Days 62&63: Deuteronomy 20-27

God, through Moses, gives the people these instructions before they cross the Jordan into the land that has been promised to them since the time of Abraham:

...in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God. (20:16-18)

Of course, this is exactly what happens. God is always way more ruthless about getting rid of sin and evil than we are. We even see this in Jesus' teachings when he says that if our eye causes us to sin it would be better to pluck it out.

I was also interested in the instructions God gives concerning the use of the tithe after it was given:

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. (26:12)

I had always thought that the tithe was to be used by the Levites (the priests) for their support and for the support and maintenance of the place of worship...but it wasn't just for them...it was for anyone who has need...even the foreigner.