DEUTERONOMY
Lesson 23 - Chapters 17 and 18
We were discussing the section of Deuteronomy 17 that dealt with God’s boundaries and
limitations on Israel’s civil and religious authorities. And one of the chief principles is that in
God’s economy there is NO separation of church and state (so to speak). I’ll not debate the
US decision to go that route except to say that this is at the bottom of what ails us as a nation.
Basically our government has decided that God’s ways are fine for what goes on within the
walls of a Synagogue or a Church, but they are to have no bearing at all anywhere else in our
lives, communities, schools, or government. I wonder: have we actually reached a point
whereby we are comfortable with that philosophy and passively accept it? Do we effectively
live our lives as though God makes a distinction between what we think and do while we’re in
religious service versus what we think and do in every other facet of our existence, even
though if confronted with it we deny it? Here in Deuteronomy the Lord makes it clear that
Israel’s leaders (of every kind, no exceptions) are to first and foremost obey Him. The leaders
should (above all else) adhere to the Lord’s Laws and Commands so that things will go well
with them, the people they govern, and Israeli society in general.
Let’s re-read a part of Deuteronomy 17.
RE-READ DEUTERONOMY 17: 8 - end
The first group of governmental leaders we discussed is called Shofetim, Judges. They were
usually tribal elders and the purpose for their selection was to behave as a lower court
handling matters within in their own tribe about things that happened within their own tribal
territory. An upper court was also established, and it was to consist primarily of Levites.
Therefore the place where these upper courts met were in the 48 Levitical cities scattered
throughout the Land.
These upper courts were NOT appeals courts; they were courts designed to handle matters
that were too difficult or too complex or beyond the scope of the lower courts. Since the Levites
(and that part of the Levites who were Priests) were Israel’s experts on the Laws of Moses, it
is logical that if laymen (the Elders) couldn’t reach agreement on a case it would be referred to
those who are the recognized legal experts. The ordinance of God that establishes this legal
structure also states that since this upper court (consisting primarily of Levites) is a federal
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court (so to speak) then it handles matters from or between members of various tribes; thus
their rulings were NOT to be questioned. And that anyone who refused to carry out they’re
rulings was to be executed.
Here is a key in understanding the role of the Judges: the typical ones (those who formed the
lower courts) ONLY dealt with matters concerning their own tribe. And while we get this mental
picture of a judge sitting behind a bench, ruling on legal issues, in fact many of Israel’s Judges
came to assume entirely different roles than those ascribed (or possibly even envisioned) here.
Samson for instance, he of the superhuman strength, acted as a protector of his people and an
instrument of God’s wrath upon the Philistines. He certainly did not sit as an arbitrator of legal
matters among his tribe of Dan.
The next class of governmental leaders Moses discussed was Kings. It would be nearly 300
years AFTER the time of Moses before Israel actually had its first King, Saul. So the
instructions regarding the boundaries and limitations around what an Israelite King should be
and what he could and could not do, looked well into the future. And we must grasp that what
this is, is both knowledge of the future and a concession on God’s part. That is He foreknew
that Israel would eventually want to be more like their neighbors than to be seen as set apart
and unique, so He makes provision for Israel to have an earthly king because the Hebrews
were (in time) going to demand it. It’s not at all unlike circumstances that Paul was dealing
with in his thoughts concerning divorce; it is not that God ordains divorce it’s that in His
foreknowledge and grace He knows that fallen man will go this route so He sets up procedures
and boundaries to deal with it. God is in no way setting up the parameters of kingship because
He accepts the governing philosophy of a man ruling His people as a king; He is doing it
because in time Israel WILL, by their own folly, insist that a king be appointed over them (and
indeed that is exactly what eventually happened).
Deuteronomy 17 verses 16 and 17 speak of the limitations God puts upon Israel’s future kings
in 3 different contexts. That is, 3 different spheres of influence that every king has sway over
are covered: military, political, and economic. And the first injunction is that the King is not to
amass too many horses. And since the finest and most well-trained horses came from Egypt,
Israel would be tempted to rebuild ties with their former slave master in order to attain these
animals.
There is also a deeper sense of instruction contained in this admonition; it is that for Israel’s
leadership to create a relationship of convenience or personal benefit with an enemy of God is
not something that ought to be pursued by God’s redeemed. Today this admonition of God is
not only ignored by Israel and the Church, it is considered wrong not to seek after such
relationships. There are many logical reasons why this practice of worshippers of Yehoveh co-
mingling and even striking up an alliance with God’s enemies is dangerous, but the only
reason that really ought to drive us to obey is that God has prohibited it. When the Church
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buddies up to Islam in so-called love and peace that is a direct violation of this command.
When Israel trades with its sworn enemies and even gives them political concessions that is a
direct violation of this command.
It’s not that the Church ought to go around killing Muslims or even necessarily shunning them;
it’s that whatever relationship is established should be all about evangelizing people who
worship a false god and never about tolerance or appeasement or personal gain or legitimizing
that which is abhorrent to Yehoveh. It’s not that Israel ought to find reasons to aggravate or
fight with their neighbors; it’s that whatever relations Israel has with their neighbors it is not to
be for Israel to try to be more like them, or to give up any portion of their unique relationship
with God and God’s land for the sake of geopolitical peace, or to essentially give up their set-
apart status to join the world’s league of nations and partake of their wealth.
Further, there is an interesting side comment that Israel is not to turn to Egypt for more horses
because, “you must not go back that way again”. What’s the name of that old song, You Can
Never Go That Way Again? Lots of interesting exegesis has come from this passage, and its
intent is not thoroughly agreed upon. But keep in mind that this is a warning to any future
Israelite King; and at the least it is that Israel is not to turn to their former masters for help or
sustenance. Israel is not necessarily to be at war with Egypt, but neither are they to ally
themselves to Egypt, or become dependent on Egypt for items the King deems important to
him. I think the wisdom of this, and its point, is probably best expressed as an unequal yoking
or an illicit mixture. What have the people of God got to do with Egypt? God’s answer: nothing.
It is ironic that in the 21
st
century the very same people (Islam) that the Western World is at war
with are the same ones we have made ourselves dependent upon for a key element of our
economy and our military. We have made a pact with the devil so to speak, and although it’s
taken a while the debt has come due. What began as a Western debate on oil as it relates to
warring against Islam, has now turned to a debate on whether or not it is better to appease
them than to continue to hold on to our traditional Judeo-Christian values. Recently the new
approach to this seemingly intractable problem is essentially removing religion as an issue
altogether by reforming the world as a universal secular humanist society that demands
tolerance of all gods and upholds none. I’m afraid that everything that I see, and that the Bible
prophesies, is that appeasement and surrender is well under way. And it is this that leads to
Armageddon; although the world is doing everything it humanly can to prevent it.
This is what that verse of “not going back that way” is primarily about. Because if Israel’s
Kings ever start looking to the same people who view them as no more than escaped slaves
for friendship and as a source of strategic military hardware or economic benefits, the price will
be to compromise or even abandon God’s principles to achieve it. And, of course, that is
exactly what the West and even a great portion of Church is in the process of doing as we
speak.
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In Moses’ day horses were for one primary purpose: to pull chariots. And chariots were used
for two things: as limos for the king and his court but more importantly they were key
armaments for ancient warfare. The more chariots a king had in his arsenal the more
formidable he was in battle. The kings of Israel were instructed to place their trust in Yehoveh,
not in military armaments. Their power was to be their faith in the God of Israel, not in
advanced weaponry. Even so God does NOT speak against Israel being well armed and
having a substantial military Rather it is that their hopes of victory are the Lord and thus
obedience to Him is the key to their survival. And the source of their power and their ability to
survive certainly shouldn’t come from a people (Egypt) who could pull the plug on that power
source at any time. Further, as has always been, kings who taste great power are jealous to
keep it and so they often turn their military against their own people in order to maintain that
power. Yehoveh does not want Israel’s kings to be so strong and arrogant as to be impervious
to the will of the civilian population.
The command that Israel’s kings must not have many wives centers around a uniquely Middle
Eastern societal unit called a harem. Westerners tend to think of a harem as simply a pleasure
palace full of beautiful women for use by the king and his court. That is far from reality. Political
power in the Bible era came as much from forming strong alliances as it did from exercising
military might. And those alliances almost always entailed intermarriage between the families
of the kings that were involved. We miss the point in the infamous story of Solomon and the
enormous number of wives and concubines in his harem because the idea that seems to be
prevalent among the church is that Solomon was on some level a self-indulgent sex maniac;
rather the Biblical story was meant to brag about the immense number of alliances he had
created throughout the region…..and how wrong minded it was.
Harems were not large palaces full only of women; it was where the children of these women
also resided. For a king to disgrace or show disrespect to one of the wives among his harem
was tantamount to an international incident and could even bring about war with the family that
wife represented. So the warning that comes that a King’s “heart might go astray” should he
have a large harem means that this king would be tempted to be more focused on keeping his
wives, and the alliances they represent, satisfied than paying attention to God’s people and
God’s commands. Let me also remind you that the use of the word “heart” was referring to
the king’s mind…..his intellect, what interested him and what he felt was important…..not his
emotions or that his love and affection towards his harem would override his common sense.
And finally is a warning for the king not to go around amassing a personal fortune on the backs
of his subjects. And how would a king go about doing that? By heavily taxing his people and by
confiscating wealth from those smaller nations and city-states he has conquered and under his
control. While all of that was standard operating procedure for Canaan’s kings, the Israelite
king was only to gather wealth for the good of his nation in order to fund a proper military, to
care for the neediest of the society, and for national building projects like roads that truly
benefited the people on a corporate level. The Biblical reality is that the story of David’s son,
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King Solomon, is told in a fashion meant to highlight that he violated all of these provisions of
the law: to abstain from an overly large military, to avoid having many wives and the alliances
they represented, and to not store up for himself wealth. Even with Israel having a king, the law
we are reading in Deuteronomy was designed to retain God as the ultimate king of Israel, and
the human king simply God’s representative on earth accomplishing the Father’s will (even
though much more imperfectly than if Israel had not insisted on having a human king).
It is difficult in a short period of time to explain why God’s definition of an earthly king as
ordained in Deuteronomy is so opposite of mankind’s definition of a king. But suffice it to say
that earthly kings typically created the laws for their people and just as typically exempted
themselves from their own laws. Since Israel’s Laws came from God Almighty, then Israel’s
kings were to be as much under Yehoveh’s laws as was any other Hebrew citizen.
From verse 18 to the end is one of the most interesting instructions that brings a lump to my
throat whenever I read it. Upon his selection the FIRST duty of new king is to borrow the
original Torah scrolls from the priests of Israel and then to write a copy of that document for
Himself. The King is NOT to have a scribe make a copy for him, he is to take whatever time is
needed to write it word-for-word and then keep it close by his side as that instrument that
governs his life and is the law of the land for governing the people who look to him for
leadership.
There is only one detailed narrative of the coronation of an Israelite King in the Bible, and it is
of the very young boy, Yoash, in 2 Kings 11. Yoash was only 7 years old when he became the
king of the southern kingdom of Judah.
This is well worth taking a few minutes to read for a number of reasons. Turn your Bibles to 2
Kings 11 and we’ll read from verse 1 through verse16.
READ 2 KINGS 11:1 - 16
First we see that the Hebrews had become just like their pagan neighbors when it came to the
attributes of King and how he came into power. We see secrecy, we see a power struggle, we
see a personal agenda and we see the death of rivals.
Second we see that as always happened when a king came to power, instead of the king
serving the people the king quickly turned to making the people his servants. What possible
wisdom and strength and leadership could a 7 year-old child offer? None. It was his parents
and those who wanted to manipulate this boy for their own personal power and gain who were
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actually in control.
Third, notice that the army was under the control of the ruling family and it was the army’s job
#1 to keep the king and his family safe from the people!
Fourth, also notice the rather fleeting mention in verse 12 of giving the king a copy of the
testimony (meaning the Law, the Torah). This was supposed to happen not as mere
symbolism as part of a coronation ceremony but rather as something the king was to do in
earnest after he was put into power. What was a 7 year-old going to do with the Torah Scrolls?
He had no ability to copy them let alone carry out the justice they contained. This was just
crass pomp and ceremony and a hollow gesture that had no real meaning; by this time it was
something they did as a tradition and probably didn’t even remember why.
Yet later we’ll read that as this king grew older he DID apparently take the Torah seriously and
turned to it for wisdom. On the other hand he still ruled much like a typical Middle Eastern
King; he even gave away some of the Temple’s sacred treasures to make peace with an
Assyrian King and later was murdered by his own servants.
I can tell you as one who manuscripts every lesson I have ever taught, that the act of fully
writing something out has a mysterious component to it that allows one to remember it better
and to contemplate it deeper. Back in the day before the new progressive teaching methods
that have made reading, writing, and math secondary to learning secular human social
agendas such as tolerance, diversity, and anything-goes sexuality, repetitive writing was used
to facilitate memory and retention. It works; and here in Deuteronomy the Lord orders the King
of Israel to employ muscle memory, if you would, for the purpose of drinking in deeply and
never forgetting the Lord’s commands upon the King and the laws that he is to enforce upon
those he serves. Few of Israel’s kings paid these laws any heed.
Let’s move on to chapter 18.
READ DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 18 all
The previous chapter outlined the general boundaries and limitations for 2 of the 4 classes of
government leaders of Israel: Judges and Kings. This chapter now does the same for the
remaining 2 classes, priests and prophets.
Verse 1 begins with the matter of the priests and reiterates that the official group of priests of
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Israel comes ONLY from the tribe of Levi. It is noteworthy that since Exodus and the
establishment of the Priesthood, the phrase “the Levitical priests” is often included when
matters concerning the clergy of Israel are raised. The reason is as simple on the one hand as
it is complex on the other. It is simple because while God has declared that only ONE tribe
(Levi) is to provide God’s authorized servants, and only ONE clan within that tribe (Aaron’s) is
to provide the Priests, this was not something that the other tribes of Israel found easy to
accept. It was the norm for most other Middle Eastern cultures of that era for the King to
choose the highest priest and then the highest priest would usually choose the lesser priests. A
new King usually meant a new batch of priests. What families these priests came from DID
play some role in their selection, but it was far more a matter of political (and therefore
economic) influence rather than some long established heredity right to their position.
Remember; until the Law was given on Mt. Sinai there WAS no official priesthood for the
Hebrews and certainly no priestly tribe had been appointed. Rather the firstborns from each
family, from every tribe, tended to behave as a sort of family priest. This was a special status
relished by the firstborn of each family who held it. So when Moses told the 12 tribes that God
has ordered that this “firstborn” system was to come to an end, to be replaced by members of
the tribe of Levi, it was naturally met with stiff resistance. As we’ve talked about mankind’s
propensity to be in a never-ending search for loopholes no matter what his faith or religion he
adheres to, the tribes of Israel did their best to punch holes in the laws concerning who could
be priests. Therefore we’ll find the phrase “Levitical priests” used repeatedly to make it
abundantly clear that ONLY Levites formed the clergy for Israel.
Another reminder is contained within the first verse: it is that while the Levites were blessed
with the higher-than-everyone-else holiness status (needed to be God’s servants and priests)
they also paid a heavy price for that election. They were not given hereditary tribal land
holdings in Israel as were the other 12 tribes. Looking on a map from the days of Joshua and
for several hundred years after, we’ll find fairly well defined districts that were assigned as
“forever” land holdings to each tribe; but nowhere is there a territory of Levi. Instead the
Levites were assigned 48 cities scattered among the 12 tribal districts along with a few acres of
pastureland just outside the walls of those cities.
It is this understanding of both the Levites’ status and they’re lack of land that Israel is to
respond by means of their corporate duty to economically support the tribe of Levi in exchange
for the Levite’s duties to the central sanctuary, the local courts, and as teachers of the Law.
The focus of verses 3-5 is to address the livelihood of the priests and Levites and we’re told
that this livelihood is to come primarily from the sacrifices of firstlings as offered by members of
the other 12 tribes (meaning the firstborn animal sacrifices and the firstfruits from the field and
the tree crops). As we covered a long time ago in Leviticus there were many specific
classifications of sacrifices, each with a different protocol and purpose. Therefore back in verse
1 we’re told that a group of sacrifices (typically rendered in English as “fire offerings” or
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something similar) is to be the source of sacrificial offerings from which the priests and Levites
are to keep a portion for themselves. The Hebrew term for “fire offering” is ishsheh; and it is
NOT the same thing as that common term “the burnt offering”, which in Hebrew is ‘olah.
Ishsheh represents a series of sacrifices that are designated as those that while a portion is
burned up on the Altar another and larger portion can be used for food for the clergy; while
‘Olah indicates a class of sacrifice in which the ENTIRE animal is burned up and NONE of the
meat can be used for food by anyone. Let me be clear about something because someone
asked me about it last week and it was a good question; was all the meat from the sacrificed
animal placed on the Altar fire and then some of it removed for food when it was cooked? The
answer is no; that which was to be held back for the clergy and the worshipper was not put
onto the Altar fire. This wasn’t like a backyard bar-b-que where the meat was cooked on a
communal grill and then everyone grabbed a rib or a burger.
That Altar was not a place where meat was cooked; rather the meat was to be destroyed,
burned up completely until it was only ashes.
Three specific parts of the various sacrificial animals (when used as fire offerings) were to be
set aside as food for the priests and Levites: the shoulder (meaning the upper part of the right
foreleg than goes from shoulder to knee), and that part of the stomach that is often called the
“fourth stomach”. Also the clergy is to receive the jowls and the tongue. Now for most
moderns the last couple of items are considered as waste meat but that was NOT the case in
this era. These were good and desired portions of meat and not just in the Hebrew culture.
In verse 4 we’re told that in addition to these meat portions certain agricultural produce was to
go to the priests. We’ve talked on several occasions about firstfruits offerings; well, it was
understood that ALL firstfruits were to go to the Levite clergy as their portion. And in addition to
grain and fruit this included olive oil and wine, and even wool from the sheerings of the sheep
among a rather lengthy list of other items.
Starting in verse 6 we get this cryptic statement that a Levite can go from any settlement within
the land of Israel “to the place the Lord has chosen”, and if that Levite desires he can serve
there. Here’s all this is getting at: most Levites lived in small towns and cities in remote areas
of the various Israelite tribal territories. It was in one of these 48 Levite towns that they lived
and served. Many Levites, however, desired to serve at the awesome central sanctuary, the
seat of religious power, and not just at some local village and dealing with mundane everyday
matters. Therefore the Lord makes it clear that all Levites are to be given an opportunity to
participate at the Tabernacle if they so desire. And later we’ll see an interesting system of
“courses” devised whereby the Levites are organized into groups from various areas and are
given their turn (as a unit) to officiate and serve at the Temple in a set rotation. And as it says
in verse 8, they shall share and share alike from the offerings and sacrifices; no one is to be
excluded or to get more than another.
Next, chapter 18 discusses the all-important office of Prophet. And it is interesting that what
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has been set down as limitations and warnings for Judges and Kings not to abuse their power,
and then the instruction for Israel to make provisions for priests and Levites, now turns to the
duty of the people to pay close heed to the Prophets. And in this case it is that ALL Israel is to
listen to these Prophets: Judges, Kings, Priests and citizens at large. Prophets represented an
official office within Israel. These people were not self-appointed per se. While priests were to
observe and teach and in some cases adjudicate the written Word of God (the Law, the
Torah), the Prophets were more Moses-like (or maybe more Samuel-like). The Prophets were
those who had a legitimate line of communication directly with God.
Since Prophets are God’s messengers to Israel and to Israel’s leaders then Israel is of course
to obey the words of the Prophets because they are God’s words.
Beginning in verse 9 a couple of scenarios are laid out for Israel: 1
st
is what Israel’s attitude is
to be toward the “abhorrent practices of the nations”; that is, pagan practices as concerns
communicating with the gods. What pagans were usually doing in attempting to communicate
with the spirit world was to find out about the future. I’m not sure that there is a greater
temptation among men than to find some way, any way, to find out about what the future holds
that might directly affect them. Nostradamus, Edgar Casey, and so many other psychics and
fortunetellers are held in high regard in every part of the world because it seems everyone has
reason to want to know what lies ahead. God has authorized exactly one way for us to know
about the future: and it is Him. If it isn’t from Him, we’re not to seek it. Further He says that
the way He lets us know what part of the future He deems He wants us to know is by means of
His prophets and/or His Word.
Verses 10 and 11 list a whole series of unauthorized means to attempt to get at the future and
it ranges from offering a child sacrifice to a god in exchange for a favor of information, to
divining, sorcery, and even attempting to talk with the spirits of the dead. Now while this is not
intended to be an exhaustive list of every possible means of trying to apprehend the future, it
does cover the most common and well-known methods. And what is listed includes things like
reading the entrails of animals, talking with ghosts, looking at patterns of oil or blood dripped
into bowls of water, magic, and so on.
And the Lord says that anyone who does these things is abhorrent to the Lord. Let’s be clear:
you know those cute little Psychic hotlines advertised on TV? Tarot cards we can buy at
Barnes and Noble? Palm Readers next to the Tattoo Parlors? We might joke about them, but
those folks are serious about what they do. And God is serious about it too. All I can tell you is
that for God’s people to even get close to dealing with folks who do such things (even as a
lark) puts us into a direct confrontation with Yehoveh. Not a good idea. And the Lord says that
THIS is the reason that He is kicking the Canaanites out of their land and giving it to Israel.
Therefore Israel is not to do what the Canaanites have been doing in trying to divine the future.
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Rather says the Lord in verse 15, He will raise up a Prophet for Israel for this purpose; that
when it is God’s will that Israel know things about the future God will anoint a Prophet to tell
them. And in that quote it is made crystal clear that when a Prophet speaks, Israel is to obey.
But it also says in verse 20 that, if a prophet speaks something that God didn’t tell him to say,
or speaks in the name of false gods, then that Prophet must be executed. This is a HEBREW
Prophet that is being spoken of here.
So the 1
st
issue concerns pagan prophets, but now the issue is Israelite Prophets. And the
question becomes a sticky one that has bedeviled Judaism and Christianity forever: how can
we tell a false prophet from a true Prophet of Yehoveh, when both are claiming to be loyal
Believers of the God of Israel and both are claiming that their word is directly from God and
therefore trustworthy? The simplistic answer lies in verse 22: when a prophet says he is
speaking a word from the Lord and it does not happen, then that person is a false prophet and
should not be listened to. Yet sometimes the prophecy that is spoken is to occur so far into the
future, how will the people hearing it ever know which guy to believe?
This opens up quite a can of worms as well as a pet peeve of mine and it concerns those who
make a habit of saying to others, “I have a word from the Lord for you”. In other words, they
have declared themselves to be Prophets. If you are tempted to put yourself in that position (or
you are convinced that the Lord has indeed anointed you as a Prophet) then I ask you to think
long and hard about what we’re reading here in Deuteronomy 18. God leaves no wiggle room
at all; if you truly have a message from Him it is infallible and it must happen precisely as
given. If it doesn’t happen then it wasn’t from Him, it was from another source, and the
Prophet who spoke it is false. A Prophet can speak the truth 10 times and be right, but if he
should get carried away and say something 1 time that is NOT from God, the consequences
for delivering a false message can be pretty severe, with the loss of credibility among his peers
being the least of it.
Even God’s greatest Prophets (the ones who have books of the Bible named for them) worried
constantly about whether to tell the people what they believed God told them. They often had
doubts about whether they were correct; they wondered whether or not what had actually
entered their minds was indeed divine in origin. Or was it their imaginations working overtime,
or even worse? God’s greatest Prophets knew that being chosen as His Prophet didn’t mean
THEY were incapable of being wrong, it only meant that GOD was incapable of being wrong.
Therefore all of God’s Prophets were by definition “reluctant” Prophets in every sense, in that
they weren’t seeking to be a Prophet when God called them and they weren’t even sure they
wanted the job when the Lord gave them the message. They were usually full of doubts about
whether to actually deliver the Lord’s message to the people. Part of the reason for this
insecurity was that Prophets were often beaten, jailed and martyred, and at the least had very
difficult and often isolated lives. This is because the messages from God were usually not ones
that the people particularly wanted to hear; you know the old saying about how people seem
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always to want to kill the messenger of unwelcome news.
There was another facet to this predicament as well: Prophets understood God’s sovereignty
to a point that we generally don’t. They knew full well that God might send them with a
message that if the people didn’t stop doing thus and so and repent, that God was going to
destroy them. The Prophets also understood that it was God who would determine if the
people complied; the Lord didn’t consider the views of humans who merely stood back and
observed. So like the story of Jonah at Ninevah, Jonah was concerned that the people of
Ninevah might actually listen to God’s ultimatum, repent in their hearts (invisibly to humans but
exactly what God was looking for) and avoid the prophesy of destruction Jonah pronounced to
them. The result would be that God would overturn His decision to annihilate the city and
withhold His wrath. From Jonah’s standpoint the prophecy of destruction that he preached
then might not occur and that would have made Him a false prophet in the people’s eyes; and
at the least his own people would no longer hear him, and at worst he might be executed for
being a false prophet. He was so concerned about this prospect that he fled and tried to hide
from Yehoveh; God had to retrieve him and threaten him to deliver the message to the people
of Ninevah. All of this anxiety and trouble that Jonah faced was completely standard operating
procedure for God’s Prophets in the Bible, and it’s my contention that such a pattern never
changes.
So let’s understand: while being a Prophet is a great and honorable thing, it is fraught with
danger and difficulty. It’s not something to be sought after. Telling someone what you believe
to be a word from the Lord is no trivial thing, and the Bible’s Prophets are the greatest
example of that.
Next week we’ll begin Deuteronomy 19.
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