Deut. 13:1 ¶ If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deut. 13:2 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;
Deut. 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
This chapter starts off with a very thought-provoking situation. It acknowledges that there are false prophets, whether through inspiration or dreams, that can make accurate predictions that are confirmed by miraculous events. In other words, there are spiritual forces of evil that have the ability to work miracles. These miracles are always done to promote their agenda of deception. The first example that comes to mind is of the magicians in Pharaoh’s court that could duplicate some of the miracles performed by Moses (See Exodus 7-8). The story of Job affirms that Satan has power over the forces of nature within God’s designated parameters (See Job 1). Just as God empowers men supernaturally according to His will, Satan is allowed to empower men who have rejected God as LORD within the parameters established by God.
Moses is warning the people that the miraculous confirmation of a message that leads one to disobey God’s revealed will through His word is allowed in the life of a believer to prove his/her faith and commitment to Him as LORD. If one chooses to follow the false prophet because of miraculous confirmation, He is basically calling God a liar. In other words, what we see can be deceiving.
To love the LORD with all your heart and soul is an expression of unwavering commitment to trust and serve Him no matter what—even when confronted with miracles that seem to support a messenger that denies or leads one away from God’s word as revealed in scripture. This is going to be the primary method by which the future Antichrist amasses such a great following.
2Thessalonians 2:8-9 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders….”
A true prophet of God will always deliver a message that is true to God’s word and will affirm His power and authority as the one true God.
Deut. 13:4 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.
“Ye” = God’s chosen people, the people of Israel….
God’s people are to walk after the LORD God—in the path that He has revealed is according to His will. It’s a picture of placing our steps directly in the footprints left by the LORD, never straying into an area into which He does not lead us.
Walking according to God’s leading is evidence of the fear and reverence you have for Him. Walking after the LORD ensures that you will be obedient to His commandments and will serve Him. If you have ever tried to take a hike with someone, you know that it takes diligent attention and effort to stay together and keep up. When you are walking in His steps, you will avoid any obstacles that would keep you from your destination; but it takes desire and effort to maintain the pace. That’s how I picture what it means to cleave to Him. The Hebrew actually includes the phrase “to follow close (hard after).”
Deut. 13:5 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.
How were the children of Israel to deal with a false prophet? They were to kill Him. I can hear all the gasps of outrage from the voices of today who would lobby for his rehabilitation or his right to freedom of speech. God’s kingdom is not a democracy; it is a theocracy. He alone has the authority to declare righteous judgment. The false prophet has already rejected God and chosen his eternal destiny. To allow him to continue to live only jeopardizes the eternal destiny of others. God has been very clear in presenting Himself as a jealous God, One who will not share His glory with another.
Exodus 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God….”
Exodus 34:14 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God….”
Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.”
Deuteronomy 5:9 “…for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God….”
Deuteronomy 6:15 “(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you….”
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 “For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.”
Deut. 13:6 ¶ If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
Deut. 13:7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
Deut. 13:8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
Deut. 13:9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Deut. 13:10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
The message of this whole chapter has been tough, but now it gets even tougher. In this part of his instruction, Moses declares that you are to have mercy on no one that tries to turn you from faith and allegiance to YHWH—whether brother, son, daughter, wife, or dearest friend. Anyone who tries to get you to follow a heathen “god” is to be exposed and stoned to death. I think it is significant that the accuser, the one who exposes the heretic, is to throw the first stone and then be joined by the rest of the people. Why? As a testimony to the truth of the accusation. Surely, no man would falsely accuse someone knowing that it would result in the death of the accused and that you would have to initiate the judgment.
We have to keep in mind that this instruction is being given to people who have joined in covenant with YHWH. To find a heretic among God’s people should be quite the exception. The application to the church today is obvious.
Nevertheless, the question obviously arises as to the possibility of false accusation. There is a wonderful example in scripture of God’s provision for the innocent, though the circumstances describe a group action rather than a single accuser. The accusation was against the true prophet and not a false prophet; still the accused was innocent. It is found in Acts 6-7—the stoning of Stephen. Stephen was bold in sharing the truth of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, and was stoned to death for his testimony. He never waivered from the truth in the face of unjust judgment and was given a vision of the glory of God in heaven with Jesus standing at His right hand. He knelt in prayer asking forgiveness for those who killed him and committed his spirit to God. I personally don’t think the LORD allowed him to feel a single stone.
Deut. 13:11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
Such direct and severe punishment is meant to deter anyone else from doing such a thing. Israel was not a huge nation, and that type of news would travel quickly.
If justice were carried out as swiftly and severely today for the crimes qualifying for capital punishment, I believe we would see quite a decrease in that type of crime. In fact, if trial and judgment period were carried out expediently, it would more effectively deter crime. The scary thing about the justice system as a whole in America today is that it is a system supposedly based on equality and truth, but is quite obviously influenced by wealth, personal agenda, and with no fear of God.
I believe this is an example of how Christ will rule on the throne of David with a rod of iron during the millennium. No rebellion will be tolerated. Sin will be judged immediately. There will be no possibility of unrighteous judgment.
Deut. 13:12 ¶ If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
Deut. 13:13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
Deut. 13:14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
Deut. 13:15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
Recognizing the powerful influence of peer pressure and/or a charismatic personality, Moses goes on to give direction as to how to respond in the event that a whole city is deceived into turning away from God to serve “other gods.”
“Children of Belial” is a phrase describing wicked men; Webster describes them as “the personification of evil.” It is truly an amazing truth of history that so many of these evil men are possessed with the charisma to generate masses of followers.
This section describes a terrible accusation that could result in the death of hundreds. Notice that the first source of evidence comes in the form of “hear say” or rumor. Moses instructs that they are not to act in judgment according to the rumor. They are to enquire, search (examine intimately) and ask diligently to find out the truth. If it is proven true, then they are to kill all the inhabitants of that city with a sword and completely destroy it—cattle and everything else in it. I can hear the question now, “But what if there are innocent people in that city?” If the “whole” city is involved, there are no innocent bystanders whether or not they participated in the worship of the false gods. Their sin was of omission and direct disobedience to God’s command. Instead of preserving life by disclosing the truth, they were essentially condemning others to eternal damnation through their silence just as surely as those that led them into rebellion. The longer evil is allowed to prosper, the more that fall victim to its influence.
This is a very sobering truth. We are responsible before the LORD to speak out against false teaching. If we knowingly stay quiet and allow those in our sphere of influence to be deceived by such teaching, we are as guilty as the false teachers before God. We are so conditioned by our culture to be tolerant and oh so careful of not hurting anyone’s feelings and be politically correct that we, as a church, have become mute as a whole in identifying false teachers and their teaching.
Deut. 13:16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
Deut. 13:17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
Deut. 13:18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
Moses goes on to instruct that nothing is to be taken as booty from the destruction of such a city. Everything that could normally be classified as the spoils of war is to be piled in the middle of the street and burned. The whole city is to be burned and the ruins left forever as a deterrent to others who might face the same temptation. They are not to salvage one thing. Never again is that city to be rebuilt. This will ensure that the nation is shown the mercy of God and spared the judgment of His anger. God’s desire is to bless them and multiply them according to His unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If they want to be those that inherit the blessings of that covenant, they must keep their own conditional covenant with the LORD. If they don’t keep their own covenant with God by doing what is “right in the eyes of the LORD,” the God of Israel, they will suffer judgment and those blessings will be reserved for a future generation.
Deut. 14:1 ¶ Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Deut. 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
I think it is important to note as these instructions get more specific that these commands are directed toward Israel as part of their covenant relationship with YHWH. The reasons for some are explained, while the reasons for others are not. I am convinced that most of the dietary guidelines are based on promoting good health. All are intended to distinguish God’s people as unique among the nations of the earth, one in whom He takes special delight (from the Hebrew for peculiar).
It was evidently a custom among some of the Gentile nations to cut themselves and/or shave the space between their eyes as a sign of mourning. As stated above, God’s people are to stand out as different from the world. Mutilating oneself is a picture of despair and grief without hope. Those who have placed their trust in God and submitted to Him as LORD look forward to a wonderful future life after death. There is simply no reason for such a display. Grief is expected when we are separated from someone we love due to death—but not grief without hope, not grief that declares God as insufficient to comfort, strengthen and fill that empty space in one’s life.
Deut. 14:3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
Deut. 14:4 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
Deut. 14:5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
Deut. 14:6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
I often question the order of things as presented in scripture and the abrupt change of direction. It’s one of those things that I’m sure I’ll understand more through future revelation—whether here or in heaven.
All of a sudden Moses switches the subject to address foods that are clean and unclean. He first instructs that they are not to eat any abominable or unclean thing. He then goes on to give a list of animals that provide clean meat—animals that part the hoof into two and chew the cud. Most on the list are recognizable; others are not. A hart is a stag or male deer; the roebuck is a gazelle. The Hebrew for pygarg references an antelope, and the chamois a gazelle.
I knew I had read or heard something somewhere regarding a spiritual application to some of these instructions. As I started searching for the source, I found an article by Ray Stedman, The Need for a Standard, at www.pbc.org/files/messages/3541/0512.html. Below are some interesting excerpts from that article.
What do these mean? What is the chewing of the cud a picture of? If you have ever watched an animal that chews its cud you know that you have before you a beautiful picture of the art of meditation, of taking in knowledge and ideas and concepts, and tentatively swallowing them undigested at first, but then bringing them up again to rethink, rechew, work over again. Thus there is proposed for us in the handling of the Scriptures a method for distinguishing between that which is wisdom from above and that which is wisdom from below, because both are in the Bible.
But it is not only the chewing of the cud, but also the dividing of the hoof that is important. What does that mean? That is a picture of the principle of separation, of discrimination, discernment, of the need to distinguish between that which is from above and that which is from below, to take note of the fact that the Bible reports the lies of Satan and the confused thinking of men, as well as the revelation of the mind of God.
The book of Ecclesiastes, for instance, has given rise to many false ideas which have been widely disseminated and said to come from the Bible -- which they do. But the book begins with Solomon's warning that it is a collection of the wisdom of man, gathered from under the sun. Thus it is not be trusted but is to be tested against the revelation of God. So, in this area we are to feed, but we are to apply to the food we take in, even from such a wonderful source as the Word of God, this double practice of meditation and of recognizing the principle of separation. [end excerpt]
Deut. 14:7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
Deut. 14:8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
In this section Moses lists the animals that are unclean because they don’t possess both characteristics of chewing the cud and having a cloven hoof. Point is made that they aren’t to be eaten or their dead carcass touched.
As I was reading through this section again, I realized that I could continue to jump from Mr. Stedman’s thoughts. Meditation and discernment go hand-in-hand. To try and do either with the other in relationship to God’s word will lead one into heresy or false teaching.
Deut. 14:9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
Deut. 14:10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
From land animals Moses moves on to things in the water. All creatures with fins and scales are considered clean; any without fins and scales are unclean. More excerpts from Mr. Stedman’s insights.
Well, fins are that which gives a fish the capacity to move, to progress, to penetrate through the waters, to employ the element through which it moves for its own progress. And scales are that which protect it against harm, which resist the effect of the element in which this food is found, which preserve it from harm from the element.
The Christian is to handle the knowledge of the world in this way. He is to keep moving on all the time. He is to keep asking, "Where does this lead? Where does this idea take me?" He is to penetrate to the heart of it. He is not to be content with mere superficial knowledge of a subject but is to move right into the heart of it and to carry its implications beyond the bounds of this life, to see how they affect life in the realm of the mind and heart and spirit. But he is to resist being captured or held by any human concept. He is not to be possessed by these kinds of ideas.
Deut. 14:11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
Deut. 14:12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Deut. 14:13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
Deut. 14:14 And every raven after his kind,
Deut. 14:15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
Deut. 14:16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
Deut. 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Deut. 14:18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Next on the list Moses gives instructions regarding clean and unclean fowl. He only lists those that are unclean. Again, some of these names are unfamiliar. The ossifrage and ospray are in the eagle family. The glede and kite seem to be types of vultures. The Hebrew for cuckow references the gull and cuckoo. The Hebrew for cormorant references another bird of prey, possibly a pelican. The lapwing references a grouse.
Even I could see the connection in this list; they are all flesh eaters (either dead or alive). The application is obvious. We are not to indulge our flesh at the expense of others. We are not to cause harm to one another.
Deut. 14:19 And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
Deut. 14:20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
For some reason Moses didn’t include the whole instruction regarding this group of creatures. Leviticus tells us more.
Leviticus 11:20-23 “All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
Mr. Stedman continues to give good food for thought, but I can’t help but wonder if Moses made any of these types of applications to the people. Did they just accept the instructions without question? (Probably would have been my response in this area.)
Leaping is a momentary linking together of heaven and earth. The Israelites were instructed to reject anything which had contact with the earth and could fly in the heavens but was not able to leap and thus to tie the two -- heaven and earth -- together. Ideas which accurately, successfully tie man's earthly life to his relationship with God may be accepted. [end excerpt]
Were these special nuggets of application meant for discovery by future generations of believers? I think it probably falls into the same area as discovering the spiritual applications represented by the tabernacle/temple, its furnishings and its rituals. We know that everything in scripture is for our benefit.
2Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Deut. 14:21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
This instruction is distinct in that Moses declares specifically that there is nothing harmful in and of the meat itself; the restrictions are intended to distinguish God’s people from those in the world, Satan’s kingdom. As I looked at the commentaries, I found that even a clean animal that has died naturally has not been properly slaughtered and the blood drained. God isn’t condoning giving strangers and aliens food that is harmful. They are already unclean, so there’s no harm in giving them food that God has declared unclean for His people. The Israelites weren’t holy in and of themselves; they were holy because they had been specifically set apart by God. It’s a reference to position, not condition.
“Thou shalt not seethe a kid…” – I remember coming across this instruction when going through Exodus and looking for help. I didn’t find it at the time, but later came across an interesting explanation while listening to Zola Levitt interview a Karaite Jew, Nehemiah Gordon. A Karaite Jew is one who follows the Hebrew scripture vs. the teaching of the Rabbis from the Talmud. He explained that this was a practice associated with a Canaanite fertility ritual for the goddess Ashtoreth. Unger’s Bible Handbbok added that the ritual involved pouring out the boiled milk as a charm to guarantee fertility of the soil. This would connect in my mind with the teaching of avoiding even the appearance of evil.
1Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
Deut. 14:22 ¶ Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deut. 14:23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
Moses now changes the subject to a discussion of tithing. A tithe represents a tenth of the whole. These verses state that the people were to tithe from their yearly harvest. It was to be taken to the temple and given to the priests. They were to enjoy a meal from their tithe while at the temple. This was a public recognition of the fact that their harvest was a gift of God. It was meant to be a time of thanks and fellowship.
I decided to check some commentaries and found a comment by David Guzik that caused me to go back to the Hebrew for increase. This is a reference to income or revenue from the sale of one’s harvest. That would seem to exclude the portion used for personal sustenance.
Deut. 14:24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deut. 14:25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
Deut. 14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
Because almost all travel was by foot or donkey, it’s obvious that some people would have a difficult time getting a tenth of their harvest to the designated place, the tabernacle/temple. They were then to sell the tithe part of the harvest and take the money to the temple instead. When they offered the money at the temple, they could purchase whatever they wanted to enjoy the meal of fellowship and thanksgiving.
Deut. 14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Deut. 14:28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deut. 14:29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
We are reminded that the Levite possessed no land but was not to be left out of the fellowship. It seems that the tithe of the harvest was to be used to provide for the Levite, strangers, fatherless and widows who had nothing to bring. It sounds like the tithe only had to be brought every three years or maybe that the tithe every three years was used for this specific purpose. I could find nothing definitive about this in the other commentaries I checked. I think the main principle is that God should be recognized as the author of our blessings and joyously praised. We are to take care to provide for those who are called into full time service of the LORD so they can serve without distraction (though certainly the Levities weren’t living in the lap of luxury). Neither are we to neglect taking care of our guests or those who cannot provide for themselves, such as the fatherless and widows.