Chapter Eighteen
Providing for the Priests and Levites
18:1 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD’s food offerings as their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for all time.
The tribe of Levi had no regional land inheritance (no territories or large area of land, just cities and limited farmland around those cities). The people of Israel were to supplement and provide food for the priests and other Levites through some of the offerings, sacrifices, and gifts offered to YHWH (see Numbers 18:8-9). The priests were to receive the shoulder, the two cheeks (Hebrew ‘leḥā·yǎ’·yim’,[1] meaning jaws, here plural form is used which would refer to both cheeks) and the stomach of an ox or sheep. Plus, the priests are to receive the firstfruits of their grain, wine, oil, and the first fleece shorn from sheep. Moses reminds them that the priests were chosen from all the people of Israel to be their liaison and minister to them in the name of YHWH.
18:6 “And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, where he lives—and he may come when he desires—to the place that the LORD will choose, 7 and ministers in the name of the LORD his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the LORD, 8 then he may have equal portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.
Any Levite can choose to serve God at the Tabernacle (or later the Temple) and assist the other Levites there, if they do, they are eligible to have equal portions to eat in addition to what they might receive from their family inheritance.
Don't Be Lured into Following Any Abominable Practice
18:9 “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.
Moses offers another warning to the people of Israel to avoid doing anything that God has identified as being an abominable practice. The people that were currently inhabiting the land that God promised to the Israelites practiced many vile and despicable rituals and actions, including burning their children as an offering, divination (Hebrew ‘qesā·mîm’,[2] the pagan practice of examining omens to determine future),[3] fortune telling (Hebrew ‘me’ô·nēn’,[4] soothsaying, divining, magic, etc.),[5] omen interpretation (Hebrew ‘menǎ·ḥēš’,[6] the practice of observing omens to seek knowledge),[7] sorcery (Hebrew ‘meḵǎš·šēp’,[8] referring to practicing magic),[9] being a charmer (Hebrew ‘ḥō·ḇēr[10] ḥā’·ḇěr’,[11] to conjure or cast a spell), being a medium (Hebrew ‘šō·’ēl’[12] ôḇ’,[13] being a vessel for or the caller of a spirit), necromancer (Hebrew ‘yid·de’ō·nî’,[14] a familiar spirit, conjurer, or wizard) or one that talks (Hebrew ‘ḏō·rēš’[15], to seek, to inquire) with the dead. Even though most of these terms are similar and many could easily be synonyms for each other, it appears that the precision was necessary, perhaps, if nothing else, to avoid any confusion or potential excuse. They were all considered abominable to YHWH, which is why He was driving them out of the land. The people of Israel were to be, and remain, blameless before God. They were not to be like the people who are going to be removed from the land, as they listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, a practice they are not allowed to do.
A Prophet like Moses is Coming
18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
In the previous section Moses told them that they were not allowed to seek fortune-tellers or diviners. Instead, they are to listen only to God and His prophets. Moses tells the people that God will provide another prophet like him from among the people of Israel. When that prophet arrives, they are to listen to him the same way they listen to Moses, as God will provide the words for the prophet to speak. Anyone that does not listen or obey this prophet will be considered the equivalent of disobeying God.
But how will the people know if someone is truly a prophet of God? They are to test what any person claiming to be speaking for God says, if the words are true or if what they say comes to pass, they are to be considered a prophet. If what they say is a lie or does not come true, they are to disregard what they hear. If a supposed prophet presumes to speak in the name of YHWH or speaks in the name of any false god, they are to be killed. Paying for a lie with death may seem excessive to some, however, understand that speaking for God, regardless if well-intended or not, is an extremely serious matter. If someone states incorrectly the will of God and someone acts on that information, it would be considered a problem with God, not the messenger. Plus, since prophecy in general separates all other living beings (angels and human) from God, as He alone knows the future, it could be considered God’s signature.[16]
The question of who Moses is referring to as “a prophet like me,” has been the source of great debate and controversy. Since the word ‘prophet’ in verse 15 and the following language in this section refer to a single prophet, many believe that Moses is referring to a unique individual that will rise and become a leader of the people of Israel like Moses. However, looking back in history there does not seem to be any single individual that stands out or meets this criterion. Although through the years many have suggested several names that accepted the role of being a leader of Israel, including Joshua, some of the judges, Samuel, David, etc. Many even consider it to be a reference to the coming Messiah; Christians often point to Jesus, while the Muslims point to Muhammad.
Some argue that since the language in these verses is like Deuteronomy 17:14-20, that refer to a singular phrasing which includes several kings, and Deuteronomy 18:6 using a singular ‘Levite’ to refer to all Levites, that Moses could be referring to all future leaders and prophets of Israel that were sent by God.
But there is one clue that is often overlooked, that is the word ‘like’ (Hebrew ‘kām’,[17] something that is like something, or in this case, someone else). Like Moses. Who is like Moses? Moses was truly a unique individual; no words can be used to simply capture who he was or how God interacted with him. He was indeed special, and he was a lot more than just a prophet[18]. The answer to this puzzle might be easier to solve if we “flip the equation” and ask who was like Moses. He was indeed a model of the coming Messiah and shared at least 75 similarities with Jesus Christ (see Appendix 3). The prophet the people of Israel were to obey appears to be Jesus.
Considerations
The test outlined above to test prophets is also valid to test for false teachers, minus the killing part of course! The Bible is the subject of thousands of conversations, preachings, and teachings every day. Sadly, there are also thousands of interpretations being presented, as well, which begs the question, is there more than one way to interpret Scripture? No.[19] The only correct interpretation of God’s Word is how He meant it to be interpreted. So, why are there so many interpretations? The quick answer is, they all believe their interpretation is based on the correct understanding.
Christianity is no different than any other discipline such as science or math, as one error can easily cascade into several misleading suppositions, or one incorrect assumption can become an intellectual barrier. Regardless of the type of error, the ramifications remain the same, it may prevent someone from hearing the truth about God and His plan of salvation through Jesus.
With so many religions, denominations, philosophies, and varied opinions, how can someone know their interpretation is the truth? If the interpretation can stand the test of time, there is a good chance that it may be true. For example, we read that the Prophet Jeremiah stated that the people of Israel would be held in captivity for seventy years and they were indeed captive in Babylon for seventy years. In that example we also see that there was no need to allegorize, seventy years meant seventy years. Sometimes it is not as simple as that, especially if the interpretation concerns something that has yet to occur. That is why it is important to study the Bible for ourselves, by evaluating and closely examining every word. We should not accept a presupposition or interpretation blindly from anyone. When we die, we can’t point to, or blame, a theologian, or a church leader for the way we think, we will be responsible for our own actions and ideas. Remember what the apostle Paul noted about the Bereans, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)[20]
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 3895.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7081.
[3] See commentary under Numbers 23:18-24.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 6049.
[5] See commentary under Leviticus 19:26-28.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 5172.
[7] See commentary under Genesis 30:25-28; 44:3-6; Numbers 23:18-24.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 3784.
[9] See commentary under Exodus 7:10-12.
[10] Strong’s Hebrew 2266.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 2267.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 7592.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 178.
[14] Strong’s Hebrew 3049.
[15] Strong’s Hebrew 1875.
[16] See Considerations under Genesis 9:28 regarding prophecy.
[17] Strong’s Hebrew 3644.
[18] See Considerations under Exodus 25:38-40 and commentary under Exodus 40:33.
[19] See Considerations under Genesis 1:1.
[20] See also Considerations under Genesis 23:19-20.