August 29, 2020

The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let’s seek this ancient way together as a church!

In this chapter Moses gives the people instructions concerning the sacrificial portions for the priests and the Levites in the land, commands them not to adopt the wicked spiritual practices of the nations they are dispossessing, and tells them that the Lord is going to raise up another prophet like him for the people. 

This last portion of the chapter is of utmost significance to our understanding of the Jewish anticipation of the Messiah; if you will turn to the end of Deuteronomy (spoiler alert!) it says that there has not been another prophet like Moses. The five books of the Torah end with this anticipation, that a prophet like Moses is going to come; similarly, the part of the Hebrew Scriptures called the prophets ends with an expectation that a prophet like Elijah is going to come (Malachi 4:5-6). 

It is no coincidence that these are the two exact figures from Israel’s history who appear to converse with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3). Jesus is the prophet like Moses that God is promising His people here! It is a bit ironic that God promises this prophet in response to the peoples’ request that they should no longer hear the voice of God, since in hearing Jesus speak they heard the voice of God once more!

This is so significant for us because it means that, over the course of human history and down to the tiniest details, God is faithful to His promises. Not one word that He has spoken will fail; it shall all come to pass in due time. Put your trust and all your hope once more in His faithfulness today, and celebrate that the prophet like Moses has come and has reconciled us to God!

Deuteronomy 18

Provision for Priests and Levites

18 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord’s food offerings as their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lordis their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.

6 “And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, where he lives—and he may come when he desires—to the place that the Lord will choose, 7 and ministers in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord, 8 then he may have equal portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.

Abominable Practices

9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

A New Prophet like Moses

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lordhas not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • How do the Old Testament promises of God fulfilled in Christ Jesus bolster and grow our faith in Him?

10 thoughts on “Daily Devotional-August 29”

  1. Father,

    You are on your throne high and lifted up. I join with the heavenly beings in praising your Holy Name.

    Bring joy, Father, to those reading this prayer. Dry their tears and remove their fears. Comfort those hurting. Bring healing to those crying out to you.

    Reveal you son to them that they may know him in his power and in his love towards them.

    May I hide your words in my heart that I might not sin against you.

    The harvest is white and the laborers so few. Father, may your church rise up with power and authority to do battle this day.

    Now, let’s be going to find one more for Jesus.

    Amen

  2. Dear Heavenly Father,
    It thrills my soul when I read in Your Word and see all of Your promises and prophecies coming true. You are forever faithful and I will always put my hope and trust in You. Thank You for Your love. I want to hear Your voice everyday. Never leave me, oh , Lord, I pray. In Jesus’ most precious and holy name. Amen.

  4. My husband has been in the husband one week today because of a real bad bacterial infection and I did not know until last night reading his medical chart he was sepsis when he went in no one bother to tell me . You see I know what that y’all know what I am talking about I left Houma because of the two storms and went to stay with my sister two hours north. The first antibiotic was not working so Wednesday they changed him to a new one and it is much better. The point I am getting at I could not understand this time why I was not worried I have not have had time to myself in ten years taking care of my father than my husband. Yesterday I woke up for my morning prayers and for the first time in two years I felt the peace of God. I thanked him for it and also told him that sorry it took so long to realize this.

    1. AMEN and HALLELUJAh!!! Dear Lord I will always listen to you. I love to read the word of the Holy son of God. I will always serve you and praise your Holy name. You lift me up when I read and hear your word. You are the Lord most high. In Jesus name I pray Amen

  6. Thank You Lord for this day! Thank You for enabling me to read,see, and hear what You
    Say is truth. My faith grows stronger. Amen

  7. Not only is Jesus the Ultimate Prophet but He is also the Ultimate Priest, after the order of Melchizedek, the King of Salem (Peace). There is none like Jesus nor will there ever be.

  8. God is good to my wife and I the hurricance caused no properity damage and then last night the storm formed the making of twister which an individual posted which passed over us and threw the thrash barrel down the street
    No properity damage.

  9. Moses prophesied a great prophet would come. Who is this prophet? Jesus. He was part of God’s plan from the beginning.

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