And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God will choose to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God blesseth thee;
Israel had to bring a tenth of every harvest to one place God chose. This verse meets the family living too far away to carry it — so why only one place, and what does God do when obedience is out of reach?
The rule rests on a claim of ownership. Israel farmed land that was not theirs to begin with, and the yearly tenth was how they said so out loud.
Israel's worship rested on one foundation: both they themselves and their land belonged to the Lord. The land was His, and they held it as tenants under Him. At set times God called them to bear witness to this precious truth by faithfully tithing their land... They were to own no other landlord but the Lord their God.
The payment was real, but the manner of it was unlike any rent day.
They carried a tithe of their own portion of the fruit, and ate it, inviting others — the Levite among them. It was a way of using part of their produce in rejoicing, and showing grace before the Lord. This was how they paid their rent to the Lord for their land. But they paid it in joy and gladness, in grace from Him, and with the poor, while feeding their families with it.
This tithe is easy to confuse with the tithe given to the Levites. Commentators keep the two apart.
There were three sets of tithes. The first is in Numbers 18. It did not go to the priests directly. The people gave the increase of their fields to the Levites, and the Levites gave a tenth of these tithes to the priests... But in Deuteronomy 12 and 14 you get nothing of that. The people take the tithes, their peace offerings, and so on, and they go up to one place. All their social enjoyment was to be religiously connected with the place where God had put His name. They were to go up to Jerusalem, a leading principle in Deuteronomy to keep them from idolatry.
The journey was long because God fixed one meeting place. Some might call that narrow.
All the faithful in Israel were sure to be found at the one divine centre, and nowhere else. You would not find such people making excuses for staying at home. Nor would you find them running here and there to places of their own or other people's choosing. No, you would find them gathered where the Lord is, and there alone. Was this narrowness and bigotry? No, it was the fear and love of God. If the Lord had appointed a place where He would meet His people, surely His people should meet Him there.
God does not cancel the journey for the distant farmer. The verse ties the problem to His blessing: a big harvest and a long road. He removes what made the trip impossible.
If they lived a long way from Jerusalem, they could sell the tenth of their produce for money. They brought that money to Jerusalem and spent it there on whatever food they wanted to eat "before the Lord." The Lord wanted them to rejoice before Him, not to eat up their produce with selfish greed, away from God's presence.
The arrangement shows God's own heart.
This is perfectly beautiful. The Lord, in His tender care and thoughtful love, took account of everything. He would not leave a single difficulty in the way of His beloved people as they gathered around Himself. He had His own special joy in seeing His redeemed people happy in His presence.
Good arrangements can be abused, and this one was.
The trading and money-changing in the temple had no doubt grown out of the kindly arrangements of the law recorded in Deuteronomy 14:24-26. Ungodly men had taken advantage of this provision to turn the temple courts into a den of thieves. God intended His temple to be the house where men drew near to Him with their requests. Its keepers had turned it into a place where men were swindled, and so the name of God was slandered.
- Ownership. The tenth confessed that the land and the farmer both belonged to the Lord; Israel had no other landlord.
- Enjoyment. This tithe was not handed over and lost. The offerer ate it with his household, the Levite and the poor, in joy and grace before God.
- Centre. The produce travelled because God chose the meeting place, not the worshipper. A loving heart did not want to stay home.
- Provision. For some, distance made obedience impossible. So God let them turn the harvest into money, and nothing stood between His people and His presence.
- Warning. Men later turned this same gift into a trade in the temple courts. God's kindness can be abused.
then shalt thou give it for money, and bind the money together in thy hand, and go to the place which Jehovah thy God will choose,
Deuteronomy 14 ends with rules for the yearly tithe. It had to be eaten in the one place God chose for His name. Verse 25 speaks to the family living too far away to carry a wagon-load of grain, wine and oil there. God's answer is simple: sell the produce, carry the money, and make the journey anyway.
The tenth was never a tax on private property. It was an admission that the property was not theirs to begin with.
Israel's worship rested on one great foundation: both they themselves and their land belonged to the Lord. The land was His, and they held it as tenants under Him. At set times they had to testify to this precious truth by faithfully tithing their land. "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year." They were to acknowledge, in this practical way, that the Lord owned it all, and never lose sight of it. They were to own no landlord but the Lord their God.
The obvious solution to a long journey would be to hold the feast at home. The commentary answers that objection head-on.
Some people did not know the God of Israel and cared nothing about Him. To them it might seem strange to see the people travelling — many of them — a long way from home, carrying their tithes to one particular spot. They might feel inclined to question the need for such a custom. "Why not eat at home?" they might say. But such people simply knew nothing about the matter... To the Israel of God there was one great moral reason for going to the appointed place. That reason lay in the glorious motto — "the Lord is there." Suppose an Israelite had deliberately decided to stay home, or to go to some place of his own choosing. He would have met neither the Lord there nor his brothers, and so he would have eaten alone.
What could not be carried could be converted. The tenth was sold at home and re-bought at the sanctuary.
If they lived a long way from Jerusalem, they were allowed to sell the tenth of their produce for money and bring that money to Jerusalem. There they would spend it on whatever food they wanted to eat "before the Lord" (vv. 24-26). The Lord wanted them to rejoice before Him, not to eat up their produce in selfish greed away from God's presence.
The provision is written from God's side. He is the one who did not want the distance to keep anyone away.
This is perfectly beautiful. The Lord, in His tender care and considerate love, took account of everything. He would not leave a single difficulty in the way of His beloved people as they gathered round Himself. He had His own special joy in seeing His redeemed people happy in His presence. All who loved His name would delight to meet the loving desire of His heart by coming to the centre He had appointed.
Commentators distinguish this tithe from the one given to the Levites in Numbers 18. Here the giver eats his own tenth in God's presence.
In the instruction in Deuteronomy, they take it up to where God's name is, to eat it there. The object is to centre their faith in the Lord, and that in connection with joy and grace... They paid their rent to the Lord for their land in this way, but in joy and gladness, in grace from Him, and with the poor, while also feeding their families with it. They feasted in grace around the Lord.
Carrying money instead of goods created a market at the sanctuary. People later corrupted it to serve their own greed.
This shows how people could corrupt the kind provisions of the law — and did corrupt them — to serve their own greedy ends. There was instruction on this point in Deuteronomy 14:22-26, and they might argue that they were only doing what the law allowed. The law told them to bring their money and buy what they needed. But it gave no approval to the greedy practices they had brought in, which turned the house of God into a money-making centre.
The principle is applied directly to Christians who find reasons not to gather.
If any Israelite was found neglecting the blessed occasion of assembling with his brothers, at the divinely chosen place and time, it would simply have proved that he had no heart for God or for His people — or, worse, that he was deliberately absent. He might reason as he pleased about being happy at home, happy elsewhere; it was a false happiness, because it was happiness found in the path of disobedience, the path of wilful neglect of what God had appointed.
- Landlord. The tithe was rent, not charity. Israel held the land as tenants, and the tenth admitted that the Lord owned it.
- Centre. The rent had to travel to the place where God put His name. A nearer, self-chosen place would have left the worshipper eating alone.
- Provision. Where the load could not travel, God let the value travel instead, so distance would not keep a family from His presence.
- Joy. The point was not duty but glad enjoyment — feasting in grace around the Lord, and sharing with the poor.
- Warning. People later abused the same money-and-market rule for gain. A kind rule can be kept in the letter and broken in the heart.
and thou shalt give the money for whatever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever thy soul asketh of thee; and thou shalt eat there before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thy house.
This traveller has already sold his tithe for silver, because the sanctuary was too far away to carry grain and cattle there. Now he arrives, buys food and drink of his own choosing, and eats it in God's presence. How does a tenth given to God end up on the giver's own plate?
Israel had more than one tithe. Commentators identify the one in this verse as a separate arrangement set out in Deuteronomy.
The tithe spoken of here is one of the extra laws in Deuteronomy. It is a second tithe, not the first one, which belonged to God alone. This second tithe was eaten at the sanctuary by the man whose land was tithed, along with his household and the Levite, who was never to be forgotten. So he comes up to acknowledge God's mercies before Him and to enjoy them with God.
Verse 24 allowed them to sell the produce first. One writer sees in that permission God clearing away every obstacle to their gathering.
The Lord, in His tender care and thoughtful love, took account of everything. He would not leave a single difficulty in the way of His beloved people when they gathered around Himself. He had His own special joy in seeing His redeemed people happy in His presence. And all who loved His Name would be glad to meet the loving desire of His heart by gathering at the centre He Himself had appointed.
The money buys whatever the man wants. What the law fixes is not the menu but the place and the company.
If they lived a long way from Jerusalem, they could sell the tenth of their produce for money and bring that money to Jerusalem. There they would spend it on whatever food they wanted to eat "before the Lord" (vs.24:26). For the Lord wanted them to rejoice before Him, not to eat up their produce in selfish greed, away from God's presence.
One writer contrasts worship here with worship in the earlier books of Moses:
In the previous books, worship was a matter of how near you came to God in His sanctuary. Here it is thankful enjoyment of the blessings He promised and gave. They enjoyed them only before Jehovah, so that the blessings were never cut off from Him, and they enjoyed them in the spirit of grace… So it is not priestly drawing near to God, but enjoyment of the fruit of His promises, in grace with Him. This characterises the whole book.
The list includes "strong drink" — the Hebrew word shekar. One writer gathered up how the word has been understood down the years:
The ancient translations, the Greek and Latin church writers, and the dictionary makers of both early and recent times all agree in describing it as a drink that makes people drunk… Elsewhere, it was a man-made wine produced from barley, wheat, honey, or any fruit except grapes.
So the money could buy a drink strong enough to make a man drunk — for a meal eaten in God's presence.
The man hands his offering over to God, and then eats it himself. That double movement makes the meal a picture of fellowship.
Here everything was sanctified, because they had presented it to Jehovah. So they owned two things at once: that the people were His, and that all they had came from Him. But in giving Him back what He had given them, they enjoyed these things in fellowship with Him and with their families. They were things common to God and to the people — given by Him, offered to Him, and enjoyed in His presence in communion with one another, God Himself sharing in them, for they had offered the whole to Him.
Centuries later, traders were doing business in the house of God. They could point to this very passage as their defence.
This shows how kind provisions of the law could be twisted, and were twisted, to serve man's greed. Deuteronomy 14:22-26 gave instruction on this point, and they might argue that they were only doing what the law allowed. The law told them to bring their money and buy what they needed. But it gave no approval to the greedy practices they had brought in, which turned the house of God into a money-making centre.
- Owner. The tithe confessed that the land and its crops belonged to God. The man then ate this second tenth himself, coming up to acknowledge God's mercies and enjoy them with Him.
- Obstacle. Distance excused no one. The produce became money, so nothing stood between a worshipper and the centre God had appointed.
- Appetite. The list is wide: oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. God held nothing back from their enjoyment. He only refused to let them enjoy it away from Him.
- Household. What they gave to God came back to them to eat in His company, so the family's meal and God's portion were one and the same.
- Danger. Later, people twisted this same generous rule into a temple market — a kindness of God turned into a trade.
And thou shalt not forsake the Levite that is within thy gates; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
The closing verses of Deuteronomy 14 turn from what Israel may eat to what Israel must give. Israel brought a tenth of the harvest to the place God chose, and ate it there in His presence, the whole household glad. In the middle of that family scene God names one man who owns no field, and tells Israel never to overlook him.
The whole arrangement rests on a question of ownership. The tenth was how Israel admitted it, year after year.
Israel's worship rested on one great foundation: both they themselves and their land belonged to the Lord. The land was His, and they held it as tenants under Him. Again and again they were to bear witness to this precious truth by tithing their land faithfully. They were to admit, in this practical way, that the Lord owned it all, and never lose sight of it. They were to own no other landlord but the Lord their God.
The Levite's empty hands were not misfortune but appointment. He had no land because God had given him other work.
They must not forsake the Levite. The Levites served the priests, and they had no assigned inheritance. That is because they were God's servants, there to care for the spiritual needs of the people.
What he lost in land he gained in God Himself. That is why the people's gifts reached him.
God marks out afresh their special place of having Himself for their portion, so that what went to Him fell to them. This gave a deep sense of being identified with the Lord.
The Levite lived on what came to God. So the altar and God's servants rose and fell together. Israel's history shows it.
Look through the history of Israel. When things were in anything like a healthy condition, the altar of God was well cared for. As a result, the priests and Levites were well supplied. If the Lord had His portion, His servants were sure to have theirs. If He was neglected, so were they. They were bound up together. The people were to bring their offerings to God, and He shared them with His servants. The priests and the Levites were not to demand anything from the people. Instead, the people had the privilege of bringing their gifts to the altar of God, and He let His servants feed on the fruit of His people's devotion to Him.
It is worth noticing who the Levite is listed beside.
There is an important connection in which the Lord classed the Levites, whose inheritance He Himself was. He classed them with those who were the pitiful objects of His care in a poor groaning creation. They were not among those whom men hold in high esteem. They were among those He treats with mercy.
Where God governs, a household's gladness never closes in on itself.
We know well how the family tends to crowd out generous feeling, and how it tends to shut itself up in nothing better than a refined selfishness. It is not so where God governs. There, even when the family gathers inside its own gates, the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless all have their part. It was God who made the family rejoice, and they were to reach out to those who were strangers to it.
The same arrangement carries over into Christian work today. There is one careful warning attached about where the worker looks.
The priests and the Levites of old lived on the offerings the people brought. It is the same now. Some are truly called of God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. They give themselves constantly and diligently to that glorious work. They have a moral right to material support. It is not that they should look to those they preach to for a fixed sum. There is no such idea in the New Testament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
- Owner. The tithe was rent, not charity. Israel held the land as tenants, and the tenth said out loud that the Lord was the only landlord.
- Portion. The Levite had no field because he had God instead — so what the people gave to God came to him.
- Bound. God's portion and His servant's portion travel together. When Israel cared for the altar, the Levite ate. When Israel neglected God, they neglected him too.
- Company. God lists His servant not with the great, but with those He treats with mercy. He will not let a household's joy shrink into refined selfishness.
- Today. God's people support those who give themselves to the work. The worker looks to his Master alone, never to a fixed sum from his hearers.