Judgment, Kings, Priests, Prophets

Deuteronomy 17-18, “Judgment, Kings, Priests, Prophets”
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Introduction:
It’s truly an amazing thought to consider that God not only invites us to worship Him (which He is worthy of, despite whether or not we believe) – but that He also invites us to have a relationship with Him. Yes, we come before Him in praise & adoration, but He graciously desires us to not only know of Him, but to know Him. His invitation to Israel was no different. He wanted them to know His word & commands, and provided so many opportunities for them to learn it through the coming kings, the serving Levites, and the line of prophets – all of which God gives direction on in Ch 17-18. He also provides warnings on how NOT to seek God (through pagan practices) – and that’s basically how He begins.

Deuteronomy 17 (NKJV)
1 “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.
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A. Where does this come from? It might seem somewhat out of place… Ch 16 ended with a prohibition against idolatry; Ch 17 will go on to talk about prohibition against pagan ‘magic’ practices. Is vs. 1 just a random verse between them? Not really – all are dealing with some sort of perversion of worship & vs. 1 makes the point that even if the Hebrews are sacrificing to the One True God, it’s still possible to do it in a way which would be an abomination.
B. How so? The Hebrews were not to bring God their leftovers or 2nd best. (You can imagine the temptation…) Instead, God was to be worshipped with the very best they had to offer…He’s worthy of such a sacrifice because God is supremely perfect and holy!
C. How does God view imperfect sacrifices? As “an abomination”…no better than idols – it’d be better if they hadn’t brought anything! Why? Every sacrifice ultimately points to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for sin. Thus the only sacrifice that will do is one that is perfect…otherwise they weren’t really looking ahead to Christ. [] That’s why Jesus is the ONLY sufficient sacrifice; He’s the only One truly without blemish or defect.
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2 “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4 and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones.
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A. Referring to pagan worship practices – many cultures worshiped the different celestial bodies…not the least, the Egyptians (Ra = sun god). This is exactly what God had called them out of & God doesn’t share His glory! The Hebrews were HIS people – and they were to worship HIM alone.
B. The proper response in Israel to paganism? Death. It was a capital crime, as it was basically an act of adulterous treason…
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- How to properly administer the death penalty:
6 Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.
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A. Capital punishment is not taken lightly…a serious investigation was to take place. Multiple witnesses were established, and they were under the command of God (the 8th Commandment: don’t bear false witness) to tell the truth of the matter. The more witnesses, the better – but all that was truly required was 2-3 credible ones.
B. Capital punishment was to be administered with responsibility…the actual witnesses were the ones to cast the stones, thus they had to deal with their own consciences & judgment of God if they were less than completely truthful.
¬¬__a. We see a great example of this with Jesus & the woman caught in adultery. The woman was plainly guilty – not even she denied it. But the proper punishment as dictated by the law could not be administered responsibly, because none of them followed the law responsibly. By law, both man & woman were guilty (Lev 20:10) – but they were plainly trying to judge Jesus & using the woman as a tool to do so. Thus when Jesus brought up the law, their hearts were convicted & the witnesses could not fast the 1st stone.
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8 “If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 9 And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment.
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A. “degrees of guilt” is a reference to deciding what level of a crime an offense was. Is it murder, or accidental manslaughter? Those were the types of decisions the priests & Levites were charged with deciding. Somewhat of a change from the way things had been working with Moses & the elders of 10’s, 100’s, 1000’s, etc. Makes sense considering the changes upon entering the land. Levites would be scattered around the nation – and thus accessible to for this kind of judgment.
B. Note the care that goes into these judgments. No punishment was to be given hastily or under mob-rule, or revenge – judgment was to be delivered justly. Why? Because God is just!
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10 You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the LORD chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. 11 According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 12 Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.
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A. Don’t vary from God’s word (in this case, judgment). What He instructed the Israelites to do (via the Levites), they were to do it…period.
B. What to do with someone who ignores the voice of the Lord regarding someone’s criminal punishment? Treat it as a capital crime – that person himself incurs the death penalty. Eliminates vigilantism…
C. Also underscores the authority of the word of God. It’s not up to us to decide what’s right & wrong for ourselves…we haven’t been invested with that kind of authority. ‘That’s kind of a harsh thing to say!’ No, it’s simply the truth about human nature. Without a standard of morality given to us, we disintegrate into chaos & like the Judges, every man does what is right in his eyes (Jud 21:25). This is one reason the written Word of God is such a gift to us! We don’t have to guess at what’s right & wrong – we KNOW it because we’ve been given an objective standard based on God’s ultimate righteousness. Without the Law & Scripture, we wouldn’t understand what sin is (Rom 7:7), but now we know! Psalm 119:103-105 (103) How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! (104) Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. (105) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. []
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14 “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
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A. Note this isn’t an “if”; it’s “when.” God’s perfect plan for Israel was to be a true theocracy, with God Himself ruling over His people. But God knew that eventually the people would reject this and want a monarchy…and that’s exactly what they did. 1 Samuel 8:6-7 (6) But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. (7) And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. [] What a tragic thing: to reject the rule & reign of the Lord – to reject Him for ‘status’ in the eyes of man!
__a. Can Christians do the same thing? After all – Christians (by definition) belong to Christ & are ruled by Him. Yet many times we do reject His rule in certain areas of our life: pet temptations, family members, whatever. When we do that, we’re turning away from His perfect plan for us – and it’s still a tragedy!
B. What are the regulations for the king?
__a. God makes the choice. This was not to be left up to the people to decide (as they tried to do in Judges 9); this was a choice to be made solely by the Lord. He was their Sovereign King, thus He was the only one who could empower someone else for the monarchy.
__b. The king has to be Hebrew. No matter what their system of government, they were still under covenant with God – thus they could never have a foreigner reigning over them (which was one reason ‘King’ Herod caused such turmoil…he had Jewish background, but wasn’t considered a ‘true Jew.’)
__c. Not dependent on military. King Asa got into trouble on this point. Early on, he relied on the Lord to fight his battles; later he relied on his diplomacy to gain military advantage (2 Chr 16). God disciplined him with wars.
__d. Not dependent on allies: combining the reference to Egypt & multiplying wives. Kings often married to form allies & treaties with other countries.
__e. Not dependent on wealth.
____i. Solomon failed on most counts…he multiplied his horses & wives, traded with Egypt, and was the richest man in the world. And in the end, he fell away from the Lord.
____ii. Jesus fulfills all counts! As the Son of David, Jesus is the rightful King of Israel. Chosen by God, descended of Abraham, Jesus needed no army, was rejected by the nations, and had no wealth (not even a place to rest His head). He came in humility, but will return in glory!
f. Instead, he must be dependent only on God! By knowing the Word of God. See vs 18…
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18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
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A. He makes his own copy! He was to literally take the book of Deuteronomy & write out a personal copy by hand. [Interesting experience!] You never pay quite so much attention to something you’re reading as when you’re writing it down. And that was the point.
B. He doesn’t just write it down; he reads it daily. Writing it down once doesn’t do any good if you don’t pay any attention to it later.
C. He doesn’t just read it; he observes it. In doing so, he’s building his house on the rock (Matt 7:24).
D. The result? His heart remains humble… His reign is blessed…
__a. We may not be kings – but we do serve the King of Kings. Want your life to be transformed? Write the law on your heart – read it daily – do what it says.
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Deuteronomy 18 (NKJV)
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.
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A. Reminder that the Levite’s inheritance is the Lord Himself.
B. Because they are the Lord’s, the Lord provides for them through the people they serve. They received the 1st fruits, and meat from the offerings – truly they were dependent on God for ‘daily bread.’
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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.
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A. Levites are to receive fair wages…whether they serve in the Levitical cities, or at the Tabernacle itself.
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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.
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A. Reiteration against pagan idolatrous practices. Why does God hit this over & over? Because He wants them to learn it! Because He knows it will be a constant temptation & so He continually warns them away from it.
__a. God never gives us commands to see us squirm or not engage in fun – His commands are always based on His character & nature & are meant to protect & provide for us. In this case, God is protecting Israel by keeping them away from demonic influences.
B. Specifically details witches, spiritists, psychics, etc. These things are an abomination to the Lord – and even though we’re in the NT, we’re still to avoid these things completely. (Sorcery is specifically mentioned in Gal 5:20)
__a. King Saul fell into this trap by using the witch of En Dor to summon Samuel from the dead – ended up having judgment pronounced on him that he’d be dead the next battle (1 Sam 27:19)
__b. Are these things real? Yes & no. Most of these things are designed to fleece people out of money. But there are truly demonic forces unseen to us – and they’ll use whatever opportunity given to them to drive people away from God. Christians should have nothing to do with these things (real or imagined). 1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. (22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? []
C. Ultimately, God’s making the point that if we want to learn about the supernatural, we’re not to turn to the perversions of the Devil; we’re to look to our supernatural God Himself! If we want to know the future or God’s revealed will, we simply need to turn to His word – as revealed through the prophets (vs. 15)…
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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.
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A. A prophet like Moses. Is this every prophet to follow? In a sense, yes – they brought the words of the Lord to the people in the same tradition. They each had a responsibility to speak the words of God to whomever God directed – and they got in trouble when they refused (see: Jonah, fish ).
B. Ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ! He is truly a prophet like Moses…both in personal history & purpose.
__i. Personal history: they had both survived death sentences for newborns – they had both been called out of Egypt – they had both fasted for 40 days – Moses gave the Law; Jesus explained it’s intent – they both radiated the glory of God — they either lifted up or were lifted up for deliverance & more.
__ii. Purpose: this is probably more of Moses’ intent with this prophecy & again, Jesus fulfills this perfectly. After God gave the 10 Commandments, the people were so terrified of God’s awesome holiness that they asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf. That’s exactly what Jesus does as our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5). We cannot approach God by ourselves, so Christ Jesus does it for us – and He’s truly the only One who can.
__iii. Keep in mind, this is more than pure speculation – the NT affirms that Jesus Christ IS the fulfillment of this prophecy: Acts 3:19-22 (19) Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, (20) and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, (21) whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (22) For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. [] To this day, the Jews are still waiting – but there’s no one left to be waiting for! Christ Jesus IS the Prophet as unto Moses – demonstrated in His 1st coming, and will be so again at His 2nd.
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19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
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A. People ignore the Lord Jesus at their own peril. He didn’t come to tickle anyone’s ears or to make them ponder at His wisdom. He came to seek & save the lost! He came to glorify the Father & provide the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Those who will not hear the words of Christ, do not hear the very words of God – thus they do not hear the gospel and remain in their sin. And God absolutely will require it of them.
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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.
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A. Dealing with false prophets… The problem with many false prophets is that their prophecies are so appealing, we want them to be true. Jeremiah dealt with his share of false prophets before the Babylonian captivity. Whereas he was preaching that God would allow the nation to be captured, the false prophet preached nationalistic victory & a return to the land after 2 years. Sounds good, right? The problem was that it encouraged further rebellion & God had already decreed the captivity was going to take place. Jeremiah was simply trying to prevent further destruction & loss of life (Jer 27:17).
__a. The same thing happens today all the time. People follow the ‘signs & wonders’ circus from city to city & receive all sorts of ‘prophecies’ regarding healing, finances, and power – and although they sound good at the time, they inevitably come to nothing & people are heartbroken…
B. God would save us from all this! This is why we’re supposed to judge prophecy (1 Cor 14:29) We have a very simple test for how to know if a prophet is false: do their words come true? If not, be assured he/she is a false prophet & forget about them – don’t fear anything they have to say. (Recent prophecies at L. Outpouring commissioning – all proven to be false.)
__a. Applies to non-predictive prophecy as well. Are the words true? Do they line up with the already revealed truth of Scripture? God will never contradict through prophecy what He’s already given through written revelation. Be a Berean!

Conclusion:
Make no mistake that our God is a supernatural God! (By definition.) He still gives His people prophecy, and He definitely speaks to us through His supernatural Word. And because we can be assured of that, we have absolutely no reason to be looking anywhere else for divine revelation. We know exactly what God is like because we worship Christ – who is the image of the invisible God, the 1st born of all creation. He has declared God to us, and because we have received Christ, we have become children of God. Why would we ever settle for any substitutes? Be it false prophecy or outright paganism – it’s a cheap substitute for our loving God & King.

With that in mind – are you taking advantage of the glorious opportunity God has set before you to know Him? Every day is a new day to boldly & humbly approach God through prayer & His Word. Let us not waste a single day!