Deuteronomy 12:29-13:18--Warning Against Idolatry

Deuteronomy 12:29-13:18
English Standard Version

Warning Against Idolatry
29 “When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32  “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

13 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. 9 But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

​12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there, 13 that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, 14 then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, 15 you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. 16 You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. 17 None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers, 18 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

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After telling them to completely destroy the idols and high places and other places of worship, the LORD tells His people not to even inquire about the gods of the people that the LORD had dispossessed from the Land that He was giving to His people, Israel.  The LORD says not to ask about their practices of worship either and that they are never to try to worship the LORD in the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods, because everything they did was detestable and an abomination to the LORD--including child sacrifice.

Chapter 13 then continues by telling the people how to "test the spirits" when a prophet or teacher arises and tells them to worship other gods and starts telling them to observe different worship practices (and in our day starts preaching a different "gospel" that does not glorify Jesus as the Son of God--see 1 John 4) we do not believe them and we are to not listen to them or give them space for them to confuse those who are our brothers and sisters.

Even if it is a member of our own families who turns to idolatry or the worship of other gods, we are not to condone it or hide it.  Idolatry is a cancer that will affect the entire community and all the community will be punished not only for the sake of the one committing the sin, but for the sake of everyone that knew about the sin and hid it, turned a blind eye to it and condoned it ("winked" at it).  Idolatry and the worship of other gods was a capital offense and it applied even to the foreigners and sojourners.  Everyone that came into the land of Israel was to worship the LORD and serve Him only.  If they would not agree to that they were to be driven out of the Land if they were a foreigner--to go back to the place where the people served those gods, but don't bring their polluted worship and worldview into God's holy Land to infect His holy people.  If it was one of the LORD's people that turned to idolatry than they were to be executed as a sign of how serious it was and the whole congregation was to gather together and participate in their punishment.  Everyone would be in agreement that this was the punishment for those who turned their back on the LORD who had saved them and redeemed them through all the mighty wonders He had done to bring them up out of slavery and bring them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

If a city turns away and is corrupted by idolatry and the people hear about it, and confirm it to be true that the whole city is involved in idolatry or at least is turning a blind eye to the idolatry that is openly being practiced in their midst, then the people are to make war against that city (yes, against their own Israelite "brothers" who have become apostate) and kill them all by the sword.  They are not to allow idolatry and worship of other gods in their midst.  Everything from that city is to be devoted to destruction--nothing is to be taken for ransom or booty.  It is all to be destroyed by fire as a sign to the people of the hellfire that will destroy all those who turn away from the LORD to worship false gods.  They are to fear the LORD and worship Him only so that He may bless them.