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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 When there shall arise in thy midst–a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams,–and he shall give unto thee a sign or a wonder; |
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| 2 and the sign or the wonder, shall come in, whereof he spake unto thee, saying,–Let us go after other gods, which ye know not, 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 Yahweh your God, is putting you to the proof, to know whether ye do love Yahweh 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 After Yahweh your God, shall ye walk, And, him, shall ye revere,–And, his commandments, shall ye observe, And, unto his voice, shall ye hearken, And, him, shall ye serve, And, unto him, shall ye cleave. |
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| 5 And, that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken revolt against Yahweh your God,–who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants, to seduce thee out of the way wherein Yahweh thy God hath commanded thee to walk,–so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst. |
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| 6 When thy brother–son of thine own mother, or thine own son or thine own daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend who is as thine own soul, shall entice thee secretly, saying,–Let us go and serve other gods, whom thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; |
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| 7 of the gods of the peoples who are round about you, who are near unto thee, or who are far off from thee,–from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, |
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| 8 thou shalt not consent unto him, neither shalt thou hearken unto him,–neither shall thine eye look with pity upon him, neither shalt thou spare–neither shalt thou conceal him; |
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| 9 but thou shalt slay, him, thine own hand, shall be on him first, to put him to death,–and the hand of all the people, afterwards. |
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 with stones, that he die,–for he hath sought to seduce thee from Yahweh thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants. |
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 not again do according to this wickedness, in thy midst. |
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| 12 When thou shalt hear–in one of thy cities, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee to dwell there–saying: |
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| 13 There have gone forth men, sons of the Abandoned One, out of thy midst, and have seduced 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 and thou shalt enquire, and search out, and ask diligently,–and lo! true–certain, is the thing, this abomination, hath been done, in thy midst, |
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| 15 then shalt thou, smite, the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword,– |
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| 16 and, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou gather together into the midst of the broadway thereof, and shalt consume with fire the city and all the spoil thereof, every whit, unto Yahweh thy God,–and it shall be a heap unto times age-abiding, it shall be built no more. |
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| 17 So shall there not cleave to thy hand aught of the devoted thing,–that Yahweh, may turn away, from the glow of his anger, and grant thee compassion, and have compassion upon thee and multiply thee, as he sware unto thy fathers; |
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| 18 so long as thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy God, to keep all his commandments, which I am commanding thee today,–to do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh thy God. |
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