Remember last week we saw in the end of chapter 16 and chapter 17 leadership in Israel, specifically judges at the lower court level, judges at the higher court level, and then chapter 17 ended with instructions for the kings. So judges and kings are what chapter 17 is about, priests and prophets. is the concern of chapter 18. So still continuing that theme of leadership in Israel, here specifically, however, it is the priests and the prophets. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 18 at verse 1.
The priests, the Levites, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire and his portion. Therefore, they shall have no inheritance among their brethren. The Lord is their inheritance, as he said to them.
And this shall be the priest do from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep. They shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach, the first fruits of your grain, and your new wine, and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. for the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever. So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the Lord chooses, then he may serve in the name of the Lord as God, as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the Lord. They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.
When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer. or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren.
Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the Lord your God, in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die. And the Lord said to me, what they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear my words, which he speaks in my name, I will require it of him.
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him.
Amen.
Introduction and Chapter Overview
Well, we'll break this chapter up into three sections. First, the provision for priests and Levites, verses 1 to 8. Secondly, the prohibition against wicked customs in verses 9 to 14. And then the promise of another prophet in verses 15 to 22.
So as I said, priests and prophets is what this chapter takes up. and expounds and explains so that when they go into the land of Canaan, they will understand their relationship to these two particular offices. The teaching office, the priest not only would minister in the sanctuary, would not only engage in sacrifice, but they had the duty to instruct Israel in the law of the Lord, and of course the prophet was the one who spoke in the name of the Lord. The prophet both foretold and he foretold. In other words, all of his ministry wasn't taken up with predictive prophecy.
The only function of a prophet wasn't simply to tell what was going to happen in the future, but he also foretold, or he engaged in foretelling the Word of God. The priest, remember, goes to God on behalf of the people. The prophet comes from God to the people to speak the Word of the Lord to the people of God. So that's the primary function of the prophet with reference to his place before the Lord.
The best one-volume book that I could recommend on the prophetic ministry is a book called The Christ of the Prophets by O. Palmer Robertson. We can't engage in a long, full-scale study of prophetism, but that's a great book on this subject of the prophets. They're large.
There's a lot of material with reference to the prophets in the Old Testament. It's a very important subject. and one that would be very helpful for us all to have in our understanding. But
Provision for Priests and Levites
let's just look at the provision for priests and Levites. We won't spend too much time in this particular place. We've already seen priests and Levites referenced up to this point. Remember that they did not receive a tribal inheritance. in terms of a piece of property, their inheritance was the Lord Himself.
And that is what is specified here.
Priests Distinguished from Levites
The priests, the Levites, all the tribe of Levi. Best I understand is that all of the Levites, all the priests were Levites. but not all Levites were necessarily priests. In other words, from the tribe of Levi you had persons that were dedicated or devoted to the service of God Most High. But the priests, the one who ministered specifically at the altar, were directly descended from Aaron.
And I think that's what verse 1 indicates. The priests, the Levites, all the tribe of Levi. So you have those priests which are from Aaron that function specifically with reference to the altar, then you have this category of Levites that don't necessarily function in the altar in terms of sacrifice, but nevertheless they are of the tribe of Levi, and they are tasked with those duties and requirements associated with the cult, with the worship services in Israel. Notice he says, "...they shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel.
They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire and his poor shed. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren. The Lord is their inheritance, as he said to them." Now they were given some cities, they were given some land, for pasture, but they were not given land in the same way that the 12 tribes of Israel were. They were given these things simply to sustain life in addition to what they received from the sacrifice.
But notice, they shall have no inheritance among their brethren, the Lord is their inheritance as he said to them. It is important to remember though Wright says, this was not pious spiritualization of a life of ascetic poverty. In other words, when it says the Lord is their inheritance, it doesn't mean they didn't have to eat. It doesn't mean they lived on love and fresh air.
It doesn't mean that they just sort of wandered around like disembodied spirits and that no one really needed to care for them. In other words, if you saw a Levite or a priest starving to death, you weren't to conclude, well, you know, the Lord is his inheritance. I've heard the story. I've not ever been able to confirm if it was true.
I mean, a lot of things are probably ascribed to C.H. Spurgeon. It would be great to have a fact-check doc or to see if, in fact, he did say that. But apparently somebody came to C.H.
Spurgeon and he was telling the story of a young man he counseled that needed to ask for money from the deacon in the church because he wasn't making enough money. to make a living. And so the deacon says to this young man, well, you don't, you know, when the young man said, I need more money because I can't live. The man says, well, don't you preach for souls? And he said, well, yes, I preach for souls, but I can't live off of souls.
And my children can't eat souls. We need money in order to buy food. And I think the temptation or the tendency is to read a statement like this and say, well, the Levites and the priests, God is their inheritance. He'll provide for them.
Yes, that's a truth. But how does God provide for them? He provides for them based on the generosity of the community. So Wright says, this was not pious spiritualization of a life of ascetic poverty, but a statement of the principle that they would receive the full material blessing of their inheritance to the extent that the people of God were faithful in their worship of him and in covenant commitment to one another.
The idea is that they are devoted to the task of serving in the tabernacle or in the temple. They're not out, you know, raising cattle as a profession. They're not out engaged in silver and gold as a profession. They're not involved in commerce as a profession.
Their primary task is the service of God, and in so doing, service to the people. And so the Lord God has promised that in their faithfulness, God would indeed bless them as a result of their service unto Him. And that's what chapter 18, verses 1 to eight are primarily concerned with.
Priestly Portions from the Offerings
It then indicates specifically that they would receive the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. I personally would be fine with the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach, not so much, but I haven't eaten like those men did." Perhaps that was the most delicate part of the animal. Do you see what happens here? This shall be the priest's due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice.
Whether it is bull or sheep, they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. Not only do they receive meat, but verse 4, the first fruits of your grain, and your new wine, and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord. Him and His sons forever.
It's interesting, the language adopted here, the language used here is the same language used of Israel as a whole. The Lord God chose Israel from among the nations to bless. Well, within Israel, He chose the Levites to minister in a very specific and in a very particular way. And again, the abiding principle is that if they are given to the task of service unto the Lord, than they are to reap the benefits from that service in terms of the meat that was offered up and these other portions of grain and new wine and oil and all of these particulars.
Now, again, probably verses 3 to 5, we're supposed to understand those priests that are connected to altar service. those priests that are connected to the sacrificial service, they receive that portion of the sacrifice.
Levites from Rural Areas
Verses 6 to 8, probably, this is a difficult passage, one that transcends my ability in the space of the time allotted here, but 6 to 8 is a bit of a difficulty in terms of the commentaries. What many suppose is that these Levites were the non- alter officiating Levites. These were Levites living in rural areas. And the point of this section is verse 8, not verse 7.
Notice in verse 7 it says, "...then he may serve in the name of the Lord his God as all his brethren the Levites do who stand there before the Lord." The idea is that a man from the rural areas comes to the central sanctuary. It's a supposition that he will do this, that in his life, in his career, in his trajectory, he will want to serve as his brethren do. The point is verse 8, they shall have equal portions to eat. So if a man serving in an outlying area comes to the central sanctuary or comes to the place where the other priests are serving, the idea is that the Levites all get a fair share.
Not fair share in the way that we often hear it politicized in our particular climate. This is theological fair share. Again, the Levitical priesthood, those connected with temple service, will receive from the Lord those benefits and blessings necessary to sustain their life so that they can, in fact, minister to the Lord and minister to the community." Notice at the end of verse 8, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance, again a difficult passage because they didn't receive an inheritance in the same manner that the other tribes did. Perhaps it was family wealth, it was some other thing.
The idea though in verses 6 to 8 is that if a man comes from outside and he comes into that place where the tabernacle or temple is, He is due to receive his equal portion as well. So basically, verses 1 to 8 deal with priests, Levites, those connected to the temple and tabernacle, those tasked with sacrifice and intercession, and all that is involved with that They are to reap the benefit in terms of material blessing. They don't have an inheritance the same way the other tribes. They don't have the same ability in terms of commerce.
They don't have the same ability in terms of time commitment in the marketplace. So, those who live according, those who engage in this sort of a lifestyle will be provided for by the living God through the generosity and the faithfulness. of his people." So it's not just generosity. If they are actually faithful to their covenant obligations, they're bringing the sacrifices the way they are supposed to, then the priests will be able to eat accordingly. So that's the provision for priests and Levites.
Prohibition Against Wicked Customs
Notice, secondly, the prohibition against wicked customs. You kind of think that why would this just be dropped right in the middle of priests and prophets? There is very good rhyme and reason. What we are being told here is that the Canaanites seek supernatural revelation from all manner of abominable practices.
It ain't supposed to be that way in Israel. You have priests to teach. You have priests to sacrifice, you have priests to intercede, and you have prophets that speak the Word of God. You're not to go looking for the various things that the pagans employ in the land of Canaan.
So verses 9 to 14 are not sort of inserted here as just another reminder about what you ought to avoid in the land. but it fits the context and the flow very peculiarly. You are to seek the priesthood and the prophetic ministry, not divination, not magic, and not spiritism. You are to avoid the wicked transactions of the pagans in the land that you are dispossessing.
Grace Underlying Israel's Obligations
There is a general statement in verse 9. Notice, when you come, into the land which the Lord your God is giving you." We have read that so many times in the book of Deuteronomy, it's probably easy for us to sort of take it for granted or not to pay much attention to it. But every time this phrase is used, it is calculated to remind the people on the plains of Moab that what they are going to receive is by the grace of God. They are not entering into the land which they deserve.
They are not entering into the land which they will conquer on their own. They are not entering into the land because they're a righteous, godly, wonderful, spotless, holy, pure people. No, this is a gracious deposit from the living God. It is grace that underscores all of their obligations, all of their commitments, all of their duties and responsibilities are to flow out of this appreciation of what God has done for them in terms of His redemptive work.
He brought them out of the land of Egypt. He plants them in the land of Canaan. So when we read this statement, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you're supposed to sing a stanza of amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. We're never to forget, standing on the plains of Moab, that we enter into the promised land because of the graciousness of God.
That is something that we as Christians need to be reminded of as well. We do not get called to go out and live holy because we're better than other people. We have been redeemed by sovereign grace through the blood of the cross. It is based on that reality that we receive the imperatives of the New Testament documents.
So when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, notice, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. The children of Israel are told specifically in this chapter, seek the knowledge of God through God's appointed means. Seek the knowledge of God through those agencies that the Lord God has established. Again, if we jump into the New Covenant, we ought to put the emphasis on sound doctrine, where the Apostle Paul puts it.
We ought not to put it on experience. We ought not to put it on mysticism. We ought not to put it on those things which oftentimes please the flesh. When you turn to the pastoral epistles, 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus, the recurring theme, the recurring emphasis for those men of God is to proclaim sound doctrine.
In fact, Paul, his last command to Timothy in terms of his official capacity as a minister of the gospel is preach the word. Now, Paul does tell Timothy to bring his cloak and to bring the books, especially the parchments. So that's a command, but notice I'm saying the last formal command in terms of Timothy as a public man. He says, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.
Paul then gives two reasons why Timothy is to do that. The second is that Paul's about to die. Paul is going to die. The time of my departure is at hand.
So preach the word because I'm going the way of all flesh. I am going to be with Jesus. So Timothy, you need to be faithful and preach the word. The first reason that Paul gives is that the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine.
They'll have itching ears and they'll heap up for themselves men to scratch those itches, men that will facilitate their desires and their longings. So the logic of the Apostle is impeccable. Preach the Word because the time is coming when they will not want the Word. They will look after other things.
They will seek, you know, encounter sessions. They will seek whatever fad, whatever gimmick, whatever passing phase that the church is enamored with. Men will follow those particular things. But Timothy, you be faithful in all things.
Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. That is the imperative here, and that is how this section functions. When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
And then he highlights very specifically those abominations.
Child Sacrifice and Occultic Practices
Verses 10 to 11. The first is child sacrifice. Verse 10. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire.
Now this isn't hot coals designed to teach your child a lesson so that they don't go to strange places. This is passing them into the fire. It is child sacrifice. We see this condemned in Israel's history.
And oftentimes, or the few times that it's indicated, it is practiced along with soothsaying. And some suppose that this ritual of offering up children in human sacrifice was connected to an idea of getting revelation from the deity, getting guidance from the deity, and it's condemned here. While the pagans may throw their children into the arms of Molech and watch them bounce into the flames, and then seek a word from Molech based on that, the children of Israel are not to engage in those abominations. It is one of the reasons ultimately why Israel would be carried off into Assyria.
It's an unfortunate reality that this prohibition in chapter 18 verses 9 to 14 was disobeyed. the thought of sacrificing your children, throwing them into the fire. Later on in the prophet Jeremiah, God says, these things didn't even enter into my mind. He's not making a statement in terms of his being, in terms of his ontology, in terms of his knowledge. It is an ethical report.
That's not the way God, the God of Israel, operates. Those things don't enter my mind. I never command people to offer up their children into the arms of Molech so that they may gain revelation. It is simply to be unheard of. in Israel.
And it was also Manasseh implemented this in his reign in 2310 of 2 Kings. It was prohibited by Josiah. And then in Jeremiah 32, 35, you would think that the southern tribes would have learned the lesson of the northern tribes. I mean, this is what Jeremiah does at least a couple of times in his book.
He uses the example of what God did to the northern tribes to try and call Judah to repentance. He does this in chapter 3. He does this in chapter 32. It is for this cause, or one of the causes, or one of the reasons why Judah would be shut down by Babylon is because they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire.
It is simply wicked and ungodly. And it's interesting, too. Have you ever met the people that say, well, isn't it horrible that God would send Israel into the land of Canaan and drive all those innocent people out? They weren't innocent.
They were wicked. But you know, interestingly enough, what happens? Israel and Judah occupy Canaan. When they do the same sorts of things, what happens?
God drives them out. He brings Assyria in, he brings Babylon in, he brings destruction upon those same people groups. So you see, God is not arbitrary. God is not capricious.
Those who violate his holy law will be dealt with accordingly.
Divination, Magic, and Spiritism
So, child sacrifice. The next three deal with divination or occultic practices. One who practices witchcraft or a soothsayer or one who interprets omens. Again, there are indicators throughout the Old Testament that these things were going on within Israel.
So, the occult. Secondly, magic. sorcerer, or one who conjures spells. This isn't, you know, you're sitting at a restaurant on a Friday night and the guy comes and says, pick a card, any card, did you pick the two of clubs? That's not the kind of magic that's involved here.
This isn't, you know, pulling a quarter out of somebody's ear. This is magic with the express purpose of trying to manipulate circumstances, trying to make things go well for one person, and has an attempt to contact with the supernatural. So a sorcerer or one who conjures spells. And then there's spiritism.
A medium, a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. Those who communicate with the dead. The perfect example of this happened in the life of a particular king. Does anybody remember who that king was?
Saul. And it's interesting that Saul swears by Yahweh. that no punishment would come upon the Spiritist involved. A horrible situation. He swears by Yahweh that no punishment will come upon the medium or the Spiritist involved.
Dale Ralph Davis says, Scripture describes such practices not as futile but as pagan. You ever read 1 Samuel 28 and said, wow. That's like, I mean, they saw something. Was it really Samuel?
You know, there's a debatable question there. Whatever, whether it was Samuel or not, and there's various reasons to think yea or nay, whatever it was, they saw something. Something was brought up according to the text. So you see, God does not condemn these things because they don't work.
He condemns these things because they're abominable. He condemns these things because they're wicked. Christopher Wright describes this complex of wicked approaches by the heathen in this way. He says, it is a universal human desire to know the unknown. to have some preview of the future, to get guidance for decisions, to exercise control over others, to harm others and ward off the harm others may aim at oneself.
He says, alienated from the living God, humans devise the dark arts of 10 and 11 for such purposes. That just nails it. These things are alive and well today. I mean, fortune-telling and all these things.
Seeking to know the unknown, to have some preview of the future. You see what Israel is being cautioned against. Do not seek knowledge in this way. Do not go the occultic route.
Do not go through the magic route and certainly don't go through the dead route or spiritism or necromancy, but rather to the law and to the testimony, to the word of the living God. This is another time where what we have here is exalted. living word of God Most High. That's the emphasis. That's the point.
And notice here in verse 12, for all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. So you see it is an abomination to practice these things and it was an abomination that the Canaanites engaged in these things. So we see that there is an ethical context for the conquest when Israel goes into Canaan to dispossess the land of the Canaanites.
If you have not met anybody who's ever said, boy, that seems harsh that God would tell Israel to go into Canaan and to utterly destroy it, then you haven't talked to people about the Old Testament. This is one of those common objections. This is one of those garden-variety objections to the Old Testament Scriptures. People will say it doesn't seem fair.
The Canaanites were just minding their own business. The Canaanites were just engaged in commerce. The Canaanites were just engaged in city building and house building and vineyard growing. Remember back in Deuteronomy, you're going to go in.
You're going to inherit cities which you didn't build. You're going to receive houses which you didn't build. You're going to receive wells which you didn't dig. Well, the Canaanites were just innocently and happily enjoying life in Canaan doing those particular things.
No, they weren't. They were wicked, profligate, evil, godless wretches that the Lord sent Israel not perfect nation, to go in and judge them, to dispossess the land. When Israel occupies Canaan and they engage like the Canaanites, then God sends Assyria, God sends Babylon to vomit them out of the land. God does not mess around.
God is ethically pure and he is ethically righteous. The expulsion of the Canaanites from the land was due to their transgression against God. That's important as well because some people make this mistake. Well, how in the world could we preach the Ten Commandments to people that aren't in the church?
Well, as far as I know, there wasn't some sort of a prophet in Canaan who was prosecuting the Ten Commandments. Remember, our Reformed Confession teaches us that the law of God, the moral law of God, did not make its first appearance at Sinai. The moral law of God was written in Adam's heart. What we find at Sinai is the codification or the summary of that law, but its existence is first in Adam's heart.
So that when men are in Canaan, and they're engaged in bestiality, or they're engaged in sodomy, or they're engaged in sorcery, or in soothsaying, or they're engaged in passing their little children into the fire, When they're doing those things, they're sinning against a holy God and God is not mocked. That is why there was a conquest. So when somebody says, it just doesn't seem fair, you say, oh yes it was. It was the execution of fairness, the execution of justice, the execution of judgment that God sent Israel in as the means to drive those wicked Canaanites out of the land.
Ethical Context of the Conquest
Notice, you shall be blameless before the Lord your God, verse 13, for these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and, is it diviners or diviners? I didn't take the moment to go to dictionary.com and listen to the pronunciation. Diviners, that's what I would think too. So you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners.
See what he's saying? Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't soothsay.
Don't divine. Don't read omens. Don't pass your children through the fire. Don't engage in spiritism.
Don't try to call up the dead. That's the point of verse 14. These nations which you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.
So if we ask the question, well, what has the Lord our God appointed for us? Enter the prophets, the men of God, the preachers of truth, the one through whom God's revelation comes. You have priests to function in the temple. You have priests to go before the Lord with sacrifice.
You have priests to expound the law as it's written. But God has raised up His servants, the prophets, to send them to Israel and to prosecute His holy word. You see the transition. But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.
Craigie says, having forbidden certain illegitimate methods of attempted communication with the supernatural world, 9 to 14, the sermon on the law now turns to prophecy, the true and legitimate means by which God's word would be delivered to his people. It's easy. Don't go to the fortune tellers when you're in Canaan. Go to the prophet.
Go to the synagogue. Go to the temple. Listen to the word of God. You see, this chapter, I think, speaks to the church today.
It's almost like the Bible isn't enough. Preaching isn't enough. We have to be entertained. We have to be mesmerized.
We have to be enraptured. We have to be mystified. We have to be dazzled. It's like we're saying collectively, the Bible is boring.
Give us something that makes us happy. I think chapter 18 jumps out of the context and serves as an indictment to a people in the professing church that are conducting themselves like the pagans in the land. The pagans love entertainment. So what do we do?
We bring entertainment into the church. The pagans love rock music, so what do we do? We bring rock music into the church. The pagans like all manner of existential religion, so what do we do?
We bring existential religion into the church. You see, chapter 18 of the book of Deuteronomy is as relevant today as it was on the plains of Moab. You see, God says to the law and to the testimony, God says my word is enough. If we have not learned that lesson in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and Matthew chapter 4, then hopefully Deuteronomy 18 will screw it back into our hearts again.
What is that abiding lesson of Deuteronomy and Matthew 4? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by what? Every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. not spiritism, not magic, not the occult. Those are things that the pagans did and were dispossessed from the land because it's an abomination to the Lord your God.
The Promise of Another Prophet
So the promise of another prophet, it's stated in verse 15, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. He would be like Moses. It's not exactly like Moses. If Moses had a long beard and a long hair, that didn't mean that every subsequent prophet would have a long beard and long hair, though that might have been the custom and the practice or whatever.
The like Moses there means this. a mediator to speak the truth of God's Word. Right? That's the like Moses. We'll see that that like Moses develops a little bit toward the end of the chapter, but the primary emphasis is that God the Lord will raise up first a succession of prophets that will serve at Israel, but it is, or it has as its antitype, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophet to the church.
We'll see that again in just a moment. But notice, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Again, just like the king had to be an Israelite, just like the priests had to be Israelites, So did the prophet have to be an Israelite. It'll be like Moses, and it will be from your midst, from your brethren.
Notice,
The Prophet Like Moses
him you shall hear. And then he gives this historical precedent. Verse 16, according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die. And the Lord said to me, what they have spoken is good.