DEUTERONOMY LESSON 19


     We will begin this lesson in Deuteronomy 17:1 "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."

     "Evilfavouredness" means bad, or evil. The reason the sacrifice
must not have a blemish is, because it symbolizes the perfect Lamb of
God {Jesus Christ}. The Lord Jesus Christ was without spot or blemish.
The animal must be a male, which has never been with a female. It must
be perfect in its body, just as Jesus was perfect. Anything less than
the very best, would defame the Lord Jesus.

     Deuteronomy 17:2  "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,"

     The blessings of God came upon them, when they kept covenant with
Him. When they did not keep covenant with them, it brought curses. The
wickedness, here, is speaking of spiritual adultery. Any worship,
aside from the worship of the One True God, was wickedness.

     Deuteronomy 17:3 "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;"

     Men and women have, throughout the ages, worshipped the sun. They
really are impressed by the light in the sun. The sun and the moon are
just containers for the light. They are creations of God. They are not
God. The Light of the world is really Jesus Christ our Lord. Again, we
must remember, we are not to worship any of God's creation. We are to
worship the Creator of it all.

     Deuteronomy 17:4 "And it be told thee, and thou hast heard [of
it], and inquired diligently, and, behold, [it be] true, [and] the
thing certain, [that] such abomination is wrought in Israel:"

     This is saying, they did not listen to someone saying they
worshipped the moon or sun. They inquired, and found out for
themselves. They were absolutely sure of their worship of the sun and
moon. Now, they must act upon it.

     Deuteronomy 17:5 "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."

     They must stone them till they die, to keep Israel from getting
involved in this type of worship of false gods. Always, the stoning to
death took place just outside the city wall. You remember on the
wilderness wanderings, they were killed outside the camp.
     Deuteronomy 17:6 "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."

     The number "two" means establish. One person could be telling
this for personal reasons. It is not likely that two, or three, would
tell the same story to get someone stoned to death. By two, a thing
shall be established. One witness is not enough to stone someone. This
is a serious offence, and must be proved beyond doubt.

     Deuteronomy 17:7 "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."

     The first stone must be thrown by the accuser. Then, all the
people shall stone the person to death. Jesus spoke to the people
about to stone a woman to death. The following is what He said. John
8:7 "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said
unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a
stone at her."  This is pretty interesting, because they all turned
and walked away. They knew they all had sinned in some way, or
another.

     Deuteronomy 17:8  "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;"

     There are some situations, where it cannot be determined who is
right, and who is wrong. This should not be decided without consulting
with the LORD. Disputes sometimes arise, and it is difficult to tell
who is right, and who is wrong. This is a matter for God to settle.
They must all go to a place chosen of God for this purpose. This
chosen place will be the temple, after it is built.

     Deuteronomy 17:9 "And thou shalt come unto the priests the
Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire;
and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment:"

     This is like taking the matter to a higher court. In this
instance, it must be decided by the spiritual and civic leader
together.

     Deuteronomy 17:10 "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:"

     They must live by the decision the judge and the priest make.
There will be no appeal of the matter. Whatever they decide, must be
done. A true judge and priest are guided by God in their decisions.

     Deuteronomy 17:11 "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."

     The priest speaks as an oracle of God. Whatever sentence he hands
down, must be complied with. They must do exactly as they are
sentenced. They must not lean to the right, or the left.

     Deuteronomy 17:12 "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."

     If the person who is being judged does not accept the judgement,
he will be put to death. He must learn not to rebel against the
authority the LORD has set up. The priest is representing God. To go
against his decision, is to go against God.

     Deuteronomy 17:13 "And all the people shall hear, and fear, and
do no more presumptuously."

     The punishment inflicted upon this person is a warning to others.
They will think twice, before they commit the same crime.

     Deuteronomy 17:14  "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;"

     We must remember that, God did not want them to be like the
nations around them. He was their King. They were not to have an
earthly king. Trying to be like others, can cause many problems.

     Deuteronomy 17:15 "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."

     God will finally allow them to choose someone to be their earthly
king, because they continually want one. He warns them not to choose
someone who is not a Hebrew brother, ruled by God. God will choose
their king for them. They must accept the one the Lord chooses.

     Deuteronomy 17:16 "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."

     The promised land is to be their everlasting inheritance. They
are not to go back to Egypt {symbolic of the world}. They must remain
in the land God promised them. God does not want them to have large
numbers of horses. They might decide to return to Egypt.

     Deuteronomy 17:17 "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself,
that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to
himself silver and gold."

     God intended for one man to marry one woman. Many wives cause
jealousy and heartache. The wives, specifically spoken of here, are
heathen wives that worship false gods. His heart must stay upon God.
Silver and gold are earthly treasures. They, perhaps, would cause a
king to have too much pride.

     Deuteronomy 17:18 "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:"

     God has given all the law they need to live by. His law in
Leviticus is sufficient to cover all civil matters. There is no need
for another law. He must have a copy of the law God gave, and go by
it. He must learn it well, and govern by it. We, Christians, here in
the United States, must realize that our constitution was founded upon
Bible principles. It is a dangerous thing to live by laws made by man.

     Deuteronomy 17:19 "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:"

     To be king, carries with it great responsibility. The king is
answerable to God. He must learn well God's law, and live, and rule by
those laws.

     Deuteronomy 17:20 "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."

     A man is king, because God chose him to be king. He is not better
than anyone else, just chosen. He must continuously realize his power
is in God, and not in himself. He must live by the same law as the
people.  He must set an example. He is not above the law, because of
his elevated position. It appears, from this, that the kingship was to
go from father to son. The father, who is king, must teach his son of
the ways of God, so he will be ready to take over, when the father
dies.













                        Deuteronomy 19 Questions


1.  The sheep used in sacrifice must be without __________.
2.  Why is this necessary?
3.  "Evilfavouredness"  means ______, or _______.
4.  When did the blessings of God come upon them?
5.  When did the curse of God come?
6.  Wickedness, in verse 2, is speaking of what?
7.  What causes people to worship the sun?
8.  The sun and the moon are __________ of God.
9.  Who is the Light of the world?
10. What is verse 4 warning against?
11. What should be done to those who worship the sun and the moon?
12. What does the number "two" mean?
13. How many witnesses are necessary, before some one is to be stoned
    to death?
14. Who throws the first stone?
15. What lesson did Jesus teach about stoning?
16. What do they do, if the matter is too hard for them to decide.
17. What is happening, when they take the matter to the priest?
18. What if they do not like the sentence handed down by the priest?
19. The priest speaks as an __________ of God.
20. Who is truly King of all believers?
21. What earthly king is the only one God will accept for them?
22. Why must their earthly king not multiply horses?
23. What is Egypt symbolic of?
24. Why should the earthly king not multiply wives unto himself?
25. What is wrong with him having much gold and silver?
26. What law shall the king rule by?
27. To be king, carries with it great _____________.
28. The king is answerable to ______.
29. Why is a man king?
30. The kingship was to go from __________ to _____.