신명기 Chapter 13

Translation: ESV

1

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,

Key Message

Miracles do not guarantee the truth of a message. Agreement with the Word is the standard for a true prophet.

▸Chapter 13 addresses warnings about false prophets and those who would lead Israel astray.

Chapter 13 addresses warnings about false prophets and those who would lead Israel astray. The occurrence of signs and wonders does not guarantee that a message is true. Miraculous power is not the criterion for trustworthiness—the content of the message is the criterion.

Related Verses

On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
2

and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,'

Key Message

Any teaching that draws one away from the Word is false, despite its apparent power.

▸A serious paradox is presented.

3

you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Key Message

Temptation and testing reveal the authenticity of faith. How deeply one loves God is put to the test.

▸Even the appearance of a false prophet is a test from God.

4

You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

Key Message

The best defense against falsehood is to be deeply rooted in the truth.

▸The remedy against temptation is presented.

5

But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Key Message

Causing a community to drift from God is the most serious sin. Spiritual protection is essential to the community's survival.

▸The death sentence for false prophets is commanded.

6

If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which neither you nor your fathers have known,

Key Message

Loyalty to God must be stronger than the temptation of even those most beloved.

▸Temptation can come from the closest family members.

7

some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other,

Key Message

Temptation is always present, near or far. Maintaining firm spiritual boundaries is important.

▸Various foreign gods tempt from 'near' or 'far.

8

you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.

Key Message

True love sometimes demands difficult decisions. Loyalty to God must come before human emotion.

▸Five prohibitions follow in succession: do not yield, do not listen, do not pity, do not spare, do not conceal.

9

But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

Key Message

Apostasy is the most serious sin in the community of God. Family relationships cannot take precedence over loyalty to God.

▸The death penalty applies even to family members who tempt to apostasy.

10

You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Key Message

The temptation to lead someone away from God's saving history is the most serious spiritual attack.

▸The reason for the death penalty is again emphasized.

11

And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

Key Message

The public nature of judgment creates alertness in the community and prevents evil.

▸The purpose of public punishment is revealed.

12

If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there,

Key Message

The apostasy of a community is a more serious problem than the apostasy of an individual.

▸The subject now shifts from individual temptation to the apostasy of an entire community.

13

that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known,

Key Message

Wicked people within the community can lead others astray. The responsibility of spiritual leadership is paramount.

▸'Worthless fellows' (sons of Belial) is a Hebrew expression referring to wicked and immoral persons.

14

then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you,

Key Message

Judgment must proceed through careful investigation. Conclusions without evidence constitute another form of injustice.

▸Thorough investigation is commanded.

15

you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword.

Key Message

By warning of the serious consequences of a community's spiritual corruption, apostasy is prevented.

▸The disposition of the apostate city is commanded.

16

You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a heap of ruins forever. It shall not be built again.

Key Message

God's judgment is not for personal gain. The consequences of apostasy are permanent.

▸All wealth of the apostate city is also to be burned.

17

None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers,

Key Message

Only complete obedience restores God's grace. Partial obedience is not obedience.

▸Nothing from the devoted things (herem) may be taken.

18

if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Key Message

Obedience to God's Word is the secret of prosperity.

▸This is the final verse of chapter 13.