Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose;
9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:
11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. Deuteronomy 17 KJV
It was important that the sacrifices mentioned be without blemish and, as seen in past chapters, where these offerings were made was not left to private interpretation either. I did not get to pick a lesser animal, and sacrifice it at my home, make my own version of God or religious practice. Its all very critical, for it points back to the garden, the promised seed, to the holiness of God, and a spotless lamb, the suffering servant, forward to ultimate redemption. If you're hung up here on the sacrifice, or on places, instruments, temples, then you just keep killing animals, and you missed the point, your savior. In this dispensation of the law, it was a capital crime to worship created things, images, and it was a departure from knowledge. The idols change in every age, and in this dispensation of grace, we must not cast stones, but know a battle that is not against flesh and blood, but rather fought over hearts and minds.
Moses, in this chapter, also prophecies to the people of their coming desire to have a king, but with stipulations. They wish to be like their neighbors, and I watch people in this day looking for heroes among us, in the form of politicians, but talk about stepping away from knowledge. I never noticed this passage before, but here it is also laid out some interesting directions for being the king.
1. God should choose him, and to us who vote these days, we have to ask ourselves, what are the issues that a Christian should be concerned over?
2. He cannot be a stranger, foreigner, this is to protect from false religions, and so that the people would remain separate and not assimilate into another culture, returning to idolatry.
3. Shall not accumulate horses to the extent of returning to Egypt, for again they had many ties left behind there, but also the temptation to return to mediums, prophets, and priests that were not of God. They should also not base their trust in horses or chariots, for as long as they obeyed God, then he went out before them. These are not a glorious people for the things that men aspire to have, nor should they seek to define themselves in comparison to their neighbors holdings, but rather in humble gratitude that they were passed over and set apart.
4. Multiplying wives is not "multiplying love", it is being scattered, and our relationship to our wife is reflective of our relationship to God. Are you focused on one relationship and great covenant or divided among many, not willing to give the whole of your heart to one? This was also the way Solomon would later fall, he lusted and pulled to himself wives from everywhere and with them, their religions. He dishonored the throne, and yet was esteemed the world over as the wisest of men and the richest of kings.
5. The king is there for the kingdom, not to heap up gold and silver to himself. His trust should be in God and his heart should be to the care of God's people.
6. He is given homework, he does not hire a scribe but rather writes down his own copy of the law. This will help him to become a student of scripture and know that his authority falls below God's ultimate authority. He will also know well when he has strayed. The Poet king wrote such of scripture, "thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path". "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way with sinners, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night."
7. All this so that he does not lift his heart up above his brethren, that he is not above the law but rather in perfect submission to it. He does not get a waive when it comes to justice, but rather strives towards the moral high ground, and to become the bar of humility as pertains the law and God.
1. God should choose him, and to us who vote these days, we have to ask ourselves, what are the issues that a Christian should be concerned over?
2. He cannot be a stranger, foreigner, this is to protect from false religions, and so that the people would remain separate and not assimilate into another culture, returning to idolatry.
3. Shall not accumulate horses to the extent of returning to Egypt, for again they had many ties left behind there, but also the temptation to return to mediums, prophets, and priests that were not of God. They should also not base their trust in horses or chariots, for as long as they obeyed God, then he went out before them. These are not a glorious people for the things that men aspire to have, nor should they seek to define themselves in comparison to their neighbors holdings, but rather in humble gratitude that they were passed over and set apart.
4. Multiplying wives is not "multiplying love", it is being scattered, and our relationship to our wife is reflective of our relationship to God. Are you focused on one relationship and great covenant or divided among many, not willing to give the whole of your heart to one? This was also the way Solomon would later fall, he lusted and pulled to himself wives from everywhere and with them, their religions. He dishonored the throne, and yet was esteemed the world over as the wisest of men and the richest of kings.
5. The king is there for the kingdom, not to heap up gold and silver to himself. His trust should be in God and his heart should be to the care of God's people.
6. He is given homework, he does not hire a scribe but rather writes down his own copy of the law. This will help him to become a student of scripture and know that his authority falls below God's ultimate authority. He will also know well when he has strayed. The Poet king wrote such of scripture, "thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path". "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way with sinners, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night."
7. All this so that he does not lift his heart up above his brethren, that he is not above the law but rather in perfect submission to it. He does not get a waive when it comes to justice, but rather strives towards the moral high ground, and to become the bar of humility as pertains the law and God.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8
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