Deuteronomy 21:18-21 - If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
I wonder if any parents ever went this far in carrying out punishments on their children. How old would a son have to be before you'd consider calling him a profligate and a drunkard?
It's interesting to note that, even though such a son is likely a young man able to take care of himself, etc., he is still expected to obey his parents, and they are still expected to discipline him.
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
12/25/2008
Tithes and Firstborn Animals
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and 15:19-20 - Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Set apart for the LORD your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep. Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose.
Sometimes I think people get the impression that the Israelites had to give up or "lose" their tithes of grain, wine, and oil and their firstborn sheep and cattle. Actually they just had to set them aside and eat them in Jerusalem at the Temple. The one exception to this is that, every third year, the tithes were given to the Levites, aliens, fatherless, and widows.
I wonder how soon it was before someone failed to do this as God required. Did anyone mess up in Year 1 already?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Set apart for the LORD your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep. Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose.
Sometimes I think people get the impression that the Israelites had to give up or "lose" their tithes of grain, wine, and oil and their firstborn sheep and cattle. Actually they just had to set them aside and eat them in Jerusalem at the Temple. The one exception to this is that, every third year, the tithes were given to the Levites, aliens, fatherless, and widows.
I wonder how soon it was before someone failed to do this as God required. Did anyone mess up in Year 1 already?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
12/15/2008
Shaving for the Dead
Deuteronomy 14:1-2 - You are the children of the LORD your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
I'm guessing that some culture, some people from nearby the Israelites (or perhaps the Egyptians), had the practice of shaving the front of the head for the dead. I wonder whose practice it was, who thought of the idea in the first place, and why they thought it was a good thing to do for the dead. What purpose did they think it would serve for the dead? Or was it a sign of mourning -- perhaps with something else added to it that displeased God?
Did a barber think of it first?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
I'm guessing that some culture, some people from nearby the Israelites (or perhaps the Egyptians), had the practice of shaving the front of the head for the dead. I wonder whose practice it was, who thought of the idea in the first place, and why they thought it was a good thing to do for the dead. What purpose did they think it would serve for the dead? Or was it a sign of mourning -- perhaps with something else added to it that displeased God?
Did a barber think of it first?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
Everyone As He Sees Fit
Deuteronomy 12: 4-9 - You must not worship the LORD your God in their way. But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.
I wonder how many different ways the Israelites had found to worship God. Were all of them pleasing to God? Did some of them imitate any of the practices of the neighboring peoples -- the practices Moses was warning against?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.
I wonder how many different ways the Israelites had found to worship God. Were all of them pleasing to God? Did some of them imitate any of the practices of the neighboring peoples -- the practices Moses was warning against?
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
12/04/2008
Two Stone Tablets
Deuteronomy 4:13 - He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.
Why did God write the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets instead of putting them all on one? We sometimes divide them into 2 groups -- the ones that speak about our relationship to God and the ones that speak about our relationships with other people -- but I don't think the Bible anywhere specifies which commandments were on each tablet.
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
Why did God write the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets instead of putting them all on one? We sometimes divide them into 2 groups -- the ones that speak about our relationship to God and the ones that speak about our relationships with other people -- but I don't think the Bible anywhere specifies which commandments were on each tablet.
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
Og's Bed
Deuteronomy 3:11 - (Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
I wonder if Og was so large that he needed a bed this big (probably) or if he just had one made this size to make people talk about it. If he really needed one 13 feet long, that probably means he was about 12 feet tall. Imagine what the doorways of his house or palace would look like -- or how big a tent he'd need.
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
I wonder if Og was so large that he needed a bed this big (probably) or if he just had one made this size to make people talk about it. If he really needed one 13 feet long, that probably means he was about 12 feet tall. Imagine what the doorways of his house or palace would look like -- or how big a tent he'd need.
I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.
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