Read Deuteronomy 13
Worshiping Other Gods
13 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lordyour God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruinforever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers,as he promised on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lordyour God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.
Go Deeper
As Moses continues to instruct God’s people to listen and love the Lord their God, he presents specific challenges they may encounter. This chapter describes the danger from false prophets and family members, friends, and peers in your community who influence you to follow pagan gods. Each of these may present the temptation to turn away from their worship and devotion to the one and only God. Moses states that these are tests to know whether they love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul. Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the people of God are reminded of God’s desire for wholehearted devotion and worship.
Honestly, God prescribes drastic means to address these dangerous tempters, from stoning the offender to eliminating a wicked city as a burnt sacrifice to God. As Moses delivers this message, it is key to remember he is addressing God’s chosen people who are living under the Mosaic covenant. God’s purpose is to protect them and underscore His desire for their complete devotion and worship. Also, keep in mind that these people were to represent the Lord to the rest of the world so that through them God would send His Son to offer salvation to any who would call on His name. The stakes are high in preserving their undivided commitment to God.
Jesus expressed His concern for those who would turn away from wholehearted devotion to God. Through use of a vivid hyperbole in Matthew 18, He says, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin…but woe to the one by whom temptation comes… and if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away…” The lesson from Jesus in the New Testament is consistent with the lesson of Deuteronomy. Preserving wholehearted devotion to God is imperative to Him. The principle of “purging the evil from you” protects the fully devoted heart from being distracted and turning away.
If the radical way Moses, God, and Jesus addressed idolatry shocks you and makes you question God’s great love for all humanity, do not forget that He offered his own son Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. In perfect love and humility, Jesus offered His own body to be poured out to cover the countless times His people turned to other lesser gods.
God’s desire to protect, preserve, and love His followers stirs our hearts to fully surrender and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He knows His children well, warning them and revealing steps to guard their devotion to Him. When false teaching comes to turn us away from God, whether it be through others or the culture, the truth of the reality of God is powerfully revealed in Jesus Christ. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, resisting evil influences and trusting that He holds us fast in His mercy and grace. May we love the Lord our God wholeheartedly, fully surrendered to Him.
Questions
- What tempts you to shift from wholehearted devotion to turning away from God?
- How might you remove that temptation from your life?
- How will you encourage others in their wholehearted devotion to God?
Watch This
If you haven’t already, watch The Bible Project’s Old Testament overview of Deuteronomy. Here is one of the helpful tips from The Bible Project offered to understand the law given in Deuteronomy: “Look for the core principle underlying the law.” Each time you come across a law or instruction that doesn’t make sense at first, dig deeper to find the principle at the heart of the law.
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3 thoughts on “Deuteronomy 13”
Temptations
Tempations are all around us constantly. God wants us to realize that not just the outside world, TV, technology, neighbors, church, ect. are where tempations may come from but that they will also come from spouse, children, best friends, and close relatives. We are human. He knows this and wants us to be aware that the evil one is running hard after us. BUT GOD is running faster!!! Remember when God gave Moses a series of signs and wonders to prove that he was the Lord’s spokesperson but Pharaoh was also saying he could do the same and in many of those cases Pharaoh’s sorcerers were equally able to perform similar signs. “So who was to be believed? Certainly in a head-to-head battle the Lord’s sign overcame the Egyptian magicians’ sign (such as when Moses’ staff turned into a serpent, the Magicians countered by turning their staffs into serpents, but the serpent of Moses devoured the other snakes) but the magicians signs were real nonetheless. A false prophet CAN display supernatural ability, so we must be very discerning. How do we discern? Without knowing God’s written word it is impossible. That Word gives us the truth so that we can compare what we experience against it in order to know what is and what is not of the Holy Spirit.” (Tom Bradford; Torah Class)
God wants to be first.
God thank You for being able to know Your Word so that when temptaions come my way I can turn away. God thank You for showing me what and how evil looks like. Thank You God for these minutes of this day that I can turn to You when faced with temptest thoughts or want to do something that is not glorifying to You. God thank You for helping me through my Wednesday. Forgive me for not turning to You when I was turning away from food. God help me to better understand how I can make fasting better in glorifing You. God help me today to see those around me that I can show You through my actions and words. Help me to be a AWED and fruity tree. Guide me to show more of Your love in my home, to my people, and outwards so that You are high and lifted up today in these minutes in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him” (v4).
God takes it very seriously chasing after other gods; the word Moses uses is “detestable”. There was zero tolerance for it and punishment was death. A strong warning was issued knowing how fickle the human heart can be. The antidote was given to choose the Lord always giving him his rightful place by following, revering, keeping, obeying, serving and holding fast to Him. This alone was a place of safety guarding against counterfeit gods. The amazing benefit is when we choose him, he holds us fast/securely in the palm of his hand, directing our paths to be his chosen, set apart people.
“And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 NIV
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Proverbs 16:25 NIV
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
Temptation comes in all sizes and shapes and there is something for everyone! We must be alert and discerning by the Holy Spirit so as not to be led away into idolatry.
Even good things can become idols I have found. There was a time in my life where I thought I was following God with my whole heart but I idolized my marriage, my husband, my children and a comfortable American Dream!
Beware dear children of God!