OVERVIEW:
Warnings against following other gods; clean and unclean animals; seven-year release; bond servants; three feasts; civil judgments; kings.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
If you’ve ever wondered just how JEALOUS our Lord is for the undivided ATTENTION of the MINDS of His people and the undivided AFFECTION of the HEARTS of His people, look no further than Deuteronomy 13! If you’ve ever wondered just how ZEALOUS Satan is to divert the minds and hearts of God’s people away from Him, again, we need not look further than Deuteronomy 13! This chapter lets us know that Satan will go to great lengths to counterfeit and falsify the word of God through his own false prophets in an attempt to move the hearts of God’s people from solely loving, worshipping, and obeying Him. Notice that God warns the children of Israel that this deception can arise from three main sources. (Note, also, that it is precisely these three deceptive sources for which God’s people are vulnerable and need to be warned in the 21st century!)
- From someone performing signs and wonders. Historically and biblically, miracles, signs, and wonders have had a place in the purposes of God. However, in and of themselves, they have never been the ultimate test of truth. (Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7) Keep in mind that after the rapture of the church, 2nd Thessalonians 2:9–10 explains that Satan, in the person of the antichrist, will dazzle the world with “all power and signs and lying wonders, and all deceivableness of unrighteousness!” (Also, see Revelation 12:9; 16:14)
- From someone using the intimacy of their relationship to draw people away from the Lord. (Such as a family member, a relative, or close friend.)
- From being drawn away by a foreign philosophy of life and/or foreign practices of worship.
Recognize that this isn’t just an Old Testament phenomenon. In the middle of the 1st century, the Apostle Paul was concerned that the people of the church in Colossae would be deceived by the enticing words and/or empty philosophies of men (Colossians 2:4–8), and that the people of the church in Corinth might likewise be beguiled by the subtlety of Satan through “his ministers”. (2nd Corinthians 11:3, 15a) Notice, also, that this wasn’t just a 1st century phenomenon either! Be it known that Satan’s “ministers of righteousness” (2nd Corinthians 11:15b) are also alive and well in the 21st century!
Just who might these “false prophets” be in our world today? Just who are these “ministers of Satan” who appear to be speaking for God, but in the process of their “ministry”, are actually turning people to follow and serve other gods? One good place to begin looking are with those who “in the name of God”, are turning people away from Him to serve the god of “money” (1st Timothy 6:10), the god of “self” (2nd Timothy 3:2), the god of “pleasure” (2nd Timothy 3:4), and/or the god of “this present evil world” (2nd Timothy 4:10; Galatians 1:4)! There’s a bunch of ’em, y’all!
Deuteronomy 13 also lets us know how un-permissive, incompliant, and vengeful God is toward any person Satan is able to use for such purposes, and/or any person who falls prey to their deception! Moses tells them that when they come into the promised land, if there is ever any person who is seeking to turn people away from loving and following the one true God, they are to be immediately killed, regardless of whether it be a family member, or a friend with whom they were joined in the soul! Wow! I’d say God is pretty serious about how He feels about the divided allegiance and affection of His people!
God goes on to explain that once they came into the land, if there ever was a city that had hearkened unto one or more of these Satanic prophets and had begun serving other gods, the children of Israel were to come into that city and completely annihilate every person and every animal, and then gather together all of the contents and goods of the city into a big heap, burn them to the ground along with everything else in the city, and allow the ruins to forever be a reminder that there is one Lord in Israel, and Him only shalt thou serve! (Deuteronomy 5:9) “Behold the…severity of God!” (Romans 11:22)
As we move into chapter 14, Moses reminds the children of Israel that as God’s people, He intends for them to stand out from the other nations of the world because of their relentless surrender to personal holiness. (14:2) He gives clear instruction that they are not to worship like the rest of the world worships (14:1), and that even their dietary practices were to be different (peculiar) from the rest of the world. (14:3–21) The list of clean and unclean animals would separate the children of Israel from the other inhabitants of the land. Because the blood could not be removed from an animal that died of itself, the children of Israel were not to eat an animal that had already died. Notice that others could eat these animals, but not the chosen, separate people of Israel. Once again, remember that they are a picture of the individual believer! We, too, are a chosen people who have been called to be separate and holy (Titus 2:14; 1st Peter 2:9). There may be practices that are socially and culturally accepted, that have no place in the life of God’s people.
The tithe in 14:22 is the second tithe that is commanded of the people. (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26) This tithe is a tenth of the yearly increase of their fields. It was to be brought to the place of offering that the Lord had chosen. A portion was to be eaten with rejoicing to be a reminder that everything comes from the blessing of the Lord. Notice, also, that at the end of this chapter, God also established a tithe that was to be collected once every three years to create what might be called a “welfare system” to support the fatherless, the widows, and the “strangers” (foreigners) who had no land upon which to grow food or derive an income.
Chapter 15 provides added instruction to the requirements regarding the infamous “seventh year” described in Exodus 23 and Leviticus 25. Not only was the land to rest in the seventh year, but debts were to be forgiven as well! God wanted to make sure that in this new theocratic nation (a nation whose Supreme Ruler is God), the poor and the needy were never taken advantage of, or brought under the yoke of bondage to others. The Lord reminds the children of Israel of how they were in bondage in Egypt; and how He had released and redeemed them. When Israel came into the land of promise, God wanted to be sure that His treatment of Israel was to become the standard by which they treated others who were being oppressed. In 15:7–15, Moses lays out God’s instruction concerning generosity to the poor. Oh, may we never forget our Lord Jesus Christ’s generosity toward us when we were spiritually poor!
Chapter 15 ends with instruction concerning the consecration of the firstborn males of the herd or flock. Moses tells them that they were to be sanctified, or “set apart”, for the Lord. Note, that if the animal was to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord, it necessitated that it be completely “without blemish” because it is an obvious picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who was “a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1st Peter 1:19)
In chapter 16, God reminds the children of Israel to be sure they continued the observance of the passover even after they came in to the land. The passover served as a reminder to Israel that their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt was through the blood of the passover lamb. It is the Old Testament equivalent of the memorial feast our Lord instituted in the upper room with His disciples the night before His death. That memorial feast, that we now refer to as the Lord’s Supper, serves as a reminder to us that our deliverance from the bondage of Egypt (sin and the world) was through the blood of the true Passover lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ! (1st Corinthians 5:7)
Note that there are actually three feasts that are described in chapter 16. The first is the passover, followed by seven days of the feast of unleavened bread. The second is the feast of weeks (sometimes referred to as the feast of harvest—Exodus 23), later to be known as pentecost. A freewill offering is to be given “according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.” (16:10) The third feast is the feast of tabernacles (sometimes referred to as the feast of ingathering, or feast of booths in Exodus 23; Leviticus 23; Numbers 29). This, again, is a time of giving and rejoicing. (16:15)
In 16:18–20, Moses provides instruction concerning the selection of judges and officers. Like God, judges were not to be a “respecter of persons”, nor were they to receive gifts from people. God wanted those holding these positions in Israel to be completely free to “judge righteous judgment”. (John 7:24) The chapter concludes (16:21–22) with a further admonition concerning idolatrous worship, and specifically, taking up the pagan practices of idol worship in groves of trees. God didn’t want any worldly or idolatrous practices anywhere near His altar of sacrifice and worship!
Chapter 17 gives statutes concerning the discovery and investigation of idol worship. (17:2–7) Those who were found guilty of worshipping and/or serving other gods were to be put to death. Implementing the death sentence, however, required the witness of two or more witnesses, and those witnesses must be the first ones to administer the punishment. At the end of 17:7, God explains that the reason for such harsh punishment was to rid Israel of evil.
In 17:14–20, God gives instructions for the selection of and duties of a king. At this time, God alone was Israel’s King, but He knew that in time to come, they would want a physical, tangible king like the other nations of the world. (This prophecy would come to pass some 400 years after being in the land!) God said He would concede to their wishes for a king, but said He wanted to reserve the right to be the One to choose him. God further instructed that a king in Israel must be chosen from among the children of Israel (no foreigners!) He also commanded that kings refuse to multiply to themselves: horses, wives, silver, and gold. To ensure that each king in Israel completely understood what God had written in His law, he was required to write his own copy of the law, and read it every day of his life, so that he would fear the Lord, keep His words, and do them, so that his heart wouldn’t be lifted up, and so his days could be prolonged. Oh, if only Israel’s kings would have heeded these admonitions! As those who have been made “kings” by the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:6; 5:10), we would do well to carefully consider the spirit of these instructions!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As THE UNBLEMISHED SACRIFICE – Deuteronomy 15:21 (1st Peter 1:19; 2nd Corinthians 5:21)
As THE PASSOVER LAMB – Deuteronomy 16:1 (John 1:29, 36; Revelation 5:12)
As THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE – Deuteronomy 16:18; 17:8 (Revelation 19:11; Romans 14:10)