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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, |
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| 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; |
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| 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. |
God proveth you – The word prove has the sense of test. The words were addressed to Israel, who had entered into a covenant to obey all God's requirements, so it was proper that the Lord should prove them. This proving would be accomplished by permitting false prophets to be amongst them. God did not prove the heathen nations, for they had no covenant with him. R5799:3, R5527:3
Satan's opposition to the Church is permitted as a trial of faith and of patient endurance. It tests their loyalty to God, to the truth and to the brethren and becomes a test of brotherly love, thus doing a sifting or separating work. R5147:6, R5320:6, R4445:5, R4462:2, R4479:3, R4910:3
"Blessed is the man that endureth (faithfully under) temptation; for after his trials he will receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (Jas. 1:12) R2258:3
Class troubles amongst the brethren are means which the Lord permits to test and to demonstrate the character of his people. R5948:1
To see how we learn the lessons of binding up the broken hearts. SM267, SM268
When trying experiences came to him the Lord considered them as being under the supervision of the Father. So it is with us: if the Father permits trying experiences for our testing, it is for us to rejoice. R4802:3, R2258:3
The Lord is surely judging the nations, especially those that have been greatly blessed with his favor. OV432:1; CR494:1
The Lord gives opportunities of choice, for there is no virtue in choosing that which alone is possible. R3631:
Whether ye love the LORD – Those who will endure most patiently will give evidence of the best character. R5395:6, R4910:2
Only by permitting false teachers could God demonstrate to what extent his professed people are loyal to him. R5800:2
The Lord will not accept us merely because we are consecrated. He requires that the consecration be proved. R4910:4
Our obedience to the principles of righteousness is in proportion to our love for the Lord. These principles, obediently followed, develop character to be crystallized. R3631:3
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| 4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. |
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| 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee. |
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| 6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; |
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| 7 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; |
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| 8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: |
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| 9 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. |
Put him to death – Extending good will towards God's enemies is obnoxious to God. The stoning of a condemned criminal showed acquiescence and approval of God's judgment. R764:5
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| 10 And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
That he die – Thus the Lord proved Israel's determination to obey him at the sacrifice of any earthly friendship if need be. In this Israel was a type of both the world in the age to come and the Church in the present time. R768:1
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| 11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee. |
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| 12 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying, |
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| 13 Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; |
Serve other gods – Those who fellowship with such have not the spirit of the Lord. R1588:3
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| 14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee, |
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| 15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. |
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| 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again. |
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| 17 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; |
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| 18 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God. |
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