Chapters 17-18

 

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.