‏ Deuteronomy 13:1-4

Introduction

The important theme from Deuteronomy 12 onwards is the place the LORD has chosen to dwell there. That is for Israel a building, the temple, and a city, Jerusalem. For the church this is not a building or a group, but it is the spiritual foundation upon which believers who form the church meet and to which the Lord Jesus connects His presence by coming into their midst.

An important characteristic is that what is not God’s must first be removed. Then you can search. When they have found that place, the danger will arise again that idolatry wants to penetrate. That is stated in the last verses of Deuteronomy 12. There should be no question about the gods of the nations (Deu 12:29-32).

How many times has God warned of idolatry in this book! Idolatry is an essential attack on God and the relationship He has with His people. Any warning about it increases the responsibility of the people. Idolatry is anything that the Lord Jesus and His authority, His Word, sets aside or other things put alongside that are given a higher place. How many times has God warned us of certain sins that the Lord Jesus sets aside?

Deuteronomy 13 connects directly to the last verses of the previous chapter. In this chapter we read about three forms of idolatry:

1. In Deu 13:1-5 it is about a case of open deception. This can happen when someone with signs and wonders draws away the people of the LORD to serve other gods.

2. In Deu 13:6-11 it does not go through open preaching, with signs and wonders, but it is a hidden deception through natural bonds, family members. This is a very refined form.

3. In Deu 13:12-18 there is talk of a collective deception. We see how a whole city is drawn away by corrupt people from following the LORD.

Public Temptation to Apostacy

We can notice this form of deception and seduction to commit idolatry around us. We see this where believers subordinate the place of the Lord Jesus to things that seem more impressive and greater. These are places where preaching is accompanied by signs and wonders. Many Christians are deceived by this. Many movements where signs and wonders happen impress and many assume it is from God. These movements have great appeal.

The charismatic movement is not a new grouping. It is a movement that strives to bring wonder gifts within reach of all Christians. In their sermons and magazines, they call for the use of speaking in tongues and the healing of the sick, as if that were the task of every Christian. They are gifts that spotlight emotion and put the person in the foreground. Also, today emotion or feeling is given greater priority than obedience to God’s Word.

What is the power of signs and wonders? They are only meant to support a spoken testimony of God: “How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will” (Heb 2:3-4).

Satan can imitate signs and wonders. He will do this especially in the end times (2Thes 2:9; Rev 13:14). As we live in it, we increasingly see signs and wonders around us. The Lord Jesus warned: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Mt 24:24).

Where signs and wonders happen for the signs and wonders themselves and not to support the preached Word of God, the origin must be looked upon with great suspicion. In the early days the Word of God was not yet complete and signs and wonders were given to confirm it, which means that even then the written Word had preeminence. That is not so in the modern charismatic movement.

A dream can come from God or from demons. False prophets can be recognized by their fruit (Mt 7:15-20). All who proclaim something in addition to or instead of the biblical message must be rejected (Gal 1:8). Any movement that highlights anything other than the Person of the Lord Jesus is not from God. Where it is said that faith is beautiful, but not enough because laying on of hands and speaking in tongues must follow, a spirit of lies is at work. He who is filled with the Holy Spirit will not speak about his being filled, but about the Lord Jesus. It is not the sign or the wonder that is decisive, but the Word of God.

The touchstone of what presents itself as signs and wonders is listening to the words that are preached. If it contains a call to follow other gods, it is not good. We are called to think back to “the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior [spoken] by your apostles” (2Pet 3:2). We have to go back to what has been from the beginning, to “the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3). The Lord puts us to the test. He also provides us with all the means to pass the test.

Anyone who brings the people of God on a wrong path must be removed from the among them. This commandment occurs nine times (Deu 13:6; 10; Deu 17:7; 12; Deu 19:19; Deu 21:21; Deu 22:21; 22; 24; Deu 24:7). Here, we have an example of what is commanded to the church in Corinth. Whereas in the Old Testament someone must be killed in a certain case, we find in the New Testament the counterpart in the command: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (1Cor 5:13b).

There is a distinction between hating evil and loving the sinner. There must be no fellowship with evil. We are told: “Hating even the garment polluted by the flesh” (Jude 1:23). That is to say, we must make sure that our external behavior does not show any characteristics of sin. At the same time, the Lord tells us that we must restore someone who “is caught in any trespass”, but we must do so “in a spirit of gentleness; [each one] looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Gal 6:1). Both sides are important.

Israel must cling to the LORD. He has delivered them from Egypt and accepted them to be His people. He is not only their Creator but their Redeemer. He has given them commandments concerning the way they have to go. He did not do this by forcing them with His power, but by persuading them with His Word, by setting forth His arguments for that way. The call to serve other gods is a direct insult to Him and a denial of the redemption He, not an idol, has brought about. It is therefore also the greatest ingratitude. When we realize what the Lord Jesus has done for us, our only desire will be to cling to and serve Him.

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