LITV
Deu 17:1 You
shall not sacrifice to Jehovah your God an ox or sheep in which there is a blemish,
any evil thing, for it is a hateful thing to Jehovah your God.
Deu
17:2 When there is found among you,
in one of your gates which Jehovah your God is giving to you, a man or woman
who does that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, in
transgressing His covenant,
Deu
17:3 and has gone and served
other gods, and worshiped them; or the sun, or the moon, or of
the host of the heavens, which I have not commanded;
Deu
17:4 and it has been revealed to
you, and you have heard, and searching have searched; and, behold, it is true; and the thing is confirmed, that this hateful
thing has been done in
Israel,
Deu
17:5 then you shall bring out to
your gates that man or that woman who has done this evil thing, the man or the
woman; and you shall stone them with stones, and they shall die.
Deu
17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses
or three witnesses shall he that is to die be put to death. He shall not be put
to death at the mouth of one
witness.
Deu
17:7 The hand of the witnesses
shall be first on him, to put him to death; and the hand of all the people
last. And you shall put away the evil from among you.
Deu
17:8 If a matter is too hard for you in
judgment, between blood and blood, between cause and cause, or between stroke
and stroke, matters of strife within your gates, then you shall rise and go up to the place which Jehovah
your God shall choose.
Deu
17:9 And you
shall come in to the priest,
of the Levites, and to the judge who is in those days, and shall
inquire. And they shall declare the word of judgment to you.
Deu
17:10 And you shall do according to the word which
they declare to you from that place which Jehovah shall choose. And you
shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you.
Deu
17:11 You shall do according to the
mouth of the law which they direct you, and according to the judgment which
they deliver to you. You shall not turn aside from the word which they declare
to you, right or left.
Deu
17:12 And the man who acts with
pride so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to serve Jehovah your
God there, or to the judge, even that man shall die; and you shall put away
evil from Israel.
Deu
17:13 And all the people shall
hear, and fear, and shall not presume any more.
Deu
17:14 When you come into the
land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, and have possessed it, and
settled in it; and you shall say, Let me set a king over me like all the nations around
me,
Deu
17:15 then
you shall certainly set a king over you. You may not give an alien the rule over you, one who is not your brother.
Deu
17:16 Only, he shall not
multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to turn back to Egypt
so as to multiply horses, since Jehovah has said to you, You shall not again
return in this way any more.
Deu
17:17 And he shall not
multiply wives to himself, and his heart shall not turn aside. And he
shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Deu
17:18 And it shall be, when he sits
on the throne of his kingdom,
he shall write for himself a copy of this Law in a book, from before the
priests, the Levites.
Deu
17:19 And it shall be with him, and
he shall read in it all
the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Jehovah your God, to
keep all the Words of this Law and these statutes, to do them;
Deu
17:20 so that his heart may not
be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the
commandment, to the right or to the left; so that he may prolong his
days over his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.
Deu 18:1 The priests,
the Levites, all the tribe of Levi shall have no portion or inheritance
with Israel. They shall eat fire offerings of Jehovah, even His
inheritance.
Deu
18:2 And he shall have no inheritance among his
brothers. Jehovah Himself is his inheritance, as He
has spoken to him.
Deu
18:3 And this shall be the priest's due from the people,
from those that offer a sacrifice, whether an ox or sheep, that they shall give
to the priest the leg, and the two cheeks, and the stomach,
Deu
18:4 the first of your grain, of
your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your flock, you
shall give to him.
Deu
18:5 For Jehovah your God has chosen him out of
all your tribes to stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, he and his
sons continually.
Deu
18:6 And if a Levite comes from one
of your gates of all Israel, where he has been living, and comes with all the
desire of his soul to the place which Jehovah shall choose,
Deu
18:7 then he shall serve in the
name of Jehovah his God, as all his brothers the Levites who stand before
Jehovah do.
Deu
18:8 They shall eat portion like
portion, except of the sales of what belonged to his
father.
Deu
18:9 When you come to the land
which Jehovah your God is giving to you, you shall not learn to do according to
the hateful acts of those nations.
Deu
18:10 There shall not be found in
you one who passes his son
or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of
clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells,
Deu 18:11 or a magic charmer, or
one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead.
Deu
18:12 For all doing these things are
an abomination to Jehovah. And because
of these filthy acts Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before
you.
Deu
18:13 You shall be perfect with Jehovah your
God.
Deu
18:14 For these nations whom you
shall expel listen to observers of clouds, and to those divining. But as to
you, Jehovah your God has not given to you to do so.
Deu
18:15 Jehovah your God shall raise up to
you a prophet from among you, of your brothers, one like me; you shall listen
to him,
Deu
18:16 according to all that you
desired of Jehovah your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me
not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, nor let me see this great fire any
more, lest I die.
Deu
18:17 And Jehovah said to me, They
have spoken well, what they have said.
Deu
18:18 I shall raise up a prophet to
them from among their brothers, one like you; and I will
put My Words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command
him.
Deu
18:19 And it shall be, whoever
will not listen to My Words which he shall speak in My name, I will
require it at his hand.
Deu
18:20 But the prophet who presumes
to speak a word in My name, that which I have not commanded him to speak, and
who speaks in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deu
18:21 And if you say in your heart,
How shall we know the word which Jehovah has not spoken?
Deu
18:22 When a prophet speaks in the
name of Jehovah, if the thing does not happen or come about, that is
the thing which Jehovah has not spoken; that prophet has spoken
it proudly; you shall not be afraid of him.
Main
point(s): Proper sacrifices (no blemishes), requirements for witnesses (more
than one), appoint/obey judges, rules for the (future) king, provisions for
Levites, do not follow idolatry/diviners, God will appoint prophets – how to
discern the validity of a prophet.
1.
What is God warning against doing (1-7)? Why does this
issue keep repeating itself in the book? What do we learn? The context is idolatry. It keeps coming up because
it is a weakness of mankind in general and Israel is no exception. It takes
discipline and a persevering heart to grow faith. These people show that issue of
a lack of dedication and God is taking them to task for it. This section is
actually an extension of the end of chapter 16 where it starts the narrative
against idolatry. QUESTION: Why would God include the offering of a blemished
animal within this context? NOTE: Also this is simply the writing style for
pre-litigation. It is a CONTRACT. God is not just rambling. In this section, He
refers to the aforementioned sin and its remedy “execution.” Then He lays down
the ground rules for that execution in regards to the WITNESS testimony. It must be two or more, never just one. Why?
2.
What are the people to do regarding their leaders and
judges (8-13)? Are there any new covenant concepts found here? Consider Romans
13 and Heb. 13:17. Once they judge an
issue: “you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you” –
These were cases that people could not find remedy between themselves, so they
brought the case before the appointed judge and priest. It was the
responsibility of these authorities to know the law/will of God. (See
“Additional” for NT Verses) – The first part of Romans 13 addresses the need to
submit to authorities (similar with Heb 13:17), the second part of ICor.13
reveals the heart of the Christian in
the phrase: “love is the fulfillment of Law.” IF a person practices
the second part (love), the first part will work itself out. There are very
strong words from Paul in ICor.6 when it comes to disputes between brothers
“Why not instead be wronged? Why not instead be defrauded?”
Does love ignore justice?
3.
Was it acceptable for Israel to have a king (14-29)?
What were the requirements for appointing a king? What were the
requirements for the king himself? There is no obvious reason from this
text to think that God did not want Israel to have a king. We find later that
the reasons they ask for a king are at issue. They are “rejecting God” when
they ask, so they are asking for the wrong reason(s). In this section God
appears to have no issue with it. The term “Let me set a king over me like all
the nations around me” could be construed as offensive to God. Israel was to be
separated from the rest of the nations. They were to LOOK different and ACT
different. We read at the end of Judges and find that Israel had lost its way.
Each man was doing “that which was right in his own eyes.” Where were the
judges and priests? THEY had failed.
There were no issues with God’s system. In ISamuel 8, Samuel ”made his sons
judges” (Joel and Abijah). They were corrupt and it suggests that Samuel did
not inquire from God whether or not to do this. God spoke to Samuel before, why
not again? Why didn’t he STOP Samuel from this great error? This brings into
question not so much “did God not want Israel to have a king”, but knowing the
futility of Israel’s inability to adhere to the priest/judge system, a king
would be needed. Is not Christ our king? This foreshadowing reveals how man
gets it so wrong, but God can make it right.
The king was to be selected from Israel (not a foreigner). The king is not to
make profit from his authority, or increase wives. He is not to lead them, or
cause anyone to want to return to Egypt. He is to be humble and remain that
way. He is to get a copy of the law and read it continually to keep himself in
check/obedient. It stands to reason that God would prefer the nation to be led
through judges and priests. That system would be disseminated throughout the
land and would be less subject to corruption to a nation as a whole. Once you
have a monarchy, corruption can occur instantly.
4.
What were the requirements regarding the priests and
Levites (18:1-8)? God is the
inheritance of the Levites, which indicates they serve Him and the people. They
received no other inheritance (acreage). They were to live in specific cities
throughout Israel as ministers of God to the people. Because of these
restrictions, the remaining tribes of Israel were to supply them with their
needs. Specific offerings were to be given to the priesthood. If a priest were
top migrate to a new city, he was to be welcomed.
5.
What must the people not do (18:9-14)? Child sacrifice and the reliance on people who
purport powers. “one that
uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of
spells, Deu 18:11 or a magic charmer, or
one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead. These were considered “filthy acts.”
(abominable)
It was for these very acts that God was disposing the inhabitants of the land!
6.
What were the people to expect (15-22)? What did it
mean that this one would “be like Moses”? What would he do? What are the people
commanded to do when he comes? Who is this referring to? Explain. The focus here is on authority. First, God is
choosing the person to succeed Moses. It was not to be someone the people
choose. This person would be confirmed by his word/prophecy. If a person
prophesied and it did not come to pass, he was to be ignored.
When God did choose someone, the words he spoke were to be considered as
weighty as God’s words, and were to be obeyed as such. Those who did not
listen, God says “I will require it at his hand.”
We see later writings that point out who these people are: Joshua, Judges, and
the remaining books are full of people who spoke for God. Ultimately, Jesus
fulfills this role for eternity (there no longer remains the need for someone
to do it in that authoritative sense). With the word of God, we too carry a
measure of this mission.
Additional:
Romans 13
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject to higher
authorities, for there is no authority except from God, but the existing
authorities have been ordained by God.
Rom
13:2 So that the one
resisting authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and the ones opposing
will receive judgment to themselves.
Rom
13:3 For the rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to the bad. And do you desire not to fear the
authority? Do the good, and you will have praise from it;
Rom
13:4 for it is a servant of God to
you for the good. But if you practice evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the
sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to the one
practicing bad things.
Rom
13:5 Because of this, it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on
account of conscience.
Rom
13:6 For on this account you also
pay taxes, for they are ministers of God, always giving attention to this
very thing.
Rom
13:7 Then give to all their dues: to the one
due tax, the tax; to the one due tribute, the tribute; to the one due fear, the fear;
to the one due honor, the honor.
Heb
13:17 Yield to those taking the
lead of you, and submit, for they watch for your souls, giving an account, that
they may do this with joy, and not with grieving; for this would be unprofitable to you.
Filthy
acts: - translated as abominable in the KJ simply means something disgusting.
