...And the dilemma continues. I'm still more or less enjoying Deuteronomy, and the chapters are just whizzing by, largely because they're a little like deja vu, with a lot of repetition.
Now, though, it seems that we're getting into the meat of the book. That's good.
However, the "meat" of the book is starting to closely resemble Leviticus, what with all the laws, regulations and details. That's bad. Well... not bad... I think you know what I mean.
There were two things that struck me over the past two days of reading, though.
The first comes on the heels of chapter 14's run-down (again) of the animals that Israel is not permitted to eat.
You've got your camels and your cormorants, your rabbits, pigs and squid and all the rest, and then you get to verse 21:
21 "You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so 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.
The "young goat in its mother's milk" thing is not really what I'm looking at here, but it kind of makes me want to try young goat boiled in another goat's milk, both to see what the fuss is about and to be on the safe side.
What I was interested in was the allowance of these unclean things to be given to foreigners and "aliens in town". An initial possible reaction is one of reproach for the potential implication of inherent superiority of the Israelites over the foreigners, (IE, "this sucks, here - you have it.") but I have a different theory.
What if the regulations about kosher food were only meant to apply to the Israelites? A no-brainer, correct? Right. But what it's that's all that addendum is saying? What are the implications of that?
What would the implications be if we took the idea that those commandments that separate us as a holy people following God (Jewish, Christian, whatever) were meant to keep us in line, and not meant to be applied by us to other people en masse?
Seems to me that this could pretty easily be interpreted as being a suggestion that maybe it's not up to the Israelites to foist their beliefs and intricate laws upon others... hmmm... Did we just find another verse that might cause some problems for our right-wing Christian Republican cousins down south?
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The other thing that this passage puts into a totally different perspective for me is the concept of tithing. For those who are "churched," you probably know that once a year, it's a sort of tradition that pastors, priests and preachers try to find new and innovative ways of encouraging parishioners to share some of their material wealth with the church, because heat and lights help. If you watched this annual dance from afar (or indeed from the pews/chairs/whatever) you might be as surprised as I was at the overall tone of tithing illustrated here, starting with verse 22.
(*a tithe is, in the Old Testament and among the more optimistic of clergy, a gift of a tenth of all income and earnings to God, through the Levites once they're established in the culture)
22 "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always . 24 "If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 "You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires : for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires ; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 "Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you. 28 "At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. 29 "The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
How awesome does that sound? The whole premise of a tithe here is to make sure that you are well-feasted, in thanks to God for all He's done, and in the presence of all of your neighbours - poor, orphaned or otherwise.
Just bask in verse 26 again:
"You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires : for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires ; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household."
What? Yes. Yes I will, thanks. If I ever get the time or hang on to my current motivation, I'm going to make a sign to hang over the door of my house (when I eventually get one) that says "And there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household."
(As a quick aside, can I just take a moment to point out the centre of that verse to those people who somehow take so many other parts of the OT at literal face-value (Tattoos make you a bad Christian, piercings likewise, creation took 168 hours on the dot, etc) and yet try to say that alcohol is a one-way ticket to Hellville? Thanks.)
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