Deuteronomy 13:6 - Meaning and Application

Further provision is made in this law to keep us from taking in the poison of idolatry from people close to us.

The tempter often sends his appeals through those we love, because we trust them most and are least likely to suspect harm from them. Here the temptation is said to come from a brother or child, who is near by family ties, or from a wife or friend, who is near by choice and very dear to us, almost like our own soul (Deuteronomy 13:6). Satan tempted Adam through Eve and Christ through Peter. So we must stay alert when a bad suggestion comes from someone who has influence with us, and never sin against God just to please a friend.

The temptation is also described as secret, because idolatry is a work of darkness. It shrinks from the light and wants to stay hidden, while the sinner hopes for secrecy and safety. The false gods may be praised as the common religion of the world. If Israel kept worshiping the unseen true God, they might seem odd, since these gods were worshiped by the nations around them, indeed by the peoples of the earth (Deuteronomy 13:7). Many people are pulled away from true faith because it seems unfashionable. They then try to please the world and the flesh, because those things are treated like gods by the people around them.

Moses answers that appeal by reminding them that such gods were never known by their fathers. They are gods you did not know, you or your ancestors. Those who are born to godly parents and raised in holy practices should remember this when they are drawn toward a careless and empty life. These are ways they never knew, neither they nor their fathers. Should they really turn aside and grow worse than those who came before them?

We must place God and true religion above even our closest friends. We must not, out of kindness to a friend, break God’s law. “Do not agree with him” and do not go with him to idolatrous worship, not even out of company, curiosity, or a desire to win his favor (Deuteronomy 13:8). The rule is clear: if sinners entice you, do not give in (Proverbs 1:10).

We also must not, out of pity for a friend, block the course of God’s justice. Anyone who tries to draw us into this sin is not merely a bad companion to avoid. He is a criminal against God, and loyalty to the Lord requires that he be reported. To hide such a case would make us guilty of serious negligence, a failure to act when justice is needed (Deuteronomy 13:9). The law says he must surely be put to death. Those who were tempted were to give evidence against the seducer before the proper judges, so that he would receive the penalty without delay. The one who testified first was to be first in the execution too, showing that he stood by his witness. His hand was to be first against him, and then the hands of all the people, so the offender would be removed as something accursed.

He was to be stoned, which the Jews regarded as one of the harshest deaths. The charge against him is that he tried to push you away from the Lord your God by force, so to speak (Deuteronomy 13:10). Those who try to pull us from God, our best Friend, are truly our worst enemies. Anything that draws us into sin and separates us from God is an attack on our very life and should be treated that way.

The result of this needed punishment is also important. “All Israel” will hear and fear (Deuteronomy 13:11). They ought to hear and fear, because punishment is meant to warn others and stop the same sin from spreading. We may also hope they will see, especially when the case involves a father, brother, or friend, how evil the sin really is, and how serious the danger of falling into the same judgment is. Strike the mocker who sins boldly, and the simple person, who is in danger of careless sin, will take warning.