23: Religion of His People (Deut 18:1 – 22)

They needed to support the life of the Levites, for the Lord chose them to serve in His name. The Tabernacle, the priesthood, and the Levites symbolize the Lord's presence among His people. Supporting the Levites is to accept such a religious system God has designed.

πŸ‘‰ Read Deuteronomy 18:1 - 22

Verses 1 and 2 repeatedly say that the Levites have no (             ) among Israel, but (           ) is their inheritance.


A certain part of the offerings belongs to the priests. And they should give the best part of their harvests to the Levites. Why?


God doesn’t want us to serve Him in the ways of other religions. What were the pagan practices God forbade?

 

How does God communicate with His people? (15-19)

 

How did they know a prophet’s saying was God’s message?

 

Answers


Inheritance, the Lord


The Levites were chosen to stand and serve in God’s name.

They needed to support the Levites, not only because of their service for the Israelites before the Lord but also, furthermore, because of their identity as God’s chosen servants among Israel.

 

To sacrifice their own child in the fire,

To do divination

To cast spells

The Gentiles did these to control their gods and to know about the future. They wanted to achieve their own goals using divine powers.

Sacrificing their own child in the fire was to compel their god to react in the offerer’s favor. We should not force God to do something. Instead, we should submit to Him. We’d better not to know the hidden future but to entrust our future to Him.

Those things are detestable before the Lord God, who is sovereign and trustworthy. God has not given us permission to manipulate God (14).

 

Through a prophet

God’s thoughts are given to us through His chosen prophet, not through a divinist or an omen reader, nor human speculation or research.

Because they wanted a mediator to deliver God’s messages to them (16), they should listen to the mediator’s messages as God’s.

God will speak through the prophet. And the people should listen to him. Anyone who doesn’t listen to the prophet will be punished by God, not by the prophet.

 

If his saying comes true, he is from God.

God Himself will expose whether a prophet is genuine or not. You are not to assess it but to obey.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

25: ‘Tell us plainly’ vs ‘The Father and I are one.’ (John 10:22 – 42)

As Jesus announced the Father and Jesus were one, the Jewish leaders tried to stone him. πŸ‘‰ Read John 10:22 - 42 Q1. Why did the Jewish leaders not believe in Jesus? Answers πŸ‘‰ They refused to believe in Jesus, for they were not Jesus’ sheep. ‘you refused to believe.’ This tells their willing refusal.  Note that Jesus Himself doesn’t call Himself the Messiah. Instead, He called Himself the One sent from God. He focused on doing the Father’s works and proclaiming His words. From Jesus’ works, they could have concluded that He was the Messiah sent from God. But they refused to admit it. Instead, they asked Jesus to admit His identity as the Messiah plainly, which Jesus wouldn’t do. Q2. They asked Jesus if He were the (           ). But Jesus claimed that the (          ) and He are one. Because of this, they condemned Him of (             ) and tried to stone Him. Answer πŸ‘‰ They asked Jesus if He were the ( Christ ). But Jesus claimed that the ( Father  ) and He are one
Read more

26: Other Laws concerning human life (#6 no murder) (Deut 21:1 – 22:8)

The command ‘do not murder’ should be extended to its full measure and completeness. They needed to remove the guilt of unresolved murder, keep the dignity of the female slave, respect the patrilineal inheritance, and preserve various lives. πŸ‘‰ Read Deuteronomy 21:1 - 22:8 When a homicide victim is found, and no one knows the murderer, the elders of the nearest town must do a ritual of atonement through the death of a heifer. What is the purpose of doing so? (7-9) If you had made your female slave your wife, you can divorce her but not (             ) her. For a man with two wives, if his less-loved wife’s son is the firstborn, let him inherit the (            ) portion. He should not show favoritism according to his affection for one of his wives. When a son doesn’t listen to his parent, he is like a glutton and (             ). Why should they not leave the corpse on the tree of execution overnight? When you see someone’s lost possession, do not (           ) it. You must not re
Read more

35: I am the True Vine. You are the Branches (John 15:1 – 17)

Image
The vine tree analogy so vividly illustrates our relationship with Jesus. As the branches of a vine share the life of the vine, we share and live from Jesus’ life. πŸ‘‰ Read John 15:1 - 17 Q1. Why do we need to remain in Jesus? (2, 4) Answers πŸ‘‰ To bear fruit. God takes away any branch that doesn’t bear fruit. We might debate the security of salvation: do we lose our salvation if we bear no fruit? However, it is better to focus on how to bear fruit rather than how to get salvation.  “You are clean already.” It would refer to a born-again status, a rightful relationship with the Father, one who bathed (13:10). John uses the imagery of cleanness for salvation. In the OT bible, one should be ritually clean to stand before God.  When we believe Jesus’ gospel, we are reconciled with the Father. Though sinners, we can approach God by Jesus’ blood. The pruning (lit. cleaning) (2) of our life is to make us bear more fruit. “Remain”: You should stay, not stop by. No plant produces fruit
Read more