Deuteronomy (Chapters 16-18)

Deuteronomy 16–18 outlines God’s design for worship, leadership, and covenant faithfulness. Israel is commanded to keep the appointed feasts to remember the Lord’s saving acts and teach future generations. Judges are to rule with justice, kings are to remain humble under God’s law, and leaders must avoid pride, wealth, and idolatry. The promise of a prophet like Moses points forward to God’s continuing revelation. These chapters show that righteous leadership and faithful living depend on obedience to God’s Word and reverent fear of the Lord.

Transcript

Setting The Stage: Deuteronomy 16–18

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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The Feasts: Passover, Weeks, Booths

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Hey everybody, welcome back to Teach Me the Bible Podcast. We are walking through the book of Deuteronomy. Um, we've made our way all the way to chapter 16, where we're gonna pick up uh in chapter 16, verse 1. I have Dr. David Klingler here with me as always, who's gonna be our guide through the text today. And so, Doc, if you want to pick up where we left off, we'll we'll keep going.

Feasts As Family Catechism

Dr. David Klingler 0:48

Yeah, we're we are in chapter 16. Uh, this is a pretty uh it begins with the the Passover, the the uh celebration of weeks and then the celebration of booths or the feast of booths, we call it, or tabernacles. Maybe that's uh that's it. When you think of a a booth, you know, you maybe you think of some like you know fair or something like that. Oh, right, right, right. But but it's a shelter. Yeah, it's it's a it's a shelter, or you know, and of course, tabernacle, that doesn't quite uh I don't know what people think of when they think of tabernacle, but but you know, shelter, yeah, that might be the best way to to think about it. But Passover, this goes all the way back to the book of Exodus and Passover, and so they were to continue to celebrate this, and and so the instruction is reminded to the uh to the second generation. Um and along with that was the not eating un um leavened bread. So for seven days you you shall not eat unleavened bread, um or or you shall eat unleavened bread. You we won't have uh bread with leaven in it. Um and um and then on the seventh day uh you're to they translated uh it's a you know a uh oh how do they what do they say here? It's like a solemn assembly, but the you know really the the root uh word here is just to to cease, you know, to to stop, to to you know um you know to to restrain, hold back, something like that. Um and so you're to you're to um six days you're eated on the seventh day it's uh solemn assembly uh uh to the Lord, and you're not to do any work. And then you're to count the sevens, and from the seventh seven, on the seventieth uh or this the seventh week, you know, for seven weeks. Um on that seventh week you are to have another celebration, the feast of weeks, or the feast of sevens, uh depending on how you want to look at it, um, where you are to you know take your you know your what you have you know your reaping, what you have gathered in, and uh make an offering to the Lord, and uh and then the final one was the celebration of booths or tabernacles. Uh and that takes us down all the way to uh into uh really into uh verse sixteen three times a year. All your males shall appear before the Lord in the place which he chooses, uh at the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of booths. They are to appear before the Lord, uh they're not to appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he has been able according to the blessing which the Lord uh has given uh to you.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Now, these a lot these uh celebrations, these feasts, um what's their overall purpose? I mean, there uh is it to remind them of this time in the wilderness and remind them of their time under Moses and uh so they look back and remember, right? That's kind of the idea.

Dr. David Klingler 3:57

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And and we've seen this throughout the book of Deuteronomy, in time when your sons ask you, saying, Why do we do these things? Why do we do these commands? Why do we do these celebrations? Why do we teaching opportunities for especially for the family to partake to partake in, yeah. Absolutely. And and so it was a constant reminder of Israel's hit. It was an opportunity for parents to teach the children. This is why we do what we do. It's this is family tradition, it's people tradition, it goes back to the deliverance of the Lord, it goes back to the story, right? Right, the Lord's faithfulness.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

And each of these are done in faith as they look towards the coming one who's gonna fulfill all this stuff.

Righteous Judges At The Gates

Dr. David Klingler 4:34

Absolutely, yeah. And then we come to this this next section, really, where um you know, we've been focusing on this in our church and the the importance of protection of the commands of Moses. And this is really what Deuteronomy is doing all the way through uh Torah, really, is a defense of Moses' words and authority so that you listen to Moses because the story he's telling um is the path to eternal life. Uh and so they translate it here you shall uh appoint for yourself, this is in chapter 16, verse 18, uh, judges uh and uh and officers. That you know, it's an interesting little word here for that they translate for for officers. It comes from the the verb to write, and sometimes you'll see that reflected uh in their uh you know in the in the translation or in the um in what the task that they're doing, the role that they're doing. And and so judges uh and uh officers or officials um you know shall be given to you or you are to to set up at your gate, they translate it at your in your towns, but at your gate which the Lord your God is giving you, uh and they are to you know judge judgments with the people. Uh uh Mishpat Sadiq is uh is the uh judge the people with they translate it righteous judgment. Um uh uh Mishpat, Mishpatim commands, the uh you know, the uh a judgment, a decision, a decision. Uh uh they were to be righteous judgments, righteous decisions. Verse 19, you shall not uh they translate it distort justice. It's actually you shall not distort Mishpat. You shall not distort these judgments, these commands, um, you know, that uh that the um uh that the Lord is giving you. And you sh uh and you shall not recognize faces. They translate it, you shall not be partial. Um doesn't matter who's sitting in front of you if you're the judge. Uh the uh you know, in um in America we've got this um this picture, this image of Lady Justice, we call her, and and she's got the scales holding out the scales, and she has the blindfold um over her eyes. Why why? It's because uh justice is to be blind. In other words, i impartial uh in that you can't see who's in front of you, right? You you know, you're not swayed by if there's if the rich man walks in or the poor man walks in, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

Yeah, that's good.

Blind Justice And Bribes

Dr. David Klingler 7:13

And so, you know, if an inf influential person uh doesn't matter, doesn't matter who you are. We've seen this back in uh chapter 13. Doesn't matter who is trying to entice you to follow other gods, uh doesn't matter. You the the response is the same. Uh and so you're not to stretch the the commands, you're not to stretch the judgments, you're not to and and the way that you would do that, one of the ways is recognize faces. Um you shall not take a bribe. Uh you can't be bought. And in in some ways, recognizing faces is is you know partaking in a bribe. Um doesn't matter who sit in front of you or what they're offering you. What they're oh what they're offering you, yeah. You you do not uh you you don't turn, uh, you don't take a bribe, uh, because the the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise. And uh we were actually in this passage yesterday in Sunday school and just made the point that um you know that wisdom is found in the word of the Lord. It's revealed from the Lord, uh, and it is doing what's right in his eyes. Uh when you turn from doing what's right in the eyes of the Lord and start to do what's right in your own eyes, and whether it's because you've stretched the the judgment or because you've recognized faces or because you're taking bribes, whatever it is, you're no longer operating according to what's good and right in the eyes of the Lord. Uh you are distorting wisdom, uh, you are blinding the eyes of the wise, and uh this is an interesting little phrase here. It's say they they perverts the words of the the righteous. It uh the the the verb here comes from the the verb to twist, literally to to twist. It twists the words of the righteous ones. Um you know so uh justice is compromised, um the eyes of the wise are blinded, and the words of the actual righteous ones are distorted.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Could you maybe say the truth is maligned? As Peter says, yeah, yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 9:21

Yeah. And so um and so tsadiq, uh, you know, uh righteousness uh is what you are to uh to pursue here. Uh they translate it justice and only justice, but back uh in uh in verse 18, it's actually the same word, uh they translate righteous judgment, uh judgment of righteousness, or judgment leading to righteousness. Um you are to judge according to the wisdom revealed in the Lord, and that is and establishes righteousness. And so righteousness and only righteousness you are to pursue so that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving to you. Um you certainly uh don't plant for yourself any of the you know any of the the altars, any of the things that that the other peoples do, that the peoples that you're going in to dispossess that they do. You shall not set up for yourself a pillar, for the Lord your God uh hates those things. And you shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God uh an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or a defect. It is a detestable thing to the Lord your God. It's to be uh perfect, blameless, firstborn. That's already been covered. We talked about that.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Uh, that's because it's represent it represents the one that comes.

Case Law And Hard Decisions

Dr. David Klingler 10:42

Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And you know, and you're to give what is holy and blameless to the Lord, firstborn, right? Um if there's anyone found in your midst in any of your towns, which the Lord is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the eyes of the Lord your God by transgressing his covenant. Well, uh if the judges aren't judges, judging righteously, if the priests aren't uh instructing, if the kings aren't uh instructing with righteous, then everyone's gonna be doing it, right? Uh and so if there's anyone uh found in your midst who's doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, of course that's comes from the commands by transgressing the covenant and has gone and served other gods and worship them, or the sun or the moon, uh or the heavenly hosts, which I've commanded you, uh, as I've you know, and it it's told to you, and you hear it, you shall inquire thoroughly. And if it's true, and you'll this this thing has been uh in uh in Israel, you shall bring the man or the woman who has done this thing, uh evil deed, out to your gates, man or woman, and they you shall stone them to death. On the evidence of two or three witnesses, he shall uh die, he shall be put to death. Uh he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. The hand of the witness shall be the first to go against him, and afterwards all the people, so you will purge the evil from your midst. If any case is do difficult for you to decide between uh one kind of you know, killing, homicide, uh homicide and another, uh one kind of lawsuit, another, be one one kind of uh assault and another, uh then you are to rise and go to the place which the Lord chooses, and you shall come to the Levite, the Levitical priest, or the judge who is in office in those days, and shall acquire uh inquire of them, and they will declare the verdict to you. They will declare uh the um you know the uh the word um of they translated of the case, the the the the word of judgment to you. Uh and you shall do all uh uh you know according to all the word uh which is declared. Uh and so you know this was the you know, we we can call it case law, right? That that these uh the the you know here's the illustration, the issue, the the case that comes before the judge, and that the judge was to render judgment according to what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, and Israel was to to follow it. They were to do according to uh the word which was declared to them.

SPEAKER_02 13:22

Aaron Powell So they've already received much of the the basis for this section, right? With not going after other gods, stoning anybody who is um enticing you to do so, but this is how it's gonna be enforced through these officers, through these judges and priests, right?

Dr. David Klingler 13:39

Yes, and uh and so uh you know the way this is gonna play out is uh let's say that uh um you know the the the command is that you are you know you're not to uh to to kill, right? Um uh and so um blood has been shed. That's literally what it says back there in verse eight. If any case is too difficult for you, um you know, if any word of judgment is too difficult for you, between blood to blood, literally, or uh between um uh you know uh lawsuit or lawsuit uh between a uh naga uh like an afflicting or an afflicting, they're translating an assault or something like that, then you're to go to the judge. So um you're you're not to kill.

unknown 14:35

Yeah.

Fear Of The Lord And Enforcement

Dr. David Klingler 14:36

Okay, well what if I do it uh you know unintentionally or or you're not to, you know, so so what are the so so what are the cases, right? So there's the the command, you you shall not steal, you shall not do whatever it is, and then okay, but how does this fit? Does this you know does this case qualify or not qualify? And so you know there that's how case law works. So you have the you shall not, and then uh a specific situation is um a specific situation is you know is is fleshed out, and then uh the case is uh is determined. Uh and so uh this was what the Levitical judge or the priest who's in office in that day was to do. Uh they were to um you know to render the verdict. Uh and uh you're to do it. According to the law of Moses, according to the law which they teach you, assuming they don't stretch it or recognize faces or take bribes, right? Um right. Uh and you shall not turn aside from the word which the a word which they declare to you to the right or to the left. The man who acts presumptuously, uh the the man uh who um uh does in contempt, maybe, um, by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die. In other words, uh, you know, I said, Well, I don't care what you say, you're not the boss of me. Well, then that's got provision for that too. Yeah, yeah, that's not going to go well, right? That man shall die, you shall purge the evil from Israel. Okay, so this is kind of the you know, the case operating procedure. First, the judge has to be a righteous judge. Okay. Um, he's got to judge according to the word of Moses, according to the law, according to what's good and right in the eyes of the Lord. He can't stretch the judgments, he can't be influenced by wealth or uh recognized faces or who is standing in front of him. Um, evidence has to be presented, two or three witnesses has to be presented. Um, they can't be a malicious witness. That's going to be uh also here. We're gonna see this in uh uh in Deuteronomy as well. Um uh and then whatever verdict is rendered, whatever word of judgment is passed down, then the man has to do it. If if the man does not do the the judgment, uh then um you know then he's in he's in big trouble. If he operates with uh contempt, then uh and doesn't listen to the priest, then he's he's in trouble. That man shall die. Then all the people will hear and fear uh and will not act presumptuously. That's the word here. They they won't go against the commands of the judges and the priests and the kings and the prophets, which are in accordance with the words of Moses. Um, and then they will be their days will be prolonged in the land, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

This is one of those passages that I came up against, or I came up uh that came into my path as I was interacting. I was writing a paper on what is the fear of the Lord, and we've talked about this some already, but there's a number of different views on what it is. A lot of people don't think it's a real fear at all, but this is one of those passages where it's very clear to me what this is. They're to observe this fearful judgment of the Lord, which in this case is is the death of this person, and that is to serve to uh to cause Israel not to do that thing because because they're to fear the same judgment, right? And so it's one of those things you can't get around these kinds of patterns.

Dr. David Klingler 18:28

And you do it whether you understand it or not, right? So so you do these commands, and you understand why you're doing these commands, so that when your sons ask you why you're doing these commands, you can tell them the story of why you're doing the commands. And so there's it's all connected here.

unknown 18:43

Yeah, that's good.

Dr. David Klingler 18:45

Then in chapter uh 17, verse 14, and this is 14 through 20. Uh, so we've we've been introduced to the judges and the Levitical priest who's in office in those days, for you know, who's going to render the judgment if the, you know, kind of the appellate court, right? If the uh appeal. If you if it's too difficult, then it goes up the chain of command, so to speak, it goes up to the, you know, as we would uh think higher court, to the judge who priests in office in those days. Uh, and then you get to chapter 17, verse 14. When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess it and live in it, and you say, I will set a king over me, like the nations who are around me, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses from one of your countrymen, and you shall set a king over yourselves. You shall not put a foreigner over yourself, uh, who is not one of your, they translate it here, uh, his countrymen, literally one of your brothers, right? Uh moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, you shall never again return that way. Uh there's a lot of discussion about you know what why horses, wives, and riches, and I think that it's not too hard to figure out. Um you know, the the the you know, horses, you know, this was look, uh you know, this was like the chariots, horses, these were like tanks or something like that, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:15

They're war object.

Dr. David Klingler 20:18

Yeah. Um and uh, you know, the question is who delivers you, who fights for you?

unknown 20:24

Right.

Solomon As A Cautionary Tale

Dr. David Klingler 20:24

Uh are you gonna win the battle because you have more horses or walled cities, or or or you made treaties with other kings, um, or you've it's gonna all play out in the story. Uh no, the Lord fights your battles for you, and it doesn't matter how many horses you have. Doesn't matter how how many horses you have if you're against the Lord. That's a good point. And it doesn't matter how many uh horses your enemies have if the Lord is for you, or if you are for the Lord. Um, and so uh you are your strength, your dependence is on the Lord. Uh the king was not to multiply wives for himself, or else his heart would turn away, uh, and he should greatly uh nor should he greatly increase silver or gold for himself. Um, you know, we've talked about this back in chapter seven. You're not to intermarry among the nations. Um they will cause you to follow other gods, uh, multiply wives for himself, else his heart will turn away, and there's been a lot of reading into that. Um, or multiply or greatly increase silver or gold for himself. And um there's several places we could go to. Um, you know, uh Gideon, you know, uh Abimelech, my father is king. Um, you know, the multiplication, you know, I they they they say, Hey, be king over us, and he says, No, no, I will not be king over you. Um, this is Gideon, uh, but I will take your gold and and uh Have sons who ride on donkeys and name cities after, you know. This is what's going on throughout all the book of Judges. Uh, you see this with Solomon. Solomon in uh in first Kings, you know, he he builds the temple, um, the praise, the the glory of the Lord fills the temple. And then uh in chapters 10 and 11, he multiplies horses and wives and riches, and he's he's off the scene almost immediately after that. Chariots are emphasized too, which is make the point you were making a minute ago. Yeah, exactly right. And and so, you know, Solomon is uh, you know, he's he's not doing what's good and right in the eyes of the Lord. Um, interesting the the number of the pieces of shekel he has there, the 666, and you're going, oh man, what is this? What's going on here, you know? Uh and so uh the narrator is certainly uh building his case for Solomon's blowing it, but but again, this is why you need to know the law so that you can interpret the story.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Yeah, that's one of those passages where if you're reading that over there, um, and you're reading he has all these horses, he has all this gold and silver, it could be tempting not to read that negatively. Yeah, you you could you could want to be, oh, look at how God is blessing Solomon, but if you don't know this passage, um, I mean that is how you you'll probably take it. But if you know this passage, then then it's all negative. This is not a good thing.

The King’s Torah Copy And Humility

Provision And Purity For Levites

Dr. David Klingler 23:31

Yeah, and you know, and Solomon prays for wisdom, and you say, well, what kind of wisdom uh should he have gotten? Well, I'm thinking uh wisdom of the Lord, which comes from Torah. And if there is a passage that's directly relevant to a king, it would be Deuteronomy 17, 14 through 20. Don't multiply horses, wives, and riches. And guess what he does? He does all three. And so um, so he shall not multiply wives, not multiply silver or gold, and it shall come about that when he sits on the throne of the kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the litical priest, and it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God. There it is again, by carefully observing. So if you need to know what it is to fear the Lord, it's to by carefully observing the words of this law and these statutes, so that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen, so that he might not turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he and his sons may continue in his kingdom in the midst of Israel. Okay, so what's the opposite of that? Well, okay. So um if he doesn't make a copy, is he if he doesn't read it all the days of his life, which means that then he won't fear the Lord, he won't be careful to come uh to uh obey the the words of the laws and the statutes, his heart will be lifted up above his countrymen, he'll be become prideful, and then turn aside from the commandment to the right or the left, and then his sons will not continue long in his kingdom. Right? So there's here's the path to success, uh, and here's the path to failure. And so we're kind of going down these uh these officers of Israel. Uh there's tons of king, you know, the king fill in the bank, you know, fill in the blank, did evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused Israel to stumble. And uh judges, you've got um uh all kinds of judges who are operating as king, um, naming cities after themselves, multiplying wives, and they're riding on donkeys. That's the um um and and um you know, and they're they're violating the law all the way through. You know, uh and so then we turn to the Levitical priests. The whole tribe of Levi shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's offering by fire and his portion. They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen. The Lord is their inheritance, just as he promised them. Now this shall be uh the priest's, you know, what their wages from the people, from those who offer the sacrifice, either the ox or the sheep, they shall give to the priests um the shoulder, the two cheeks, the stomach, and he shall give them the first fruits of the grain and the wine. So in other words, there's going to be provision uh for the the Levites so that they can stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

Because they have no land, they need to receive the fruit of the land from the people. Yeah.

Rejecting Pagan Practices

The Prophet Like Moses

Testing Prophets: Words And Fulfillment

Dr. David Klingler 26:34

Uh now if the Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and he comes to wherever the place where the Lord has chosen, he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. He shall equal equal portions. Um He's not to be a priest for hire, right? Um He's not to allow to just do whatever he wants to do. When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall uh not imitate, don't do the detestable things which the nations do. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire. That's what they're doing. Not use uh divination. Um this is uh you know, you're you start to get into some pretty interesting um studies here. Um he shall not uh practice divination or witchcraft or in uh interpret um you know this is our this is our knockosh word, right? This is uh you know, he's he's not uh enchanter, right? He's not to enchant snakes. Don't align yourself with uh you know with the the snakes or with uh sorcery. There's a lot of um made about uh how this is translated into the Greek with uh far you know the pharmacy for the pharmacy word. Yeah. Uh you know, not to cast spell with the medium, the spiritus, uh, or one who calls up the dead. This is gonna show up in the Saul story with Samuel, right? You know, he goes and meets with the medium and summons Samuel from the dead, and Samuel says, Um excuse me, but yeah, yeah, go do what's right in the eyes of the Lord. You shouldn't be doing this. Uh whoever does this is detestable to the Lord because he has done these detestable things, and the Lord will drive them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. Um there's tons of these statements. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. And and this is this is places where we just back up and dump whatever truck we want to put in there. Well, for Israel, what did it look like to be blamed or not be blameless? Well, to not do what's good and right in his eyes. Um children passing through the fire, you know, yeah, the whole list, right? So to do so, don't do it, and then you'll be blameless before the Lord your God. For those nations which you shall uh possess uh dispossess, um listen uh to those who do these things. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. You don't need to know what the future is. Moses is gonna tell you what the future is. So the Lord your God will raise up a prophet for uh you like me from among you, right? So the place to go is to the Lord, not what the nations do, to the prophet. And you know what the prophet's gonna tell you? Same thing I'm telling you. He's gonna give you the give you Torah. And you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you ask of the Lord in the day of Horebo on the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again from the voice of the Lord my God, and let me not see his great fire any more. And and the Lord said to me, They have spoken well. Verse 18. So 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 them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever does not listen to my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. Now this goes right back to the judge, and the same thing. The judge was to operate according to the words of the Lord, the word of Moses, and uh and the commands, and you were to listen to them, right? And uh and here's a promise of a prophet who will come, uh, and uh the Lord will put his words in his mouth. Um, and so you're always looking for this prophet. Now, in the Torah story, um this goes back to the Miriam and Aaron account or or or incident uh where uh it appears that Miriam is the one who's you know bringing charges against Moses. We talked about uh this uh a little bit, and when we get to uh Numbers, uh if you go back to Numbers, you'll you'll hear this. But but the verb here is you know they they spoke against Moses. What's uh it's not they spoke against Moses, it's a feminine singular, she spoke against Moses, and Aaron was there, and and so you know, hey, the Lord has spoken you know through us too, and uh, and so you know the war the Lord calls them out in front of the tent and says, Look, you're not like Moses. I speak to Moses face to face, not like any prophets who will come after Moses. I I will speak to them in uh dreams and visions, and um, but not with Moses, right? But you're looking for one that will come after Moses who's going to be uh in some sense greater than Moses. And and uh and I will put my words in his mouth, and you will be sure uh to to um to listen to him all that I command him. Of course, Jesus is presented in this way, goes up to the you know, goes up to the mountain. You've heard it said, but I say to you, the Sermon on the Mount is uh is the outworking of this passage. So whoever doesn't listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks presumptuously, that there's our uh word uh again that uh who um uh with contempt, he's um uh uh insolent, um um deviant. Deviant from what? From the law, right? Um he he speaks um against the Lord, against the word of the Lord, against Moses, his words disagree with Moses um in my name which I have not commanded him, or he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. Well, there's a lot to be said about that verse, right? Uh a prophet who um, you know, this is very common today. All these people run around saying they're the Lord said to me, the Lord spoke to me, the Lord said this, the Lord said that. And their words directly contradict the words of the prophets, the words of the apostles, uh, which are in alignment with the words of Moses.

unknown 33:05

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 33:05

Um okay, well, if you want to play the prophet card, then let's evaluate you as you know, you know, chapter 13, chapter, uh, chapter 18 of Deuteronomy says we ought to judge you, right? Um are you sure that you're speaking on behalf of the Lord, or you just want the Lord to do it and you're using that language or whatever? Uh you may say in your heart, how will we know the law the word which the Lord uh has not spoken? When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come true about uh about or um does not come about or does not come true, that thing which uh the the Lord that thing the Lord has not spoken, the prophet has spoken presumptuously. Now, uh you say, okay, so um if he says that and it doesn't come true, well that's a that's a good test. If he's if he says something that's going to happen and it doesn't happen, it's a no-brainer. But what if it does? Now we go back to Deuteronomy chapter 13. Even if it comes true and he contradicts the words of Moses, right? So even signs and wonders are not going to be proof in and of themselves of the validity of the message. You know, Satan's workers can do signs and wonders too. The magicians of of Pharaoh did miracles as well.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Because it's incredibly important too, because a lot of what these prophets it when they do predict, they're predicting quite a ways in the future. You have to wait for the fulfillment of these things. So how do you know? Especially if they're prophesying not just seven years in the future, 70 years, but what about hundreds of years? You know, it's a is a difficult thing.

Dr. David Klingler 34:51

Yeah, Isaiah's prophecies, Jeremiah's prophecies, Ezekiel's prophecies, uh, Daniel's prophecies, um, Hosea's prophecies, uh John in Revelation. He's looking towards things that have not taken place yet, um, didn't take place at well, unless you're holding to some preterist view and you reinterpret everything. Um certainly Christ has not returned.

unknown 35:16

Yeah.

Leaders Fail, People Exiled

Dr. David Klingler 35:17

I I hope we can agree on that. Um you know, and and so um is this in keeping with the word of the Lord and the story of the Lord or not? And so uh and so certainly if a prophet says, hey, this is what's gonna happen, if by tomorrow, or the Lord's gonna return on this date in this year, okay. Well, they're nut jobs, you know. You know, if if so that's really clear, really simple. If they're claiming that something's going to happen and it doesn't happen, that's not from the Lord. Well, uh do they get second chances here? How will we know? No, right? He's that prophet has spoken presumptuously. Verse 22. Okay, well, the prophet who speaks presumptuously shall die.

unknown 36:09

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 36:10

Well, that's no second chance. You get one shot, right? And if you pass that one, then you may get another shot if you're claiming to be a prophet. And so, so it's kind of become commonplace in our culture to say these things in the church, and everybody because nobody knows the Bible, so they're just making stuff up and they want to have some authority. Um now the we're running long here, but I think we can pull this all off in one long session. But but this section of uh of judges, priests, king, and prophet, yeah, that's the deuteronomic history. And what the authors of uh of the former prophets, and then the latter prophets, you know, so former prophets Joshua Judges, Samuel Kings, and latter prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, uh, what they're going to do is they're going to show the reader, tell the story of the failure of the judges to judge with righteous judgment. Uh, they're going to do what's right in their own eyes. Uh, get her, for she is right in my eyes, says Samson, as he's going to marry a foreign wife. Um the the priest for hire. That's the judges 17 uh 18 story. Um into 19, you get the the judges are corrupting um justice and they're destroying the you know, and there's civil war. This is all because of the priests doing. Eli the priest is evil, his sons are evil. Uh, we need Samuel to come along, and uh and they reject Samuel's sons, and they want a king, and they ask for a king, and God gives them what they ask for, and Saul rejects the word of the Lord, and David and Solomon, and so we're gonna go down this trail of the failure of the judges, the priests, the kings, and then the man of God, the prophet, starts to show up on the scene, and you're starting to see that the prophets don't agree. And the question is, well, which one's the right prophet?

SPEAKER_02 38:02

Yeah, right?

Dr. David Klingler 38:03

And how do we know? Go back to the words of Moses.

unknown 38:06

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 38:06

And so it's really the story of the failure of Israel to be blameless before the Lord, as we said earlier, but because of these leaders and their failure to to cause them to be blameless.

Next Steps: Cities Of Refuge

Dr. David Klingler 38:20

Well, they because they didn't follow the word of the Lord. And and who didn't? The people didn't. Well, why didn't they? Because the judges, priests, kings, and prophets didn't. Those who were entrusted with leading the people didn't. And so what's the consequence? Kicked out of the land, exiled among the people, scattered among the nations, the plagues, the the judgments, the Deuteronomy 28, we're gonna get there. Leviticus 26, judgments are going to come until they return to the Lord with all their heart and with all of their soul, and do what is right in his eyes. And how's that when they don't have eyes to see or ears to hear or heart to know? It's coming, right? So so that's what lay that's kind of what uh is in front of us as we go through the book of Deuteronomy. And so so we'll pick it up next time in Deuteronomy chapter 19. Uh we'll start to talk about the cities of refuge and where these uh righteous judgments are going to be uh you know proclaimed from. Uh and so we'll pick that up next time.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for guiding us through that. Like you said, it it was a little bit of a longer session, but um these chapters are so important to be held together because, as you've pointed out, they really set up the rest of the narrative through the rest of the old testament and into the new testament, really. And so uh they're so important for us to be familiar with and to understand what they're setting up so we can evaluate the rest of the story. So thank you so much for walking us through that. I hope that uh you guys, our listeners, have benefited from this uh this extra treatment in these chapters, and we will see you next week, beginning in chapter 19.

SPEAKER_00 39:57

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