Reflections on Deuteronomy 18

Deuteronomy 18 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The people of the Levi tribe, including the priests, will not receive any land. Instead, they will receive part of the sacrifices that are offered to the LORD,
   
2. because he has promised to provide for them in this way.
   
3. When you sacrifice a bull or sheep, the priests will be given the shoulder, the jaws, and the stomach.
   
4. In addition, they will receive the first part of your grain harvest and part of your first batches of wine and olive oil. You must also give them the first wool that is cut from your sheep each year.
   
5. Give these gifts to the priests, because the LORD has chosen them and their descendants out of all the tribes of Israel to be his special servants at the place of worship.
   
6. Any Levite can leave his hometown, and go to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped,
   
7. and then be a special servant of the LORD there, just like all the other Levites.
   
8. Some Levites may have money from selling family possessions, and others may not. But all Levites serving at the place of worship will receive the same amount of food from the sacrifices and gifts brought by the people.
   
9. Soon you will go into the land that the LORD your God is giving you. The nations that live there do things that are disgusting to the LORD, and you must not follow their example.
   
10. Don't sacrifice your son or daughter. And don't try to use any kind of magic or witchcraft to tell fortunes or to cast spells or to talk with spirits of the dead.
    
11. (SEE 18:10)
    
12. The LORD is disgusted with anyone who does these things, and that's why he will help you destroy the nations that are in the land.
    
13. Never be guilty of doing any of these disgusting things!
    
14. You will go in and take the land from nations that practice magic and witchcraft. But the LORD your God won't allow you to do those things.
    
15. Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says.
    
16. You were asking for a prophet the day you were gathered at Mount Sinai and said to the LORD, "Please don't let us hear your voice or see this terrible fire again--if we do, we will die!"
    
17. Then the LORD told me: Moses, they have said the right thing.
    
18. So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said.
    
19. Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn't obey the message will have to answer to me.
    
20. But if I haven't spoken, and a prophet claims to have a message from me, you must kill that prophet, and you must also kill any prophet who claims to have a message from another god.
    
21. You may be asking yourselves, "How can we tell if a prophet's message really comes from the LORD?"
    
22. You will know, because if the LORD says something will happen, it will happen. And if it doesn't, you will know that the prophet was falsely claiming to speak for the LORD. Don't be afraid of any prophet whose message doesn't come from the LORD.
    

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    In this chapter Moses spoke to three concerns: provision for the Levitical priests, avoidance of the detestable customs of the Canaanites, and listening to God's prophet.
    
    Concerning provision for the Levites, this was another reminder that the Levites would not receive an inheritance of land as would all the other tribes of Israel. They were dependent on the offerings of the people for their sustenance. The Israelites were not to forget this.
    
    Neither was this the first time Moses had emphasized to the people the importance of avoiding the detestable customs of the Canaanites. But it could not be said too much. Their future was dependent on it. These customs included child sacrifices, divination, omens, sorcery, casting spells, consulting mediums, etc.  All were practices aimed at manipulating their so-called gods for their own purposes. There was no understanding among these people of a loving God who was sovereign and related personally with His people for their good. Nor of a people who responded to their God in love and obedience. Instead, the the Canaanite concept of their gods was of capricious beings who held certain powers that they could unlock for their benefit through certain manipulations. But rather than unlock the powers of their gods, they locked themselves in Satan's power. Israel was to stay clear of any such practices.
    
    To this point, Moses had been the voice of God to the Israelites. He had served as both prophet and priest in the beginning and later as just prophet. This role as prophet had been at the request of the people at Sinai. They feared direct contact with God saying, "Let us not continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!" (18:16) God responded by saying, "They have spoken well. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers." (18:17, 18) This spoke not only of raising up successors to Moses but also of the future Messiah who would be the ultimate spokesperson for God and Mediator for the people.
    
    If men were speaking on behalf of God, how were they to know if they were truly God's appointed prophets? Moses gave them two criteria of a true prophet: first, his message would not contradict God's word given them in His covenant nor would he try to pull them away from God, and second, the message they spoke would come true. They were to listen to the proclaimed prophets, they were to discern whether they spoke truth, and they were to obey as if the Lord had spoken to them Himself, for He had. The Lord would "hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name." (18:19)