling them to look back, remember, and tell their children what slavery was really like. When Moses pointed them to the past, he pointed them to the land and lives they came from.

Let's be frank. Life in the wilderness was a cake walk compared to bondage in Egypt. The older generation who lived more than twenty years as slaves in Egypt passed away in the wilderness. But God made sure Levites were still around to share those stories. Levites mixed those stories about slavery in Egypt with their duties serving God, using a contrast no one would every forget.

At this point, we have to look at the sequence Moses gave those new laws. After writing twelve chapters about looking back, Moses told Israel to beware of prophets pretending to look into the future. Then Moses told them, there were going to be people in the promised land trying to lead them into other religions and types of worship. No wonder God made sure there were plenty of experienced Levites scattered all over the promised land.

God told them what to do with those prophets and people leading them away from God. Israel was supposed to completely destroy all of them, and everything they owned. There were no compromises.

Then Moses told them to never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. Immediately after that, God gave Israel complete laws on clean and unclean animals. Then God reminded them to remember the Levites, who never ate or sacrificed unclean animals. Israel was supposed to give a tenth of their crops to the Levites to make sure they had more than the portion of offerings God shared with them.

Moses followed up the tithe for the Levites with a law to forgive all debts every seventh year. That may be one detail most people miss. Moses told Israel how to serve the priests, and Levites who served God, and the people in the community they lived with. Wouldn't that be nice if people didn't skip over that section of Deuteronomy so quickly.

After explaining how to have compassion on fellow Israelites, and the blessing they would received when and if they complied, Moses brought up the subjects of slaves. Notice how the lessons progressed, just like the fall of Israel happened. Look where it all began, by following prophets who claimed to know the future, and other people who insisted they had a better way of following God.

That sequence should make every Christian think about how they worship God. Do they worship God, some priest, religious leaders, set of doctrines, or building? What about that warning about prophets looking into the future? I would estimate the vast majority of Christians today are worshiping prophets and the prophecies they invent day after day more than the living God, and His creation, including His people, their neighbors all over the world.

Most of the prophets today preach a message aimed at one of God's greatest enemies – self. Human self. Love of self. The concept of getting ahead. That was Eve's motive to sin. Scripture tells us, Eve wanted to be like God by knowing good and evil. Everyone in the world knows that much. And there are millions of people who want more. They want to be like gods, by telling everyone they know the future. That's exactly what Moses warned about in Deuteronomy chapter 13.

Why the obsession with prophecies today? What is the real motive behind the never ending landslide of prophetic visions into the future? Those obsessions begin with profits. Many of the most famous prophets are some of the world's richest religious leaders. Those prophets focus on base human nature. Most people call it the will to survive. If people know the future, they can better prepare for surviving whatever is coming. Now we can see why Moses ordered Israel to destroy every bit of those prophetic influences. God knew, greed breeds greed. It spreads like a cancer consuming everyone it touches.

Did you notice the way Moses wrote a series of stories involving false worship, money, slavery, and God's concern for His people? When God took Israel out of physical bondage, the last thing He wanted to see was His people getting lost in spiritual bondage without knowing it.

Pierce Your Ear

Deuteronomy 15:16-17 NLTse  (16)  "But suppose your servant says, 'I will not leave you,' because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you.  (17)  In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.

This has got to be one of the strangest ceremonies in the Bible. Someone remains a slave by choice, and to show the world the choice they made, they pierce their ear on a doorpost. Why? This was to take place in the promised land. What was written on those doorposts in the promised land?

And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 NLTse).

To understand the spiritual lesson here, we have to look back at what covered those doorposts once a year.

On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt. "This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time. (Exodus 12:12-14 NLTse).

How much blood comes out of an ear when it is pierced? Not much. Is the law covered? Not at all. God used this strange ceremony to illustrate a point. When people think they can cover the law, they are slaves by choice.

A long time ago I was praying about that pierced ear and what it meant. That day I saw a woman with huge hoop earrings hanging down. I thought, that is it. The woman is a slave to fashion by choice. If a slave pierced their ear, the only way to keep the wound open was to place and earring in it.

I saw that woman back in the days only women wore earrings. I never thought we'd see men wearing earrings, and all those body piercings we see today. Look at those people. Are they slaves to fashion, following the crowd, or something else?

Slaves Are Worth Twice As Much

Deuteronomy 15:18 NLTse  (18)  "You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

Does this one speak volumes to me. I work in Real Estate, and try not to promise people the world when they are looking for a deal, but in reality buying someone's problems. And the banks no longer want to loan money on less than adequate housing. Can you blame them? People seem to want the best deal in the world, think restoring a home is easy, and have little idea how much that costs. I guess you can say, they are slaves to their dreams. I just don't want to make them slaves to a mortgage if it is not the right home for them.

Trying to make an honest living in a world where some people play by their own rules can be rough. That's where you have to work twice as hard while making far less money than some of the competition. All any business needs is a few people willing to make an art of exaggeration, or leaving out a few details to make everyone suffer. In Real Estate the best example is a number of Agents showing the same property. Spending another few hours to write up the contracts, explain the details, get the documents signed, send them to the Agent working with the seller, and wait for a reply.

Some of those properties have little value to begin with, and need extensive repairs. That's one area where business gets brutal. Once in a while you find out a property sold for nearly market value, but needed thousands of dollars worth of repairs. Someone told that buyer the wrong market value, leading them to think the property would be worth a lot more money when the repairs were done. It is not always the Agent's fault. Sometimes buyers get very poor information from the Internet or other sources. Real Estate is not an easy business to get along in. One example shows how a dozen Agents wasted a half day or more to quick submit an offer while only one Agent will get paid for making the sale. Competition like that can make a lot of people do strange things.

Can someone become a slave to honesty? Jesus talked about that a bit.

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds.