Deuteronomy 18:9
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
When you enter the land
This phrase sets the stage for a significant transition in the life of the Israelites. The Hebrew word for "enter" (בּוֹא, bo) implies not just a physical crossing into a new territory but a spiritual and covenantal journey. The land represents the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a place of divine inheritance, a tangible sign of God's faithfulness. The entry into the land is not merely geographical but a call to a new way of life under God's rule.

that the LORD your God is giving you
The phrase emphasizes the divine origin of the gift. The Hebrew name for God used here, "Yahweh" (יְהוָה), is the covenant name of God, underscoring His personal relationship with Israel. The land is not earned by the Israelites' merit but is a gracious gift from God. This highlights the theme of grace and divine sovereignty. The land is a sacred trust, a place where the Israelites are to live out their identity as God's chosen people.

do not learn
The Hebrew verb "learn" (לָמַד, lamad) suggests a process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice and experience. Here, it is a warning against adopting the practices of the surrounding nations. The Israelites are called to be distinct, to maintain their identity as a holy people. This command underscores the importance of discernment and the rejection of cultural assimilation that leads away from God's commandments.

to imitate
The word "imitate" (עָשָׂה, asah) in Hebrew means to do or make, indicating an active participation in the practices of others. The Israelites are cautioned against conforming to the behaviors and rituals of the nations they will encounter. This is a call to holiness, to be set apart in conduct and worship. The imitation of pagan practices would lead to spiritual corruption and a departure from the covenant relationship with God.

the abominations
The term "abominations" (תּוֹעֵבָה, toebah) refers to practices that are detestable and repugnant to God. These include idolatry, witchcraft, and other forms of pagan worship that were common among the Canaanite nations. The use of this strong term highlights the severity of these practices in God's eyes. It serves as a stark reminder of the moral and spiritual standards that God requires of His people.

of those nations
This phrase identifies the source of the abominable practices. The nations refer to the Canaanites and other peoples inhabiting the Promised Land. Historically, these nations were known for their idolatrous and immoral practices, which were in direct opposition to the laws given by God to Israel. The Israelites are called to be a light to the nations, distinct in their worship and ethical conduct, reflecting the holiness of God in a world filled with spiritual darkness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws and instructions to the Israelites.

2. The Israelites
The chosen people of God, preparing to enter the Promised Land.

3. The Promised Land
The land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

4. The Canaanite Nations
The existing inhabitants of the Promised Land, known for their idolatrous and pagan practices.

5. The LORD (Yahweh)
The God of Israel, who commands His people to remain holy and separate from pagan practices.
Teaching Points
Holiness and Separation
God calls His people to be distinct from the world, living lives that reflect His holiness. This involves rejecting practices that are contrary to His commands.

Discernment in Cultural Practices
Believers must exercise discernment in engaging with cultural practices, ensuring they align with biblical principles and do not lead to idolatry or immorality.

Faithfulness to God's Commands
Obedience to God's Word is paramount. The Israelites were to adhere strictly to God's laws, and this principle remains for Christians today.

Influence and Witness
By living according to God's standards, believers serve as a witness to the world, demonstrating the transformative power of a life devoted to God.

Guarding Against Syncretism
The blending of biblical faith with non-biblical practices dilutes the truth and leads to spiritual compromise. Believers must guard against this by adhering to Scripture.
Bible Study Questions
1. What specific practices of the Canaanite nations were considered abominations, and why were they so offensive to God?

2. How can Christians today identify and avoid cultural practices that conflict with biblical teachings?

3. In what ways can believers maintain a distinct identity in a world that often promotes values contrary to Scripture?

4. How does the call to holiness in Deuteronomy 18:9 relate to the New Testament teachings on being set apart for God?

5. What steps can you take to ensure that your life reflects God's holiness and serves as a witness to those around you?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 18
This chapter outlines various laws regarding moral conduct and explicitly warns against adopting the practices of the Canaanites and Egyptians.

Exodus 23:24
God commands the Israelites not to bow down to the gods of the nations they will encounter, nor to follow their practices.

1 Corinthians 10:20-21
Paul warns the Corinthians against participating in pagan rituals, emphasizing the incompatibility of such practices with Christian worship.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Paul speaks about the importance of being separate from unbelievers and not being yoked with them in their practices.

Ephesians 5:11
Believers are instructed to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them.
Prophets and the ProphetAlexander MaclarenDeuteronomy 18:9
Divination ForbiddenR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Gross Superstition the Alternative of True ReligionD. Davies Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Heathen Abominations AvoidedJ. Wolfendale.Deuteronomy 18:9-14
MagicJ. Orr Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Magical Arts and DivinationH. Cowles, D. D.Deuteronomy 18:9-14
The Deterring Power of Divine GraceH. Melvill, B. D.Deuteronomy 18:9-14
People
Levi, Levites, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Horeb
Topics
Abominable, Abominations, Detestable, Disgusting, Enter, Example, Follow, Gives, Giveth, Giving, Imitate, Learn, Nations, Practices
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 18:9

     8217   conformity
     8449   imitating
     8739   evil, examples of

Deuteronomy 18:9-12

     4185   sorcery and magic
     4906   abolition
     7258   promised land, early history

Deuteronomy 18:9-13

     6103   abomination
     8764   forgetting God
     8807   profanity
     8831   syncretism

Library
Prophets and the Prophet
'When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Moses the Type of Christ.
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."--Deut. xviii. 15. The history of Moses is valuable to Christians, not only as giving us a pattern of fidelity towards God, of great firmness, and great meekness, but also as affording us a type or figure of our Saviour Christ. No prophet arose in Israel like Moses, till Christ came, when the promise in the text was fulfilled--"The Lord thy God," says Moses, "shall
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Appendix xiv. The Law in Messianic Times.
THE question as to the Rabbinic views in regard to the binding character of the Law, and its imposition on the Gentiles, in Messianic times, although, strictly speaking, not forming part of this history, is of such vital importance in connection with recent controversies as to demand special consideration. In the text to which this Appendix refers it has been indicated, that a new legislation was expected in Messianic days. The ultimate basis of this expectancy must be sought in the Old Testament
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Christ's Prophetic Office
'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet,' &c. Deut 18:85. Having spoken of the person of Christ, we are next to speak of the offices of Christ. These are Prophetic, Priestly, and Regal. 'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet.' Enunciatur hic locus de Christo. It is spoken of Christ.' There are several names given to Christ as a Prophet. He is called the Counsellor' in Isa 9:9. In uno Christo Angelus foederis completur [The Messenger of the Covenant appears in Christ alone].
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Inheritance
Gerhard Ter Steegen Deut. xviii. 1, 2 Am I not enough, Mine own? enough, Mine own, for thee? Hath the world its palace towers, Garden glades of magic flowers, Where thou fain wouldst be? Fair things and false are there, False things but fair. All shalt thou find at last, Only in Me. Am I not enough, Mine own? I, for ever and alone, I, needing thee?
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Meditations of the True Manner of Practising Piety on the Sabbath-Day.
Almighty God will have himself worshipped, not only in a private manner by private persons and families, but also in a more public sort, of all the godly joined together in a visible church; that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every Singular person, but also of the creatures of the whole universal world. Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? I answer--Because our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

God's Last Arrow
'Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them.'--Mark xii. 6. Reference to Isaiah v. There are differences in detail here which need not trouble us. Isaiah's parable is a review of the theocratic history of Israel, and clearly the messengers are the prophets; here Christ speaks of Himself and His own mission to Israel, and goes on to tell of His death as already accomplished. I. The Son who follows and surpasses the servants. (a) Our Lord here places Himself in
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The First Disciples
John i. 19 TO ii. 12 97. After the withdrawal of Jesus into the wilderness, John the Baptist continued his ministry of preaching and baptizing, moving northward up the Jordan valley to Bethany, on the eastern side of the river, near one of the fords below the Sea of Galilee (John i. 28). Here Galilee, doubtless, contributed more to his audience than Judea. It is certain that some from the borders of the lake were at this time among his constant attendants: Andrew and Simon of Bethsaida, John the
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Twofold Testimony of John - the First Sabbath of Jesus's Ministry - the First Sunday - the First Disciples.
THE forty days, which had passed since Jesus had first come to him, must have been to the Baptist a time of soul-quickening, of unfolding understanding, and of ripened decision. We see it in his more emphasised testimony to the Christ; in his fuller comprehension of those prophecies which had formed the warrant and substance of his Mission; but specially in the yet more entire self-abnegation, which led him to take up a still lowlier position, and acquiescingly to realise that his task of heralding
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Not that Light, but a Witness.
(John I. 8.) "Nothing resting in its own completeness Can have worth or beauty; but alone Because it leads and tends to farther sweetness, Fuller, higher, deeper than its own. "Spring's real glory dwells not in the meaning, Gracious though it be, of her blue hours; But is hidden in her tender leaning To the summer's richer wealth of flowers." A. A. PROCTOR. Resentment of the Sanhedrim--The Baptist's Credentials--Spiritual Vision--"Behold the Lamb of God"--The Baptism of the Spirit The baptism and
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

More Particularly, in what Respect Christ is Called the Truth.
But for further explaining of this matter, we would see more particularly, in what respects it is, that he is called the truth; and this will make way to our use-making of him. So, First, He is the Truth, in opposition to the shadows and types of him, under the law. Hence, as "the law," the whole Levitical and typical dispensation, "came by Moses, so grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," John i. 17. They were all shadows of him, and he is the substance and body of them all, Col. ii. 17; and this
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Messianic Prophecies in the Pentateuch.
In the Messianic prophecies contained in Genesis we cannot fail to perceive a remarkable progress in clearness and definiteness. The first Messianic prediction, which was uttered immediately after the fall of Adam, is also the most indefinite. Opposed to the awful threatening there stands the consolatory promise, that the dominion of sin, and of the evil arising from sin, shall not last for ever, but that the seed of the woman shall, at some future time, overthrow their dreaded conqueror. With the
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

First Withdrawal from Herod's Territory and Return.
(Spring, a.d. 29.) Subdivision B. Feeding the Five Thousand. ^A Matt. XIV. 13-21; ^B Mark VI. 33-44; ^C Luke IX. 11-17; ^D John VI. 2-14. ^c 11 But { ^a and} the multitudes heard thereof [heard of Jesus and his disciples crossing the lake], ^b 33 And they saw them going, and ^c perceiving it, ^b many knew them, ^d 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they beheld the signs which he did on them that were sick. ^b and they ran together there on foot from all the cities, and outwent them. ^a
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Plan for the Coming of Jesus.
God's Darling, Psalms 8:5-8.--the plan for the new man--the Hebrew picture by itself--difference between God's plan and actual events--one purpose through breaking plans--the original plan--a starting point--getting inside. Fastening a Tether inside: the longest way around--the pedigree--the start. First Touches on the Canvas: the first touch, Genesis 3:15.--three groups of prediction--first group: to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; to Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; to Jacob, Genesis 28:10-15; through Jacob,
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Balaam's Prophecy. (Numb. xxiv. 17-19. )
Carried by the Spirit into the far distant future, Balaam sees here how a star goeth out of Jacob and a sceptre riseth out of Israel, and how this sceptre smiteth Moab, by whose enmity the Seer had been brought from a distant region for the destruction of Israel. And not Moab only shall be smitten, but its southern neighbour, Edom, too shall be subdued, whose hatred against Israel had already been prefigured in its ancestor, and had now begun to display Itself; and In general, all the enemies of
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

John's First Testimony to Jesus.
(Bethany Beyond Jordan, February, a.d. 27.) ^D John I. 19-34. ^d 19 And this is the witness of John [John had been sent to testify, "and" this is the matter of his testimony], when the Jews [The term "Jews" is used seventy times by John to describe the ruling classes of Judæa] sent unto him [In thus sending an embassy they honored John more than they ever honored Christ. They looked upon John as a priest and Judæan, but upon Jesus as a carpenter and Galilæan. It is probable that
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Formation of the Old Testament Canon
[Sidenote: Israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century before Christ] Could we have studied the scriptures of the Israelitish race about 400 B.C., we should have classified them under four great divisions: (1) The prophetic writings, represented by the combined early Judean, Ephraimite, and late prophetic or Deuteronomic narratives, and their continuation in Samuel and Kings, together with the earlier and exilic prophecies; (2) the legal, represented by the majority of the Old Testament
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Links
Deuteronomy 18:9 NIV
Deuteronomy 18:9 NLT
Deuteronomy 18:9 ESV
Deuteronomy 18:9 NASB
Deuteronomy 18:9 KJV

Deuteronomy 18:9 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Deuteronomy 18:8
Top of Page
Top of Page