Thursday Night Bible Study

Deuteronomy16:18-Deuteronomy 18 (Click scripture reference for audio access)

“It's All About Jesus!” • 1.17.13 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

Text

• Deuteronomy 16:18-20 : "You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you." : The people of God were going to be allotted various sections of the land which were all to follow the principles here.

- In these ancient cities, the entrance to the city was known as the city gate, which was where all town business was discussed, from land transactions to legal disputes.

- Men from each tribe would sit and take responsibility for the decisions made for their city. God tells them that they were to judge with just or righteous (ESV) judgment.

- They were to be fair and impartial, free from avarice. This was the heart of God's justice.

- In Leviticus 19:15, Moses laid out that they were not to be impressed with the rich nor overly sympathetic with the poor. Justice was to be justice for all in God's land.

- What follows are subjects that the judges in God's theocracy would attend to in the land.

• Deuteronomy 16:21,22 : "You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the Lord your God hates." : God's people were to be set apart completely to worship God.

- Their ground was to be set apart as sacred and never mixed with any other kind of memorial.

- That was hateful to the Lord then as it is now. There are never to be divided loyalties. God will only have it this way: A whole life devoted solely to His purposes or not.

• Deuteronomy 17:1 : "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." : The Lord will not receive that which is worthless to us. An animal that was blemished or defected was not less valuable intrinsically.

- It was still good for common use relative to the family's needs, but represented a blatant lack of respect to God, who is perpetually worthy of that which represents our best.

- As Christians today, we are not called to bring animals to God, but are we giving blemished things to Him? Are our financial gifts given grudgingly? Is our last available, least efficient time His?

- Give Him your best! Give Him the best part of your day! Give Him the best part of your finances! For those that are young, give Him your best years!

- For the people of Israel, also understand that they are obedient to the type. Every animal that they gave also represented their Messiah, who was free from sin at birth and throughout life.

• Deuteronomy 17:2-7 : "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, 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,  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, 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. 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. 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." : Because such actions would strike at the fabric of theocracy, the worship of false deities was  punishable by death.

- Two witnesses would confirm the news and then those witnesses would be the first to remove the evil from their gates.

- The turn around is that the people willing to bring the charge, would also receive the punishment if they were found to be dishonest!

- This is why the people from oldest to youngest refused to throw the first stones in John 8!

- "But what's the big deal?" One person has blasphemed the God of that community. This is a fully cognizant choice to rebel against the God of the covenant. This was the price to pay.

• Deuteronomy 17:8-13 : "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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously." : When a matter was too difficult for the conventional wisdom for the judges, who would you go to?

- In a theocratic government, you would go to the Priests and the Levites. Their judgment would stand and what they prescribed was demanded to be done to the very letter.

- There would be some who would presume to know better than the priest, or just simply disregard their word. Those who would not listen to God's Word were to be removed as an example.

• Deuteronomy 17:14-17 : "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,’ 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. 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.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself." : Fast forward 400 years and the people of Israel would call for a change in government, from a theocracy to a monarchy.

- Neither Moses nor God approve but the Lord regulates the perameters of their choice! First, they were only to have a King over them that God chose.

- This was not a democracy where men would endlessly campaign for the right to be the most popular! God's prophet would annoint God's handpicked selection.

- Second, He would be one of them, from the tribes of the nation of Israel. He was never to be a foreigner, unfamiliar with the covenant of God. He was to be rightly in covenant with God.

- Notice thirdly that the King was not to multiply horses nor return to Egypt for more horses. What's wrong with horses? What's wrong with Egypt that God told them not to return that way again?

- The point is that horses were the ancient technology of war and Egypt's military power would consistently be a temptation to trust in.

- The King was to lead the people of Israel in trusting in their God, not in stockpiling weapons and seeking treaties with the world!

- Fourth, the King was not multiply wives or gold and silver for themselves. Why Lord? Both would turn his heart away from his sacred duty to lead and to serve God's people!

- Being the King did not spell opportunity for one's self interest. A King was to put the Lord's interests over His own.

- This puts us in an interesting position, as we consider the multiplication of wives. God tells the people of Israel through Moses that this was not to happen.

- We know from the early parts of Genesis that monogamy is God's ideal for marriage. If that is the case, why not strictly prohibit polygamy in this verse?

- There are two explanations that need to be considered at this point. First, it is possible that the Lord gives this law as a measure of limitation.

- God knew that this would be societally en vogue for Kings to act this way, so He set forth a command that managed and limited the King's activities.

- The second explanation I believe is more true to the context. A king was not to multiply horses, which was current war technology of the time.

- In the same way, marriages to varying wives were political moves that would spell various treaties with other nations.

- There would be procreative activity, but not a spousal relationship as we think of it. Kings would increase their houses by multiplying wives.

- The point remains true: The King was not to use the Kingdom for his own gain! A King who would do that would open himself and God's Kingdom to possible ruin!

- Of course, in hindsight, we know that this was exactly what happened, as Solomon's wives did exactly this to Solomon and opened the door to an apostasy that would eventually expel Israel.

• Deuteronomy 17:18-20 : "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. 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, 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." : What a privilege for the King! He was to have his own personal copy of Deuteronomy or perhaps the whole Pentateuch in his possession.

- He was to have it with him and read it all the days of his life. The Word of God was to be the King's personal guide to life. He was to use it to teach him fear of the Lord.

- The Word of God is meant to inspire our reverance for God! When we read it, we are corrected and instructed and encouraged to follow.

- Additionally, the King was to study the Word so that He would understand that he was not above his brethren. The King was subject to God's Word, just as any common man would have been.

- The promise to him would be the same as it was to the common folk: If he obeyed it, straight, his days and rule would be prolonged.

• Deuteronomy 18:1-8 : "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. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord is their inheritance, as He said to them. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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. They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance." : The Levites were not given a portion in the land, but were given portions from the people that they served.

- With each sacrificed animal, they received pieces of the animal they could eat. They would receive oil, new wine, and clothing from the sheep.

- The Lord was thoughtful of their work and sought for the people to be accomodating.

• Deuteronomy 18:9-14 : "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. 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, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 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. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 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." : Throughout the books of Moses, you get the profile of the people of Canaan. They worshipped false deities, which centered themselves on occultic religion.

- Their occultic activity was filled with Satanism. God hates these religions. They were abominable, disgusting to Him.

- The list given here we would recognize as astrology, white magic, numerology, psychic intervention and communication with the dead via seances. Each one God hates!

- Is God afraid of a little open market competition? He doesn't hate it because it holds any sway against Him. He hates false religion because of what it does to people!

- The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy. That is His plan for every man, woman and child in his employ! These people were hurting their bodies and minds.

- They were raping their own conscience on a daily basis and wearing down their bodies in sin against the Lord. Beyond the spiritual consequence, sin is a horrible thing physically as well!

- God wanted the land clear of anyone that would draw people into that lifestyle again.

• Deuteronomy 18:15,16 : "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 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.’" : Why does God speak about a prophet now? Consider this: Why do people visit people who seek the "other side?" They want to hear the secret things of God!

- This is why they needed a prophet who could act as a mediator with God for them. Moses here predicts that God would send another!

• Deuteronomy 18:17-22 : "And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 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. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 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.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 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." : What a wonderful prophecy of Christ! He would lead perfectly for the Lord and the words that He speaks would have the greatest significance.

- He would speak directly from the Lord and the people would be judged according to His Word. They were to anticipate that. But they were also to test the prophets.

- Somewould come and say that they have spoken for God but had not. Only when that prophet had a 100% accuracy rating would it be from God.

- Otherwise, the people would let their prophecies fall on deaf ears.

Conclusion
- I'm not sure if you have realized it, but the entire section we have just examined, points clearly to Jesus who fulfills it all.

- In His Kingdom there will be just judgment and loyal citizens. He will be the sacrifice that allows His people entry and the One who receives their complete worship.

- Today, Jesus is our Prophet, whose words bring eternal significance. Today, He is our High Priest, interceding on our behalf. One day, we will stand before Him who is our Servant King!

 - This section is about Jesus from beginning to end, the One bridge to God!