Deu 14:1 | KingComments | STEP | In the members of God’s people are addressed separately in their privileged position: “You are sons of the LORD your God.” This does not mean that they are also all born again. There is a big difference between the sonship of Israel and that of the members of the church. Anyone born as an Israelite belongs to this people and is addressed as such. A person can only belong to the church through conversion and being born again. When applying the sonship of Israel to the sonship of the members of the church, it is important to remember this. The characteristics of the sons are seen in Deuteronomy 12-16. Sons are connected to the place where God dwells. In such sons, nothing that disfigures may be present, but they shall be to the Father’s delight. The land is for the sons, the sons are for Him. What characterizes the Son, may also characterize the sons. That’s why instructions about eating clean food follow. Israel is spoken of three times in connection with sonship, which belongs to them ( ): 1. First, when the people are still in Egypt ( ). In Exodus 4 God speaks of Israel as “My son”. This shows His purpose for the people as a whole. Although the people are in bondage, God has destined them to sonship. 2. The second time is in the wilderness, where God raises His sons, forms them to be sons in His “school of hard knocks” ( ). There it is in a comparative sense. He chastises His sons so that they may remove from their lives what is not pleasing to Him, that they may be pleasing and joyful to Him. 3. The third time, here in Deuteronomy 14, sonship is connected to the land. God wants them to be a holy people before Him, for He has chosen them to be His own people. Likewise we are sons before God; He has chosen us for Himself ( ). The Lord Jesus is the Son and we may become like Him. Therefore 1. He has taken us out of Egypt, that is to say redeemed us from the world; 2. He disciplines us in the wilderness or in the circumstances of everyday life; 3. He has placed us in the land, which is for us the heavenly places. Such a privileged position is not compatible with pagan practices of mourning. This also means that the way in which sons deal with death is completely different from the way in which the world deals with it (cf. ). The heathens around them flaw their bodies by cutting or tattooing them ( ; ). Such mourning habits are associated with idolatry. These are signs of devotion to unclean beings that are worshiped by the heathen. Adopting such practices disfigures the ‘sons’ and dishonors God. For He has sanctified them, separated them from all the nations of the world, and destined them for Himself to be His own people.

‏ Deuteronomy 14:1

Prohibited Mourning Practices

In Deu 14:1 the members of God’s people are addressed separately in their privileged position: “You are sons of the LORD your God.” This does not mean that they are also all born again. There is a big difference between the sonship of Israel and that of the members of the church. Anyone born as an Israelite belongs to this people and is addressed as such. A person can only belong to the church through conversion and being born again. When applying the sonship of Israel to the sonship of the members of the church, it is important to remember this.

The characteristics of the sons are seen in Deuteronomy 12-16. Sons are connected to the place where God dwells. In such sons, nothing that disfigures may be present, but they shall be to the Father’s delight. The land is for the sons, the sons are for Him. What characterizes the Son, may also characterize the sons. That’s why instructions about eating clean food follow.

Israel is spoken of three times in connection with sonship, which belongs to them (Rom 9:4):

1. First, when the people are still in Egypt (Exo 4:22-23). In Exodus 4 God speaks of Israel as “My son”. This shows His purpose for the people as a whole. Although the people are in bondage, God has destined them to sonship.

2. The second time is in the wilderness, where God raises His sons, forms them to be sons in His “school of hard knocks” (Deu 8:5). There it is in a comparative sense. He chastises His sons so that they may remove from their lives what is not pleasing to Him, that they may be pleasing and joyful to Him.

3. The third time, here in Deuteronomy 14, sonship is connected to the land. God wants them to be a holy people before Him, for He has chosen them to be His own people.

Likewise we are sons before God; He has chosen us for Himself (Eph 1:5). The Lord Jesus is the Son and we may become like Him. Therefore

1. He has taken us out of Egypt, that is to say redeemed us from the world;

2. He disciplines us in the wilderness or in the circumstances of everyday life;

3. He has placed us in the land, which is for us the heavenly places.

Such a privileged position is not compatible with pagan practices of mourning. This also means that the way in which sons deal with death is completely different from the way in which the world deals with it (cf. 1Thes 4:13). The heathens around them flaw their bodies by cutting or tattooing them (Lev 19:28; Jer 16:6). Such mourning habits are associated with idolatry. These are signs of devotion to unclean beings that are worshiped by the heathen.

Adopting such practices disfigures the ‘sons’ and dishonors God. For He has sanctified them, separated them from all the nations of the world, and destined them for Himself to be His own people.