THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME
The Children of Israel were listening to all of Moses’ reminders as they waited to cross over to The Promised Land. Moses was repeating to them again all that he had heard from God.
Many things were already spoken and shared, but today Moses brings up a few more subjects; the first of those speaks of the consequences of worshiping other gods.
CULTURAL HISTORY MATTERS
As we look at the instructions that Moses is giving here, it is important for us to remember this was a different time in history and that the people of Israel were in a much different place with their culture than we are today.
Israel was a new nation coming out of a captivity that had lasted for several generations.
The generation of people now entering the Promised Land were the descendants of people that had been constantly surrounded by nations who worshiped idols.
The nation from which they were held captive and set free from had been heavily into the sin of idolatry.
BARBARIC AND DETESTABLE PRACTICES WERE THE NORM
When we say “idolatry” we are speaking of nations that were involved in the worship of idols with orgies and human sacrifices.
The pagan things that were done in those days would appear barbaric and detestable to even some of the less-than-godly of our culture today.
Young children and babies were common offerings. Human sacrifices were the norm; not the exception. These were very evil, very pagan idol worshipers that we are speaking of.
GOD RESCUED ISRAEL FROM THESE PRACTICES
God had brought Israel out of this state of idol worship.
They were to be a new nation that had godly ways.
The new nation’s laws had to be very strict for the times that they were living through.
If Israel turned to idolatry here; they would surely fall into certain ruin. All the progress up to this point would be lost. The whole nation would be lost.
To bring idolatry back into Israel at this point would be like high treason to God. They had no king; they were ruled and governed by God and God alone. Participating in idolatry at this point of the journey of Israel would be like denying the government of the new nation.
THE PEOPLE WERE FREE TO MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICES
The people all knew these important facts and understood them.
Anyone who did not agree with the government of God in this nation was free to go their own way.
They could leave.
The civil laws and the ritualistic laws of The Law of Moses were very important to the survival of the nation as a whole.
THE CIVIL LAWS OF THE LAW OF MOSES
Deuteronomy Chapter 13 is speaking into the civil laws and the ritualistic laws contained in The Law of Moses. (This would not be The 10 Commandments or the Decalogue.) These laws pertained to the conduct of the sacrificial system and the conduct of the Levite priests; who would have some new and different responsibilities in this new place.
The civil law that Deuteronomy 13 is discussing and emphasizing was necessary because Israel had already demonstrated that they were not capable of keeping The Ten Commandments. They broke those with the worship of the Golden Calf the last time that Moses was away from them; and I’m sure Moses was very worried about how they would behave once he died and they had to carry on with building a whole new godly nation without him.
So; these civil laws were much more detailed and these civil laws would be a measurement to be used as “a witness against them.” Israel had proven over and over again that they needed a harsh and detailed law of conduct to keep them on track. Thus the harsh penalties of death.
THE ACCUSER HAD TO CAST THE FIRST STONE
To keep the people honest; the accuser was always the one to have to cast the first stone.
The whole congregation had to agree on the guilt of the victim in order for it to take place, and the process was long and detailed with every area allowed that could find mercy and justice in the victim’s favor should they prove to be innocent.
All of this ancient system of justice was done in a way that was set up to curtail false accusations based on personal feelings and emotions and/or grudges.
In this set of civil laws most citizens would want to be VERY sure about the truth of the matter before they accused anyone because they knew they would have to be the first one to throw the first stone that would send the guilty to their grave.
DIFFERENT TIMES HAD DIFFERENT NEEDS
These laws were definitely set up for a different age and a different people than we have living in our modern world today.
Yet; even today countries have need of civil laws that call for capital punishment. The most strictly held laws are those that pertain to loyalty to the country doling out the laws.
Treason is not usually tolerated by any free nation.
It is not uncommon for a country to institute harsh punishment for matters pertaining to their national security. The security of the Nation of Israel totally depended upon the fact that they worship God and God alone.
For Israel the act of idolatry was like high-treason in that it rebelled against the government of God. The people understood this well. They knew they could either obey the laws of the land or leave the land. All of the people had chosen to stay and to be a part of God’s people. They had made a choice to be governed this way.
THE NEXT HEBRAIC CIVIL CALENDAR BEGINS ON THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
I think the timing of this lesson in Israel’s civil law is interesting and amusing; because we are about to enter the time of The Feast of Trumpets which is to be noticed and observed as the turning of the first day of the civil year’s calendar for Israel.
MOSES CLARIFIES WITH EXAMPLES
There were false prophets in those days that worshiped idols and lived in pagan ways who made it their goal to lead God’s people astray. It was easy to do in such a culture who had not yet been educated in God’s ways because of slavery in a pagan environment.
So Moses went over different scenarios with the people to be sure they understood what he was telling them.
He says; “Perhaps as you go about your day’s activities, you may meet a person who can explain your dreams, or even someone who gives you a sign or something wondrous to consider and ponder. Maybe that sign or wonder even takes place and you are able to witness it for yourself. If it happens and the person who gave it to you says “Let us follow other gods” (other than the God of Israel whom you already know); then you MUST NOT listen to the words of that person.
Why?
Because the TRUE God; the God of Israel is the One and Only God.
YOUR FAITH IN GOD COULD BE TESTED
Be sure to know that a false prophet is like a test from God.
From time to time God will be testing you in order to find out whether or not you love him with all of your heart and with all of your soul. You MUST decide to follow ONLY God. You MUST revere only Him, keep his commandments and follow His ways for living. If someone tells you to worship a false god; even with signs and wonders, you must turn away as quickly as possible.
Moses warns the people again of how important it is to serve God and to hold fast to Him.
The recommendation Moses brought was that the false prophet or dreamer be put to death. That is very serious. It seems a harsh thing for us to read about and hear today; but (as we covered above) in that time and for that time it was critical and necessary.
ALL FALSE WORSHIP MUST BE PURGED FROM GOD’S PEOPLE
God is serious about worship.
False worship had to be purged from The Land of Promise.
Sometimes it is not a stranger or a prophet that entices you to turn to false gods and pagan worship. It could even be your husband or your wife, or your son or your daughter, or your in-laws, or one of your closest friends.
Now that is very serious too.
Who would ever be able to turn their loved ones in to the authorities for a crime punishable by death for simply making a very stupid mistake in their worship practices?
Moses warns that you should not listen to them; even if it is your own brother or sister! The warning isn’t so much about turning in the guilty as to warn you that temptations will come and go in ways that you might never suspect.
It is to remind you to be aware, to be awake, to pay attention to your own worship. Heaven’s forbid that it could even be you acting out of careless and un-examined worship.
WHEN SIN IS CLOSE TO HOME
In those days, as the nation was just being established; just one family acting out of turn could ruin the future for the whole nation.
These false worshipers knew the rules set by God and His government and they could be shown no pity.
They were not to be shielded; but they had to be put to death. Stoning was recommended in those days if such things happened.
It was believed that if such things were made public and if all of Israel heard or witnessed such punishment, that the whole nation would then be afraid and no one would be going about doing evil in the land.
IF A WHOLE TOWN WAS GUILTY
Whenever trouble makers arose in one of the towns that God had given to the People of Israel; especially trouble makers who promoted false gods, those towns were to be investigated thoroughly.
If a town allowed false-worship and pagan practices to continue; all of the town was to be destroyed; even the livestock. The town and all its plunder should be burned in an offering to The LORD. That town would then be marked to lay in ruins forever; never to be rebuilt or inhabited again. Nothing that had been condemned in that town was to be carried out by anyone.
The above actually happened with Sodom and Gomorrah.
THE REWARDS FOR OBEDIENCE
If the people were true and that strict about keeping their lands godly and not pagan, and if they allowed no false worship to enter Israel; God would have mercy on them and show compassion to them.
He would increase their numbers because of their obedience to Him and because they keep all of his commandments.
THIS SIDE OF THE CROSS IS DIFFERENT
Every time I read this chapter of Deuteronomy and I think of the horrible condition of our nation today; I am so very thankful to be living on this side of the cross.
Does this passage not sound REALLY strict and drastic to you?
Living in a land that is full of pagan practices and false-gods today; we have become conditioned to our worldly environment. Most of us don’t even realize the pagan things that we do anymore.
How on earth could we apply this very strict passage of scripture to our lives today?
MODERN DAY EXAMPLES
We’ve all probably been places from time to time where someone in the crowd stands up and says they have received a “word” or a “dream” from God. How on earth do you know that what they are saying is true?
Sometimes when your ears have heard their “word” or “dream” something supernatural even happens right there in a crowd full of witnesses.
How do you know (in today’s world) whether the spoken word or dream is of God or false?
How do you know; and how can you tell what is what and when you do; what do you do about it?
I’ve been in both situations many times.
There have been times in my own life when I’ve been to meetings where people received prophecy from a prophet and I’ve lived to see that prophecy come true.
SUPERNATURAL THINGS OF GOD STILL HAPPEN
Some of those meetings were displaying signs and wonders; such as people falling out in the “spirit” and children looking up and pointing to angels in the ceilings which the adults could not see, and healing taking place with many people in the crowd which have remained and lasted.
Supernatural things do happen.
I believe I once even had a long conversation with an angel; while being unaware that he was an angel. I remember thinking he was simply a person whom God had sent to help me in a time of emotional distress. That angel told me some things that later came to pass and helped me know what decisions to make in the time I was living through. It wasn’t a show at all; hardly anyone knew he was there; I didn’t even know until later, as I was looking back at all the things that transpired, that he wasn’t simply a man; but I believe this truly happened and there is no other explanation other than the fact that he had to be an angel. The next day when I inquired of him to thank him no one knew of him or about him or that he had ever existed.
GOD’S PEOPLE MUST BE CAREFUL TO USE DISCERNMENT
So to be sure; this isn’t to say that all prophets are false; but it is to warn you that almost 99% of the time they could simply be the devil’s demons playing games with God’ people in order to sway them from God’s truth.
It is a warning to be careful.
People need to always ask God for discernment.
FALSE PROPHETS ARE OUT THERE
For as many times as I’ve witnessed supernatural signs and wonders and pure and true prophetic offerings; I would say more of the time I’ve witnessed false prophets and demons at work.
They love to hang out at churches because that is where they can do the most damage.
I’ve been to meetings at churches that make a great show of the gift of prophesy. A known prophet will come to town and all of the people will gather around and want a word from them. Some of those prophecies seems so very real and true for that person. Everyone is amazed.
The prophet will speak to each individual one at a time and lay hands on them and sometimes they will go down supposedly in the “spirit.” Watch this carefully if you ever observe such a ceremony. The so-called false prophet will probably be showy with this and you will notice them getting a little pushy when they lay hands on people.
The people who go down, should they later speak to one another of their experiences, will all say they were not completely out, but they were still able to hear and respond to all that was around them. Though they might go down, appear to be a little drunk, lay quietly as if they are out; they aren’t totally out at all.
This happened to me once. I went up to a false prophet (not knowing she was false) and received a word, and immediately the word felt wrong to me. Then she laid hands on me and I didn’t go down at first; but slowly as she kept laying on hands I did go down and as I lay there I felt God saying to me that this event was a “dog and pony” show and that the prophesy I had heard was false. I finally got up and walked out and asked God’s forgiveness for even being there. I felt like God said “many will seek prophesy and direction from Me; but the only sign I have given is the sign of Jonah.”
REMEMBER THE STORY OF JONAH
We all know that the story of Jonah and the whale was a prophesy that became symbolic of Christ rising from the grave (after 3 days and 3 nights) into new life everlasting. Jonah had this message to preach to Nineveh; that all must REPENT in order to be saved. In those days Nineveh heard and repented and turned.
Today we are living in such a similar time as that time of Jonah.
More than likely; if God sends a great prophet the message is going to be the same for everyone; repent and believe on Jesus Christ and be saved.
A true prophet will only give you a true word that the scriptures of the bible can confirm. If the opposite happens; don’t walk away – RUN away from that person; they have evil intentions. I found out after the event I mentioned above that one person in the church congregation was hand-feeding the visiting prophets personal information about the congregation and they were using those things as “messages” when they visited the congregation.
I hate to have to admit to being so gullible; but I am also proud to say that God protected me and corrected me and I wasn’t harmed.
AN IMPORTANT NEW NATION WITH HIGH STANDARDS TO FOLLOW
It was so important to God that the Nation of Israel remain pure and true to Him that He set very strict standards for them to live by once they entered the Promised Land.
They did not live on the same side of the cross as we have been privileged to experience. The new nation had to conform to every letter of the law and be very careful to bring their sacrifices whenever they sinned.
Jesus died once for all.
After ancient Israel became a great nation; God brought mankind a Messiah. Now some of us have came to live in more modern times.
We no longer need to bring the animal sacrifices; He paid the redemption price for all of our sins.
Today when we sin from being associated with idolatry; we simply have to repent, believe in God, turn around and follow Christ.
We have found the better way.
A SPIRITUAL DEATH
In the days of Israel being made the pattern-forming nation for all of God’ people; strict laws even unto death were necessary to keep the order that brought us to where we live right now. Now that Jesus has died for our sins, spent time in the grave and after 3 days resurrected; we have forgiveness and mercy for physical sins; but today there is a stronger need for a deeper type of spiritual involvement.
The physical death of idolatry that had to be performed by the congregation of believers back in those days of Israel forming into a nation; has now translated to a more spiritual level with us.
Believers are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore they must learn how to die to themselves.
Things that are spiritually wrong today must be slayed by God’s Holy Spirit and they must be caused to die a spiritual death.
In other words; once we have been given the discernment by God’s Holy Spirit that a prophet is false; they should be as one who is dead to us.
We should completely bury them in a spiritual grave and leave them there. They should be to us as if they never were. God does not want us associated with paganism.
Does that make sense?
GOD DOES TEST HIS PEOPLE
Even today, just as in ancient times; God could be testing His people.
God actually allows deceivers to exist inside the church. Their false deceptions are allowed to exist with the true faith of the pure believers. Often; this is the way that God’s people are tested. By allowing these tests to take place; the true and faithful are proven to be loyal servants of God.
We know that God tested Abraham; so why would he not test us too?
He wants to know how much we REALLY love him. This is especially true as we approach the last days. God wants to be sure that His people are going to be true to Him for all of eternity.
Some people are not truly seeking God at all. They just go about seeking more and more spiritual signs, wonders and experiences. These people are not truly after the heart of God; they are after the experiences. To belong to God you must KNOW Him; and knowing Him is not always about constant supernatural experiences that continue to happen one after another; though they do happen.
Today’s Christians walk with God in more of an on-going, day-to-day relationship; which consists of all of the simple little mundane experiences of life.
These are the times when God will be working with us to remake our hearts; to re-shape our beings; to make all of us into the people that He has destined for us to be. Life’s common moments and daily deceptions are often a testing ground for our faithfulness. Sometimes we find more of God in these moments than the big, public displays of supernatural events.
BE SURE YOU ARE FOLLOWING GOD’S LEAD
So; if you are still going to walk into those situations; make sure God is leading you there. That is key to knowing whether or not they are real.
If you are just wanting to experience the same thing that your friend told you about last week; you are most-likely making a huge mistake.
God speaks to different people in different ways and whatever way He uses will always line up with His purpose for your life and your destiny for The Kingdom of God.
Most likely; we are living in the last days. It appears that way from what we have read and studied. Jesus warned us that in the last days scoffers and deceivers would come. He told us what to do.
We can read about that again in Matthew 7:15: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves
Sheep were an important part of life during the time that Jesus walked the earth. Wolves were a dominant predator to the innocent little sheep.
God’s people are often referred to as sheep. God sent Jesus as The Good Shepherd to protect us from harm and to keep the wolves away. More times than not those wolves disguise themselves and come into the fold. This will grow worse as end times continue to unfold. We must always be on guard and remember what Jesus said:
The people of God are not to be deceived!
What things are leading you away from God’s best ways to live? Are you all alone in defending the faith in your home? Have your spouse and your children and your parents succumbed to the ways of the world? Will our nation continue to slide down the slippery slope of false prophets and fake gods?
We must all hold tight to the hand of Jesus and never let go. Only He can lead us through such treacherous times as we go through today.
Ephesians 5:6 declares the truth to us; “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
Colossians 2:8 warns us; “See that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”