Deuteronomy 18: The Levites had no land, only 48 cities and the pasture around those cities, and were to be fed by portions of the offerings that the people made or gave them. All “spiritism” was forbidden. 18:9“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10There 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, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. Passing a child through the fire was especially common as worship to the god Molech of the Moabites. King Manasseh of Judah even did that! He also practiced sorcery, divination, witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. Such things are practiced by millions today across the world, especially in Africa and Brazil. Mediums who claim to contact the dead are relatively common and popular in the United States. Psychic mediums operate across the country through private practices, online readings. Modern witchcraft and Wicca have become increasingly common and mainstream in the United States, with estimates suggesting there are over a million practicing adherents.” Combine all that with the LGBTQ heresy, and we begin to wonder if the United States is becoming one of those pagan nations or becoming like Sodom that God destroyed? In case you are interested, the Salem witch trials that began in 1692 showed the Puritans’ belief that the devil lived in witches who caused natural disasters and illnesses. Unfortunately, they were out of control and used unreliable evidence and killed a lot of innocent people.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 gives the Messianic prophecy about the Prophet Jesus. 18:15“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 18I 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.” AI: “Acts 3:22–23: The Apostle Peter quotes Moses’ promise during his sermon at Solomon’s Portico, explicitly identifying Jesus as the promised prophet whom the people must obey. Acts 7:37: Stephen references the prophecy just before his martyrdom, linking the heritage of Moses directly to Jesus.” Perhaps this is part of what Jesus was referring to in John 5:46 when He said that “Moses wrote about Me”. Perhaps this is the prophecy that made the Jews ask John, “Are you the Prophet?” in John 1:21. John told them that he was not. Jesus was indeed a prophet, the greatest of all the prophets. He was a spokesman for God, which was the main work of a prophet. He also predicted several future events, including his death, burial, and resurrection, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans (which happened in 70 AD). We must stress that Jesus was more than just a prophet. He was the Son of God. Muslims teach that Jesus was indeed a prophet just like Moses and Muhammed, but that he was only a purely human prophet just like those men. Muhammed said that God cannot have a Son. This teaching of Islam is enough to totally reject the Muslim faith.
Deuteronomy 18 also gives the test for a false prophet. 18:21 You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22When 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.” The predictions of true prophets had to come true with 100% accuracy. The gift of prophecy ended in the 1st century along with other miraculous gifts. “The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, which began in the 1980s, heavily emphasized the restoration of modern prophetic and apostolic offices.” The First Wave was classical Pentecostalism and Second Wave was the Charismatic movement of tongue speaking. The Vineyard Church and the Bethel movement in California came out of this third wave. Their “prophets” however could not predict the future with 100% accuracy. One of the Bethel “prophets” predicted that my sister would be healed of her lung disease. She died of her lung disease shortly thereafter. There are no prophets today who can predict the future with 100% accuracy, so don’t listen to those who claim to be modern day prophets.
Deuteronomy 19 gives same laws for using the 6 cities of refuge as Numbers 35. A person guilty of accidental manslaughter (but not premeditated murder) could stay as in a city of refute safe from the blood avenger of the person he killed as long as the current high priest lived. After the high priest died, he could leave. The chapter also gives laws forbidding moving land boundary marks and the requirement to have at least two witnesses to convict someone. If a person proved to be a false witness, he got the penalty that he was trying to make the accused suffer with the false testimony.
Deuteronomy 20: Laws of warfare. There were several exemptions to military duty going into a battle given: new homeowners, new vineyard owners, men engaged to a woman, and the fearful and fainthearted (like the 22,00 who left Joshua army). Cities “far off” from Canaan could ask for a peace treaty whereby their people would become forced labor for Israel. The Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a peace treaty with them, giving false evidence that they were from a far off city when actually they were from a city very close by. Then Joshus, b/c he had given his word to the Gibeonites, had to march all night with his men to rescue the Gibeonites when they were attacked by 5 Canaanite kings. The people of the specifically named pagan nations in Canaan were to be totally destroyed and were not allowed to sue for a peace treaty.
Deuteronomy 21 gives a test washing their hands over a slain heifer for elders in a city to show they did not kill someone who was found dead. That would be a neat method of determining who is guilty or innocent of a crime today, wouldn’t it? An Israelite man could take a beautiful woman captive for his wife if he desired. A man could have two wives, one he loved and one he did not loved, but he had to give the firstborn inheritance to the firstborn even if it was from the unloved wife. Yes, God tolerated polygamy! I don’t understand why, but He did. Even King David, the man after God’s own heart, had 8 wives and was not condemned for that. A stubborn, rebellious, glutton, and drunkard son was to be carried to th elders and stoned to death! What if we practiced that today? The body of a man hung on a tree for a crime he committed must be taken down before nightfall. That practice is quoted by Paul in Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” Jesus was not cursed for his own sins but for our sins.
Deuteronomy 22 gives a wide range of various laws, but some are really interesting. 22:5“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing.” That verse kept a lot of women from wearing women’s pants to church back in old days. 22:11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.” My shirts and pants are all mixed polyester and cotton and would be forbidden. But we have to wonder, “What is wrong with wearing such material?” AI: “In Jewish tradition, sha’atnez is often categorized as a chok—a statute given by God that has no rational or logical human explanation, designed simply to test obedience and devotion to the covenant.” I think I agree with that opinion. Such laws might have some spiritual significance such as emphasizing hearts unmixed with worldly pagan elements, but ultimately they test obedience.
Deuteronomy 22 gives several laws on morality.
Accusations of Marital Deception: If a newly married man falsely accuses his bride of not being a virgin, her parents can present evidence to city elders; the husband faces a fine, public whipping, and permanent marriage retention. If the accusation is true, the woman faces severe punishment. AI: “A father could produce the blood-stained cloth or garment (often interpreted as the wedding night bedsheet) from the couple’s first night together as physical proof of his daughter’s virginity. Ancient societies assumed that the first time a woman had sexual intercourse, the tearing of the hymen would reliably cause bleeding. The bride’s family or attendants presumably kept a garment, bedsheet, or cloth from the wedding night to collect and preserve this blood stain.” God gave a lot of laws to protect women from men with hard hearts and this was one of them.
Adultery: Both a man and a married or betrothed woman involved in voluntary adultery are subject to the death penalty.
Assault vs. Consent in Betrothal: If a betrothed virgin is assaulted in a city where she could scream for help but didn’t, both are held accountable; if it occurs in an isolated open field, only the man is punished because the woman is presumed innocent and unable to get help.
Unbetrothed Assault: If a man violates an unbetrothed virgin, he must pay a financial penalty to her father and marry her without the right to ever divorce her. Perhaps this law is why it was pretty much expected that a young man had to marry a girl if he got her pregnant back in the old days! God hated divorce (Malachi 2:16) so in these cases it was either get stoned to death or get married and never divorce! No divorces for mental cruelty or incompatibility.
