by Tom Stewart
He Hath Spoken to Turn You Away From the LORD (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
- "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder," (Deuteronomy 13:1).
A "prophet, or a dreamer of dreams", who gives a "sign or wonder" (13:1) recalls the signs the LORD gave to Moses to convince the Children of Israel that Moses was truly sent from God -- turning Moses' rod into a serpent and back again (Exodus 4:2-4), and turning Moses' hand leprous and back again (4:6-8).
"And Moses answered and said, But, behold they [the Children of Israel] will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee...
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs [the rod into a serpent, and the leprous hand] neither hearken unto my voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land" (Exodus 4:1, 9).
- "And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;" (Deuteronomy 13:2).
We are not to think it strange that even a false prophet can make the "sign or the wonder come to pass" (13:2) -- by the supernatural power of Satan.
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24).
Of course, the Almighty must first give permission to Satan before Satan has the slightest ability to accomplish anything. Or, as the LORD Jesus plainly explained to Pontius Pilate concerning the limit of Pilate's control over Himself: "Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from Above" (John 19:11).
Pivotal to the concept of identifying false prophets, is that a false prophet seeks to turn people away from the LORD Jesus Christ, i.e., "Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them" (Deuteronomy 13:2).
If we understand that our loving obedience to the Word of God is the basis for our certainty that we belong to Him, then we also know that anyone who is clearly in disobedience to the commands of our LORD Jesus Christ, is a liar.
"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in Him" (1 John 2:3, 4).
- "Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD you God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 13:3).
Just as we are to "prove all things; [and] hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21), the LORD desires to prove us "to know whether [we] love the LORD [our] God with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul" (Deuteronomy 13:3). Not only does our proving "all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21) keep us away from evil, but it confirms to us what is good.
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8).
- "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and keep His Commandments, and obey His Voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him" (Deuteronomy 13:4).
This points to the First and Great Commandment (Matthew 22:38), which is, "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (22:37). As can be seen, it is morally impossible to love God and serve worldly treasure at the same time. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13).
If we "cleave unto Him" (Deuteronomy 13:4), Who is "[our] Life" (30:20), then we will not sin against our God. "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not" (1 John 3:6). In fact, at that moment, we cannot sin because we will not sin -- as we are kept by His Spirit.
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (3:9). [See our article, "He will Subdue Our Iniquities", for help with abiding in Christ.]
- "And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee" (Deuteronomy 13:5).
Though the New Testament Church has not been given Old Testament Israel's commission to slay the false prophets, we are to mark and avoid those who give offense to the body of Christ.
"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Romans 16:17).
Devotion and gratitude to the LORD that "bought [us] with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23, will keep us from faltering from the LORD.
"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).
When assailed with doubts -- "without were fightings, within were fears"S (2 Corinthians 7:5) -- if we would cling in loving obedience to the LORD Jesus, He will deliver us from our fears.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18). [See our article, "A Prophet Hath Been Among Them", for more discussion of this topic.]
