WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011 (TOP)
HEAR HIM
(DEUTERONOMY 18:1-19:21)
In this section we are given one of the ancient prophecies that foretold of Christ's coming, referring to Him as a "prophet." This coming prophet takes on greater and greater clarity as more and more of the Old Testament is written. These partial revelations find their fulfillment in Christ, the New Testament letter written to the Hebrew Christians described this process of progressive revelation by saying, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2). Because of who the Christ will be, Moses commands us to now hear Him (18:15).
Moses was the greatest of those whom God spoke through until Christ came. Here as a voice for this new nation, Moses lays out principles on social issues to guide God's people out of paganism and into truth. There are practical guidelines for those in ministry (18:1-7), for their relationships to pagan occult practices (18:9-14), and judicial guidelines (19:1-21). These practical judicial guidelines continue to have application to this day.
The forms of paganism change from culture to culture, and from generation to generation. But our response is to be the same as it was for ancient Israel. We must accept the fact that Satan provides endless counterfeits of God's power and glory. It is up to us to not give ourselves to whatever pop philosophy or experience may come along to draw us away from God. Satan is insanely jealous of God and will do anything to rob our hearts from God. We must therefore test all things and then hold to what can stand the light of truth.
Lastly, Moses teaches that we must be a people who are committed to legal and social justice. Cities of refuge, protection for property and rights, and assurance of justice and honesty in providing protection from corrupt proceedings are still essential in this fallen world (19:1-21). This is the balance. Let us hear Christ (18:15) but let us also have in place practical guidelines to assure what is right for those in society because not everyone will hear or obey Christ. From the servant of God to the man who stands before his accuser in court, may what we hear from Christ become the framework to serve a society that often is not listening to the voice of God.
NKJV BIBLE TEXT
Deuteronomy 18:1-19:21
1 "The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them.
3 "And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever.
6 "So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, 7 then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.
Avoid Wicked Customs
9 "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.
A New Prophet Like Moses
15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.'
17 "And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
DEUTERONOMY 19
Three Cities of Refuge
1 "When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.
4 "And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— 5 as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.'
8 "Now if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 9 and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, 10 lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
11 "But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Property Boundaries
14 "You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
The Law Concerning Witnesses
15 "One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16 If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19 then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. 20 And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
| The Portion of the Priests and Levites v. 1 the priests, the Levites – In order to be a priest, one must be from the Jewish tribe of Levi. The first part of this chapter describes the support of the tribe of Levi, the one tribe God selected out of all of Israel to serve Him in full-time ministry. Because they were forbidden to own land, and thus were given no "inheritance" in the land of Israel, they needed the support of the offerings of God's people. v. 3 shall be the priests due – (or "right") God reveals here that the priests have a right to receive the tithes of God's people in order to live and support their families. Other passages in the Law, such as Leviticus 7:32-34, further describe the portion of the sacrifices which belonged to the priests. | v. 4 the first fruits – The principle of "first fruits" ordained that the first and best portion of an Israelite's livestock and produce belong to the Lord. Here, God reveals that a portion of that first fruits belonged to the Levites. v. 6 comes from any of your gates – The principle is that no matter where in Israel a Levite resides, he has the right to enter into the ministry and be supported by the giving of God's people. |
| Avoid Wicked Customs v. 9 the abominations of those nations – The following section of Deuteronomy addresses the treatment of counterfeit "ministers," those that come into Israel claiming to be spiritual leaders but who in reality are false prophets and leaders of false religions. This section stands in opposition to the instruction on how to honor and support the Levites. The passage goes on to describe nine detestable practices of the Canaanites. v. 10 pass through the fire – This phrase refers to the detestable worship of the Canaanite god Molech. In some cases, two fires were built and a priest of Molech carried an infant in between, thus initiating them into the religion. In other cases, children were actually burned alive on the arms of an idol (Deut. 12:31). Witchcraft – A broad word describing one who seeks to discern the will of the gods by examining and interpreting omens; anyone who strives to make contact with the spiritual underworld in order to obtain guidance. | Soothsayer – A word coming from the root "to hiss"; refers to one who uses divination to prognosticate the future through interpreting the stars, weather, or planets (including those given to astrology and horoscopes) sorcerer – Comes from a root word meaning "whisperer"; one who casts spells and/or uses psychedelic drugs to gain spiritual knowledge v. 11 medium – Comes from a root meaning "to inquire"; one who seeks to contact the dead in order to obtain secret information Spiritist – Comes from a root meaning "a mumbler"; one who claims to wield psychic knowledge or powers v. 12 all who do these – God reveals that as He drove the Canaanites out of their land for these practices, He will also turn His face against Israel if they are found holding fast to these things. Although this is an Old Testament passage, it reveals the unchanging heart of God toward all of these things. None of God's people should ever be found having involvement with such practices. |
| A New Prophet Like Moses v. 15 a prophet like me – In the next few verses, Moses prophecys about the coming of Jesus Christ. He will come from among the people of Israel and be the next great Prophet to speak to the nation of Israel and lead them into a new dispensation of God's dealings with men, Moses being the deliverer of the Old Covenant, Jesus the New Covenant. In Acts 3:22,23 Peter reveals that is was Jesus whom Moses was speaking about here. Hebrews 3:1-6 also makes it clear that it is in fact Jesus that Moses is speaking of, and he draws some comparisons between Moses and Jesus. The author is clear, however, to remind the Hebrews that Jesus is far greater and more important than Moses, as He is counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Moses was a servant in the house of God but Jesus was its Maker (Heb. 3:3); Jesus is actually God (Heb. 3:4); Moses was faithful to God but Jesus is the Son of God (Heb. 3:6). Jesus Himself stated in John 5:45-47 that Moses wrote about Him. Here in Deuteronomy 18, Moses teaches that it will be far more important to hear and obey Jesus than Moses. | v. 19 will require it – In Matthew 12:38-42 and Luke 10:13-16 Jesus reveals that it is those that hear His words and reject Him that are the most accountable to judgment. v. 22 does not happen or come to pass – Under Old Testament Law, if a person presumes to speak a word of prophecy in the name of the Lord and it would not come to pass, that person is to be considered a false prophet and be put to death. Thus, a false prophet is not always going to be overtly blasphemous, as in the case of a prophet of Baal or Ashteroth. He could come speaking in the name of Jehovah God and yet be a "wolf in sheep's clothing." |
| Chapter 19 Three Cities of Refuge v. 2 separate three cities – In chapter 4:41-43, the Lord had instructed Israel to set apart three of the cities which they had captured already as "cities of refuge." Here, He commands them that out of the cities of the Canaanites which Israel will soon conquer, they are to set aside three in particular to be dedicated for that same purpose. Cities of refuge are to be set aside as safe havens for anyone who accidentally kills another person. Before the cities were established, the people of Israel were encouraged to run to the Tabernacle and grab the horns of the altar in order to be considered safe from vengeance. However, once in the Promised Land, most people in Israel found the Tabernacle too far away from where they lived. For that reason, these cities are to be set aside. God tells them that these cities are to be "in the midst of your land," meaning that they are to be centrally located and easily accessible to everyone (Num. 35:9-28, Josh. 20:7-9). v. 3 manslayer – One who brings about the death of another without malice or premeditation (v. 4) but rather by accident, as in the case of a mishap while working together in a field (v. 5). | v. 6 avenger of blood – In the case of murder in Israel, it was the right and responsibility of next of kin to the deceased to pursue and overtake the murderer, and bring him to justice in court. That person was called the "avenger of blood." It was considered a matter of honor and is still the prevailing mentality in many areas of the Middle East today. Here God advises them that in the case of manslaughter, though the person who caused the death of another may be innocent of murder, the avenger of blood may still feel as if he has been wronged and desires to overtake the one responsible for his family member's death. This is what is meant by "while his anger is hot," thus the purpose of the cities of refuge. v. 8 enlarges your territory – The Lord knows that Israel, in the state which it was in at that time, would not conquer and occupy the entire borders that were promised to their father Abraham as a possession. However, they would over time increase their borders in later periods of history in the days of David and Solomon (1 Kings 4:21) during which they are faithful and obedient to God. When this occurs, the Lord instructs them that they need to appoint three more cities of refuge than the ones they first had dedicated (v. 9). v. 11 if anyone hates his neighbor – In the case of premeditated murder or death brought about intentionally, the cities of refuge are not applicable and are not to be considered a safe haven for the offender. In such an instance, verse 12 instructs the elders of the city in which the murder took place to send men into the city of refuge, retrieve the offender, and deliver him to the avenger of blood. This was, as is said in verse 13, meant to prevent a mindset in Israel of leniency toward violent crime. |
| Property Boundaries v. 14 not remove your neighbor's landmark – The landmark was either a cord which stretched along the boundaries of a person's property, or stones which were set up at the corners, meant as a property line and to signify ownership. Moving such a boundary equated to stealing land from one's neighbor. In issuing this ordinance, the Lord here reinforces the right of His people to own private property and warns against the unlawful taking of that which belongs to another (the Eighth of the Ten Commandments). The Law Concerning Witnesses v. 15 one witness shall not rise up – The Lord again repeats the principle of "two or more witnesses" being required to convict a person of crime in Israel (Deut. 17:6). In the following verses, He states that if only one witness stands up in accusation, he may be a false witness. Thus it was required of him to stand before the priests who governed in that day. This was a way of directly involving the Word of the Lord in a case that was unclear and unknowable to the people of Israel. | v. 18 a false witness – The one who turns out to be a false witness against his neighbor (the Ninth of the Ten Commandments) was to suffer the same punishment reserved for the one falsely accused. v. 12 life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot – This statute was meant to put a limit on the retribution that could be exacted for harm done to another in Israel. If the offender removed the eye of a victim, the most that could be taken from him in retribution was an eye of his own (as compared to issuing something more severe, such as the death penalty). It is important to remember that these commands were issued to people that lived under the Old Covenant, and thus did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them to guide them and change their hearts. When Jesus became a man and began teaching the people and preparing them for life under the New Covenant, He showed us a better way to live, which is to willingly suffer wrong if necessary rather than demand retribution (Matt. 5:38-42). That is the "law" which we are to live under as Christians today. |
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