Deeper Commentary
Deu 13:1 If there should arise in the midst of you a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder-
"If" could as well be translated "when". Paul seems to allude here:
"Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things" (Acts
20:30). Jeremiah feared God had deceived him (Jer. 20:7)- showing
he knew such a thing was possible. Dt. 13:1-3 warns Israel not to believe
prophets whose prophecies came true although they taught false doctrines,
because they may have been raised up to test their obedience. God deceived
Israel by telling them about the peace which would come on Jerusalem in
the future Kingdom; they didn't consider the other prophecies which
were given at the same time concerning their imminent judgment, and
therefore they thought that God was pleased with them and was about to
establish the Messianic Kingdom; when actually the very opposite was about
to happen (Jer. 4:10). This is why the Bible is confusing to those who
aren’t humble to God’s word.
Deu 13:2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you
saying, Let us go after other gods (which you have not previously known)
and let us serve them-
The idea is that 'if the miracle appears to happen'. But that is not
stated- the argument assumes, for a moment, that the alleged miracle
actually happened. The idea is that the false prophet would do fake
miracles in order to back up his appeal to serve other gods. Yahweh often
makes the point that the signs and wonders He did for His people were far
greater than anything ever seen upon earth. Likewise, the sheer magnitude
of the Lord's miracles of themselves showed that all belief in demons as
sources of power was utterly inappropriate. But the New Testament record
assumes, for a moment, that demons had some power. Even though in reality
they have no existence. And so here, for a moment, for the sake of
argument, it is assumed that the alleged wonders were genuine and not
fake.
We observe in this passage how empirical evidence isn't necessarily the
basis for faith. Even if it apparently exists in the form of fulfilled
prophecy, so it apparently can for others who teach falsely.
The classic Biblical explanation
of faith is in Hebrews 11:1-3: “Now faith is assurance of things
hoped for, the evidence about invisible things… By faith we understand
that the ages have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen
has not been made out of things which appear”. Putting meaning into words,
this at first blush is circular reasoning. Faith is the evidence. But on
what evidence are we to believe? Faith is the evidence. The Hebrew writer
was no simplistic fool. He [or she] was surely aware that this is
apparently circular reasoning. Faith is the evidence. So, faith is not
evidence-based. You believe on the basis of faith. The same kind of
apparently circular reasoning is found often in the Bible. Once you are on
the look out for it. Take 1 Jn. 5:13: “These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may… believe on
the name of the Son of God”.
Deu 13:3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that
dreamer of dreams, for Yahweh your God proves you-
The reasoning here is helpful with respect to the claims made by some
to perform supernatural feats. Even if it seems they might have done so,
that isn’t a good enough reason to believe them; our loyalty to the one
true God must not be swayed by apparently impressive deeds or predictions
by those who don’t believe in Him.
To know whether you
love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul-
Yahweh was to be loved with all the heart, soul and mind (Dt. 6:5).
This is understood by Joshua as meaning that those who loved Yahweh would
not "mix with" and intermarry with the nations and accept their gods
(Josh. 23:11,12,16). "Love" for God was not therefore a feeling; Joshua
said that they must "take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love
Yahweh" (Josh. 23:11). This is the love of conscious direction of the
mind, the love which is a choice rather than an emotion.
Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of [somebody]", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers).
Deu 13:4 You must walk after Yahweh your God and fear Him and keep His
commandments and obey His voice-
And you must serve Him and cleave to Him-
The idea of 'cleaving' to God is a big theme of Moses in Deuteronomy
(Dt. 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4,17; 28:21,60; 30:20); the only other time
Moses uses the word in his writings is in Gen. 2:24, concerning a man
cleaving to his wife. Moses seems to have been suggesting to Israel that
their covenant relationship with God meant they were
marrying God. This was a real
paradigm breaker. We may be used to such things. But against the
theological background of the time, not to say the generally low level of
spirituality among Israel, this was a shocking idea. It reflected the
heights to which Moses had risen.
“If you love me you will
keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15,21,23; 15:10) reflects a major identical
theme in Dt. 5:10; 7:9; 11:1,22; 13:3,4; 19:9; 30:16.
Moses at the end of his life, when he spoke Deuteronomy, was very much the
image of the future Lord Jesus.
Deu 13:5 That prophet or that dreamer of dreams must be put to death,
because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, Who brought you
out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to
draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk
in. So you must put away the evil from the midst of you-
Moses' frequent references to the way in which the Exodus had
separated Israel from Egypt show the colossal difference there is between
us and this world as a result of our Red Sea baptism into Christ (13:5;
15:15; 16:12; 1 Cor. 10:1,2); as our Lord in His time of dying was so
strongly aware of the way in which He was redeeming us from this present
evil world (Gal. 1:4).
Deu 13:6 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your
daughter, or the wife of your bosom or your friend, who is as your own
soul, entices you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which
you have not known, you nor your fathers-
Moses speaks as if he assumed that surely Israel would love
their neighbour as themselves: "Thy brother...or thy friend, which is as
thine own soul" almost unconsciously reveals the depth of Moses' positive
faith in their obedience, even though on the other hand he clearly
understood their future apostacy. So often family loyalties deflect a
person from their loyalty to the one true God. The same has always been
the case. Our spiritual family should ultimately be more meaningful to us
than our natural family; that at least is the ideal, although all families
have their dysfunctions, including our spiritual family.
Despite omitting some of the Law's commands in his speech, there are other commands which Moses really
emphasizes and repeats within his speech; e.g. the need to destroy idols and false teachers, and to provide cities of refuge to cater for the sins they would commit without intending to (Dt. 7:5; 12:3, 23-25; 13:6-14 = 17:2-7). This surely reflects our Lord's attitude to us; it is his desire that we
recognize our sinfulness, our likelihood of failure, our need to separate from things which will lead us away from Him. And yet the Christian community is increasingly blind to this. Moses' frequent references to the way in which the Exodus had separated Israel from Egypt show the same spirit (Dt. 13:5; 15:15; 16:12); as our Lord in his time of dying was so strongly aware of the way in which he was redeeming us from this present evil world.
Deu 13:7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near to you or far
off from you, from the one end of the land to the other end of the land-
In Josh. 12:1,7 we meet “the kings of the
earth”, i.e. of the land, and this must surely be the basis of how we are
to understand the references to “the kings of the earth” in Revelation.
Dt. 13:7 defines “the peoples which are round about you” [Israel] as being
“from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth” (RV).
Those peoples which bordered with the Israelites were “the earth” /
eretz.
Deu 13:8 you must not consent to him nor listen to him. Neither
shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you
conceal him-
These words are quoted in Jer. 13:14 of how God would not pity nor
spare an apostate Israel. They were being asked to adopt His perspective.
Deu 13:9 but you must surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to
put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people-
There is stress upon close family members were to be the first to
slay apostate members whose apostacy they had reported (Dt. 13:9; 17:7).
They were being taught that they had to love God far more than family, and
the Lord Jesus continued this teaching (Mt. 10:37).
Deu 13:10 You must stone him to death with stones because he has sought to
draw you away from Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage-
The use of stoning (Dt. 13:10; 17:5; 21:21; 22:21,24) was to show
their connection with the death of the apostate. It was to also make them
realize that any attempt to deny the saving work of God in bringing them
out of Egypt, or attempt to reverse it by returning them to bondage, was
worthy of death (Dt. 13:10). We note that false teaching, enticing others
to sin, is seen as the most serious kind of sin. The New Testament
teaching about church discipline takes a similar approach; moral weakness
of individuals was tolerated, although criticized; but those teaching such
behaviour were condemned. Stoning resulted in the covering of the body
with the dust of the earth, as if recognizing that the death being brought
about was also to be the fate of all under the curse in Eden.
Deu 13:11 All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more such
wickedness as this is in the midst of you-
The group involvement was intended to teach others that such apostacy
from Yahweh was unacceptable. We recall a similar judgment of Ananias and
Sapphira in the New Testament, which lead to "fear" within the church- and
then straight after that we have a notice that the church yet again
experienced a growth spurt.
Deu 13:12 If you hear concerning one of your cities which Yahweh your God
gives you to dwell there saying-
Like Paul in his time of dying, Moses in Deuteronomy saw the importance
of obedience, the harder side of God; yet he also saw in real depth the
surpassing love of God, and the grace that was to come, beyond Law. This
appreciation reflected Moses' mature grasp of the Name / characteristics
of God. He uses the name "Yahweh" in Deuteronomy over 530 times, often
with some possessive adjective, e.g. "Yahweh thy God" [AV- i.e. you
singular], or "Yahweh our God". He saw the personal relationship between a
man and his God. Jacob reached a like realization at his peak.
Deu 13:13 Certain bad men have gone out from the midst of you and have
drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying Let us go and serve other
gods, which you have not known-
As discussed on :10, the worst level of sin is when people turn
others away from God to idolatry. The gods "which you have not known"
means effectively 'With whom you cannot have relationship'. For this is
the Hebrew idea of 'knowing'. The idea is not that anything new must be
wrong just because they are new. Yahweh was characterized above all as the
God who thirsts for personal relationship with His people.
Deu 13:14 then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently.
Behold, if it is true and certain that such abomination is done in the
midst of you-
Allegations of misbehaviour or wrong teaching within the family of
God must be taken seriously and not pushed under the carpet. But they
aren’t to be acted upon without a very careful investigation, during which
the love which believes and hopes all things is paramount. This passage
cannot be used as a reason to divide from those who have a slightly
different Biblical interpretation of something than we do, whilst
believing in and worshipping the same Lord. The situation envisaged is if
someone were seeking to draw Yahweh’s people away to a totally different
god (:13).
Deu 13:15 you must surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the
edge of the sword, destroying it utterly and all that is therein and its
livestock, with the edge of the sword-
Striking a city with the edge of the sword and completely destroying
all life within it was what Israel did to the cities of Canaan (Josh.
10:32 etc.). But the phrase is that of Dt. 13:15, about what should be
done to an apostate Israelite city who turned to idolatry. This explains
why the account of Joshua's campaigns list cities like Libnah and Lachish,
against which the Assyrians "encamped" and fought against them (2 Chron.
32:1; Is. 37:8 = Josh. 10:31). Israel were judging the Canaanite cities
for their idolatry; the fact they committed the same meant that they were
more than hypocritical. They had done that which they had judged. And they
thereby become a warning for us.
Deu 13:16 You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its street and
shall burn with fire the city and all its spoil, everything, to Yahweh
your God, and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again-
The absolute destruction of everything in the apostate city meant
that there was no possibility of personal gain for those judging it. This
meant that the motivation in considering an accusation of apostacy would
be treated without any temptation to consider personal benefit if the city
were indeed judged apostate.
Deu 13:17 Nothing of the devoted thing must cling to your hand, that
Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy and
have compassion on you-
Those who wanted to devote themselves to other gods ended up devoted
to Yahweh in destruction. There is a powerful logic to devotion. The
reasoning seems to be that the false teaching of the city would have
spread, and all Israel would have been affected by it- and so God's fierce
anger would have come upon them. It is therefore foolish to assume that
wrong teaching will not spread; it is attractive by its nature. There is a
strong teaching throughout the Bible about shutting down false teaching,
whilst having an open attitude to sinners and misbelievers and those who
misunderstand within the congregation.
And multiply you, as He has sworn to your fathers-
The entire promises to Abraham and the fathers depended for their
realization upon human obedience: “Hearken to these judgments, and keep,
and do them, that the Lord your God shall keep with you the covenant
and the mercy which He sware unto your fathers” (Dt. 7:12). That covenant
was initially given in terms which omitted direct reference to any
conditions for fulfilment. But it would be ‘kept’ by God if His people
‘kept’ His ways. The promises that God would multiply the seed of Abraham
were conditional also; if Israel separated themselves from the
peoples of the land, then He would “multiply you, as He has
sworn unto your fathers” (Dt. 13:17).
Deu 13:18 when you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all His
commandments which I command you this day, to do that which is right in
the eyes of Yahweh your God-
On one hand, the promises to Abraham and the fathers depended for
their realization upon human obedience; even though on the other hand, the
covenant of Gen. 15 appears to be a unilateral expression of God’s grace
and assurance to His people. “If you listen to these ordinances and keep
and do them, Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the
loving kindness which He swore to your fathers” (Dt. 7:12). That covenant
was initially given in terms which omitted direct reference to any
conditions for fulfilment. But it would be ‘kept’ by God if His people
‘kept’ His ways. The promises that God would multiply the seed of Abraham
were conditional also; if Israel separated themselves from the
peoples of the land and were obedient, then He would “multiply
you, as He has sworn unto your fathers” (Dt. 13:17,18). The strength of
God’s grace also makes some of His promises ‘conditional’ in a different
sense; thus He had promised Reuben and Manasseh that they could return to
their possessions only when the others had possessed the land (Dt. 3:20).
This condition never happened- yet they were allowed to return. And our
very salvation from death and the consequences of sin is in a sense
another example of this kind of thing.
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