BIBLE BITS: Deuteronomy 13

There are many people who preach, claiming to have the truth.  Most are very passionate about what they say.  Some are very persuasive and popular.  How can we know who is a faithful prophet of God and who is not?  Since eternal well-being hangs in the balance, this is a crucial question, and we need to be sure of the answer.  While false prophets will suffer a harsh judgment for preaching falsely in the name of Jesus, those who are deceived by them will not be excused.  They will also perish.

The Lord knew that the people of Israel would experience false prophets, too.  The world has always had them.  How can you tell?  And why would God allow such things?

First of all, God never sponsors lies or deception.  But just as God does not turn you mute when you are about to gossip or bend the truth, so also God does not stop the false prophets from preaching deception.  He lets sinners do what sinners do.  The judgment comes later.

But God uses evil for his own purposes, too.  He warned the people of Israel (and we can apply this to ourselves as well): "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" (Deuteronomy 13:3).  Will we be eager to believe the lie because it is so attractive, or will we cling to the truth out of love for God?  It not only puts our faith to the test, it also forces us to consult God's word to be sure we are being faithful to it.  Neither our desires nor our feelings are to be our guide.  God's word alone is truth.

By his warning, God makes it clear that the deceptions will have a strong appeal to them.  "“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass..." (Deuteronomy 13:1-2).  "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...." (Deuteronomy 13:6).  "If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell there, that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city..." (Deuteronomy 13:12-13).  Dazzling signs!  Siding with loved ones!  An entire city embracing the lie; it is so popular!  All these are ways we can be deceived.  Be aware that the devil plays dirty.  He will employ things that will pull us to the lie because of our affection for loved ones, popularity, and "proof."

Among the people of Israel, God's judgment was harsh and definitive: Put the false prophet to death.  God's people possessed the Promise.  God was jealous to preserve the nation through whom the Savior would come.  We do not have the same instructions.  We don't kill false prophets.  We are called on to expose them.  St. Paul wrote: "I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them" (Romans 16:17).  The false prophets may still invoke the name of Jesus, but if they are falsifying his words, they are proclaiming a different Jesus than the one in the Bible.

God's word speaks for itself.  We hear it, study it, and learn it so that we will not be pulled away from it--even if we love the ones who are pulling us away.  Our eternal well-being depends on it.