You shall not learn to imitate the detestable things

Deuteronomy 18 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His portion.² They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He ^[c]promised them.

³ “Now this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. ⁴ You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.⁵ 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.

⁶ “Now if a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses,⁷ then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. ⁸ They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.

⁹ “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. ¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, ¹¹ or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ¹² For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. ¹³ You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴ For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

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. ¹⁶ 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, or I will die.’ ¹⁷ The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. ¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. ²⁰ But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ ²¹ You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’²² When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:   “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  It is through this lens that we should look at the Old Testament law, not that it has been abolished or annulled, but that Christ has fulfilled the requirements. There is no longer a need for sacrifices to atone for sin. Jesus died for sin once for all. The commandments remain. God has not changed His mind about sin. Our righteousness only exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees if we accept the atonement of Christ and receive His righteousness.   

In today’s text it says:  “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,  or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord.”     There are many today who believe that the very things that God says are detestable are actually acceptable and compatible with God and Christ. It is normal and natural, expected that when cultures merge, cultural traditions and practices will also be integrated into society. While this is good and enriches the culture, it is detestable and deadly when it happens in spiritual matters. We become desensitised to these practices when we allow ourselves to be entertained by the very things God says are detestable. It is true that Jesus died once for all sin. He died so that we who were sinners would not be detestable in the sight of God. Jesus redeemed people. He justifies people in God’s sight. We are made righteous through Christ and the cross. Sin was not redeemed. That which was detestable to God is still detestable.  Jesus says: “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”   If you have ever seen “The Passion”, or another film depicting Jesus sacrifice on the cross; His suffering, His pain and anguish as He bore our sins, I don’t believe it would be considered entertaining. Nor do I think God and Christ are pleased when we are entertained by the very things He suffered to redeem us from.

Look at what God says at the end of today’s text:  I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.   It is indeed a high calling to be a prophet of God, one who speaks the words of God. It is also a high standard to which prophets are held. If a person quotes the written word of God, we can check what they say to see if it is accurate. When someone speaks the rhema word, the living word of God, we check it first against the written word. What God is saying will not contradict what He has said. So if a person says they have a new word about what God formerly called detestable, we can be certain that they are not speaking for the God of the Bible; the God of creation or the God who sent His Son to redeem us. If a person shares a word concerning what God plans for the future, then in addition to being certain that it aligns with what God has said in the past, it must also be judged according to its accuracy, whether it comes to pass.   God says:  It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.     We then should not underestimate the gravity of speaking for God. If we say: Thus says the Lord, we better be certain that it is truly the Lord who is speaking. If we share an impression we have or what we believe the Lord is saying, we should be clear, and so allow the Spirit to discern and interpret.

In 1 Corinthians 14:1-3 Paul says:  Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.  Even with the high standard of accountability, we should seek to be those who speak to people for edification, exhortation and consolation. Ephesians 4:15 says:  Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.   The world calls Christians hypocrites because they do not love according to the standard of the world. In truth, if we pursue love, we will speak the truth in love. We are held accountable to God’s higher, unchanging standard.  

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your unchanging word. Thank You Jesus, that You fulfilled the requirements of the law through Your sacrifice on the cross. May I always walk in the redemption from sin, not the presumption of grace. May I speak the truth in love, that others might know what You have said and are saying.  Amen.