I'm sorry for being absent from the blog for a couple of days. My inner ear disorder flared up and I've had some intense vertigo and nausea and was unable to look at a computer screen for more than a few seconds at a time. It seems to have resolved for now.
Moses has been warning the people to beware of anyone who tries to lead them away from the Lord. In the first segment of Chapter 13 he spoke of people who claim to be prophets but who are really trying to lure them into idolatry. Today he tells the congregation that they may even have to be on guard against loved ones who attempt to lead them astray.
"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods' (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them." (Deuteronomy 13:6-8a) A loved one often has more influence than anyone else, even more than someone in spiritual or political authority or workplace authority. It's easy to see how a person might be persuaded to attend a pagan festival if someone they love dearly begs them to go with them. But Moses says they are not to listen to such pleadings. Instead he gives them instructions that are peculiar to the time and the place and the nation involved.
"Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." (Deuteronomy 13:6-11) Such tempters were to be put to death whether they were a loved one or a mere acquaintance or a stranger. This penalty sounds shocking and harsh to us, and we are not called to carry it out today (the Christian church is to excommunicate/shun a promoter of false doctrine according to the writings of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament) but I think one of the commentaries I consulted explains the reason for the harsh penalty better than I can. "Ancient Israel was a unique situation, where the civil government was also directly appointed by God and charged with maintaining spiritual order as well as civil order. Therefore, such heresy and deception were capital crimes---punishable by execution."
The Lord is busy making a nation out of Israel here in the Old Testament. The nation and its religion are going to be so tightly intertwined that they cannot be separated, and indeed must not be separated. The other nations of the world at that time worshiped other gods, and in many cases their kings were worshiped as a god, and their governments and their heathen religions were tightly intertwined. If a person spoke heresy against his king and tried to lead others into rebellion against him, that person would be guilty of a capital crime in most ancient cultures. In this same way, the Lord is the King of Israel and to speak heresy against Him and to try to lead others into rebelling against Him and following other gods is to be considered a capital crime. It's not only a capital crime against the government but a capital crime against the souls of mankind, for leading a person away from the Lord is leading them into perdition. I don't believe there's any greater sin in the eyes of God than to lead a soul away from Him. I don't believe any crime will be treated more harshly in the judgment than this.
Moses said in the first portion of Chapter 13 that execution is the penalty the Israelites must carry out on anyone claiming to be a prophet who tries to lead people into idolatry. He's also said this penalty must be carried out on a friend or family member who attempts to entice someone into idolatry. Now he concludes by saying capital punishment is to be carried out even if all the citizens of an entire town fall into idolatry. "If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods' (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town." (Deuteronomy 13:12-15a)
The word translated as "detestable" is the same word often translated as "abomination" and it is usually reserved for a state of uncleanness that has rendered a thing so completely unusable that it is fit for destruction. This same word has been used in the Old Testament when speaking of the atrocious religious practices of the heathen tribes of Canaan. In the same way the Israelites are to destroy the idolatrous towns of Canaan, they must destroy any Israelite town which has become thoroughly overtaken by idolatry. "You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands." (Deuteronomy 13:15b-17a)
These instructions are given because it is better that the evildoers perish than that the entire nation turn away from the Lord and perish spiritually. The destroyed town is to forever be a visual reminder of what happened when a wholesale turning away from the Lord took place. Everyone passing by will know why the town was destroyed and why it can never be rebuilt. This sight will serve as a warning to anyone tempted to dabble in idolatry. This sight paints a sad picture of the state of a soul that has rejected the Lord. Nothing good can possibly come from rejecting the Lord; only judgment and loss can be expected.
In contrast, faithfulness to the Lord brings good things like mercy and forgiveness and help in time of need. If Israel will remain faithful to the Lord, He promises: "Then the Lord will turn from His fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as He promised on oath to your ancestors---because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all His commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in His eyes." (Deuteronomy 13:17b-18)
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