The entirety of Deuteronomy 13 rests upon a single principle: Do not follow after idolatry, period. There is no excuse for it, no reason why, and certainly will never be a command from God to adopt pagan practices.
This chapter is divided into three sections to prove this point. The first is Deuteronomy 13:1-5, which describes a “sign” coming true and thus providing evidence that God wants you to follow after folly. The second section (Deuteronomy 13:6-11) is about a family member that leads you astray, and the third (Deuteronomy 13:12-18) shows the punishment for an entire town that follows idolatry.
Focus on that first one, though.
On the surface, it’s pretty straightforward. If a prophet (possibly even a well-known prophet) tells you to follow after idols, and then does a “sign” to authenticate that message as coming from God, even then you are to reject him as a false prophet. Easy-peasy.
But what if that prophet does really convincing and miraculous signs that are unmistakable, such as walking on water, raising the dead, and turning a few loaves and fishes into a feast for thousands? What are you supposed to do then?
This is the quandary that many in the first century found themselves in. Jesus of Nazareth came preaching a message of redemption that positioned Himself as God (John 8:58; 10:30). That’s a blasphemous statement on the best of days—one worthy of death.
But then, that same Jesus turned around and did the most amazing, unmistakable, in-your-face miracles that the world had ever seen. They were irrefutable; the ones healed were adamant that God Himself was responsible.
What is the average, everyday person supposed to do with this information?
If you read the Gospels, you find out the answer really quickly: They argued about Him.
In John 9, Jesus heals a man born blind. It’s as “simple” a miracle as possible.
The very next chapter, however, the people have a debate about who Jesus actually is. Some say that He has a demon, while others say that a demon-possessed man can’t possibly have healed someone…could they?
This sounds like a silly argument until you take it through the lens of Deuteronomy 13. In those first six verses, God plainly says that even if someone does an amazing sign, if they tell you to follow after other gods, you are to reject them as a false prophet.
And for most of those people, Jesus claiming to be God was the same as idolatry—miracle or no miracle.
This explains why there were so many arguments and debates about who He was, and why so many had a really hard time moving past the obvious miracles that were being done.
Honestly, it makes me look at them with a little more sympathetic eyes. I’m not sure I would have believed in Jesus either if I kept Deuteronomy 13:1-6 in the back of my mind.
Would you?