IF…
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to stay focused on you today. Help me that my walk with you be unwavering and one that brings you glory.
Read DEUTERONOMY 13
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Worshiping Other Gods
13 [a]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 Lord your 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,[b] 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 ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[c] 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 Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-18 is numbered 13:2-19.
- Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.’1
This chapter is read in the synagogue in a barely audible voice. The three paragraphs all begin with the word ‘If’. First, if a prophet or dreamer does signs or wonders, even if they come true, do not follow other gods. Second, if even a family member whom you love as your own soul tries to persuade you to go after other gods, you shall kill them. All Israel shall hear and fear. Third, if some troublemakers arise and draw away a whole city to follow other gods, after careful research and confirmation (v. 14), subject the town and everything in it to the sacred ban. Don’t let a single polluting thing in it stick to your fingers.
Clearly this chapter is not talking about trivial offenses. It is not giving a raiders’ charter to another town to accuse a rival and then loot it—because everything in the town is banned. What is described in this chapter is treason against the very foundation of Israel’s existence, against the covenant, against the very first commandment. Remember the very drastic action that Elijah took against the prophets of Baal.2
It seems clear from the recurrence of idolatry in the history of Israel, as we can read in the Old Testament, these instructions must not have been followed. Missionaries (and those whom they have brought to know Jesus Christ) have often faced the difficult question of how to bring about a separation between the converts’ new loyalty and their old religion. Boniface cut down Donar’s oak; the demon gates of an Akha village in North Thailand may be broken down and burned.
Apply
Idols come in many obvious forms, but we sometimes can be deceived, and unexpected things take Christ from the rightful place in our hearts. Take a careful inventory of your own heart.
Closing prayer
Give me an undivided heart, Lord, to love you through everything. Teach me to rely on your Word and faithfulness in all things.
1 Ps 86:11 (italics added), 2 1 Kings 18:40
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