Old Testament - Deuteronomy 18 - May 18, 20200

 5/18/2022 - Deuteronomy 18

In chapter 15 the Lord told the Israelites to strive to be holy, to care for the poor, and to remember His blessings. Doing this would bring them closer to the Lord, and their lives would be filled with good purposes and with the ability to grow in goodness. In chapter 18, He tells them of the problems they will have to face if they ignore His commandments, and if they do the opposite of the commandments He has given them.

The Lord has called the tribe of Levi to be the priests in Israel, and He has explained the work the priests will do. He then tells the eleven other tribes that because the Levites are serving them, ministering to them, and helping them in their worship, that they will need to care for the Levites by providing their food.

Next the Lord warns them to stay clear of the bad things that the Canaanites have been practicing: spiritualism, divination, enchanters, witchcraft, charmers, consulting with familiar spirits, and even forcing their children to “pass through the fire” (v’s 9-11)…for those things “are an abomination unto the Lord”.  Instead they are to strive to “be perfect with the Lord thy God.” ( V 13)  

Being perfect is more than difficult, but that is why we always have access to Christ’s atonement. The scriptures tell us that we cannot reach perfection here on earth, but we can become a bit better with every day that we go through and end that day by going to the Lord in prayer and asking for His help in correcting our mistakes of our day. We don’t just discuss the mistakes we have made, but we must also follow that up by trying our best to fully follow the promptings the Lord will give us. I have come to realize that daily scripture study really helps me in my efforts to be humble and to live as closely as I can to God’s commandments.

In verses 18-20 the Lord then promises that He will “raise them up a Prophet” like unto Moses. He is telling us of the future’s coming of Christ, and of His mission, and that we are to always and forever to follow His words.


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