Passage: Deuteronomy 13
In their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites are reminded repeatedly that their relationship with God is a matter of life or death. With God they will live; without God they’ll die. This is the principle that undergirds most of the teaching that God gives his people through Moses in the Old Testament books of the Law. It’s a principle we have to keep in mind when we read passages like Deuteronomy 13.
In this section of his sermon, Moses tells his people how to respond to anyone who presents a religious alternative to the worship of the LORD. Moses says, "If anyone invites you to worship a god other than the LORD, you have to kill that person. It doesn’t matter if it’s your next door neighbor; someone you grew up with; your best friend; your husband or wife. If they try to entice you or any member of your community away from the LORD, they have to be permanently removed from among your people."
This strikes us as harsh. It seems unreasonable. It seems inordinately jealous. Why should God care so much if someone wants a different religion? Is God that insecure?
The answer, of course, is no. God’s not that insecure. But God has gone out of his way to save his people from certain death. In Deuteronomy 7 God’s people are told,
The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
God wants to save his people. He is their only hope. Any path that leads away from God is a path that leads to certain death. God tells the Israelites, "If you’ve left me for another god, you’re already lost. If your neighbors or your family members have left me for another god, they can only drag others to destruction with them." They have to be removed.
God’s command for the Israelites to kill idolaters, needless to say, no longer applies to us. But our relationship with God is a life or death issue. With God we live. Without God, ultimately, we die. Evaluate your habits and relationships. If anything stands between you and God, set it aside. If you cannot maintain the habit or the relationship without losing your relationship with God, then choose God. Choose life.
Interesting passage. It is these type of statements from God which seem so harsh that always cause me to wonder after their meaning. Is it literal or figurative? I am aware, but may not be correct, that Islam (God or Mohammed?) says a Muslim has only three choices relative to the infidels; convert, enslave or kill.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Prudence. I'd say the contrast between the imperative within Islam and the one God gives the Israelites is that God is speaking specifically about members of his own people who have not only rejected God, but attempt to pull others out of covenant relationship with him. The focus is not so much out at the rest of the world as it is inward, at the community of God's people. Again, God's concern is that the people whom he's specifically called and gathered will all be lost because of the corrupting influence of a few.
ReplyDeleteOf course what we see in the transition to Christianity is the imperative to offer the message of salvation to everyone, but then to leave alone those who reject that message ("Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44) and "Shake the dust off your sandals" (Mark 6:11).
I think the challenge in dealing with these Old Testament passages is to avoid saying, "This doesn't sound like my God" and instead ask, "How does this round out the self-portrait God offers us in the whole Bible?" It's an unsettling process to go through.