A nonbeliever's SECOND reading of the Bible

A nonbeliever's SECOND reading of the Bible
Hunc tu caveto.
Powered By Blogger

Tuesday, March 16, 2010


I just read Deuteronomy, Chapters 17 and 18. Again, we are covering ground that has already been covered. And in some cases, we're covering ground that I'm not sure should be covered.

The lessons I've learned in Chapter 17 are:

  1. Kill people who deconvert or follow other gods.
  2. Don't sacrifice animals with blemishes.
  3. When being judged by a priest, I must follow his judgment and if not I will be executed.
  4. When under the power of the king, the king should not have multiple wives.
  5. The king should also not have too much money.
In Chapter 18, I learn the following:

  1. The Levite priests can't own land, and must live off the offerings of the other tribes.
  2. Sacrifice the firstfruit of my crops and my livestock.
  3. Anyone that practices witchcraft (unless it's magic from Yahweh, of course) is an abomination to Yahweh.
Chapter 18 is also interesting in that there is a prophecy in there: Yahweh says, "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

So, Yahweh plans on sending prophets. He also warns against false prophets. Unfortunately, the only way to tell the difference is if their words come true. And if they don't, they are to be executed.

Being a Prophet is serious business for the ancient Israelites.

No comments: