A Year of Remission & Forbidden Practices

Transcript

GRS 54
6/26/1988
A Year of Remission & Forbidden Practices
Deuteronomy 15-18
Gil Rugh

We have come to Chapter 15 of Deuteronomy, there are three basic subjects covered in the Fifteenth Chapter, the sabbatical year for Israel, the matter of a Hebrew slave, and then the first born of flocks and herds. It begins with the sabbatical year, note verse 1; at the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. Now we’ve had teaching on the sabbatical year previously in the Pentateuch. Exodus Chapter 23 and Leviticus Chapter 25 talked about the sabbatical year and there the people were told that the land was not to be cultivated and nothing was to be planted in the seventh year.

It was a year of rest, so it’s a sabbatical year. It’s the seventh year and it is a year of rest for the land and in many ways for the people. Now it is also a year of remission, and that’s the new material that’s brought in Deuteronomy 15; in the seventh year all the debts were to be cancelled. Now this is the only place in the Pentateuch where this instruction is given, so if you as a Hebrew had incurred debts during the previous six years they would be cancelled and it start with the clean slate in the seventh year.

When it says that the end of every seven years that’s a Hebrew idiom which means during the seventh year so the entire seventh year is covered in what is said here. And this is the manner of remission; every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor. He shall not exact of his neighbor and his brother because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. So it’s very simple if we were Hebrews and I have loaned you money and it was the seventh year the debt would be cancelled.

Now that would be true no matter when it was loaned. The seventh year was on a schedule. So I might loan you something in the fifth year you would only have to pay on that in the fifth and six year and the seventh year would be wiped out. If you were loaned something in the first year, you would have to pay on it till the seventh year. Verse 3 "From a foreigner you may exact it, but from a fellow Hebrew you release him." So this does not apply to foreigners, does not apply to things loaned to non-Hebrews, just for the children of Israel.

"However there should be no poor among you since the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess". If only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. Now these verses have to be taken together, they make some good preaching for health and wealth kind of preaching, particularly verse 4 "There shall be no poor among you since the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as you inheritance to possess it.

Now you note this is directly applicable only to Israel, you cannot take this verse and say well that’s a promise to us as the church because we are not dwelling in the land of Palestine in fulfillment of the promises given to Israel. There will be no poor among you when the Lord blesses you in the land. Now secondly you have to connect this verse to verse 5. If only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God, observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. You have to recognize that because down in verse 11 we’re told the poor will never cease to be in the land.

Now he says in verse 4 there will be no poor among you and in verse 11 he says the poor will never cease to be among you. So it seems like he said two different things in a short span. Well reality is verse 11 for Israel because they won’t be obedient. If Israel had been obedient and submitted to the Lord, then everything would have been provided abundantly. We’ll be talking about a millennial kind of kingdom where there is no need or want, there would be no poor. Israel was not obedient and so poverty did characterize some of the people.

In verses 7 and 8 they needed to be ready to help the poor. Now you note here, what we’re talking about is loans that are to be repaid not gifts. If there is a poor man with you one of your brothers in any of your towns in your lands which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

So as Israel goes into the land and they come in contact with poor Israelites, maybe neighbor who’s come on hard times, the neighbor says could you loan me, such and such and a loan is made. Now you have to be sensitive say why should I loan to him, I am not in the mood to do any lending. So it’s not a gift but it is an obligation to lend him what he needs and he is obligated to repay it. That’s the principle in verses 7 and 8. "Beware lest there is a base thought in your heart, now here is what some of us think about when we read this so far. "Beware lest there is a base thought in your heat saying, 'The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,' your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, you give him nothing; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you.

"You shall generously give to him your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. Now naturally with a base thought, here is a poor man that wants to borrow for me and I think this is the sixth year next year I have to cancel that out. I’ll never get it back. I don’t think I’ll lend it to him that would be sin.

So you see the pattern is there. I will say well its only the first year we had the year of remission last year that was the sabbatical year, that’s alright I will lend it to him, he’ll pay it off in five years. So I won’t have to forgive the death. No it doesn’t matter when. Whenever I come in contact with this person I am be willing to lend him and God will bless the obedience of the people. The poor will never cease to be in the land.

Therefore I command you saying you shall freely open your hand to your brother to your needy and poor in your land. Now we don’t operate on the year of remission as believers. But the principle of helping the poor and the needy is carried over in the New Testament in a number of passages. So that Idea that we are to be sensitive to one another’s needs that we be ready to become involved and help. First John talks about if you see your brother in need and you close your heart to him, how does the love of God abide in your heart.

So the same idea being sensitive to the need of the fellow believers there the context is being willing to give to them, the New Testament, but the same idea of the desire to help them in their needs. This point that’s covered in verses 9 and 10 carries over in the New Testament as well, verse 10 "You shall generously give to him", over in Second Corinthians Chapter 9 in verse 7 the Apostle Paul exhorts us to be generous in our giving and to give gladly because God loves someone who gives with a cheerful heart. Your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him.

Now when Paul talks about our giving as believers in the church, we have to give with a glad heart, generously it’s to be a privilege. So the old and New Testament is concerned about the heart condition of the one who is doing the giving. Now the solution is not to say well my heart is not right, there’s no sense in giving it, it won’t do any good. No, I have to turn it around. I have to give it, so I ought to get my heart in line so that God will bless me in the giving.

Verses 12 to 18 talk about Hebrew slaves and the same principle is entailed. Hebrew slave would only serve for six years; in the seventh year he was to be set free. Now this is not the same as the sabbatical year because when a Hebrew went into slavery he had to serve for six years whenever it started. The sabbatical year covered in the first eleven verses ran on a calendar just like our week and you would know when the sabbatical year was coming and you could follow we’re in the third year or the fourth year.

But when a Hebrew went into slavery to another Hebrew that started the clock for him in his slavery he would serve for six years and be freed in the seventh. Verse 12 "If your kinsman a Hebrew man or women is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, in the seventh you shall set him free.” Exodus Chapter 12 talks about this same principle. And "When you set him free you shall not send him away empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

So if you would have been a Hebrew in the nation Israel and you would purchased another Hebrew to be your slave perhaps this person have come on hard time whatever he sold himself to be a slave. He would serve you for six years, in the seventh year you are obligated to give him his freedom. And when you give him his freedom you also had to now give him enough provisions so that he could get established and live now as a freeman otherwise slavery would become a perpetual institution in Israel.

If a person sold himself into slavery and serve for six years, and then we just set free he would have no way to get started again. So he’d have to sell himself back into slavery it would be perpetual slavery. So to rule out that possibility, you have the benefit of his service for six years. Now you are obligated to set him up in business so to speak give him from your herds and possessions so that he can get established. You don’t have to make him wealthy but you are obligated to provide for him.

Obviously if a Hebrew had enough resources to purchase slaves he was in a position to help someone else to get started. So Hebrew with Hebrew are dealt as family and that governs the way you relate to one another. Verse 15 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. God’s gracious dealing with them as a nation were to govern their relationships with one another.

So they were not to again be grudge to slave his freedom or the giving of possessions to this one who is now free because God had dealt with them graciously. The whole nation had been a nation of slaves in Egypt, God graciously redeemed them and all they had now had been graciously given them by God. They are now to turn around and manifest God’s character in their dealings with one another.

Same principle carries over in the New Testament, Ephesians 4:32 we’re to forgive one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us. Again it’s remembering how God is dealt with us so graciously that controls our relationships with one another within the family of God. Over in Second Corinthians Chapter 8 and verse 9 Chapter on giving principle is established verse 9 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.

So as Paul instructs them on their giving he says now remember your redemption in Christ, for the Israelites remember your redemption out of Egypt. For us in the New Testament now, remember your redemption in Christ and what Christ graciously did for you that you might have spiritual riches that should make us generous in dealing with one another. Same kind of guidelines for God’s children in the old and the New Testament as well.

Back at Deuteronomy 15 in verse 17, it deals with a case that about a slave, a Hebrew slave who was happy in his slavery? Now this might strike us strange but as you read the Old Testament you are aware that some slaves had very important positions in some homes and very nice positions and some slaves realized if they left that position of slavery, it was going to be a major step down. They might be in a position of authority over their masters household living quite comfortably and they would have hate to see the seventh year come well they had an option, they could chose to remain in slavery.

When that took place, then in verse 17 you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever you shall do likewise to your maidservant. So you note perpetual slavery was a termination of the individual slave if he was an Israelite. He could decide that he wanted to remain a permanent slave in this family. He’d been cared for well, he thought that this would best for him then he would commit himself to permanent slavery. And they took something like our ice pick and take him to the door, not so bad ladies get their ear pierced so men today. Put the ear lobe up and drive the ice pick into the door and he’s joined in effect to this household. The ear, where obedience, the symbol of obedience now is attached to this household, the door, the symbolic expression of I will be obedient in this household now permanently.

Verse 18 "It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do. There will be always the danger that some would be reluctant to free their Hebrew slaves in the seventh year after they had served for six years, God warns about the danger of selfishness and greed there.

Verses 19 to 23 talks about the first born of the flocks and herds and basically what is said here is the first born of the flocks and herds belongs to God. Remember, the principle God spared the firstborn of Israel in Egypt when the angel of death passed through the land, so as a perpetual reminder the first born belong to God and that’s the principle here verse 19. "You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

The herd, firstborn of the flocks and herds belong to God they can’t be used for normal purposes. Not used for personal benefit, business and so on. In verse 21, if has a defect such as lameness, blindness, serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. To offer anything less than the best to God is an insult to God. It is a way of defaming his name. Now this became a problem for Israel and again we can understand it fallen human beings that we are.

For Israel, wealth was in their herds; their lands and their herds were their wealth. Now here I have a flock and the firstborn is not perfect, it’s lame, it’s not good to me and we’re only going to sacrifice the firstborn anyway so the tendency is to offer God something that is less than the best. And I can rationalize and I can reason it away but when I do that I have insulted God. This became a problem with Israel.

Go to the last Book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi. Here you see what is happened to Israel a thousand years later as God brings judgment on his people. And you see his reflected when his people offered him less than the best. Malachi Chapter 1 verse 6 "A son honors his father, a servant his master then if I am a father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my respect?" Says the Lord of hosts to you, "O priests who despise my name, but you say, 'How have we despised your name?' You are presenting defiled food upon my altar"

"But you say, 'How have we defiled you?' In that you say, 'The table of the Lord is to be defiled' but when you present the blind for sacrifices is it not evil? When you present the lame and sick is it not evil? Why not offer it your governor? Would he be pleased with you, would he receive you kindly? "Says the Lord “But now, will you not entreat God's favor, that he may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will he receive any of you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts. "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you."

You know it’s easy for us as God's people to slide into the kind of attitude that at least God’s getting something he ought to be happy. We get the idea we are doing him a favor when we worship him. We’re doing him a favor when we give him some of our time, some of our material possessions. I mean it may not be much; it may not be all that it could be, but you ought to be happy he’s getting something. God never is unless it’s the absolute best given out of a worshipful heart it is totally rejected it becomes an insult. And we can understand this humanly speaking, there could be a situation where you could give a gift to honor a person but in that same situation you could insult that person by giving a certain kind of gift, it would be better to give no gift than to give a gift that would insult the person. That’s what God is saying here.

It would be better of someone lock the gates to the temple so that no one could come in and offer sacrifices because no sacrifice would be better than one that insults the living God and he reminds them of the greatness of his character in verse 11. You know as I read this I was impressed. When we fall in to this pattern you what happens down in verse 13 you also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' "You disdainfully sniff at it," says the Lord. "You bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive it from your hand?"

You know it goes hand-in-hand whether you are not offering what then should somehow it just becomes wearisome task to worship the Lord. Be honest now in your own mind, do you ever find yourself saying it’s wearisome to come with other believers and worship the Lord? It’s just too much trouble, it’s really tiresome and the only reason we do it is its sort of required to look good.

What would other believers think if we didn’t do it or show up. We realize the tragedy that Israel had slipped into. No longer did they stand in awe of their God as the one in verse 11 "From the rising of the sun even to its setting, my name will be great among the nations." To recognize the greatness of our God, these were the only of my complete devotion, member love him with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, I express that in giving him the very best that I can possibly give him and that keeps my worship alive.

Now the deterioration sets in I don’t love him with that totality of commitment then I begin to give him less than the best and it’s a downward spiral pretty soon it’s boring to worship God. Pretty soon I find it chore to come and offer worship to the living God. That’s were Israel came and God intervenes in judgment in their midst. Back in Deuteronomy Chapter 16 we come to the festivals for Israel. Anything that is going to take place on a regular basis overtime has the danger of becoming routine. And here we come to what’s called the festivals.

Three major festivals or pilgrimages for Israel, for these three feasts, the males in Israel were required to journey to the central sanctuary, later the temple when it’s built. Here it’s just described as the place that God appoints. Three times through the year there was a major feast or festival and all the males in Israel were required to come to the central sanctuary to the temple and there to worship God on that occasion.

Verses 1 to 8 talk about Passover and unleavened bread and we won’t talk about the details of these since we’ve looked at that previously. Passover and unleavened bread, Exodus Chapter 12, Leviticus 23, Numbers 28 all talk about Passover and unleavened bread. This is really one feast with two parts. Passover occurs on one day, then the next day begins the Feast of Unleavened bread and it runs for seven days. So here we have an eight day period here, one festival in two parts.

First Passover and then unleavened bread but it happens right together over in eight day period of time commemorating Passover in Egypt to deliverance of God's people the fact they left without leavening the bread. Then the feat of weeks in verses 9 to 12 and there are variety of names for the Feast of Weeks it’s called the Feast of Weeks because it was seven weeks after Passover, so the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks to be exact.

The New Testament its Pentecost; Acts Chapter 2 Pentecost the Greek word for fiftieth because it was fifty days after Passover seven weeks, forty-nine days then Pentecost the fiftieth day so it’s called Pentecost it’s also called the Feast of Harvest or first fruit and it’s celebrates God’s gracious provision in the harvest. Verses 13 to 15 you have the Feast of Booths and this is another harvest festival but its several months later when the produces harvested. So previously you had the grain that was harvested; now several months later you have the produce being harvested, you have the Feast of Booths.

It’s called the Feast of Booths because they constructed these leafy branched dwelling and lived in those for a period of seven days. You might be interested just to note that it’s the Feast of Booths that is the background for the Gospel of John Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10. So when you read there and you compare it with the feast in the Old Testament you will understand more some of the symbolism that Jesus is drawing on as he addresses the people during that feast time it was this Feasts of Booths. The men had to come to Israel for the observing of this.

Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29 also talk about it. Down to verse 16 and 17 tell you three times in a year all your male shall appear before the Lord your God in the place what he chooses at the feast of unleavened bread, at the feast of weeks and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty handed. Now the men were required to come. The women were allowed to come this does not exclude women but they were not required to come.

You can appreciate that with the home responsibilities there and so on. The men were required to come; the women were welcome to come. They had to bring with them an offering important that they did not come empty handed not because God needs anything this emphasized to Israel through the Old Testament God tells them he doesn’t need anything but they come because it’s an expression of their worship.

We do this when a man is in love with the women, what does he do? He gives her gifts. He wants to express that love to what he gives to her. So here we’re coming to worship our God in expression of our love. Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given you in verse 17. This same principles picked up in First Corinthians Chapter 16 in verse 2 in the first day of the week let each of you bring as God has prospered you.

So it becomes a personal matter, God does not set down and demand for every one because that would be more than some people could do and less than others ought to do. So as God has blessed you, your gift to God, your giving is an expression of your thanks to God for his blessings. Now keep in mind things haven’t changed, you know we give today in our material possession as an expression of our worship and thanks to God that goes to be used by human beings that was the same in the Old Testament I mean God didn’t eat the food, God didn’t use the material things given the priest did and others benefited from it. But the point was it was offered to God and God viewed it as given to him and that was the basic purpose and point here.

The rest of the Chapter beginning with verse 18 deals with the appointment of legal official’s verses 18 to 20 and then the matter of false worship in verses 21 and 22 we have something to say about that as we get into Chapter 17. Chapter 17 is talking about judgment and kings. The first 13 verses is on the administration of judgment in the nation, justice and carrying out judgment in the nation.

Then verses 14 to 20 are going to talk about the time when a king will be appointed in the nation, only time in the Pentateuch that you talk about a monarchy in Israel is in the last part of Chapter 17. But first on the administration of justice, the first verse of Chapter 17 goes with the last two verses of Chapter 16 and it gives guidelines for offering sacrifice for worshiping in the nation Israel.

And again it’s a reminder there can be no blemish in anything that is offered. Here’s a warning at the end of Chapter 16 on any syncretism in the worship. Verse 21 it told they don’t plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord, a symbol of pagan worship. Beside the altar of the Lord no, they are not doing with the altar of the Lord, the danger is they might bring in pagan practices and mix it in their worship. You have to be careful of that and offering anything less than the best to the Lord.

Verses 2 to 7, these verses on justice have to do with the administering of justice where there has been corruption of worship. So this matter of justice flows out of what he has said about our worship. There can be no corrupting and mixing of the worship of Jehovah with pagan ideas and God can only be given the best. Verses 2 to 7 what about those who are guilty of corruption in worship, they must be dealt with and dealt with rather firmly and severely.

If after careful examination they are found guilty they are executed. Chapter 13 also talks about similar kinds of ideas there’s no tolerance of false worship of any kind in Israel; execution is the penalty. The end of verse 7 "So you shall purge the evil from your midst "then verses 8 to 13 carry it more broadly be on just religious activity. What about ministering justice generally? There may be cases that are too difficult for the local courts to handle, to be handled in the individual areas. There is to be a central supreme court if you will. The chief priests will administer this court it’s the final court of appeal in Israel.

In verse 9 "You shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, you will enquire them they will declare to you the verdict in the case." And again you are required to submit to that anybody who doesn’t submit to the verdict of the Supreme Court is executed. So here is a way to resolve unresolvable conflicts or cases. They say we don’t know what to do in fact the appeal is made to the central sanctuary and to the ruling priest.

The purpose, the end of verse 12 again "Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel "that’s the same statement at the end of verse 7. The goal is the purity of God’s people. It seems rather severe, that’s why some people say the God of the Old Testament is a harsh God, but it’s revealing God’s character in justice and judgment. You shall purge evil from among the nation. Now God's intention is always been that his people be a manifestation of his purity that principles carried over in the New Testament.

In first Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 13 when it comes to the man living in incest what does God tell the Corinthians, "Purge the evil one from your midst, put him out, get rid of him. So they no longer function as a nation." We are not an earthly nation with the rights of capital punishment. So we cannot execute offenders but we have church discipline to maintain the purity of the body.

So you remove the offending one from your midst. You purge evil from among you because God’s plan for Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament is purity. It was a slide downward when Israel failed to maintain God’s standard, that’s true for the church today. And you can understand we have people who don’t want to carry out church discipline. What do you think it would be if we had to take them out in the parking lots and stone them to death, unpleasant?

You ever read a description of stoning, to take a person out and may be throw him over allege then you take a large boulder and the witness would take it and drop it on the guys chest. Then everybody would take stones and throw him at the person until he was dead. What an unpleasant way to die. You have to purge the evil from among the nation. And that’s the principle that we have for church discipline today. We are not a nation, so we don’t have the right of capital punishment as Israel did, but we have the responsibility as the people of God for purity in our midst.

Verse 13 of Chapter 17 says "Then all the people will hear and be afraid and will not act presumptuously again. In First Timothy Chapter 5 verse 20 we’re told that those who sin rebuke before all that the rest may be fearful. There is a reason that it’s handled this way. People learn from it and are then thus warned. Verses 14 to 20 talk about the rule of the king. There will come a time when Israel will want and earthly king. When you enter the land which Lord your God gives you and you posses it and live in it and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' then you shall surely set the king, a king over you whom the Lord your God shall chose. It had to be a fellow Israelite; it had to be one appointed by God.

First Samuel Chapter 8 that’s what happens. Israel wants a king like the nations have. It wasn’t good enough for Israel to be a theocracy, God as the king, now they want a monarchy, with an earthly ruler that they can see but that has some difficulties as well. As I mentioned this is the only place in the Pentateuch where the monarchy is referred to.

Interesting how this Chapter concludes in verses 18 to 20. It shall come up about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom he shall right for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priest. It shall be with him, he shall read it all the days of life that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left in order that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

A point there is by reading and saturating himself with the word of God he will be kept from the danger of kings and thus maintain godliness. And come to Chapter 18 two subjects Levites and prophets, Levites and prophets. The opening verses, the first eight verses deal with the Levites and then the rest of the Chapter deals with the prophets.

The Levites were divided into three families, Levi and three sons. The Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites. The Kohathites that was the family of Aaron and within the Kohathites the descendants of Aaron were the priestly line those were the only ones who could be priests but the rest of the Levites served as assistance to the priests and carried out temple or sanctuary related ministries. Back in Numbers Chapters 3 and 4 this is talked about.

Verse 2 "They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. The point here is that the Levites as a tribe would not inherit a portion of the land like the rest of the tribes. You can look at the map in the back of your Bible and you can see where all the tribes of Israel received a portion of land but the Levites received no allotted portion of land. They were to be sustained not by their working the land and raising flocks and herds but by the gifts of the people. The Lord is their inheritance. So they are taking care of by the gifts that are given to the Lord. They’ll have cities that are given to them for their use, portions of land that they can use because they will have animals because they will receive them as gifts but they have no allotted portion of land in the nation Israel.

Verse 3 "This shall be the priests' due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, and so on. In verse 4 "You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, your oil, the first shearing of your sheep. For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever. That principle then, that those who are standing and ministering in the name of the Lord are supported by the people of God, that principle is picked up by Paul in the New Testament and he draws the analogy with the Old Testament.

In First Corinthians Chapter 9 verses 13 and 14 he say that in the Old Testament those who ministered were supported by the people. So God has ordained to those who preach the Gospel should get their living from the Gospel. So again, the connection is made on the principle established here, even though we are all priest now in the New Testament there is still a recognition that among those are those that are serving God in a particular way that he is appointed and they are to be supported by the rest of the people.

Some people have failed to recognize just the way of group today say they ought not to be any paid ministry that is a denial of the priesthood of all believers. But that kind of thinking is a failure to recognize the teaching of First Corinthians Chapter 9, it seems again that it might be good logic but its bad theology principle that Paul draws from Deuteronomy Chapter 18.

In verses 9 to 22 you have a very important section dealing with the prophets in Israel. It begins by talking about how God is going to reveal himself and that’s what the subject of prophets is, how will God make his will known to his people. He’s going to deal with some negatives in verses 9 to 13. Here are ways that the people of God cannot find out the will of God and then he’ll talk about his appointed way of making himself known.

Forbidden practices verses 9 to 13, God's people are always confronted with the temptation to dabble in what they shouldn’t, to adopt the world’s practices. The point here is the will of God is not found by the means that the world uses. Verses 10 and 11 "There shall not be found among you,” the warning is not to imitate the detestable things of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, one who interprets omens, a sorcerer, one who casts a spell, a medium, a spiritists, one who calls up the dead.

It is a blanket prohibition against all kind of sipiritism and magic and attempting to discern the will of God and the fate of man and so on. It’s all ruled out by God. You know Israel had to battle with this, they had a difficulty. We are familiar with the case of Saul what did he do, he went to the medium who could call Samuel back that’s when it stretches your mind when Samuel appears.

Whatever the explanation Saul dies for it because he had crossed the line that God forbidden it doesn’t matter whether Samuel comes up or not, there’s nothing said here about whether there is any true spiritual activity that occurs, can you find out anything from a spiritists to a medium that’s a non-issue. Sometimes we as believers say well you know it seems like what they said came true. That ought to scare you all the more because there are spirits out there who can do some amazing things just we as believers are not allowed to dabble there.

Look over in Isaiah Chapter 8, Isaiah and the eighth Chapter verse 19 "When they to you "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word it is because they have no dawn, no light. How ridiculous that the people of God should be looking to the dead to get some insight. You go to your God and that’s what the purpose of a prophet is.

I want you to note something; back in Deuteronomy 18 in verse 9 you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. Then down in verse 12 whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these detestable things. It’s not only the practices that are detestable but the people who do them are also detestable.

I think we need to be very careful in separating sin and the sinner. Now we sometimes do this and we say loves the sinner and he hates the sin, I understand what we are trying to say I don’t believe its good theology. And here’s an example, the things that are done are detestable and the people who do them are detestable. God hate sin and he hates the sinner, now I am aware that God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son. I am also aware that, that would include men like Esau but Esau I have hated, Jacob I have loved. You cannot disassociate sin and the sinner.

If there were no sinners on this earth, there would be no sin did you realize that? Sin is not some inanimate, intangible fog that floats around. Sin resides within the heart of sinful people. The rocks don’t rebel against God, the trees don’t rebel against God, but you and I rebel against God. So just be careful we should not separate sin and the sinner, they are detestable things and the people who do those detestable things are detestable before God. God hates sin and he hates people who practice sin but in his grace he’s provided redemption for them in love, remarkable.

These practices, we need to be very careful of they begin to infiltrate. I’ve been doing some reading in the last couple of weeks on the New Age Movement. And many of these things from the occult have permeated what is called the New Age Movement it’s becoming so popular on so many fronts today. I was reading an article it was saying that believers are concerned about secular humanism but it is being washed away by the New Age Movement and the idea that we’re not going to do away with God because we are God and that is the basic thing being taught today by many. And some believers are being caught up with some of the facets of this New Age Movement. We need to be very careful the occult mediums all these kinds are taking place an important part and so it seems like well nobody does this today and we find in our educated society, many people are flocking after these kinds of ideas.

God’s plan is that his people learn about him from him. So that’s the point beginning in verse 14 God’s plan was to send us spokesman, that spokesman would say the words of God. You know we don’t take the imitative, God takes the initiative. I don’t go try to find someone who can raise the dead and tell me about life after death, I have a spokesman from God come with the word of God and he tells me. Of course the message of the prophets now as what we have as our Bible.

Verse 15 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” "This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die' and the Lord said "They have spoken well I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you. I will put my words in his mouth,” that’s a prophet. My words in his mouth God says as my spokesmen. "He shall speak to them all that I command him.”

This man, verse 15 would be like Moses, this prophet. There were prophetesses as well as you know. They would have God’s word in their mouth they would speak forth the word of God. The word prophet here is used in a singular but it’s a singular that is a collective form encompasses all the prophets and the word king was used this way back in Chapter 17 of Deuteronomy. A king, referring to all the kings that would come and you can see that because down at the end of the Chapter verse 20, 21, 22 you have to discern which prophets are true and which are not. So we are talking about more than one prophet ultimately.

All the prophets who will come, this will be God's means for addressing his people prophets, his spokesmen that’s how we got out Old Testament, that’s how we got our New Testament. The spokesmen of God got a message from God spoke it forth recorded it down and that is the message from God.

Now the ultimate fulfillment of this prophesy in verse 15 is taken in New Testament and applied to Christ. He is the ultimate fulfillment because he is the word of God, he is God’s supreme revelation to man. Note the way the Book of Hebrews opens up, in many ways and in many forms God spoke in days gone by but in these last days he has spoken to us in one who is a son. It’s a supreme means of communication the son. So the ultimate fulfillment of this according to Acts 3 20 to 22 Peter in his second sermon takes this verse quotes it and says it’s fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

So all the prophets through the Old Testament that were making God known find their full realization in Jesus Christ who is the clear declaration of God the most full and complete revelation of God that has ever been given. Now interestingly this prophesy was taken later by some Jews and they thought there would be two persons coming, they thought they would be a messiah coming and they thought the prophet would be coming.

So in the Gospel of John for example some of the Jews said they thought he was the prophet referring to the prophet that Moses talked about distinct from the Messiah but we know from the New Testament we’re talking about one person the Messiah who would be God’s spokesmen. At Horeb in verse 16 you remember of Mount Sinai when God thundered from the mountain to people who pulled back and said tell God to speak to you Moses and we’ll hear from you what God had to say. That is the foundation for the prophet’s ministry rather than God speaking from heaven to all of us, he speaks through his spokesmen. Now for us today he’s not speaking to men directly because the prophet’s message has been written down and we study the revelation of God as was given to the prophets.

Verses 20 to 22, as we draw to a conclusion, false prophets were an ongoing problem for the nation Israel. There were always those who came and claim to be genuine and were not. And Israel was to be very careful in examining the prophets and putting them to the test. We saw this back in Chapter 13. So if a prophet came and prophesied and what he said came true but he led people away from the living God execute him. Now here a test is of a prophet gives a prophesy and it doesn’t come true he is not genuine execute him.

So he had to be one who came n the name of the Lord and spoke the truth to be a genuine prophet. If he spoke something and it did come true but he didn’t lead people after God, he was false. If he came and spoke in the name of the Lord supposedly but what he said didn’t come true he was false. So they have to be very careful to examine the people who came to them. Again things haven’t changed. You see what happens, God says here is my means of communicating, what is Satan immediately do, come up with counterfeits. Now here a prophet coming and saying I am a prophet from God we say now how in the world am I going to tell. Well, you have to measure them in light of what God has said.

Turn over to New Testament just a few passages as we conclude. Second Peter Chapter 2, second Peter Chapter 2 verse 1, but false prophets also arose among the people just as there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Same kind of danger faces us is faced them. False prophets also arose among the people there will be false teachers among you we can be sure of it. We need to be very, very discerning.

Over in Jude verses 3 and 4 beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. Ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

And one other passage Revelation Chapter 2 verse 20 Jesus addresses the church at Thyatira. There’s some good things about this church but he says to them in verse 20 of Chapter 2 of Revelation "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. The church was guilty as well as Jezebel; why? They tolerated it.

So again we have to be very careful, we have the word of God. We need to sift through. It’s not good enough that they come on televisions or the radio or whatever and seem to be so appealing. I need to be very careful, remember Satan masquerades as an angel of light. And if he does it, think of its workers they are very deceitful. For Israel God’s intention for them, purity as a nation. For us today, God’s intention for us, purity as a nation.

You realize how important this is to the heart of God. How many times we’ve said this through our studies in the Old Testament, holiness among God's people that’s the point he keeps driving home. What does he say so many times in so many ways because we constantly want a view to decide, we constantly want to ease off, get our eyes on other things, and we as the people of God are called back to purity in our walk and holiness in our life.