The Lord Provides for His Servants and Speaks Through His Prophet

18:1 The Levitical priests – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. 18:2 They will have no inheritance in the midst of their fellow Israelites; the Lord alone is their inheritance, just as he had told them. 18:3 This shall be the priests’ fair allotment from the people who offer sacrifices, whether bull or sheep – they must give to the priest the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach. 18:4 You must give them the best of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the best of your wool when you shear your flocks. 18:5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their sons from all your tribes to stand and serve in his name permanently. 18:6 Suppose a Levite comes by his own free will from one of your villages, from any part of Israel where he is living, to the place the Lord chooses 18:7 and serves in the name of the Lord his God like his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 18:8 He must eat the same share they do, despite any profits he may gain from the sale of his family’s inheritance. 18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, 18:11 one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer. 18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is about to drive them out from before you. 18:13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 18:14 Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things. 18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; you must listen to him. 18:16 This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.” 18:17 The Lord then said to me, “What they have said is good. 18:18 I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. 18:19 I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name. 18:20 “But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. 18:21 Now if you say to yourselves, ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord?’ – 18:22 whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

The Lord provides for the Levites, forbids Israel from seeking guidance through pagan occult practices, and promises a prophet like Moses whose words must be obeyed. False prophets are to be rejected and judged by whether their message comes true and whether they stay faithful to the Lord alone.

Moses teaches Israel how life in the land should work under the Lord’s rule. The Levites and priests will not receive a tribal land inheritance. The Lord himself is their inheritance, and the people are to support them through the gifts of sacrifice and produce. This is God’s ordered provision for those he has chosen to serve in his name.

Israel must also refuse the religious practices of the nations around them. They must not practice child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, spirit-calling, necromancy, or any other occult attempt to gain hidden knowledge or power. These things are detestable to the Lord. His people must be blameless and must not seek guidance the way the nations do.

The Lord then gives a promise. He will raise up a prophet like Moses from among Israel. That prophet will speak the words God gives him, and the people must listen to him. This answers the fear Israel felt at Horeb, when they did not want to hear God’s voice directly. God will speak through an authorized messenger, and his words are to be obeyed.

At the same time, the Lord gives a test for false prophets. If someone speaks in the Lord’s name without being sent, or speaks for other gods, that prophet must die. If a prophet’s message does not come true, then the Lord did not speak it. Israel must not fear such a prophet.

• The Levites have no land inheritance because the Lord is their inheritance.
• God provides for his servants through the people’s offerings and gifts in this covenant setting.
• Israel must not learn or copy the occult practices of the nations.
• Child sacrifice and all pagan divination practices are abhorrent to the Lord.
• The Lord calls his people to be blameless and loyal to him alone.
• God will raise up a prophet like Moses from among Israel.
• The people must listen to and obey the Lord’s true prophet.
• A prophet who speaks falsely or for other gods must be judged.
• A claimed word from the Lord that does not come true is not from the Lord.

• Do not learn the abhorrent practices of the nations.
• There must never be found among you child sacrifice or any form of occult practice.
• You must be blameless before the Lord your God.
• The Lord will raise up for you a prophet like Moses from among your fellow Israelites.
• You must listen to him.
• A prophet who speaks presumptuously or in the name of other gods must die.
• If a prophecy does not come true, the Lord has not spoken it.

God orders his people by his own word. He provides for the Levites, protects Israel from false worship, and gives an authorized prophet so his people are not left without guidance. This shows that the Lord alone decides how he is worshiped and how he speaks to his covenant people.

Believers should not treat the Levite support laws as a direct church command, since they belong to Israel’s covenant life. The passage does show that God cares for those set apart for his service. Christians should reject occult practices and any attempt to seek guidance apart from the Lord’s word. They should listen carefully to God’s true messengers and test claims to speak for God by loyalty to the Lord and by whether the word is fulfilled.

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