Read Deuteronomy 18
Offerings for Priests and Levites
18 The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offeringspresented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3 This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head. 4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, 5 for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.
6 If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose, 7 he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. 8 He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.
Occult Practices
9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God.
The Prophet
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
Go Deeper
The Levites are God’s people specifically set apart as the ministers of Israel. In Numbers 18:6-7 their position is described this way: “and behold I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord to do the service of the tent of meeting.” They are instructed not to earn money or seek a fortune for themselves, but instead God takes care of them. They are a gift to Him, set apart to do His work, take care of His temple, offerings, and sacrifices. How great that God has thought about how to provide for them and sets laws in place for His people to be taken care of. Every single person is thought of and taken care of in His plan for His people.
Verses 9-14 might feel like obvious truths to be warned against, but even today–both inside and outside of the church–people practice this or have similar heart postures and actions. It is popular to be superstitious and to look for answers outside of God. People lean toward curiosity in regards to these behaviors, and the warning is against them. The reason isn’t because He is a selfish God and He wants all the attention to himself. He is a good God who knows these practices are evil, empty, and false. All of these practices are a disgrace to God, diminishing our view of who He is and His plan for us. And there are reasons bigger than what we see, these things are not from Him and thus are not good- they are against His character. He calls us higher, because His judgment is better than our own and what we perceive as being good (Isaiah 55:8-9). Tara-Leigh Cobble (from The Bible Recap) says it this way: “God does not synthesize with anything else.”
Amidst all these laws, we see the promise of Jesus in the last verses of this chapter. Acts 3:19-26 and 7:37 clearly tell us that the prophet talked about here is Jesus; that he will be a mediator between them and God, and that He will be from them and for them. Though they are seeking guidance in practices that only lead to false words and destruction, God doesn’t leave them without an answer for where true guidance is found. He is the answer, the one we are looking for; nothing in this world completes us in the way that knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior does!
Questions
- What does this chapter reveal to us about God’s character?
- Galatians 5:7-8 describes the life we live as the “good race.” How do these verses fit in with the context of the instructions of this chapter? How does it bring clarity to His character?
- Verse 12 says “you must be blameless before the Lord your God.” Why do you think this is?
Listen Here
For more on how we should approach the spirituality practices of our culture, listen to episode 172 of Becoming Something titled “Manifestation, Mediums, and Spiritual Things.”
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6 thoughts on “Deuteronomy 18”
Once again I am hearing that childrens song, Oh be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear,
and be careful little mouth what you say for the Father up above is looking down in Love so be careful little eyes, ears and mouth.
True prophecy will be a matter of God’s initiative (verses 15, 18). It was God who wanted to do the speaking, God who would address God’s own people with word or warning and encouragement. True prophecy would follow God’s model, namely, Moses himself. He was faithful in intercession and passionate concern for the good of his people. He suffered with and for his people. Next, true prophet would speak God’s message: “I will put my words in his mouth.” True prophet carried God’s authority, verse 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (from New International Biblical Commentary: Deuteronomy
by Christopher Wright)
Matthew 7:15 (NLT)“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.”
God thank You for speaking plainly to me. God thank You for showing me details in Your Word that I miss. God hlpe me to continue to see you in all that I read. Give me wisdom, knowledge and understanding to direct my path minutely. God I lift up this fasting Wednesday. God give all who are fasting, words of encouragement to see what You are doing in our midst. God thank You for lots of prayer and supplication going out to You! God thank You for minutes of hunger being centered back to You with love, adoration, thanksgiving, renewed mind, peacfulness, enjoyment, comfort, and understanding in Jesus name amen!!!!!!!!!!
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire”
Again this practice of child sacrifice is mentioned. Such depravity yet persists in spirit in present times. Heartbreaking.
Truth!
Read v. 20-22 again.
What is a false prophet? In Revelation it states it’s a demonic spirit.
Revelation 15: 13 “Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.”
I’ve been studying Revelation and this particular Chapter this week and I noted mentally the severity of false prophets mentioned. I’ve asked myself what does a false prophet look like in today’s generation? Do I expect to see them in a leadership position, or could they be as simple as a believer friend that comprises God’s Word by watering down truth and obedience—wavering between right and wrong?
False is the opposite of truth. So anything or anyone operating against God’s truth would be false prophecy, correct? I’m seriously asking! This has puzzled me, and here again we read today the warnings against this evil practice.
I think we encounter false prophecy more than we actually realize or have been warned against. We need to start calling it by it’s name for what it really is!
God alone is holy and set apart from all other gods and specifically instructs his people how to live righteously. They are to honor his chosen ministers, the Levites, and the special provisions he made for them. Once in Canaan, there would be many temptations to engage in pagan cultures and their hideous practices, including child sacrifice and the occult. God strictly forbid it. He was the one true God deserving of worship. (JP’s book, Your Story Has a Villain, is an excellent equipping tool on who Satan is and how he tries to steal our affections away from following God. It instructs on how to fight him and win putting on the armor of God.)
As God’s people move forward, they (we) will continue to be tested — and tempted to seek relief in de-TEST-able things (v.10).
This chapter reminds me that the greatest temptations often come from that which is most closely and commonly practiced all around us (v.14).
The trouble is, when I am struggling and suffering, desperate for peace and comfort, I reach instinctively for whatever is CLOSEST to me.
So if I’m not already close to GOD, I’ll turn for relief to the nearest “little g” god.
I’m reminded of something Lysa TerKeurst said:
“Our souls are like sponges. And when they are dry, they will soak up MOST of whatever they come in contact with FIRST.
Oh, that I would put God first, to receive His “most!”
As I was reflecting on this passage, I was listening to the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” and its words served to reinforce these thoughts:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Lord, may I fully build my life and faith on Your firm foundation, and flee for refuge only and always to Jesus!