Debarim (Deuteronomy) 18 — Is This For Us?

Lesson date:7/4/5854AA

When we read Torah sometimes we have to wonder, Is This For Us? What about sacrifices? What about a Temple? What does this have to do with us? Debarim is one of those chapters and we have to look at the fulfillment of prophecy rather than just the prophecy itself.

Verses 1-2 – Deu 18:1 “The priests, the Lĕwites, all the tribe of Lĕwi, have no part nor inheritance with Yisra’ĕl. They are to eat the offerings of יהוה made by fire, and His inheritance.

Deu 18:2 “But among his brothers Lĕwi has no inheritance. יהוה is his inheritance, as He has spoken to him.

Some people are saying, “Wow, I am glad I am not a Levite.” But is that the proper attitude? So, let’s look to what Yeshua said to determine whether or not we should seek an inheritance: Mat 8:20 And יהושע said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven nests, but the Son of Aḏam has nowhere to lay His head.”

Luk 9:58 And יהושע said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven nests, but the Son of Aḏam has nowhere to lay His head.”

Mat_19:21 יהושע said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

Mar_10:21 And יהושע, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One matter you lack: Go, sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me, taking up the stake.”

Luk_12:33 “Sell your possessions and give in kindness. Make yourselves purses which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief does come near nor moth destroys.

Luk_18:22 And hearing this, יהושע said to him, “Yet one you lack: Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

Luk_22:35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without purse and bag and sandals, did you lack any?” And they said, “None at all.”

Are we supposed to desire an inheritance? Joh 12:25 “He who loves his life shall lose it, and he who hates his life in this world shall preserve it for everlasting life.

Rom_12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.

Exo_19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Rev_1:6 and has made us sovereigns and priests to His Elohim and Father, to Him be esteem and rule forever and ever. Amĕn.

Rev_5:10 and made us sovereigns and priests to our Elohim, and we shall reign upon the earth.”

Rev_20:6 Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

So does verses 1 and 2 apply to us? You bet. But where does it say that “we” are a priesthood?

1Pe_2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah.

1Pe_2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light,

Why are we to consider ourselves a priesthood? Because we are Yisra’el. We are descendants of Abraham: Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were immersed into Messiah have put on Messiah.

Gal 3:28 There is not Yehuḏite nor Greek, there is not slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Messiah יהושע.

Gal 3:29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Abraham, and heirs according to promise.

If we are to be priests, what is our inheritance? A shoulder, two cheeks and a stomach.

H2220 – זְרֹעָה – זְרוֹעָה – זְרֹעַ – זְרוֹעַ – zerôa‛ zerôa‛ zerô‛âh zerô‛âh – zer-o’-ah (1,2), zer-o-aw’ (3,4) From H2232; the arm (as stretched out), or (of animals) the foreleg; figuratively force: – arm, + help, mighty, power, shoulder, strength.

Haven’t you ever hear the phrase, “Put your shoulder into it.” It being the task at hand. The shoulder represents the power of the ox, the ability to do the work laid out before us. Also, look at the root word from which it is derived: H2232 – זָרַע – zâra‛ – zaw-rah’ – A primitive root; to sow; figuratively to disseminate, plant, fructify: – bear, conceive seed, set with, sow (-er), yield.

This is what we are to do, to sow, to plant seed, to bear fruit: Mat_7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Mar_4:20 “And those sown on good soil, are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirtyfold, and some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Luk_3:8 “Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that Elohim is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Two cheeks: H3895 – לְחִי – lechı̂y – lekh-ee’ – From an unused root meaning to be soft; the cheek (from its fleshiness); hence the jaw bone: – cheek (bone), jaw (bone). This would be our mouth, for us to profess the richness of our inheritance, the Messiah who made it possible and Our Father who made a way to redeem us back unto Himself. Mat 10:32 “Everyone, therefore, who shall confess Me before men, him I shall also confess before My Father who is in the heavens.

Rom_10:9 That if you confess with your mouth the Master יהושע and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Php_2:11 and every tongue should confess that יהושע Messiah is Master, to the esteem of Elohim the Father.

1Jn_1:9 If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here is the beauty of the word confess in Greek: G3670 – ὁμολογέω – homologeō – hom-ol-og-eh’-o From a compound of the base of G3674 and G3056; to assent, that is, covenant, acknowledge: When we confess we covenant. Isn’t that beautiful? We proclaim something 7 times to enter into a covenant with YHVH and His Son Yeshua.

The stomach of every clean animal is a 2-stage stomach – H6896 – קֵבָה – qêbâh – kay-baw’ – From H6895; the paunch (as a cavity) or first stomach of ruminants: – maw. It is the first stomach of a ruminant, the place where the food goes and the cow, sheep or goat coughs it up to chew over and over to get the full nutrition from that food. To ruminate or meditate over YHVH’s Word: Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, And he meditates in His Torah day and night.

Psa_63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.

Psa_77:6 I remember my song in the night, I meditate within my heart, And my spirit searches diligently.

Psa_77:12 And I shall meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.

Psa_119:15 I meditate on Your orders, And regard Your ways.

Psa_119:27 Make me understand the way of Your orders; That I might meditate on Your wonders.

Psa_119:48 That I might lift up my hands to Your commands, Which I have loved; While I meditate on Your laws.

What else is in the inheritance of the Levite? Deu 18:4 the first-fruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep,

Each one of these things requires work on the part of the one bringing the offering. We will see why in our study of Nehemiah: Neh 13:10 And I learned that the portions for the Lĕwites had not been given them, for each of the Lĕwites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.

It is hard to do the work of Elohim if you have to work doing your own work. This inheritance was meant for the priests to be constantly doing the work of Elohim and not having to labor at another task.

Verses 5-8 – This reminds me of the circuit riding preachers, who would travel from community to community preaching the Word. My mother’s great grandfather was a circuit riding preacher and had a regular schedule of meetings in different communities. This was done because there were too few preachers in the area. In fact, there was also a shortage of buildings to hold services, so one community, Belah, got together and built a building for the whole community. On the first and third Sundays the Baptist would use the building and the second and fourth Sundays the Methodists would use it. It became known as the Belah Fellowship.

Verses 9-12 – This is the part that we have to be very careful of and for in our worship of YHVH. We all came out of a “religion” established by man and not Elohim. This religion did away with Yah’s Holy Days, removed His Name from His Word, elevated His Son above Him and established as doctrine ideas that are forbidden for His people, who are called by His Name, to believe and do. Remember, we cannot worship YHVH as the pagan’s worshipped their gods and then call it “good”. Jer 10:1 Hear the word which יהוה speaks to you, O house of Yisra’ĕl.

Jer 10:2 Thus said יהוה, “Do not learn the way of the gentiles, and do not be awed by the signs of the heavens, for the gentiles are awed by them.

Jer 10:3 “For the prescribed customs of these peoples are worthless, for one cuts a tree from the forest, work for the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

Jer 10:4 “They adorn it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it does not topple.

Jer 10:5 “They are like a rounded post, and they do not speak. They have to be carried, because they do not walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they do no evil, nor is it in them to do any good.”

Jer 10:6 There is none like You, O יהוה. You are great, and great is Your Name in might.

Jer 10:7 Who would not fear You, O Sovereign of the nations? For this is Your due, for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their reigns, there is none like You.

Jer 10:8 They are both brutish and foolish, an instruction of worthlessness is the tree.

Jer 10:9 Silver is beaten into plates; it is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the smith; draped in blue and purple; all of them are the work of skilled ones.

Gentile = H1471 – גֹי גּוֹי – gôy gôy – go’ee, go’-ee Apparently from the same root as H1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts: – Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

Can we transform, change, transmute a Christmas tree into something that YHVH wants to be associated with Him? No! Deu 12:1 “These are the laws and right-rulings which you guard to do in the land which יהוה Elohim of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the soil.

Deu 12:2 “Completely destroy all the places where the nations which you are dispossessing served their mighty ones, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.

Deu 12:3 “And you shall break down their altars, and smash their pillars, and burn their Ashĕrim with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their mighty ones and shall destroy their name out of that place. ((Footnote: The names of the gentile deities (mighty ones). You know like Sun-day, Moon-day, Tiu’s-day, Vodins-day(ever wonder why it was spelled so funny?) Thors-day, Freya’s-day and Saturn-day. A different day a different god.))

Deu 12:4 “Do not do so to יהוה your Elohim,

Deu 12:30 guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too.’

Deu 12:31 “Do not do so to יהוה your Elohim, for every abomination which יהוה hates they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones.

Deu 12:32 “All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it – do not add to it nor take away from it.

We worshipped Elohim according to the commands of the priests of Mystery Babylon and did not know it until the Ruach Hakodesh called us out of our error. The only part of the calendar that is still based on scripture is September (seventh month), October (eighth month), November (ninth month) and December (tenth month) but even then they are based on the solar calendar and not the lunar calendar so, they may are may not fall at the right time.

How many children are being put to death, in this country alone, to a false god, hedonism? Satan requires blood sacrifices and this world is only too eager to provide them.

Exo_13:2 “Set apart to Me all the first-born, the one opening the womb among the children of Yisra’ĕl, among man and among beast, it is Mine.”

Exo_34:19 “Everyone opening the womb is Mine, and every male first-born among your livestock, whether bull or sheep.

Num_3:13 because all the first-born are Mine. On the day that I struck all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, I set apart to Myself all the first-born in Yisra’ĕl, both man and beast. They are Mine, I am יהוה.”

Num_8:17 “For all the first-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl are Mine, both man and beast. On the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim I set them apart unto Myself.

Verse 10 – Did you know that all the “holy” sites in Yerushalayim were located by Constantine’s mother (his lifelong lover) and she used divination to find them? Like Constantine, she worshipped Mithras her entire life and practiced divination and was a spiritist. She is venerated as a saint in several different denominations ((Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)) and is proclaimed to be the equal of the Apostles. Really? Any wonder it is called Mystery Babylon.

Verse 13 – What are we to do? Be perfect. H8549 – תָּמִים – tâmı̂ym – taw-meem’ – From H8552; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth: – without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole. The root word from which this word is derived (tamam) has the modern meaning of “okay”. Kol tamam = everything is okay.

We are supposed to be without spot or blemish, complete, undefiled (especially in our worship of Him). It does not mean that we have to be perfect in our modern understanding of perfect but rather sincere in our worship.

Verse 14 – We are not to listen, much less seek out, magicians, diviners, soothsayers, mediums, those who channel dead spirits or necromancers (like Nostrodamus).

Verse 15-22 – Did YHVH appoint prophets? Of course He did but, this speaks of a particular Prophet. This is a special prophet: Mat 21:11 And the crowds said, “This is יהושע, the prophet from Natsareth of Galil.”

Look at the lat part of 15 and all of 16: Listen to Him, Deu 18:16 according to all you asked of יהוה your Elohim in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of יהוה my Elohim, nor let me see this great fire any more, lest I die.’

Mosheh is reminding the Children of Yisra’el that they amended the Ketubah at Mt. Sinai and chose not to hear YHVH’s Voice. Only priest and prophets heard YHVH’s Voice(Word). This changed after Yeshua ascended into heaven, 10 days afterward. On Shavuot, the Ruach Hakodesh descended on mankind so that we can now hear YHVH’s Voice. The full Ketubah has been restored, as prophecized by Joel: Joe 2:28 “And after this it shall be that I pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream dreams, your young men see visions.

Joe 2:29 “And also on the male servants and on the female servants I shall pour out My Spirit in those days.

Notice please, that females are included in this pouring out of the spirit but according to the custom of the “church” they have to remain quiet. Satan has used bad translations to silence women even though they received the same spirit. At least half of the workforce is silent.

Ahavah vberakhot

Lesson date: 10/13/5857AA

You have to ask yourself, “Is this really about Levi?” or is this about someone else. For me it is really a foreshadowing of the coming of Yeshu’a who exemplifies the High Priesthood. The writer of the Book of Hebrews goes into great detail about Yeshu’a inheriting the title of High Priest even though He was not from the Tribe of Levi: Heb_2:17 So in every way He had to be made like His brothers, in order to become a compassionate and trustworthy High Priest in matters related to Elohim, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Heb_3:1 Therefore, set-apart brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, closely consider the Emissary and High Priest of our confession, Messiah יהושע,

Heb_4:14 Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, יהושע the Son of Elohim, let us hold fast our confession.

Heb_8:1 Now the summary of what we are saying is: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Greatness in the heavens,

Heb_9:11 But Messiah, having become a High Priest of the coming good matters, through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,

When we read Torah sometimes we have to wonder, “Is this for us?” What about sacrifices? What about a Temple? What does this have to do with us? Debarim is one of those chapters and we have to look at the fulfillment of prophecy rather than just the prophecy itself.