Deuteronomy 17-18

Intro:

Elected leaders, not hereditary rulers, govern democratic nations today; but in ancient times, kings and emperors ruled nations and empires with despotic authority.

But Israel was different from the other nations, for the law of the Lord was the “cement” that united the twelve tribes.

The Levites, who were scattered throughout the land, taught the people God’s law, and the priests and judges saw to it that the law was enforced justly.

The Israelites had to bring their tithes and sacrifices to the central sanctuary, and three times each year all the adult males assembled there to celebrate the goodness of the Lord.

Jehovah was King in Israel (Ex. 15:18; Jud. 8:23) and He sat “enthroned between the cherubim” (Ps. 80:1) in the holy of holies.

Tonight we are going to look submitting to that kind of rule

Read Deut 17:8-13

I. Going to Court vs. 8-13

In each town there was a process for dealing with legal issues

The would go to the city gate and the elders would deal with the issues

God had given them specific laws for how to deal with them

Last we saw that there had to be 2-3 witnesses to convict

If someone was going to get stoned then the witnesses had to cast the first stone

Many times, the local judges and courts would have to consider cases that were complicated and perplexing and too difficult for them to settle

To assist the local officials, the Lord would establish a central “court” at His sanctuary where the priests and Levites would share their wisdom and explain the law of God.

In Israel, God’s law was national law, and the best ones to interpret and apply the law were the priests and Levites.

This “sanctuary court” was not a court of appeals where a convicted person could seek a second trial

It was a court that tried cases carefully and whose decisions were authoritative and binding.

If someone tried to ignore the ruling they were to be purged

This was done to prevent people from acting “presumptuously” again

II. Laws Concerning Kings vs. 14-20

The Lord knew that the day would come when Israel would ask for a king because they wanted to be like the other nations (1 Sam. 8).

During the time of the Judges, the political and spiritual unity of the twelve tribes deteriorated greatly , and Israel was in constant danger of invasion by their enemies .

Instead of trusting God, the people wanted a king who would build an army and lead the nation to victory.

Unfortunately, the spiritual leadership in Israel had decayed and Samuel’s sons weren’t following the ways of the Lord (8:1–5).

But the main cause for Israel’s cry for a king was their desire to be like the other nations.

Yet Israel’s great distinction was that they were not like the other nations! They were God’s chosen people, a kingdom of priests, and God’s special treasure

1 Samuel 8:4-8 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Israel was insistent that they have a king like other nations

Imitating the world instead of trusting the Lord has always been the great temptation of God’s people, and each time they’ve succumbed, they’ve suffered.

Even though the king would oppress them, unlike how God has blessed them

God allowed it but was insistent that He choose the king and they couldn’t be a foreigner

Israel’s first king was Saul (1 Sam. 9–10), but God never intended Saul to establish a royal dynasty in Israel.

Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, but Judah was the royal tribe (Gen. 49:8–10), and the Messiah would come from Judah.

Actually, Saul was given to the people to chasten them because they rejected the Lord (1 Sam. 8:7), for God’s greatest judgment is to give His people what they want and let them suffer for it.

God also said they couldn’t acquire many horses

Israel’s king must also put his full trust in the Lord and not depend on

horses and armies (Deut. 17:16),

foreign alliances based on marriage

material wealth

King Solomon violated all three of these regulations and it led him and the nation into sin.

He married an Egyptian princess (1 Kings 3:1), the first of many political alliances he made by taking foreign wives

He went back to Egypt not only for a wife but also for horses for his army, and built “chariot cities” in Israel where he stabled his horses and chariots

As for his wealth, it was fabulous and impossible to calculate

III. Provision for Priests vs. 1-8

The church of Jesus Christ is a priesthood (1 Peter 2:5, 9), but the nation of Israel had a priesthood.

All the priests and Levites were descendants of Levi, Jacob’s third son by Leah. Levi had three sons—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari—and Aaron and Moses were from the family of Kohath (Ex. 6:16–25).

Only the descendants of Aaron were called “priests” and were allowed to serve at the altar and in the sanctuary proper.

The Levites, who were descendants of Gershon and Merari, assisted the priests in the many ministries connected with the altar and the sanctuary.

Neither the priests nor the Levites were given any inheritance in the land of Israel (Deut. 10:8–9; 12:12, 18–19) but lived from the tithes, offerings, and sacrifices that were brought to the sanctuary.

The priests were to receive specified parts from the sacrifices, except for the burnt offering, which was totally consumed on the altar.

They would burn a handful of the meal offering on the altar and keep the rest for themselves, and various parts of the animal sacrifices were given to them as their due (Lev. 6:8–7:38).

They were also given the firstfruits of the grain, oil, wine, and wool.

This Old Testament practice carries over into the New Testament ministry.

1 Cor. 9:13–14 “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”

If the people didn’t support the priests as God commanded, then the priests would have to find their support elsewhere; and this would take them away from the ministry at the sanctuary.

But only the priests could offer the sacrifices, care for the lamps and the table of bread, and burn the incense on the golden altar.

Without the presence of the priests, the ministry at the sanctuary would come to a halt and the people would be without intercession and spiritual help.

IV. Honoring God’s Word vs. 9-14

If people don’t know the true and living God and don’t have His Word to guide them, they have to find substitutes to help them make decisions and face up to the demands of life.

Instead of worshiping the true and living God, the people in Canaan worshiped dead idols (Ps. 115), and for the Word of God they substituted superstitious practices that linked them to Satan and his demonic forces.

The explosion of the occult that we’ve seen in recent years is evidence that people are seeking in the wrong direction for the spiritual help they need.

People who refuse to love the truth must end up believing lies (2 Thes. 2:7–12), and only Jesus Christ can deliver them from the bondage that these occult practices bring to their lives.

Moses listed the practices that were forbidden by God, beginning with sacrificing children, a subject we’ve already discussed (12:31).

If you want to worship Satan, you have to pay the price he demands. He will give you what you want if you give him what he wants.

He offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world in return for one act of worship (Matt. 4:8–10).

There are poems, novels, and plays in ancient and modern literature telling about people who sold themselves to Satan, received their rewards, and then regretted they had ever entered into the bargain.

Perhaps the most famous is Goethe’s Tragedy of Dr. Faustus.

V. Prophet Like Moses vs. 15-22

Moses promised the people that God would raise up other prophets as the nation needed them, and the people were to give heed to their message and obey it, for their message would be the Word of God.

Moses reminded the people that at Sinai they had requested that he give them God’s message, because they were afraid to hear God’s voice

Not all the prophets wrote down their messages for future generations to read and study, but Moses did and so did Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve men we call “the minor prophets.”

These prophets not only rebuked Israel for sin and encouraged them in holy living, but they pointed to the coming of the Messiah who would be the Savior of the world.

Moses was doing more than promise the whole line of prophets that the Lord would send; he was also announcing the coming of the Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ.

At least that’s the way Peter explained it in Acts 3:22–26