STATUTES FOR SANCTIFICATION FUNERALS, FOOD, AND TITHES Following his firm talk concerning the enticement to idolatry, he deals with the pagan customs of funerals (1-2); asking them to take into consideration that they are ‘the children of the Lord;” and ‘a holy, elect, and a special people.’ Then he deals with the issue of the clean and unclean kinds of food. For the sake of practicing the offerings and sacrifices with pure hearts, he set the statute of the clean and unclean animals, to separate His people from the Canaanites (3-21); He requested from them to offer tithes (22-23), to be used in fulfilling the needs of His elected ministers, as well as of the poor (28, 29). 1. Funeral customs 1–2. 2. Clean animals 3–8. 3. Clean fish 9–10. 4. Clean birds 11–20. 5. The dead corpse 21. 6. The tithes 22-29. 1. FUNERAL CUSTOMS The believer practices the holy life through his customs, even during difficult moments like death; in his daily life, as in eating and drinking; in his worship, as in giving; and in his relationships with others, as in caring for the strangers and the needy. “You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your forelocks for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; It is you the Lord has chosen out of all the people on earth, to be His people, His treasured possession” (Deut. 14:1-2). Presenting to them statutes for their sanctification, that concern their daily habits, and in certain situations, God does not give orders to be strictly obeyed; but as a Father, He confirms to them their adoption to Him. As what comes from a father is nothing but exalted love for the sake of the edification of his children. By giving these statutes, God’s intention is not just keeping them automatically; but He is seeking the response of His children to His fatherly love, to make them holy as He is holy. But when the Only-Begotten Son came with His Holy Spirit; He granted us the spirit of adoption to God the Father; and the commandment of the New Testament became sweet and joyful. We do not find in the commandments, just orders and warnings; but in them, we find a royal way, fitting for the children of God. As children of God we accept His commandment, and even bear the fellowship of suffering together with the crucified Christ, to inherit and be glorified with Him. “And if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:15). “And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father.’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through Christ” (Galatians 4:6, 7). As children of God, they are committed to a special kind of life that is fitting for them; that differ both inward and outward from others. He keeps reminding them of their position: “You are the children of the Lord your God;” and that they have entered with God into a covenant; not because of their own worthiness, but through 7 the riches of God’s mercies, who chose them to be His holy, elect, and special people. It is fitting for the people of God to bear a special holiness, and not to be like the peoples surrounding them. Having lifted them up above all peoples, as far as the holy life is concerned; So, it is not fitting for them to go down to the level of adopting pagan customs, like lacerating the body and shaving the forelocks, to express their grief in funerals. God commanded them to refrain from the pagan customs, in order to open the road before them toward the new teachings and the practical living faith. The pagans used to lacerate their faces, shave their heads, strike their chests, and putting dark paint on their faces, to express the extent of their grief for the dead. As a sign of their enjoyment of a new life different from that of the pagans, it was fitting for the people of God not to adopt such customs. Refraining from those customs is considered as a testimony to new concepts for the believers, the children of God, concerning death; namely, seeing that those who die, holy in the Lord, are departing to a better life; and believing that their life do not end by their death; but they are still living together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, waiting for the eternal glory. The people of God, having carried in their bodies the ‘circumcision,’ the sign of the Lord, it is not fitting for them to carry the signs of foreign gods; as it was the custom of pagans to lacerate their bodies, not only in funerals, but also during practicing the worship of their gods; like what the priests of Baal used to do (1 kings 18:28). God, the Creator of the body, would not be pleased by mutilating it; but would be pleased by caring, subsisting, and dignify it, as is fitting to a holy gift from the Lord. “Everything created by God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4). The body as a beautiful divine gift, man has no right to mutilate it for whatever cause. Lacerating the body in funerals makes them like children who play with sharp knives. So God, in His fatherhood, intends to take the knife away from their hands, to keep them from hurting themselves. Lacerating the face and shaving the head are exaggerated expressions of despair and grief, that contradict with the words of the apostle Paul: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (Thessalonians 4:13). Refraining from these practices would testify to their belief in the resurrection from the dead; to their conquest over death; and to having no fear of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It would also testify to their faith in the perpetual divine presence, as God is the God of the living and the dead, who brings them all together to live with Him forever. Although we do not deny the believer’s natural feeling of grief for separation from his beloved ones; yet, this should be within certain limits and up to a certain time. Many pagans have come to believe in the Lord Christ, when they saw how the Christians confronted death with courage and joy, as testified by the Martyr Justin before he received faith1. Even in the periods of peace; of the factors that drew pagans to faith, were the senses of peace and hope in eternity that they saw in the funeral rites of the Christians2. He, who concentrates his sight on His Christ in his inner depths, would also consider death as a divine gift; as a crossing bridge to eternity; and as a true liberation 1 2 Apology, راجع للمؤلف عطية الموت، 12.1998 2 Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, p. 218. 8 from the temporal life, with all its spiritual and physical ailments. Death of the righteous became, in the sight of believers, like mere sleep; and turned even into life. St. Basil the Great St. Gregory the Nazianzus, seeing in his elder sister St. Gorgonia a living role model of the Christian, was very impressed by her piety and fearless confrontation of death, to say: Gorgonia’s home was the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrew 12:22, 23)… where Christ dwells, together “with the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” Everything she could snatch from the prince of this world, she deposited in safe places, leaving nothing behind other than her own body. She distanced herself from everything for the sake of the higher hope; the only wealth she left behind for her children was her role model to follow, and the hope to enjoy what she was worthy of. Talking about her death… She longed much for the time of her departure from this world; recognizing Him who called her; and believing that she would rather be with Christ, far better than anything else on earth (Philippians 1:23). That Saint longed to be set free from the chains of her body, and to escape from the mire of the world in which we live. The more exalted thing is that she tasted the beauty of her beloved Christ, in whom she was continuously contemplating. Saying, “It is you the Lord has chosen” (2), does not imply negativism on the part of man; but he is committed to act as is fitting to this choice, in order to be counted as a true member of the holy people. Why did He choose us? “To be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). When we hear the expression “has chosen us;” we should not assume that faith alone is enough; but we should add to it, a holy and a blameless life. If men choose what is better for them, God would certainly do the same. Choice is truly the gift of the loving and the merciful God. Having made us saints; it is fitting for us to continue being as such. The saint is he, who partakes of faith; and the blameless man is he, who leads a blameless life1. St. John Chrysostom 2. THE CLEAN ANIMALS The true believer, feeling the divine presence, even as he stands before a beloved deceased, should behave as is fitting to this presence, and according to his faith. Now, the believer also proclaims his realization of the divine presence, even at the dining table, as God has revealed to him the clean and the unclean kinds of food. People often ask the question: Why should God care for what kind of food His believers eat? (1) The believer, in the Old Testament, had to feel a commitment to a Law that controls his behavior; not to put limitations on his freedom, but to help him act as is fitting to a child of God. A Christian, in the New Testament, feels a commitment in all his actions, even in eating and drinking; not only for the sake of his own conscience, but for the sake of that of his brethren - the weak in faith, so as not to put a stumbling block in their way (Romans 14:13). The apostle Paul has put the following living principle of faith to guide our behavior: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own 1 In Ephes. hom. 1. 9 advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:31-33). (2) To let him feel, that he is dedicated to the Lord; belongs to a chosen people, and a designated spiritual kingdom. God intending to protect His people from the abominations of the nations forbade them to share the same table, or to have serious relationships with the pagan nations. In many countries nowadays, refusing to share the same table with someone, is considered as a grave insult, and as a rejection of having any other relationship with him. (3) To think all the time of purity and sanctity, even during his eating and drinking; to become holy, as God is holy. It is as though the discernment between clean and unclean kinds of food is a daily call to the people to get preoccupied with the holy life. (4) God intends to keep His people from partaking of sharing tables with the pagans, which they used to consider as an integral part of their idolatry practices. Yet, as the Lord Christ Himself, came to the world and dwelt among mankind, as one of them, it is fitting for the believers, not to separate themselves, since they would then need to go out of the world (1 Corinthians 5:10). Yet, they should not be conformed to this world, but should be transformed by the renewing of their mind (Romans 12:2).”Do you know that your bodies are members of Christ?… For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:15, 20). Man, with his whole being, has come to be for the Lord Christ, who alone, would lead him by His Holy Spirit, to reign over the soul, the spirit, and the body, with all its talents and possibilities, to work for the glory of God. (5) These kinds of food have spiritual symbols, as we previously saw in our commentary on the book of Genesis. The discernment between the clean and unclean animals, birds, and fish; calls on the believer to distinguish between the true believers who walk by the spirit of righteousness and holiness, and the others. (6) God, as the Creator of the body and soul, cares for everything concerning man – physically and spiritually. (7) God intends to confirm the unity of man; as what enters his stomach, would have its effect, even on his soul; and what the soul bears of spiritual and psychological feelings, would likewise affect the body. We have previously dealt in our commentary on the book of Leviticus1, in some detail with the food, allowed and forbidden; and what it involves of spiritual concepts, as well as of health significance. Now, in the New Testament, in Jesus Christ, there is no more discernment between clean and unclean food; “Everything created by God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4). Yet, he who cares for his spiritual life should be careful, concerning his body. For instance, there is a difference between a mother who, while preparing food for her household, mixes it with her prayers and praise, feeling that she is in the presence of the Lord, and another who is preoccupied with world songs and corruptive thoughts. “You shall not eat any abhorrent thing; these are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain-sheep. Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof cleft in two, and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cleft you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the pig, because it divides the hoof, but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their 1 Cf. The author: Leviticus, chapter 11 (in Arabic). 10 carcasses” (Deut. 14:3-8) The animals you may eat are those that chew the cud and divide the hoof. If we take the cow as an example of chewing the cud; it has inside it a complicated kind of stomach with more than one chamber. In the morning it eats the grass that enter into a certain place in the stomach; and by noon it rests or stands in the shadow of a tree, and starts chewing the food it has already eaten by its teeth; then transfers it to another place in the stomach. This is a portrait of the believer who finds his food in the word of God, eats it up, and then meditates on it every now and then. And as the Psalmist says: “Happy are those… whose delight is in the Law of the Lord; and on His Law they meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1,2). Meditation on the Law implies, not just reading it, but practicing it; and according to the apostle Paul: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10: 31)1. St. Jerome Let us count everything of secondary importance, besides listening to the word of God; as there is no such thing as inconvenient time for it… All times are2. St. John Chrysostom Chewing the cud refers to the perpetual meditation on the word of God3; or, according to Origen, it is the going forth from the literal meaning of the word of God to its symbolic meaning4. The divided hoof, on one side, as a sign of separation; and united on another, as a sign of unity; refers to the acceptance by the believer of the Holy Bible with its two Testaments, the Old and the New5. It also refers to the believer, who knows how to be holy in this temporal life; and to become holy as well in the eternal life6. Moreover, it refers to the believer who holds fast to his belief in God the Father, and in God the Son7. Whoever walks with a hoof, divided on one side and united on another; is he, who knows how to walk with the spirit of discernment; who knows what is for his temporal life, with its limitations; and what is for his eternal life, and how to get preoccupied with it. As to having the hoof united on the other side, In all his behavior; whether in his daily activities, or during his worship, he would never separate from, but walks in the Lord Jesus Christ; according to the words of the apostle Paul: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him” (Colossians 2:6). If the hoof refers to what is dead in our body; its division refers to bringing to death the lusts that are deadly to the soul. The reason behind banning the animals considered as unclean is probably because those animals like the pig and the camel were usually offered as sacrifices to the idols. In Palestine these two animals are known for feeding on poisonous plants and for being sometimes infested by harmful parasites. Because God cannot stand uncleanness; whereas the people in their stubbornness seek what is unclean, the prophet Isaiah says: “A people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and offering incense on bricks; who 1 In Ps. Hom. 1. 2 In John, hom, 18:4. 3 Ep. Of Barnabas 10:11,12; St. Clement of Alexandria: Paedag. 3:11; St. Irenaeus: Adv. Haer. 5:8:4; St. Jerome: On Ps. hom. 23. 4 Origen: In Lev. Hom. 7:6. 5 St. Jerome: On Ps. hom. 23. 6 St. Clement of Alexandria: Stromata 5:8; Paedagogus 3:11. 7 St. Irenaeus: Adv. Haer. 5:8:4. 11 sit inside tombs,… who eat swine’s flesh with broth of abominable things in their vessels” (Isaiah 65:3, 4).. He offered them different kinds of animals that they may eat; that when He refers to refraining from eating unclean animals like the pigs, they would not be offended. 3. THE CLEAN FISH “Of all that live in water you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. And whatever does not have fins or scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you” (Deut. 14:9, 10) Beside an inclusive ban on eating carnivorous fish, there are two conditions to consider a certain kind of fish as clean: To have fins those help it to swim against water currents, a reference to the soul that can strongly go against the adversary currents of this world. To have scales that protect it against its surroundings, referring to the grace of God to which the believer holds fast to resist everything that may corrupt his soul. 4. THE CLEAN BIRDS “You may eat any clean birds. But these are the ones you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull,, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, and the great owl, the water hen and the desert owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe and the bat. And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. You may eat any clean winged creature” (Deut. 14:11-20) Because the birds included in verses 12 to 18 feed on dead corpses, they are not to be eaten. The fierce carnivorous prey-eating birds are considered unclean, because they are like those, who, not having the spirit of love, but that of violence and hatred, are not considered holy in the sight of the Lord. And all insects are considered unclean. 5. DEAD CORPSES You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to aliens residing in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God” “You shall not boil a kid (goat’s young) in its mother’s milk” (Deut. 14:21) We are warned against eating any dead corpse for health reasons; as well as for a symbolic concept. It is not fitting for the believer to feed on dead issues, and to die together with them, but he should feed on the living word of God, the grantor of life. God intended for His Old Testament believers to keep away from anything dead, in order to realize that they should let the dead bury their own dead, and to seek what is above, where death cannot reach them. The present day Law prohibits selling dead corpses for health reasons, and for fear of being poisoned or infected. Moreover, as slaughtering has not drained off the blood in dead corpses of animals or birds, God’s Law prohibits them. The commandment that prohibits slaughtering a kid (a goat’s young) in its mother’s milk (Exodus 23:19; 34:25) came because the Canaanites used to do that as a practice of magic to increase fertility; as well as for humane measures between the young and its mother, even among animals and birds; like prohibiting slaughtering a cow or a goat and its young in the same day (Leviticus 22:28); or killing a nursing bird together with its young. God has created the animals for the benefit of man, and 12 allowed him to slaughter and eat them, yet, within certain limits of compassion. Concerning the kid (goat’s young) that should not be boiled in its mother’s milk; some believe that it refers here to the lamb offered for Passover. 6. THE TITHES Here he presents three uses for our resources: For the ministry to God; for the welfare of our families; and for the needs of others. Speaking of the tithes and presenting them to God, clarifies the following points: 1. Keeping the Sabbath is based on presenting the tithes; as the whole time of man and his wealth are gifts from God, and just talents entrusted to us (Deuteronomy 8:18; Matthew 25:14). A part of them should be set apart for the Sanctuary, as a sign of sanctifying all the yield of your seed (23:25). “Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field” (Deut. 14:22) 2. Presenting the tithes and the firstlings were a chance to celebrate feasts; and to be generous toward all within your gates (27), as though Moses was looking ahead to the coming days of peace and abundance. Presenting the tithes was a sign of sanctifying all what we possess on account of the Lord. It seems to be a traditional statute that was handed over the generations (Jacob in Bethel – Genesis 28:22). Feeling that what he possesses (the land) is a holy gift from the Lord, the believer is committed to present the tithes, as a sign that he responds with love, to the divine love. In his love, he presents to the Levites (ministers of the word), to the strangers, the orphans, and the widows (29); and the fruit he will receive, will be joy (26) and blessing (29). “In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for His name, you shall eat the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if, when the Lord your God has blessed, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set His name is too far away from you, then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose” (Deut. 14:23-25) 3. Then he connects the giving to joy: “Spend the money for whatever you wish – oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together. As for the Levites resident in your towns do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you” “Every third year, you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce of that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotments or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake” (Deut. 14:28, 29) In the episode of widow offering the two mites (Mark 12:41-44), something appears indeed, that surpasses the talk of Moses, concerning the issue of giving money. Whereas Moses received gifts from those who have got money; the Lord Jesus, on the other hand receives a gift, even from someone who got nothing1. Hegemonis We are entrusted to control and to use the temporal riches for the sake of the good 1 Disputation with Manes, 42. 13 of all, not as though we possess anything of our own eternally. If we accept the fact that possession here on earth is temporary, we will be able to enjoy an eternal possession in heaven. However, we should put before our eyes, the example of that widow who, forgetting herself in her care for the poor; and thinking only in the life to come, gave all what she has; as testified by the divine Judge Himself; who said that while the others contributed (to the treasury) out of their abundance, that widow, out of her need; has put in, everything she had - her two mites. Although she was actually more needy than many poor, she surpassed all the rich in spiritual wealth. Thinking only of the life to come, and longing to the heavenly treasure, she insisted on giving back all that she was given. Let us then, offer, and give back to the Lord all the gifts we got from Him. He, who accepts them in the person of every poor. Let us give with pleasure. We shall have great joy when we get the reward that He has promised1. Paulinus of Nola 4. There are two kinds of tithes: the first kind, which is offered to the Levites; from which, a portion is given to the priests (Numbers 18:24-28; Nehemiah 10:37- 38). Of what remains, the second kind of tithes is offered; of which they eat in the presence of the Lord in the first and second year. As to the tithes of the third year, it is given to the Levites and the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28, 29). In the fourth and the fifth year, it is consumed by those who give it. In the sixth year it is offered to the poor; and in the seventh year, it is offered as a Sabbath to the land; and everything would be common to all (Exodus 23:10, 11)2. 5. The Levites, in turn, feel committed to present the blessing to the people, through teaching and prayers; and the people will rejoice to share with them the gifts given to them by God (29). 1 Letters 34:2-4. 2 Adam Clarke Commentary. 14 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY (CHAPTER 14) LET ME WALK AS A SON OF YOURS AND AS A MEMBER OF YOUR HOLY PEOPLE You have chosen me as Your child. You made a covenant with me; and offered me the two stone tablets. Grant me to walk as is fitting of a holy child of yours. Let me have the fitting behavior. As is fitting to a member of a chosen people, referred to a holy God. Not to act in the foolishness of the ignorant. Lacerating my face in funerals, Or shaving my head to show off grief. Let even my eating and drinking be sanctified. Let nothing unclean enter my mouth, Nor anything unclean enters my heart. Let me offer the tithes, the firstlings, and the votive gifts that I vow; And count these as a symbol of offering all what I have; As there is nothing that I actually possess. All what I have in my hands are of the riches of Your love and care.
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