Deuteronomy 13:1-18, Deuteronomy 14:1-29 NIRV

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Do Not Worship Other Gods

Suppose a prophet appears among you. Or someone comes who uses dreams to tell what’s going to happen. He tells you that a sign or something amazing is going to take place. The sign or amazing thing he has spoken about might really take place. And then the prophet might say, “Let’s serve other gods. Let’s worship them.” But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The Lord your God is testing you. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. You must worship him. You must honor him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to get you to be unfaithful to the Lord. Get rid of that evil person.

Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” But you and your people of long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods before. They are the gods of the nations around you. Those nations might be near or far away. In fact, they might reach from one end of the land to the other. Don’t give in to those who are tempting you. Don’t listen to them. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t spare them or save them. You must certainly put them to death. You must be the first to throw stones at them. Then all the people must do the same thing. Put them to death by throwing stones at them. They tried to turn you away from the Lord your God. He brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves. After you kill those who tempted you, all the Israelites will hear about it. And they will be too scared to do an evil thing like that again.

The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But suppose you hear something bad about one of those towns. You hear that people who cause trouble have appeared among you. They’ve tried to get the people of their town to do something wrong. They’ve said, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. So you must ask people some questions. You must check out the matter carefully. If it’s true, an evil thing has really happened among you. It’s something the Lord hates. Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. You must destroy it completely. You must wipe out its people and livestock. You must gather all the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. You must burn the town completely. You must burn up everything in it. It’s a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a pile of stones forever. It must never be built again. Don’t keep anything that should be destroyed. Then the Lord will turn away from his great anger. He will show you mercy. He’ll have deep concern for you. He’ll cause there to be many of you. That’s what he promised your people of long ago. He gave his word when he made the promise. The Lord your God will do those things if you obey him. I’m giving you his commands today. And you must obey all of them. You must do what is right in his eyes.

Read More of Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 14:1-29

“Clean” and “Unclean” Food

You are the children of the Lord your God. Don’t cut yourselves to honor the dead. Don’t shave the front of your heads to honor the dead. You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

Don’t eat anything the Lord hates. Here are the only animals you can eat. You can eat oxen, sheep, goats, deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, ibexes, antelope and mountain sheep. You can eat any animal that has a divided hoof. But it must also chew the cud. Some animals only chew the cud. Others only have a divided hoof. The camel, rabbit and rock badger chew the cud, but they don’t have a divided hoof. So you can’t eat them. They are not “clean” for you. Pigs aren’t “clean” for you either. They have a divided hoof, but they don’t chew the cud. So don’t eat their meat. And don’t touch their dead bodies.

Many creatures live in water. You can eat all the ones that have fins and scales. But don’t eat anything that doesn’t have fins and scales. It isn’t “clean” for you.

You can eat any “clean” bird. But there are many birds you can’t eat. They include eagles, vultures, and black vultures. They include red kites, black kites and all kinds of falcons. They include all kinds of ravens. They include horned owls, screech owls, gulls and all kinds of hawks. They include little owls, great owls, white owls and desert owls. They include ospreys and cormorants. They include storks and all kinds of herons. They also include hoopoes and bats.

All flying insects are “unclean” for you. So don’t eat them. But you can eat any creature that has wings and is “clean.”

If you find something that’s already dead, don’t eat it. You can give it to an outsider living in any of your towns. They may eat it. Or you can sell it to someone from another country. But you are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself.

Don’t cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Give a Tenth of What You Produce

Be sure to set apart a tenth of everything your fields produce each year. Here are the things you should eat in the sight of the Lord your God. You should eat a tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. You should also eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Eat all these things at the special place the Lord your God will choose. He will put his Name there. You will learn to honor him always. But suppose the place the Lord will choose for his Name is too far away from you. And suppose your God has blessed you. And your tenth part is too heavy for you to carry. Then sell it for silver. Take the silver with you. Go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy anything you like. It can be cattle or sheep. It can be any kind of wine. In fact, it can be anything else you wish. Then you and your family can eat there in the sight of the Lord your God. You can be filled with joy. Don’t forget to take care of the Levites who will live in your towns. They won’t receive any part of the land as their share.

At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of everything you produce that year. Store it in your towns. Then the Levites can come and eat. That’s because they won’t receive any part of the land as their share. The outsiders and widows who live in your towns can come. So can the children whose fathers have died. Everyone can have plenty to eat. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Read More of Deuteronomy 14