Deuteronomy 18:1-22


It is a wonderful thing to be used by God.  However, it is important to remember that God does not use everyone who claims to be used by Him.  There are those who want all of the benefits of serving God but they do not want the responsibility.  Then there are those who simply are out to deceive the people of God.  It is important for us to be able to distinguish between the two.

THE LEVITES WERE TO BE HELPED: God has repeatedly reminded the people of their responsibility to help the Levites by making sacrifices from which the Levites were to be fed.  Since the Levites were not given land and their work was to serve in the temple; the only means that they had of sustaining themselves was through the giving and sacrifices of God’s people.  Today, those who are called to serve the body of Christ clearly ought to be given the same benefit of being supported by the offerings of God’s people.  It should be a source of great joy for us to be able to participate in the work of God in this way.  Those who serve the Lord are honored to do so.  Those who give to the work of the Lord also are being given a great privilege.

THE WITCHES WERE TO BE HATED: There are those who claim to be able to tell the future and control the gods through their spells and incantations.  They practice witchcraft and claim to be in tune with a higher power.  They make sacrifices of their own children and encourage the practices of the pagan nations that occupied the land that Israel was about to possess.  These advocates of false religion were not to be tolerated in any way.  They were to be exposed, expelled and executed.  There is nothing worse than those who promote false doctrine and idolatry in the name of the Lord.  This false religion must not be tolerated by any of God’s people in any culture.  They are instruments of Satan and must be rejected.

THE PROPHETS WERE TO BE HEARD: The Lord has promised to reveal His will to His people through His prophets.  The people had asked for God to speak through Moses to them instead of in an audible voice like had done on the mountain.  This is the means that God has used to teach His people His will and it is how He also chose to inspire His Word.  The responsibility that all children of God have is to hear the Word of God spoken through the prophets.  Hearing in this context means much more than simply listening; we must listen but we must also obey.  God has been faithful to reveal His will and Word to us; but we must be faithful to follow what He has revealed.  Unfortunately, there are also false prophets who claim to be revealing God’s will; who, in reality, are just speaking from their own wicked desires.  God calls us to ignore such false prophets and not fear them.  Thankfully, today we have the recorded will of God in the form of His Word that allows us to differentiate between that which is true and that which is false.  May we be ever faithful to obey the Word of God and those who proclaim it.

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