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 In
Deut. 18: 21-f. the Israelites were told to test the words of
the prophet, and “if the thing follow not nor come to pass —
the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be
afraid of him.” The gravity of false teaching is emphasized by
the fact that the prophet who claimed to speak for God, but who
spoke falsely, was condemned to death. (vs. 20)
This
is but one of many times that the people were told to “test”
the prophet; be careful lest a fast talking preacher lead them
astray. But the prophet was not the only one who was subject to
testing. What if the “sign or the wonder” came to pass as
the prophet had predicted — did this remove the hearers
responsibility??
Note
Deut. 13: 1-3. “If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet,
or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 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;’ 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
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love Jehovah your God with all
your heart and with all your soul.”
The
hearer was also subject to a “testing” — just how
willing are you to hear something that calls in question the
nature of God, and the principles of truth previously learned?
Even when the signs apparently came to pass — THE WORDS, NOT
THE SIGNS, were the final determinants.
Truth
is a UNIT, and all so-called “new” truth must conform to
that which has been previously established. (Notice this test in
the N.T. 1 Jn. 4:1,6.) While it is true that we sometimes
confuse traditional “orthodoxy” with established truth;
there is serious warning here for those who think themselves “pragmatic”,
and grasp hurriedly “progressive” philosophies which deny
congregational independence and the spiritual work of the
church.
Faith
must remain objective. and God constantly “tests” whether we
put His word before modern “signs”.
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