Recap: Catching Up (Deut. 11-16)

OK, I just want to get these last couple of days out of the way, and then I'll resume with the next post:

Interesting Bits from Deuteronomy 11-16

11
-God keeps His promises (11.9)
-The promised land was dependent on rain (11.10-12, 14-15, 17)
-Loving God means following His commands (11.1)
-Short of love, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (11.2,5-6)
-Israel was supposed to saturate their lives with God's commandments (11.18-20)

12
-On entering the Canaan, Israel was to destroy all signs of paganism (12.2-4)
-Sacrifice was restricted to the Temple - to discourage idolatry? (12.13-14)
-Non-sacrificial slaughter was still alright in the towns, though (12.15)
-The Levites were taken care of by the people (12.19)
-Blood wasn't kosher. Eusebius wrote that this rule still applies. (12.23-24)
-Don't use pagan rituals to worship God - meditation, solstice festivals, etc. (12.30-32)

13
-False prophets were to be tested and then executed (13.1-5)
-If a whole town went astray, it was to be burnt down (13.12-15)
-God experiences 'fierce anger' but has mercy and feels compassion (13.17)
-Even "the wife of your embrace" and "your friend who is as your own soul" were not to be spared if they tried to lead you into heresy; your hand would throw the first stone (13.6-10)

14
-Israel was called 'sons of the LORD' and 'Holy to the LORD' (14.1-2)
-The food laws show up again in 14.3-21. Connection to 14.1-2?
-Every year the people were to bring their tithe to Jerusalem (14.22-23)
-But every THIRD year, that tithe went to the poor in your town (14.28-29)

15
-'There will be no poor'/'If there are...'/'There always will be...' (15.4,7,11)
-'Open wide your hand to the needy & poor in your land' (15.11)
-Hebrew servants got to be set free with a fat bonus in the 7th year (15.12-14)

16
-Chapter 16 describes requirements for the festivals, but doesn't get into what they are all about. For that, check out Leviticus. There are also forbidden forms of worship in 16.21-22

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Based on ESV.com's Chronological Bible In a Year schedule. If anyone would like to join in, this blog's comments sections would be a good forum in which to share insights from the text.

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