The Levites were the spiritual leaders teaching the people the Word of God. So the Israelites were not allowed to toy around with divination, sorcery, omens, witchcraft, mediums and spiritists (Deut.18:9-13). They are to pay attention to the clear written word of God and obey it (17:18-19). If they do not destroy the idolatry in Canaan they will be tempted to their false methods of worship. Divination - Seeking knowledge by supernatural means (eg. Balaam) Sorcery - Claiming to have magical powers to gain religious control Omens - Something that happens as a sign of how a person will fare in the future Witchcraft - The art of using allegedly magical powers to allure or influence Mediums & Spiritists - Claiming to have insight and contact with the dead God wants Israel to live and worship according to the laws and decrees He gave them in writing. He didn’t just give them written laws but also teachers of the law who are Levites. If they stick to God’s written laws then they will stay away from Canaanite practices. Verse 14 states that “God has not permitted them to worship in those ways”. God is saying that He does not relate to the Israelites through divination, sorcery, omens, witchcraft or consulting with the dead. (be careful of preachers who say that “God spoke to their spirit to tell the people” [lots of false leaders are out there doing that]). Lots of church organizations engage in Canaanite practices because they minor on the written Word of God. Deut 17:18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees Deut 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:12:26 +0000
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