Study Desk

Moses said to Israel: After I put the two stones in the sacred chest, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi, not only to carry the chest, but also to serve as his priests at the place of worship and to bless the other tribes in his name. And they still do these things.

Wherever these nations worship their gods, you must tear down their altars, break their sacred stones, burn the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and smash their idols to pieces. Destroy these places of worship so completely that no one will remember they were ever there.

No, you should not! The Lord hates the disgusting way those nations worship their gods, because they even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices.

And when the rest of Israel hears about it, they will be afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.

And don't eat pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don't even touch a dead pig!

and if they do not have fins and scales, you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.

The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.

No one in Israel should ever be poor. The Lord your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.

Instead, be kind and lend them what they need.

Be careful! Don't say to yourself, "Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won't be able to get my money back." It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don't help them, they may ask the Lord to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty.

And don't just tell them they are free to leave—

Take the slave to the door of your house and push a sharp metal rod through one earlobe and into the door. Such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men or women.

Moses said to Israel: It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped. This court will be made up of one judge and several priests who serve at the Lord 's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death.

When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.

And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the Lord . Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.

The official copy of God's laws will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch.

In addition, they will receive the first part of your grain harvest and part of your first batches of wine and olive oil. You must also give them the first wool that is cut from your sheep each year.

You don't deserve to die, since you did not mean to harm your friend. But he did get killed, and his relatives might be very angry. They might even choose one of the men from their family to track you down and kill you. If it is too far to one of the Safe Towns, the victim's relative might be able to catch you and kill you.

Before you attack a town that is far from your land, offer peace to the people who live there. If they surrender and open their town gates, they will become your slaves. But if they reject your offer of peace and try to fight, surround their town and attack. Then, after the Lord helps you capture it, kill all the men. Take the women and children as slaves and keep the livestock and everything else of value.

If you allow them to live, they will persuade you to worship their disgusting gods, and you will be unfaithful to the Lord .