Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 12-13; 18:9-22

5. Avoiding Contamination – Continued

Please read Deuteronomy 12:29-13:18; 18:9-22 for the background to this section.

Temptation from a multitude (verses 12–18). “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). If a person has committed wickedness, the fact that hundreds of people approve of it doesn’t change its character. It is God who defines what sin is and how we should deal with it. God governs His people by decree, not by consensus. How could an entire town in Israel turn away from the Lord and start worshiping false gods? By failing to deal with the first persons in the town who turned to false gods. The leaders didn’t obey God’s law and purge the evil from the town, so the sin easily spread from person to person and eventually infected everybody. When you remember that the land belonged to the Lord (Leviticus 25:23), that He graciously allowed the Jews to live there, and that He alone had the right to lay down the rules, you can see that the idolatrous town was guilty of very serious sin.

It was important that the matter be investigated thoroughly and accurately. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Proverbs 18:13). If the accusation was found to be true, the wealth and possessions of the people were to be burned in the town square as a burnt offering to the Lord. The people were to be slain and the city itself was to be destroyed and nothing was to be salvaged from it. It was to be left a “heap,” which is the translation of the Hebrew word tel, which is a mound composed of layers of ruins. The heap of ruins would be a constant witness to warn the Jews not to worship idols.

But could the nation of Israel afford to lose a town and all its inhabitants? Yes, because God would multiply His people and bless them for obeying His Word and honoring His name. Why not rebuild the town and start all over? Because God said it was to remain a heap of ruins forever and never be rebuilt. Human calculation would say that this was a great loss, but divine wisdom says it is a great gain, for a festering sore had been removed from the nation.

Unfortunately, Israel didn’t obey these laws and idolatry multiplied in the nation during the reign of Solomon and after the kingdom divided. When Jeroboam became ruler of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he made idolatry official by setting up two golden calves for the people to worship, one at Dan and the other at Bethel. In this way, he encouraged the people not to go to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:25-33). Because of their idolatry, Israel fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. and Judah fell to Babylon in 606–586 B.C. God would rather that the nation be scattered and the holy sanctuary be destroyed than that His people worship false gods. The people forgot that it was the Lord Jehovah who delivered them from Egypt and gave them their land (Deuteronomy 13:5, 10).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Equipped, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.