Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Lesson Focus
God calls us as a community of faith to discernment regarding the voices we listen to as we seek to become better followers of Jesus Christ.
Lesson Outcomes
Through this lesson, students should:
Understand the historical context of Deuteronomy 18:15-20, recognizing the challenges faced by the people of Israel in discerning the true voice of God amidst a pluralistic society.
Grasp the significance of God's promise to raise up prophets like Moses, realizing the criteria provided for discerning authentic messages from God, and the importance of accountability in heeding these messages.
Appreciate the relevance of the lesson for the contemporary church, acknowledging the need for discernment in navigating diverse voices, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, grounding decisions in scriptural knowledge, and fostering communal discernment within the faith community.
Catching up on the Story
The Exodus is over and done. Moses and God’s people received the law at Sinai and made their way to the Promised Land, and Moses was given God’s instructions for living in this new land among new and different people. Part of the backdrop here is the plurality of faiths surrounding Israel in their new home.
The people of Canaan served other gods who were not, nor could be, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...” These people and their gods had strange (not so odd at the time!) religious practices. Some practices were benign, while others were downright detestable and abhorrent.
In the section preceding today’s text, verses 9-14, the people are warned not to take up any of their neighbor’s practices. They should not make their children “pass through fire” or practice divination or sorcery. Neither are they to consult with ghosts or spirits. It is because the people of the land practice these very things that God is removing them from the land.
The warning to refrain from these practices comes because God desires his people's absolute loyalty. The danger in these practices is directly related to their ability to draw Israel away from dependence on God. God knows that, given the chance, Israel will seek guidance and direction from any source that might seem promising. God knows that Israel frequently forgets that God is the only reliable and faithful source of guidance and protection. Indeed, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only legitimate source of guidance and protection ever.
A Prophet like Moses
God desires to ensure that Israel knows how they should go and live. As Moses and Israel made their way out from Egypt, God was faithful and continued to reveal himself and his will to the people. But these encounters with God were frightening, and Israel grew weary of them.
In verse 16, Moses reminds the people that they requested to have him mediate God’s words, saying, “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God anymore, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” So, Moses became God's mediated voice and will to the people. But Moses and the people know that Moses cannot go into the Promised Land with them. How, then, shall they know what God desires? Certainly not through sorcery, divination, or consulting the spirits of the dead!
If anything is apparent, even through the small portion of the story of God and creation that the Bible covers, it is that God’s faithfulness is unlimited, especially regarding Israel. God will not leave God’s people without someone to guide them.
So, God promises to raise a prophet from among the people who will be like Moses. In what ways will this prophet be like Moses? It won’t be that this prophet is precisely like Moses, or that he (or she!) will lead people out of slavery and bondage, but that this prophet will “have the same relationship to the people and to Yahweh’s word as Moses did” (Nelson, 235). God will raise someone who will speak God’s words to the people.
At this point, it might be easy to read this passage eschatologically or with an eye toward Jesus the Messiah, but this isn’t necessarily the case. The original language of both verse 15 and verse 18 is plural, reading something like, “I will raise up for them prophets from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophets...” While Jesus certainly speaks with the voice of God, he isn’t the only one that God will use to guide Israel.
The promise of God’s continued faithful presence with Israel comes with a command and a warning. Israel is to heed the voice of these prophets. Israel is to do what they say because it comes from God. If they do not, then God will hold them accountable. Reading this passage as we do from the vantage point of hindsight, it is easy to see how God’s promise and command come true. Israel will have lots of prophets through the years. Some people recognize and follow, while others do not. In every case, when the prophets are not heeded, the people are held accountable. Remember, these words come in a context where Israel is surrounded by a multiplicity of voices calling Israel to a life different than the one God intends for her.
A Multiplicity of Voices
With the warning about accountability comes a warning that there will be prophets who speak to Israel who talk about the voice of other gods or claim to say the words of the true God but do not. We get the sense that there could even be well-intentioned prophets who think they are speaking the words of God because they believe that what they have to say is what the people need to hear who are not telling the words of God. Those rogue prophets will be held accountable, too. Then Moses anticipates the question on every Israelite's mind: “How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?’ Indeed, this is a question that is not solely pertinent for Israel but has been and will continue to be salient for Christians the world over. Let’s be honest for a second; we are not Israel, and we do not have prophets in the same way that Israel did. We do not live in a country of tribes who can all trace their ancestry back to Abraham. While we believe that God speaks through the words and actions of devout men and women, none of these men and women are on the same level as Moses, Isaiah, or Hosea. None of their words will ever be enshrined as Holy Scripture. But that does not mean that we’re alone and without guidance. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit on this side of the resurrection. All of us have been provided the Spirit to collectively discern God’s will and the way we are to go.
Moses gives us a simple criterion for discerning if the words of a prophet should be followed. If the thing about which the prophet speaks comes true, then it is a word from the Lord. If not, the prophet has spoken presumptuously, and Israel is not to be frightened by it.
So What?
At issue in this text is authority. In the new world that Israel is about to enter, who will help them know what God desires? As we have already said, God will not leave his people without guidance, but Moses will not be able to go with the people. Certified mouthpieces for God are the obvious answer, but how will God’s people know if they’re genuine? The text suggests that they will know the outcome of the prophet's words. Did those words prove true? Are those words in accordance with the other things God has commanded? Those are the questions to which Israel, and by extension, the church, must discern.
Like Israel, the church today is situated amid a cacophony of voices. Our world is every bit as pluralistic as Israel’s was. Many voices are telling us they know what God desires of us. Those voices are both from outside the church and from within. Many are well-intentioned, but many are not.
At its peril, the church is tempted to blindly follow any voice that seems to please the ears by promising health, wealth, or authority in the public sphere. But again, how do we know which voices are from God and which are not? A few ways seem obvious:
First, we must always seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must pray and ask God to guide us as we discern which voices we will follow.
Second, we must intimately know the scriptures. Both the Old and New Testaments reveal to us the character and nature of God, and Jesus is the fullest revelation about who God is. This question might seem trite, but we must ask, “What would Jesus do?”
Third, if we are serious about following God’s commands, then every voice we hear must be filtered through Jesus’ double command to love God without entire being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Is this voice encouraging us to fulfill that command? If so, then it has a high probability of being from God.
There’s one more part that is essential. Any discernment about what voices call us to do must be done as a community of faith. We should never blindly follow anyone, even if he or she has impeccable credentials.
Discussion Questions
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.
How did the historical context of the people of Israel, surrounded by diverse faiths and practices in the Promised Land, contribute to the challenge of discerning God's voice?
In what ways did the warning against adopting the practices of the surrounding nations emphasize the importance of God's people maintaining absolute loyalty to God?
What role did Moses play as a mediated voice for God, and why was there a need for a prophet like Moses to continue guiding the people in Moses’ absence?
How does the promise of God to raise up prophets among the people provide assurance of God’s continued faithful presence? What criteria did Moses offer for discerning the authenticity of these prophets' messages?
In what manner does the discussion about prophets speaking the words of other gods or unintentionally misrepresenting God's words resonate with challenges faced by individuals and communities in discerning spiritual guidance today?
Considering the pluralistic nature of the contemporary world, how can the church navigate the multitude of voices claiming to know God's desires? What are the potential pitfalls of blindly following such voices?
How do the suggested ways for discernment—seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, knowing the scriptures, and filtering voices through Jesus' command to love God and neighbor—align with your own practices or challenges in discerning God's will?
Reflecting on the importance of communal discernment, how can a faith community effectively navigate the complexities of discerning voices and making decisions together? What are the benefits of collective discernment, and what challenges might arise in the process?
Who might God be calling us to become?
What might God be asking us to do?
Works Cited
Nelson, Richard D. Deuteronomy: A Commentary. The Old Testament Library. Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
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