ESV Chronological Plan, Day 65 | Deuteronomy 12-14

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14:29

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 12-14). For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

A personal unresolved question. Just for fun, I will share one of the biggest unresolved questions about the Bible that I have--but it's one that I know there is an answer for. In Deuteronomy 12 the people of Israel are told to travel to Jerusalem to where God will "put his name"--and Deuteronomy 16 specifies that this should happen three times a year. These are long festivals, and the closeness of Passover to Shavuot (Pentecost) often meant that the pilgrims would just stay in Jerusalem in the meantime between the two. This strikes me as a huge defensive weakness for Israel. How should all the fighting men of Israel be expected to abandon their homes and families, and withdraw within the territory to Jerusalem, leaving the outer territories undefended, three times per year? Even if there were not times of war, it would be easy for some morally corrupt person to stay behind while everyone else was in Jerusalem, and just rob everyone blind. Now I know that there is an answer, because we know this practice goes back to ancient times and we know that the people of Israel made it work. I just don't know how. So if you can find the solution, extra points for you. (My guess, unconfirmed, is that families and villages eventually defined "all your men" as "a group of men from every family or village, representing the people," who would carry all of the prescribed offerings to Jerusalem on everyone's behalf. After all, in John 7:8, Jesus declines going up to Jerusalem during the festival -though he later goes secretly- so that must have been an option.)

Dealing with false prophets. This passage is helpful even today, when in certain circles people still raise themselves up as prophets, or when other religious groups (like Mormons or Muslims) claim that their leading figure was a true prophet of God. According to this section, to take someone seriously as a prophet, (1) they would have to perform a sign or wonder or make a successful prediction of some specific thing that was going to happen - Deut. 13:1; (2) even if they do this, their revelation would still have to line up with the truth that God has already laid out - Deut. 13:2-4; (3) if they can't do this, they shouldn't be listened to (13:3) and in ancient Israel the community would have even stoned them to death (13:5). Maybe it is just because I spent a lot of time in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles, but I have actually encountered someone trying to claim this kind of prophetic position or authority over other people many times. For the more savvy among them, the claim would be that the New Covenant prophetic office is different from the Old Covenant prophetic office, and so the standards no longer apply. This convenient interesting argument strikes me as odd, though: why would a New Covenant prophet, who operates under a greater covenant, be held to a lesser standard? For Mormons and Muslims and other groups with similar claims, this passage is helpful in putting their prophets (Muhammad and Joseph Smith) to the test.

Categories. The ancient Israelites had different categories for things than we do. Sometimes, for example, we may have a problem with Jonah having been swallowed by a whale, because we would describe that as a mammal and not a "fish," as Jonah 1 and 2 describes. However, in Deuteronomy 14:11-18 under the category of birds, one of the animals included is "the bat." I once told a Bible study group that it makes sense if you understand that the categories were created by men who had other things to do: "it has wings and it flies and it's not an insect, we'll call that one a bird, this other thing swims in the ocean and has a tail, that's a fish. Now let's get back to work and get this house built by sundown."

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I'll try my best here: In our worship we could look at God's prescription for worshiping him in a specific location and bringing people to himself a few times a year, and we could God's desire that as we draw near to him, he will bring us closer to each other. In our attitude we could look at the test for a false prophet, and say that we want to be able to know God's Word well so that we can discern what is from him and what isn't. In our actions we can feed our attitude and our worship through doing what we are doing now -reading through God's Word- so that internally we are changed in all kinds of ways that will play out in our daily lives.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, thank you for giving me your Word. I don't always understand all of it, but I know that you have given it to me for my good. Help me to joyfully obey you where your Word is clear, to seek you where I have trouble understanding, and to draw near to others who are also seeking you, as we draw near to you."