Deuteronomy 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.
It probably doesn’t take much memory or imagination in this new year to remember people who once held to the truth but no longer do. Why are they no longer holding to the truth? Why are they caving in on things that matter? Well, you and I don’t know the heart, but oftentimes people come to a change of position because of how they feel not necessarily because of what they believe. It is amazing how vulnerable all of us are to this. God knows this, and He knew this when He was bringing His people into the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 13 is about the test of one’s commitment to the truth and the true God. In Deuteronomy 13 God gives us three kinds of people who can peel us off from the truth. What you find is that the test of your commitment to the truth and to the true God is who or what it takes to peel you off. Again, oftentimes we are influenced by how we feel even more than we are influenced by what we believe, and how we feel often changes what we believe.
Here are three examples of how this happens. This first is an example of a charismatic or influential leader. Verse 1 says, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder.” Then he goes on to say that if this prophet says, “Let us go after other gods…thou shalt not hearken.”
In each example he gives here there was a harsh repercussion that occurred because of those who were trying to lead others astray. Doesn’t that happen today? Don’t we know of people who are highly influential who may have a dynamic personality, who may have some sort of power, and someone you know has given up on the truth in some way because of this influence? That is a test of your commitment to the truth.
A second category of people who can peel us off are those for whom we have great affection. This is a great vulnerability, and it is completely understandable. Verse 6 says, “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…thou shalt not consent.”
All of us have people we love. We don’t love people just because they always do right. You don’t always do right and I don’t always do right. We don’t love people merely because they hold to the truth. We ought to give the truth in love, of course, but the danger here is that when we love people and they don’t love the truth, our affection for them may draw us away from our commitment to the truth. God warned the people about this as they entered into this new land.
A third category is those who draw us away by sheer numbers. Verse 12 says, “If thou shalt hear say in one of the cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying…” Then he talks about a whole group of people who say, “Let us go and serve other gods.” God says, “Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth.” So it is befitting of us to check it out, to make sure we know what the truth is and what is actually being said.
The bottom line is the last words of the chapter, “Do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.” In this new year there are people who will influence, people for whom we have great affection, and people that have influence because of their numbers. We may think, “How could that many people be wrong?” The world is a history of great numbers of people who have done the wrong things. The test of your commitment to the truth and the true God is who and what it takes to peel you off. God knows our frailty and temptations and He has given us preparations in this chapter to be aware of those things that may be a wedge between us and the God Who loves us.