9 “When 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. 10 There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, 11 or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For 12 whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. 15 The 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; 16 according 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. 17 And the Lord said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. 19 And 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.”
Golden Text.—“This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.” John 6:14.
Special Helps.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” Ch. 28, page 330; Ch. 43, page 480.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) In giving counsel to Israel, what land is spoken of? What were the people forbidden to do in that land? Verse 9. Note 1. (2) What classes of deceivers were they forbidden to tolerate among them? Verses 10, 11. (3) What were some of the characteristics of these classes? Note 2. (4) How does God personally regard all these classes? What befell the nations of Canaan because of these evil practices? Verse 12. Note 3. (5) What kind of character did God design that Israel should develop? Verse 13. (6) Has this design toward His people changed? Note 4. (7) What contrast is drawn between the heathen and Israel? Verse 14. (8) What promise is then given to the people? Verse 15. Note 5. (9) In harmony with what desire was this promise made? Verse 16. (10) What did the Lord say in regard to that desire? Verse 17. Note 6. (11) What promise was made at that time? Verse 18. (12) What is the consequence of rejecting the words of that Prophet? Verse 19.
NOTES.
1. Forty years the Lord had been preparing His people for entrance into a land from which He was about to drive out another people on account of their abominations. So He now gives Israel a warning exhortation. They had no reason to expect any other result of disobedience than had fallen upon the Canaanites.
2. “To pass through the fire” was part of the worship of the Phœnician god, Molech. A large image of brass, with head of an ox, and members of the human body, was heated, and children were placed in its arms. Divination.—Securing information from a god by some method of drawing lots. Augury, A.V., “observer of times,” from a word signifying “to cover,” “to cloud over,” referring to the hidden, secret work. It may relate to those who observed the heathen days, devoted to their gods. An enchanter is one who observes omens, an example being divination by the flight of birds; prophesying from signs that consist in words, or actions, or in fire, or rain. A sorcerer, or witch, one who uses herbs or spells for producing magical effects. A charmer is one who attracts or fascinates by a spell, something akin to hypnotism. A necromancer (A.V. “consulter with familiar spirits,”) as also a wizard, is one who claims communication with supernatural sources of various kinds; “one who interrogates the dead.”
3. “These things,” the things mentioned in the preceding verses, were all practised in Israel in later times, notwithstanding the prohibition. See 2 Samuel 8; 1 Kings 14:21-24; 2 Kings 17:16-18; 2 Chron. 33:1-9; Eze. 23:36-39. That prohibition is just as binding to-day as it ever was. God changes not (Mal. 3:6), therefore what was abomination to Him in any former time is abomination to Him still, and ever will be.
4. The purpose of God’s longsuffering mercy has not changed. He is still saying to His professed people, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. See, also, Eph. 4:11-13; Col. 1:28; 4:12.
5. The Prophet that was to be raised up like unto Moses was Christ. There were many prophets raised up in Israel, but none could be said to be like Moses until Christ was manifested. Deut. 34:10-12; Ex. 33:11; John 1:45; Acts 3:23, 24. So intimately are Moses and Christ connected as type and antitype, that it is impossible to be a believer in Christ’s words without believing in the writings of Moses. John 5:46, 47. Yet, strange as it may seem, there are many who profess to believe Christ who ignore the writings of Moses.
6. The Voice that spoke the ten commandments from Sinai, together with the awe-inspiring scene on the mountain, so terrified the people that they asked that Moses should speak to them instead of God. Ex. 20:18, 19. It was no wonder that they made the request; for, although Moses spoke comforting words to them, he himself did “exceedingly fear and quake” because of the “terrible sight.” Heb. 12:21. In their sinful condition, the people could not approach God directly, and their desire for a mediator was a virtual acknowledgment of that fact. The promise of a Prophet like unto Moses (a mediatorial Prophet) was a comforting reply to this request, and Moses was a type of the true Mediator. Now that Moses was about to be taken away from them, it was fitting that the promise be repeated.
