AM Bible Study Group; August 10, 2011

Deuteronomy 18:1-22

Theme: In this passage, God calls the people to stay true to the forms of spirituality He gave them.

God loves His people. He has made provisions for them to approach Him in an acceptable way (ultimately pointing to Jesus); and He has promised to guide them and tell them what they are to do (ultimately giving that revelation through His Son). They would have all that they needed through a relationship with Him. But the temptation would arise, once they entered the promised land, to be drawn away to other means of having what God wanted them to have—just as the wicked nations around them had sought to do.

In this passage, God instructs His people to stay true to the means that He has provided for them to have the spiritual things they need, and to stay away from the world’s ways of getting those things without Him.

I. HONOR THE PRIESTHOOD (vv. 1-8).

A. This passage begins with instructions concerning “The priests, the levites—all the tribe of Levi . . . ” (v. 1). These first instructions concern the tribe of Levi as a whole—which would include both the Levites and the priests who were sons of Aaron. God reminded the people that they—the Levites in general—were to have no part in the inheritance of the other tribes. That is to say, they had no allocation of land for themselves as a tribe (v. 2). Therefore, “they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion” (v. 1). The people, therefore, were to make sure they received their portion.

B. Then God speaks specifically of the priests. Their “due from the people” is taken from the best portion of the animal that is sacrificed as an offering (v. 3), and from the firstfruits of the grain offering and of the flocks. This is because “the LORD your God has chosen him (i. e. , the priest from the sons of Aaron) out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever” (v. 5).

C. As for the Levite in particular—that is, not the priest, he is to be free to leave his home and whatever property he has, from wherever he may come, and go to the place that the Lord sets up for worship, and serve there (vv. 6-7). He is to be given an equal portion to eat along with the other Levites who serve (v. 8). In providing carefully for the priesthood as God commanded, they honor His appointed way of coming to Him.

II. STAY AWAY FROM OCCULTIC CUSTOMS (vv. 9-14).

A. In contrast to honoring the priesthood, the people were not to seek to do a spiritual “end run” around God’s appointed means. That’s really the nature of the occult—seeking to satisfy the need we, as human beings made in the image of God, have for spiritual power, knowledge or relationships; but seeking to do so apart from God. The people of Israel were not to adopt the practices of the pagan people groups around them; because God says those practices and the people who practice them are “abominations”—that is, so detestable to Him that He is moved to drive them out of the land (v. 9).

B. Therefore, there was to be found in their midst no one who adopted those wicked practices. God lists them specifically; and though the list is probably not meant to be exhaustive, it describes practices that seek either spiritual power over people or circumstances, spiritual or secret knowledge that is not obtainable by normal human means, or spiritual relationships that are outside of the approval of God (vv. 10-11):

1. He begins by describing how low the occultic practices of the people of Canaan had sunk. The Ammonites who inhabited that land were worshipers of the false god Moloch; and the worship of Moloch involved human sacrifice—most particularly, children. Why would God mention such a horrible thing first? It may be because this practice was somehow associated with the idea of influencing the gods to do something. But it may be mentioned first to establish that when we turn away from our Creator, and away from dependence on His divinely appointed spiritual resources, and follow after the devil’s counterfeits instead, we open ourselves up to the potential of falling into unspeakable evil. He next mentions a series of practices, the differences between isn’t easy to discern. He mentions “witchcraft”—a word that is more correctly translated “divination” as it is in the NIV. This has a broad meaning, and is probably meant to cover all efforts to obtain spiritual information that is outside the reach of normal, human means. He also mentions “soothsayers”—that is, those who deal in interpreting the future through the use of physical signs and devices; much like what we see today in the form of tarot cards or palm reading. Finally, He mentions those who “interpret omens”—probably referring to those practices that are intended to foretell the future through astrology or the interpretation of dreams. These all have a common intent: to obtain knowledge or information that is not ordinarily available to human beings, and that are, in truth, the intellectual property of God alone.

2. Next, He describes practices that go beyond the mere attempt to ‘obtain information’, and that involve actually trying to make things happen. He mentions “sorcerers” (or those who engage in witchcraft, as it is in the NIV). In the Greek version of the Old Testament, this word is translated “pharmakos”—a word from which we derive our English word “pharmacy”. This may have reference to the practice of enchantments and magical effects through the use of drugs and potions. Then, He mentions those who “conjure” or “cast spells”. The literal Hebrew word means “to unite” or “tie with a magic knot”; and it probably refers to those who perform mystical feats and wonders. This is obviously speaking of something other than “magicians” who perform slight-of-hand tricks strictly as a form of entertainment. Rather, this speaks of those who seem to genuinely perform magical acts and wonders as if through supernatural powers. Again, the theme in these two practices is a common one: that of casting spells, performing magical feats, and using spiritual and supernatural powers to actually accomplish things that are beyond the limits set by God’s wise design for us.

3. Finally, He describes practices that are spiritualistic in nature; that is, practices that deal with an interaction with beings in unseen realms. He mentions “mediums”; and the word that He uses refers to someone who allows their body to be used by another spirit—much like what we refer today as a “channeler”. Then, He mentions a “spiritist”; that is, someone who consults with and inquires of ‘spirit guides’ with whom they supposedly have a special relationship and through whom they gain supernatural information. Finally, he refers to necromancers—those who “call up the dead”. This would be a reference those who engages in séances and other such practices in order to make contact with people beyond the grave.

C. God warns that it was these things that caused Him to drive the people out of the land. And with respect to them, His people were to be blameless (vv. 12-14).

III. HEED GOD’S PROPHET (vv. 15-22).

A. The people needed to hear from Him; and He promises He will communicate to them. Moses himself is an example of the keeping of this promise; but Moses promises that, one day, God would raise up a “Prophet” like him from among their people (vv. 15-17). This is a clear reference to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:21; Acts 3:22-23). This was in ultimate keeping with their desire at Mount Sinai that God Himself would not speak to them directly in so terrible a way (Exodus 20:18-21).

B. The prophets that God would raise up—and ultimately “the Prophet” (Jesus Christ)—were to be heeded by the people. God would hold them accountable if they did not heed His words (vv. 18-19). But the pretend prophet who presumed to speak as if he were from God was also to be held accountable (v. 20). The way that the people would know whether or not he was genuine was by whether or not what he said would come to pass (vv. 21-22). This was one way they could know; but the other was by whether or not he sought to turn the people from the Lord (13:1-6).