Deuteronomy 17
McGeeCHAPTER 17THEME: Sundry lawsIn chapters 17 and 18 we come to a section which deals with the regulations that would control a king, a priest, and a prophet. These were the three main offices in the nation Israel, in the theocracy which God had set up for these people. God laid down rules for each of these offices.
Deuteronomy 17:1
OFFERING MUST BE WITHOUT DEFECTGod had said that the firstborn of every creature belongs to Him. Also, that every offering presented to Him was to be without spot or blemish. When you come to the last book of the Old Testament, you will find that Malachi lists the charges which God brought against His peoplethe sins that brought His judgment down upon them. The number one charge was that they were offering sick animals to God. Suppose a farmer had a very fine bullock which he prize bullock to the Lord." The neighbors would say, “My, my, look at Mr. So-and-So. Isn’t he generous! He’s giving God that prize bullock.” But God, who knows the heart, says, “I will not accept it. Such an offering is absolutely meaningless.” Do you realize that if we as believers were checked out on the way we do business with God, we would be arrested and put in the penitentiary? If we did business with the world or with other individuals in the same manner, we would be put in jail! Each of us should check up on ourselves. How honest are we with God in our financial matters? Don’t misunderstand: God is not poorHe owns all the silver and the gold. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him; He doesn’t need our offering of an old sick cow.
Actually, we can’t give God anything. Then why does He ask for an offering? He permits us to offer to Him because it is a blessing to our own souls, and we are not blessed when we are beggarly and stingy with God. For instance, we ought to consider what we do for missions. A great many folk today give their castoffs and their secondhand clothes to the missions and to the missionaries. Friends, God does not want our leftovers.
He wants our best.
Deuteronomy 17:2
DEATH PENALTY FOR IDOLATERSThis is an absolute law against idolatry. From this and other examples that are given to us, I judge that the penalty for breaking any one of the Ten Commandments was death. Today we are so “loving” and so “civilized” that we have gotten rid of the death penalty. But the interesting thing is that we have one of the most lawless societies that the world has ever seen. Doesn’t it make you wonder if God wasn’t right, after all? Stoning was the penalty for idolatry. You will notice that he mentions idolatry, which was common in the cultures of that day. Greek mythology and the idolatry of the Orient had many gods and goddesses who were associated with the sun, moon, and stars. Apollo was the god of the sun and Artemis the goddess of the moon in the Greek mythology. They worshiped the creature rather than the Creator. Where did all this begin? I think it began at the Tower of Babel. That Tower of Babel was actually a rallying place for all those who were against God. Why? God had sent a Flood, and now they were going to worship the sun because the sun, according to their reasoning, never sent a flood. The very interesting thing is that they didn’t know that the sun is responsible for drawing the water up.
The clouds move across the sky and rain falls. The idolatry of that day wasn’t very accurate; neither was their science. And maybe the science of our day doesn’t have the final word either. A great many people today feel that man’s wisdom and knowledge is accurate. Well, we know it has been inaccurate in the past. They worshiped the sun, the moon, and the stars because they thought the heavenly bodies were friendly to them.
They worshiped these rather than the Creator who had made them.
Deuteronomy 17:6
Notice how carefully God protects the innocent. A man couldn’t rush to the authorities because he didn’t like one of his neighbors and accuse his neighbor of worshiping the sun god or Ashtaroth, the Babylonian god, or Baal or Aphrodite or any of the false gods. There had to be two or more witnesses to condemn a man. In our society, one witness could send a man to the gas chamber or the electric chair. I personally think this should not be permitted. God always required two or more witnesses. God is very fair in His dealings.
Deuteronomy 17:8
OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITYIn the theocracy, they were to refer their cases to the priest or to the judges whom God would put over them. In a theocracy they should never have had a king. We know that later on they asked for a king and God granted their request. Remember Psa_106:15: “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” This was said of their experience in the wilderness, but it is a truth for all time. If God would answer many of our prayers as we pray them, it would be the biggest mistake in the world. God is gracious and many times refuses our requests. He does that for me, and I’m sure He does that for you. However, God yielded to Israel’s request for a king. In fact, way back herebefore they were even in the landHe was laying down regulations for their king. If two men disagree on an important matter, how is it to be solved when evidence seems to be equally impressive on both sides?
Deuteronomy 17:9
Because the Law didn’t cover every situation, disagreements were to be taken to the priest. Then the people were to abide by the decision given. Disobedience to the judgment of the priest was to be punished with the death penalty. The only instance we have recorded of this being used is in Hag_2:11. I’m sure there were many instances like this. If the Law specifically covered an issue, and dogmatically gave a ruling about it, then, obviously, there was no need to take the matter to the priest. If, however, a matter had to be taken to the priest or the judge for a decision, that decision was final and was to be obeyed.
Deuteronomy 17:16
LAWS CONCERNING A KINGGod knows that the time will come when they will demand a king like the other nations had. God says that their king must be an Israelite and not a foreigner. Here are the rules for the king. It is interesting to note that King Solomon transgressed these rules. First of all, he multiplied horses. When I was at Megiddo, the thing that impressed me there was not so much the battlefield of Armageddon as the ruins of the stables of Solomon. The stables of Solomon would have made any of the racetracks in this country look like a tenant farmer’s barn down in Georgia. And other stables have been excavated at several additional sites. This man, Solomon, went all out in that direction. God warned against this. The raising of horses would get one entangled with Egypt because that was the place where very fine horses were bred. Then, Solomon transgressed by multiplying wives to himself. God put up warning signs long before Israel ever had a king: “Don’t go this way. Be careful.” Yet Solomon had many, many wives. It was his wives who turned his heart away from God. Third, God warned against trying to corner the silver and gold market of that day. Yet that is exactly what Solomon did. David had begun itbut David was collecting silver and gold to build the temple, but Solomon continued collecting silver and gold for himself. This was the undoing of Solomon, and the grievous taxation was the direct cause of the division of Israel as a nation into the northern and southern kingdoms after Solomon’s death.
Deuteronomy 17:18
The king was to be a man of the Word of God. He was to have a private copy of the Law of God, and he was to read in it every day of his life.