Deuteronomy 18
1The priests the Levites, and 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 inheritance.
2Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.
3And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
5For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.
6And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose;
7Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD.
8They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
15The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
16According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
A cautious word to all those that say “the Lord said” and proceed to tell you something. If the Lord didn’t say, don’t say He did.
THE PERIL OF LOOSE LIP PROPHESY
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Saying the LORD said, holds such an incredible weight of responsibility; as we see here in chapter 18 GOD is not pleased with such speaking.
I have practiced very disciplined caution in regards to prophesying in the name of the LORD and want to each everyone else to exercise great caution when sharing a “word from the LORD”.
Safety is in the already settled WORD of GOD! Pray for revelation of a scripture then say “based on this verse I feel it would be best for you to”….
Most people are not impressed when someone says the LORD said to tell you. If GOD said it in HIS word; GIVE HIM CREDIT (I feel like preaching right now).
Confusion is sown when the “words of the LORD” do not come to pass as spoken.
Trading God’s Glory
Dt 18:9-13
The Israelites are about to take up residence in Canaan; and Moses warns that the Canaanites are spiritual people, and not in a good way. He delineates the pagan rites the Canaanites use to worship their many gods and to communicate with the departed. Notice the clear judgements and strong warnings Moses gives when reffering to these practices. He knows that participation in these rites will mar the Israelites’ relationship with God.
Spirituality abounds today, as well, in every concievable form. Consulting a horoscopes or investigatiing Eastern religious practices may seem inocent. I know I feel victim to this thought that horoscopes where insightful, and astrology signs and symbols represent how you are; out going, loyal, dominant etc..(I’m sure you’ve noticed the tattoo on the back of my neck, its a symbol for my sign: Leo). What a lie from the enemy! But when viewed threw the lens of Deuteronomy, it becomes detestable at worst and a waste of time at best. The apostle Paul describes the tragic persuit of spirituality apart from the true living God as “exchang(ing) the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Ro 1:23) God thank you for opening my eyes!
vs13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. NIV
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
We do not put our trust in man but in God alone.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
That’s my prayer during this season of my life and until He comes.
Verse 13 in the NLT reads…..”But you must be blameless before the LORD your God.” The MSG version reads…”Be completely loyal to God, your God.” The CEV reads…”Never be guilty of doing any of these disgusting things!” We should not take on the abominable ways of this world, just as Moses said to Israel about going into the land that the LORD was giving them.
Verses 1-8 shows God’s provision for the Levites/priest. Those who instruct us in the word of God. God made sure everything is equal, but it is obvious that the value of God goes beyond any inheritance. If given a choice what will you pick, the land inheritance or God??? Choose wisely for that is what you will keep eternally.
v3 And this shall be the priest’s due from the people,from them that offer a sacrifice, weather it be ox or sheep; and they shall give untothe priest the shoulder,and the two cheeks,and the maw
v4 The firstfruit also of thy corn,of thy wine ,and of thine oil,and the first ofthe fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him
v5 For the LORD thy GOD hath chosen him out of all thy tribes,to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.
Ministers and leaders they live from the basket
(there’s no ego there)
We must keep on giving so they can keep on living. As they minister to our souls.
The Lord is our inheritance.
14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
15The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Be careful who you take advice from. We live in a time of second opinions where if we don’t like what one person has said, we seek the council of someone else. We shouldn’t be asking people who aren’t born again of water and spirit what they think we should do about situations in our lives. If they aren’t lined up with the will of God in their own lives, what makes you think they would have any clue what to do in yours?
9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
Moses prepares the Iraelites with commands from the Lord, they will be surrounded from so much evil in the land they are about to inherit. The Lord doesn’t want the Israelites to learn evil ways from the nations they are about to be surrounded by.
There are blessing ahead to those that listen and follow the commands the Lord gives. Humble themselves in a land where evil surrounds them. They are to seek perfection and be like the Lord our God.
Lord you are my strength and my joy, I want to be perfect in your eyes to please you, deliver me from all evil that stands in the way of pleasing you.
10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
The Lord makes a way to bring about understanding and ‘knowing’ things ahead of time with out his people having to resort to familiar spirits or witchcraft. When the information truly comes from God, it always comes to pass like he said it to prevent doubt or confusion. Thank you Lord!
18-4
The priests and Levites were dependent on the rest of Israel for thier support.The priests were due definite tithe plus a portion of most sacrifices. But those ministers were also to be given the firstfruits of crops.Rabbis held than a man would give a thieteith of the crop. A forteith or fiftieth was typical while less than a sixtieth marked a man greedy and avaricious.The measure people use in giving still serves as an indication of character.
18 So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said.
19 t19 Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn’t obey the message will have to answer to me.
Disobeying the voice of God that is placed in our lives brings danger to our spiritual man and can cause an eternity that no one would want. I would never want to find myself in a place having to answer to God just for the simple fact that I did not want to hearken to his voice.
21 You may be asking yourselves, “How can we tell if a prophet’s message really comes from the Lord?”
22 You will know, because if the Lord says something will happen, it wil
l happen. And if it doesn’t, you will know that the prophet was falsely claiming to speak for the Lord
Conformation, most of the time, comes after a word is spoken over us. Usually it is through our Pastor or may come through many different prophets throughout a period of time. It just depends on what the prophesy is concerning.
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
I believe that God wants us to strive to be perfect. Even though we all fall short of that. This is when His mercy and grace comes and saves us.
Our concern should be “thus saith the Lord” above all else; we should not go seeking out ungodly voices to speak into our lives, and neither should we simply accept every voice but try to spirits to see if they are of God or not.
Elijah encountered a great wind that rent mountains and rocks, after that he experienced an earthquake, and finally he witnessed a fire, all roaring for his attention, before at last the still small voice of God spoke into his life. A lot of things will seem great and majestic and powerful, seemingly “divine signs” because of their qualities (appearances can be deceiving, even satan is transformed into an angel of light…), yet all these can be distractions if we do not discern whether God is in them or not. Had Elijah simply listened to the cry of the wind and earth and fire (it’s to be noted, these are elements involved in pagan worship/practices/beliefs), he would have missed or dismissed the voice of God when it actually came.
witchcraft and consulting with familiar spirits is nothing to toy with. I knew a sister who was so involved she could talk to someone for a minute and be able to know their astrological sign. She became obsessed with this uncanny talent. One day her mother told me she was breaking out with sores on her face and body and could not find a cure. I told her mother she needed to repent and renounce this witchcraft! Soon after she stopped and started going to a christian church. Her face cleared up and so did her heart. I love my sister!
12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee
All of these acts are just that, acts. These are things that people do. Works, actions, decisions, choices. Yet, the actions define who they are. God calls the people abominations.
You are what you do.
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. We are his, if we follow his word.
You are what you do.
9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
iBlog
Shoulder, Cheeks, Maw
Some rabbis say this is Gods way of honoring the Levites. The shoulder being the “first” part of the extremities, the cheeks the “first” part of all the animals body, and the maw the “first” part of the animals digestive system. These were considered the most honorable gift to the ministers of the most high God.
No territorial inheritance for the Levites but a continual God-ordained sustenance that came from the people.
God call us to be right! We are in a world that consult spirits, reads cards,practice magic or tricks. It’s crazy but true! I promised to my God never ever to do that, because God will departured from me.
We went to a dinner of my husband’s job and they have many entertainment games and stuff, suddenly came a wizard to do some tricks with cards or something but The Lord told me before what are you going to do it if he came to you?
I was with other people and I would look ridiculous, but He came and I said sorry sr I do not believe in that stuff, I am afraid of my God, I care about what He thinks about me!
amen sis watts, when reading this chapter I began to think of all the “prophecies” i’ve heard in my life. There are many great men used mightily of God, but then there are men that have made me hesitate to voice what God has spoken because, I don’t want to end up in their shoes, and cause someone to stumble because I thought I heard God say something
his chapter illustrates limits. The Lord has limits, which were established and have not changed; therefore we are to study the Word diligently. A wise person will obey the Lord’s limits, whereas a proud person will obey self. May the good Lord bless you all in Jesus name, Amen
22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Beware of false prophets!!!!
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
WOW!
Careful of the loose Toung. There is power in our words. Good and Bad!