Deuteronomy 18: 1 – 22
Prophecy of a Future Prophet
18 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them. 3 “And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 The first fruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever. 6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, 7 then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance. 9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you. 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
If you love prophecy then this chapter grabs your interest. For most of you bible students you have learned that there was three significant prophecies or promises that the Jews should look forward being fulfilled in the future. Let me list them for you again;
1. A future special Prophet like Moses would appear on the scene
2. God’s Anointed Holy One The Messiah would also appear to the Jews at a future time
3. Elijah the Prophet would appear again before the Messiah’s arrival
One New Testament claim about Jesus is generally overlooked. We are told that Jesus was a prophet." In the Gospel of Luke 24:19 we are taught, "...Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:.."
Most Christians, even if aware of this text, tend to perceive it in a limited sense. In most minds, the concept of our Lord Jesus as a prophet would not extend much further. Yet it means far more.
Only one great prophet is specified in the Bible. It is the ultimate Bible prediction about a future prophetic personality. It was given by none other than Moses here in chapter 18 of the book of Deuteronomy. Yet very little is known about "the prophet."
Although early Christians discerned the prediction was fulfilled in Jesus, the prophet's mysterious role was never fully defined. So when the facts are known, our King and Master Jesus Christ becomes the greatest prophet of all time. In one sense he could be called the Prince of Prophets.
But now we face the clear Bible claim that Jesus was a prophet. Is this important? That could depend upon many things. But most of all, it depends upon the times in which we live. It also depends upon the kind of prophet Jesus was.
In this chapter two verses point out information about this special prophet;
The Lord your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me; unto him shall you hear” (verse 15).
...the Lord said..."I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" (Verse 18).
Notice the characteristics of this prophet. Moses tells in v.15 that He is: (1) a Prophet, (2) from the midst, (3) of brethren, (4) like me [Moses], and (5) hear him [you must]. The additional elements specifically stated by God in v.18 are: (6) God will put His words in the prophet's mouth, and (7) He will speak everything God tells him.
Since knowledge about this unique prophet came through Moses, and was compared to Moses; scholars recognize "the prophet" of Deuteronomy 18:15,18 is a major designation. But what does it imply? Who is this? An aura of mystery surrounds "the prophet," especially in Jewish sources.
Of course Deuteronomy 18:15,18 is a problem. Outside of Jesus, no comparable figure has arisen who could fulfill this prediction. Since Jesus Is not acceptable to the Jews, a stalemate exists. Consequently, in the later period many Jewish people held to the notion of "the return of Moses." We see this idea creeping into various statements made in the NT by people living at that time. Jesus was perceived as fulfilling this role (John 6:14; 7:40). In this sense, He was perceived as a "second Moses."
So if Jesus was not the one who fulfilled Deuteronomy 18:15,18; and if no other entity could be identified historically, then futuristic interpretations would be the only recourse. With such limited evidence, it is little wonder that Jewish expositors are silent. Christian claims would cause Jewish scholars to "steer clear" of this troublesome text.
Considering the OT prophecies, we must give careful consideration to the Jewish conception called the return of Moses. It is partially based on implications from Deuteronomy 33:21 where it says: "He [Moses] comes at the head of the people." This text is discussed in the Midrash. The idea holds that Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land—and was buried in the wilderness so that at some future time the wilderness generation could be raised up (on the merits of Moses), and then Moses would lead them into the promised land. This is a lenient and triumphant view about the wilderness period. It encompasses a much larger perspective of Divine forgiveness.
So it is little wonder that within the context of any OT discussion about redemption, and the deliverer [Moses-like]; that the drama of deliverance from Egypt would pose the supreme Hebrew symbols. Consequently, expanded possibilities would logically include the following idea:
Within the context of this typology of the first and final redemption there is found in Rabbinic literature the much repeated principle, developed in all kinds of different ways: "As the first redeemer (Moses), so the final redeemer (the Messiah)."
In Jewish sources, the typology of Moses is very strong. An ancient record of the Moses story is called The Moses Legend (. Both Josephus and Rabbinic tradition contain stories that offer a number of amazing parallels between Moses and Jesus. Yet, within the Christian community, very little if any of this information is known or perceived as having relative value. Consequently, perfect resolution has not been possible.
The NT provides a clear correlation between "the prophet" predicted by Moses, and Jesus. The two primary NT statements connecting Jesus with Deuteronomy 18:15,18 are Acts 3:22 and chapter 7:37. These texts give confirmation that Jesus was perceived by his disciples as the one who fulfilled Deuteronomy 18:15,18. It also illustrates a correlation between Moses and the Messiah.
Acts 3: 22, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Acts 7: 37, “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’38 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, 39 whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
So it is obvious that a strong relationship exists between the experiences of Moses and the future prophet he predicted. Yet, most Christians are unaware not only of this fact, but the deeper implications of the association. Church-goers may understand elements of the typology, but not necessarily the deeper reasons and/or implications of the prophecy. We will find there are several important aspects of the role Jesus fulfilled in the office of this prophet.
There are many religious institutions that existed and exist today. A question in my mind is ‘If men and women really wanted our Holy God to dwell among us how come they didn’t just put together a check list like this to see if a man claiming to be that prophet fulfilled all that was prophesied. I mean it does not take a lot of work to just list what we already know what the prophet should do;
Check list of the characteristics of this special future prophet. (All boxes must be checked off)
(1) A Prophet
(2) From the midst
(3) Of brethren
(4) like me [Moses]
(5) Hear him (you must).
(6) God will put His words in the prophet's mouth
(7) He will speak everything God tells him.
I can tell you all the verses that appear in the Gospels that fulfill each one of the requirements to a ‘T’ which our Lord and Savior Jesus fulfilled but for the sake of time I want you to do the research if you are hungry enough to do so. We need to value the time to study what we came in today for and that is to review verse by verse chapter 18.
18 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them.
All the tribe of Levi who were to have no portion in Israel. They would have no tribal area of their own. Nor were they to be given land as individuals. The priestly cities and the levitical cities were to be jointly owned along with the land around them, although individuals would own their own houses.
The ideal behind this was that they should not be worldly. Their whole existence was to involve being taken up with Yahweh, Who was their inheritance, with keeping the nation right before Him, and with making known His law and ensuring that His covenant requirements were maintained.
3 “And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
Here there is an extension to what is give to the priests from the offerings and sacrifices (other than the whole burnt offering), possibly to compensate for the loss of their portion in animals slaughtered in the cities and not sacrificed. They were to be given the ‘shoulder’, the two ‘cheeks’ and the ‘stomach’.
4 The first fruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
The priests also received the first fruits, that which ripened first, of the grain, wine and oil, and first fleeces of the sheep, giving them all round provision. The fleeces are an addition which had probably become the custom.
5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever.
The reason for these gifts was that they were the chosen of Yahweh out of all the tribes for the purpose of standing to give priestly service in the name of Yahweh. They, and they alone, had this privilege. The priesthood was their inheritance.
6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, 7 then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD.
It was the Levites and not the priests who tended to be spread around the land. But at times they would seek to take their part in the worship of the sanctuary (not necessarily permanently). Here one comes ‘with all the desire of his soul’. He is fulfilling a great desire. Once there he must be allowed to serve in the name of Yahweh his God, along with all his brother Levites who ‘stand before Yahweh’.
Examples of Tabernacle service would include repair and maintenance within the limits of where they were allowed to go and making replacements for worn out sections of the tabernacle, organization of visitors who came to the tabernacle and general guardianship, assisting those who found difficulty in slaying their sacrifices, assisting with sanctifying the house of Yahweh and certainly later singing and music. Thus they ‘ministered before Yahweh’.
8 They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.
They were to be given equal shares in all the portions that fell to the Levites. And this was not be affected by any rents they received from letting their own house, or capital received from selling it.
When the Levite left his levitical city, or wherever he was resident, and took up residence at the Sanctuary, he had a right to keep any wealth obtained from family possessions, which might include property owned in the levitical city.
9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
Again the stress is on the fact that this land is being given to them by Yahweh. To practice the abominations described would be an grievous insult to Him. Those abominations were to have no part to play in His land. They must learn to do what Yahweh has commanded not do according to the abominations of these nations. They had His words. They did not need to look to the occult. And it was His land.
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
Attempts to get in touch with the ‘spirit world’ in one way or another. Kings would use them when seeking guidance or considering battle. Men and women would use them for guidance in the activities of life, in business, in farming, in love. Both would seek to affect them through the methods used by soothsayers, magicians, sorcerers, wizards and necromancers. And they would assiduously follow them, sometimes to disaster. But the lesson for Israel was equally clear, none must be found among them who did these things. They must avoid all contact with the occult, with what was hidden in darkness. They must avoid all attempts to contact the dead.
12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.
The one who practiced any of these things was an ‘abomination’, something hated, to Yahweh. It is for this abominable behavior that the nations would be driven out before them. The strength of feeling against them indicates that some of their powers were seen to originate from evil sources.
13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
God’s people on the contrary were to walk rightly. They were perfectly to obey the covenant avoiding all such evil activities. They were to be free of all such traits. They were to avoid all spiritual influence but Yahweh. They were to be constantly with God, seeking Yahweh’s means of understanding through prophets, through the word, and through the Urim and Thummim. They were to be free from the taint of the occult.
14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.
On the other hand the nations that they will dispose listened to all these things. What use it would be to them is revealed by the fact that it could not prevent them from being driven out by Yahweh. But Yahweh has not given His people permission to listen to them, for He knows what foolishness they are and what harm they can cause to mankind.
15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good.
As mentioned we see the prophecy of a future special Prophet being sent from Yahweh God
18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
Just as He had raised up Moses so would He raise up another unique and special prophet. He would put His words in their mouth, and that prophet would speak to them all that Yahweh commanded. For because Yahweh had raised Him up, Yahweh would provide him with the truth that He must speak. I love our Lord Jesus’ words as He prayed to His and our Father Yahweh in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John. “17Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
A warning of ‘Woe’ is for the one who will not listen to this prophet whom Yahweh raises up. Whatever he speaks in Yahweh’s name will be required of each man in that generation.
20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
The enemy does not know all things like our Great God does. They watch and listen and then try to develop their evil counter attacks. So, when our Magnificent Holy God prophecies something that will happen the enemy tries to develop actions that will in their thinking thwart the Lord’s plans.
So, we have learned that our Great Master was going to send a special prophet to the Israelites that would do all His Will. In response to this promise the danger on the horizon to counter this blessing was that false prophets would also arise.
Let men beware of being false prophets. The position of the prophets was to be so important that anyone who feigned being a prophet was to be put to death. If men professed to be prophets but spoke their own words pretending that they were Yahweh’s, speaking their own wisdom presumptuously pretending that it was God’s, giving commands in His name which had not really come from Him, then they were to die. So also were any who came as prophets in the names of other gods.
21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’—
This would immediately raise the question as to how they were to know whether this was so or not, how they were to know what God had not said and how they were to recognize God’s truth.
22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
The solution was outwardly simple. If a man speaks in the name of Yahweh, and what he says ‘is not’ and/or ‘does not come about’, then that is the proof that Yahweh has not spoken through him, and that the prophet has spoken presumptuously. Thus they need not be afraid of his words.
The emphasis here is on the fact that Yahweh’s words always have genuine content and that He always does what He says He will do. In view of the non-mention of a positive perspective this would seem to be as much a careful declaration that Yahweh would honor the word of His true prophets as the simple test of a prophet. But the outcome of some prophecies would not be apparent for some considerable time. The people still had to weigh up their words and consider the likelihood of their fulfillment in the light of the Scriptures that they had, and in the light of the covenant.
The other point is that if a man speaks in the name of Yahweh and what he says has powerful moral impact and does continually come about, then unless there are grounds for thinking otherwise it would be an indication that he did come from Yahweh. Thus he should be heeded, and his words treasured, especially if he urged them to the fear of Yahweh. And they should listen and fear what he says. A prophet who does not bring them to the fear of Yahweh should certainly, however, not be heeded nor should one whose words failed of fulfilment. And certainly one who came in the name of other gods should be rejected immediately.
It will be observed that this proof could not in many cases be fully known at the time of the prophecy, although it would in some be apparent shortly afterwards, for the message of the prophet was regularly concerning immediate and local situations. Thus its manifest truthfulness or otherwise would become apparent. Once the prophet’s integrity was established he could then be trusted.
In the case of the prophets of whom we know most, because their words were recorded, much of their prophecy was looking into the future that was coming which would take time to unfold, but it is clear from their words that they expected their listeners to use their moral judgment, and recognise the truth of the situation. And that some did so comes out in that their words were preserved.
In most cases a prophecy has a two part fulfillment – Immediately and then again in the future. The very content of the prophecy often demonstrated its own truth. The true prophet’s warnings were unheeded, not because they were manifestly untrue, but because men did not want to hear what they were saying, because their hearts were hardened. We all like men who tell us what we want to hear. Had their hearts been right, and had they thought more deeply, they would have known.
