PIERCING THE VEIL—CONTEMPTIBLE OR COMMENDABLE? (Deut 18:9-22)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2015
Some husbands who want try to keep a little mystery in their marriage will take extreme measures to keep a secret.
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, the wizard is a mysterious figure behind a curtain who gives advice on various matters. When Dorothy meets him initially, she is in awe of his vast knowledge. When Dorothy meets him subsequently, she learns that he is an ordinary man who has deceived people with special effects. In the wilderness, the Lord is also a mysterious figure behind a curtain who gives advice on various matters. When the Israelites meet Him initially, they are in awe of his vast knowledge. More than that, they are in awe of His great power, especially after their exodus from Egypt, and they sing a song about Him: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exod 15:11). Subsequent meetings do not change their initial impression.
The LORD worked primarily through a spokesman, often several, who would communicate His will to His people. Unfortunately, there were also charlatans, individuals who only pretended to represent God but who had their own agenda. Is Piercing the Veil possible, determining if those behind the curtain are Contemptible or Commendable? Moses answers that question in Deut 18, where he discusses true and false prophets. He begins with an exhortation:
I. Do not listen to a false prophet (vv. 9-13).
The other practices represent other attempts to harness supernatural (numinous) forces:5
So it is also with you. The difference is that Israel was supposed to expel its pagan neighbors. The Lord does not expect you to run your pagan neighbors out of town, but He does expect you to keep yourself separate from them.7 For you to miss the inevitable collapse of those who do not serve God, you must not mimic their incorrigible conduct.
God knows that individuals will arise who will claim to speak for Him and will attempt to lead His people astray by using methods of revelation that God forbids. The Israelites must ignore such an individual: Do not listen to a false prophet. Another individual will arise who will also claim to speak for God, but he will not attempt to lead God’s people astray. Such an individual will be like Moses, and him they should heed.
II. Do listen to a true prophet (vv. 14-16).
You may think that you would not mind meeting God, just as you might think that you would not be fooled by false gods, but are there other sins to which you are susceptible, be they actions or thoughts? As the apostle Paul cautions: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor 10:12) You may not be as different from these Israelites as you think.
Unlike the Canaanites, the Israelites have a representative of their real God, and it is important that they do listen to a true prophet. They themselves will not have to meet God. Perhaps conscious of peoples’ uneasiness in this respect…
III. The Lord will inspire a true prophet (vv. 17-20).
God says twice that the model for any new spokesman will be the first spokesman: Moses (Deut 18:15, 17). This is an important piece of information, one that will quickly eliminate many of the pretenders to this position, even now. Presumably a true prophet of the Lord will be similar to Moses in possessing a demeanor that befits someone who appears before the creator of the universe:
Thankfully, it is not the responsibility of God’s people to select the one who will speak for Him. The Lord will inspire a true prophet. Their responsibility is different. They must, of course, heed him, but in addition…
IV. God’s people will identify a false prophet.
This approach to prophetic matters may require patience, especially when a prediction will not be fulfilled right away. In that case, God’s people must be willing to take a long view of events and not seek some form of instant gratification.
Even if you cannot prove the accuracy of a prophet’s prediction because it extends too far into the future, it may still be possible to test the quality of a prophet’s personality and, thus, his credibility. The biblical writers suggest at least three questions to ask and answer about someone who claims to speak for God, questions not about that person’s special communique but about his general character:
Sam worked at a snowmobile dealership. One day he approached a customer who said he wanted a certain kind of snowmobile and that it had to be yellow. Sam had the right make, but not in yellow. “It has to be yellow,” the customer insisted. Curious, Sam asked why. “Because,” the man replied, “I’ve been buying a new snowmobile every year—and my wife hasn’t noticed yet!”Some husbands will take extreme measures to keep a secret. Yet, some secrets should not be kept, especially secrets about pagan deities. That is how Moses felt as Israel was poised to enter the Promised Land: Make sure people know what they will encounter there.
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, the wizard is a mysterious figure behind a curtain who gives advice on various matters. When Dorothy meets him initially, she is in awe of his vast knowledge. When Dorothy meets him subsequently, she learns that he is an ordinary man who has deceived people with special effects. In the wilderness, the Lord is also a mysterious figure behind a curtain who gives advice on various matters. When the Israelites meet Him initially, they are in awe of his vast knowledge. More than that, they are in awe of His great power, especially after their exodus from Egypt, and they sing a song about Him: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exod 15:11). Subsequent meetings do not change their initial impression.
The LORD worked primarily through a spokesman, often several, who would communicate His will to His people. Unfortunately, there were also charlatans, individuals who only pretended to represent God but who had their own agenda. Is Piercing the Veil possible, determining if those behind the curtain are Contemptible or Commendable? Moses answers that question in Deut 18, where he discusses true and false prophets. He begins with an exhortation:
I. Do not listen to a false prophet (vv. 9-13).
Deut 18:9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.God expelled the Canaanites because of an assortment of pagan practices that defiled the land He considered holy1 and would eventually give to the descendants of Abraham.
In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. (Gen 15:16)2The problem with many of the practices He lists here is that they seek information or confirmation about the future from sources God does not sanction. To make matters worse, all of these practices deny God.
A. The Israelites must not defile themselves, or God will expel them from the land.3The Lord lists several practices, all of which He also condemns elsewhere in scripture.
It is probably this custom that was behind the Lord’s call to sacrifice Isaac, a command God did not allow the patriarch to fulfill, demonstrating His difference from pagan deities (i.e., that the Lord does not require human sacrifice). Child sacrifice is certainly the most despicable of the various Canaanite practices God condemns, but it is also the one that most closely anticipates what God will do by sacrificing His son. The intention of both is to appease the respective deity of the worshiper. The difference, of course, is that the true God finds satisfaction only in the sacrifice of His son because only his sacrifice is sufficient: He is the atoning sacrifice…for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).1. Child sacrifice attempts to appease a demanding deity.4
The other practices represent other attempts to harness supernatural (numinous) forces:5
2. Divination and interpreting omens predict the future.
3. Consulting mediums, spiritists, and the dead (necromancy) seeks guidance in life.
Through these efforts to manipulate spiritual forces, not to mention the immoral acts that often attended them…4. Witchcraft and casting spells attempt to control people or events.
B. The Canaanites did defile themselves, and God did expel them from the land.The biblical author uses a very straightforward description of Canaan’s current residents’ impending departure from the land: “God will drive [them] out” (v. 12). Should Israel fail to remain faithful to God and instead follow the example of the former residents, Israel’s fate will also be expulsion. The author of Leviticus reiterates this outcome but phrases it differently, with a word to depict the land’s reaction, not once but four times.6 The first time this word appears is to describe the Canaanites’ expulsion:
Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. (Lev 18:25)The second and third times this word appears is to describe the Israelites’ fate should they follow the Canaanites’ example:
And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Lev 18:28)The fourth time this word appears is in an admonition about how the Israelites can avoid this outcome:
Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. (Lev 20:22)It is really very simple: For the Israelites to miss the Canaanites’ collapse, they must not mimic the Canaanites’ conduct.
So it is also with you. The difference is that Israel was supposed to expel its pagan neighbors. The Lord does not expect you to run your pagan neighbors out of town, but He does expect you to keep yourself separate from them.7 For you to miss the inevitable collapse of those who do not serve God, you must not mimic their incorrigible conduct.
God knows that individuals will arise who will claim to speak for Him and will attempt to lead His people astray by using methods of revelation that God forbids. The Israelites must ignore such an individual: Do not listen to a false prophet. Another individual will arise who will also claim to speak for God, but he will not attempt to lead God’s people astray. Such an individual will be like Moses, and him they should heed.
II. Do listen to a true prophet (vv. 14-16).
Deut 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
A. The Canaanites will listen to godless prophets.Unlike the Israelites, the current residents of the land have not encountered God. It is not that He has deliberately kept Himself hidden:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse…. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” (Rom 1:20, 24-25)The Canaanites have chosen to ignore the evidence and make gods in their own image, along with appointing spokesmen for their deities who say what devotees’ “itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim 4:3). These pagan prophets will be beholden only to their constituents (not to whatever false god they represent). Moreover…
…who will show people how to interact with their deities using sorcery and divination.1. They will be products of former residents.
The Canaanites will listen to godless prophets. In contrast…2. They will be promoters of forbidden rituals.
B. The Israelites must listen to a godly prophet.Thus far, the only spokesman for God they have known is Moses. It stands to reason then that…
The gods of the Canaanites, not being real, could not speak to their worshipers. The only way for these pagan systems to relay information was through human spokesmen. It is interesting, therefore, that the Israelites do want to deal directly with the Lord now that communication could be direct,9 but that is not the case with Moses’ successor.1. He will be a similar figure to Moses.8
2. He will be a requested substitute for God.
After Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Decalogue, the people were in awe: When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” …[So] the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. (Exod 20:18-19, 21)By citing this incident, the Lord is not being critical of Israel. He is simply making the observation that people felt safer communicating indirectly through a human agent. This is not an uncommon reaction when meeting God.10
You may think that you would not mind meeting God, just as you might think that you would not be fooled by false gods, but are there other sins to which you are susceptible, be they actions or thoughts? As the apostle Paul cautions: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor 10:12) You may not be as different from these Israelites as you think.
Unlike the Canaanites, the Israelites have a representative of their real God, and it is important that they do listen to a true prophet. They themselves will not have to meet God. Perhaps conscious of peoples’ uneasiness in this respect…
III. The Lord will inspire a true prophet (vv. 17-20).
Deut 18:17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”God approves their proposal and reiterates an important distinction.
A. A true prophet will only speak God’s words.…but…
B. A false prophet will not speak God’s words.Notice also how the Israelites are to treat a false prophet. God’s people are not just to ignore him or even to ostracize him, assuming he will eventually go away.11 They are to send him away from the believing community permanently by executing him.12 False prophecy was a capital crime, along with premeditated murder and child sacrifice,13 which indicates how seriously God viewed it.
God says twice that the model for any new spokesman will be the first spokesman: Moses (Deut 18:15, 17). This is an important piece of information, one that will quickly eliminate many of the pretenders to this position, even now. Presumably a true prophet of the Lord will be similar to Moses in possessing a demeanor that befits someone who appears before the creator of the universe:
Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Num 12:3)As you assess a minister’s credibility, it is important to weigh what he says: Does his content agree with what God has revealed in the scriptures?14 If not, then the speaker is a false prophet and not worthy of your consideration. As you assess a minister’s credibility, it is also important to weigh who is speaking: Does his character agree with what God has revealed in the scriptures? Again, if not, then the speaker is a false prophet and not worthy of your consideration.
Thankfully, it is not the responsibility of God’s people to select the one who will speak for Him. The Lord will inspire a true prophet. Their responsibility is different. They must, of course, heed him, but in addition…
IV. God’s people will identify a false prophet.
Deut 18:21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.The test of a false prophet is relatively straightforward: If his prediction does come to pass, he is a true prophet…
- If his prediction does not come to pass, he is a false prophet.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!” (1 Kgs 18:39)The prophets of Ba‘al were not the least bit successful.
This approach to prophetic matters may require patience, especially when a prediction will not be fulfilled right away. In that case, God’s people must be willing to take a long view of events and not seek some form of instant gratification.
Even if you cannot prove the accuracy of a prophet’s prediction because it extends too far into the future, it may still be possible to test the quality of a prophet’s personality and, thus, his credibility. The biblical writers suggest at least three questions to ask and answer about someone who claims to speak for God, questions not about that person’s special communique but about his general character:
- Is he coveting?
Jer 6:13 From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain, prophets and priests alike….
- Is he lying?
Jer 23:26 [T]hese lying prophets…prophesy the delusions of their own minds…. 43 and lead my people astray with their reckless lies.
- Is he pandering?
2 Tim 4:3b [T]hey will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.Moses explains to the Israelites that Piercing the Veil is possible, as he dispels the confusion that is present among God’s people, parting the curtain to show the deities different people worship as Contemptible or Commendable. Because, like Israel, the LORD is our God, we know that behind the curtain is a deity who is “majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders” (Exod 15:11). We also know that one day we will see Him even more clearly and completely than Moses ever did: “[We] will see his face” (Rev 22:4).
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs