Deuteronomy 12:29-14:21

Deuteronomy 12:29-14:21

Moses next goes into a discussion about idolatry. He hits the same command about not worshipping false gods that he has mentioned on several occasions already, making sure that the Israelites understand the importance of this command. He then moves on to discussing the dangers of prophets, or false prophets, rising among them. He tells them that there may one day be prophets that rise up with prophecies that come true; however, if these men ask Israel to do something that God had previously spoken out against, then they were to follow God rather than the prophet. False prophets are tricky and very good liars. We have men and women like this today who present a very good case that seems to be truth, but when their declarations or teachings go against the teachings of God, that should always be a red flag warning us about their true intentions.

Moses next tells the Israelites how to deal with family members who try to lead others astray from God. It was almost certain that someone along the way would try to go against God at some point. God knew that in their sinful nature, someone would defy Him and turn away to some idol. Therefore, He told Moses how to deal with those family members. Quite simply, they were to be treated just as a false prophet with the penalty of death. God took the matter of idolatry very seriously. God is all about Himself, His name. His name is the only name that deserves any kind of worship. Therefore, when someone tries to place something above God, God delivers severe punishment to them. He was and is the only one who deserves our worship, not just because of what He has done for us or how He has protected and provided for us in life, but mainly because of who He is, period. He is God, and that should be enough to cause us to lift His name up and worship Him.

Finally, Moses speaks on what to do to a city that has turned away from God. They were to deal with them just like the cities that they were about to destroy. One of the reasons that the Israelites were commanded to enter Canaan and destroy everything in the cities was to bring out God’s punishment and wrath on those who had worshipped other gods. It is true that their conquest was to gain the land back for themselves, with God’s help, but primarily, this was God’s way of dealing with the sinfulness of those nations. Likewise, God warned the Israelites that if they ever turned from Him and began worshipping other gods like these nations, they would encounter the same punishment. Their cities would be destroyed as well and everything in them.

After dealing with idolatry, Moses moves on to another set of laws, that has also been dealt with previously. He makes a listing of all the animals that Israel was allowed to eat and was not allowed to eat. These laws were given so that Israel might remain holy before God. These laws can seem repetitive, mainly because we have already looked at most of them, but the main point out of this section of the book is that we sometimes need repetition. We many times have to be told to do something a second or third time. For the Israelites, it was important that they hear all the Law again before they entered the Promised Land so that they would know exactly what God expected from them.

Matt