Deuteronomy

Treason #1

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Lesson: 43-110

Genre: Talk

Track: 043

Dictation Name: RR187X43

Location/Venue:

Year: 1993

Let us worship God. There is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For as many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. Let us pray.

Our Father we thank Thee that day after day thy mercies are indeed new every morning. We thank Thee that though we often forget Thee Thou dost never forget us and that Thy hand is upon us for good. Teach us therefore our Father to see Thy hand and Thy wisdom, Thy grace and mercy in all things. To know that Thou hast a purpose and we are a part of it. Give us grace therefore so to live that we serve Thee, glorify Thee and look unto Thee in all things. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Our scripture is Deuteronomy 13:1-11 and this is the first of two studies in this chapter, both of which deal with treason. Deuteronomy 13:1-11.

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2 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;

3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.”

This is a very, very important and much misunderstood text. It is also regarded as an ugly requirement. The emotional reaction to this text prevents an understanding of its meaning. The concern here is with treason and cowardice and the subject is subversion. The text presupposes the covenant people and unbelievers living side by side. No punishment is given by this law for the pagans who quietly continued the practice of their old faith. The penalties are those in the covenant people who attempted to subvert the faith, the most syncretism or else [unknown] apostasy. This text is emphatically echoed in the New Testament which we will see. Cowardice or fearfulness is equated in the Bible with a lack of faith. According to Revelation 21:8:

“Let the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.”

The fearful, the cowardly in more modern English because that’s the meaning of the original Greek, are equated with the most wretched, the most evil of people. Now the apostates who are dealt with in this text are not open unbelievers. At any time an Israelite could have left Israel to become an Ebonite, Moabite or Philistine. It is possible that some or many did. We are told nothing but we are told that there were moves in the other direction, pagans who moved in and became Israelites and that Egypt was left with a mixed multitude, that is, many foreigners who had become converts. Now such an action of open departure would be obvious, open and honest, however false. What we have here is an apostate remaining in his covenant place while trying to subvert others and this is what is so common place in our time in the church and out of it. I recall back in the 1950s one very fine commentator saying there were more church going in Washington than any other city in the United States but he doubted that there was more than a thimbleful of real faith. And what we have is the fact that there are so many men in the pulpit who don’t believe the Bible but preach as though they did.

They are dishonest. I recall in one very large church a woman telling me that their pastor was a bible believer when I knew from contacts with him on the side over the years that he was anything but that. So what we are dealing with here is with an apostate remaining in his covenant place while trying quietly to subvert others. What is described is secret subversion; attempts to subvert others often close relatives in a cowardly manner. Such an action was not only cowardly it was also treasonable. Now the Bible is very clear that treason is to the Lord, to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all three. When the Bible uses the word God it is referring to the triune God and at times you can determine whether it is referring to the Father, the Son or the Spirit but from one beginning of the Bible to the end, from one end to the other, treason is to the Lord. Such an action was not only cowardly it was as I said also treasonable. To be a member of the covenant meant a requirement of faithfulness. Treason to that covenant carried a penalty of death as treason always has in every culture throughout history. Today we have shifted treason from the Lord to the state. It was not too long ago that men could change sides during a war, it was considered their privilege if they decided one side was wrong. Now our text cites several forms of this treason. First a false prophet could arise, he would possess obviously supernormal powers but not from the Lord. His ostensible miracles would seem to indicate divine powers; his appeal could be very great. Verse three tells us that at times God proves or tests us to see whether we love Him or are more attached to marvels and miracles. Because God’s covenant is an everlasting covenant no man can offer anything to improve on God and His purpose. The prophet who in the name of the Lord prophesied falsely was to be rejected. God had sent him as a test to His people’s faithfulness. The false prophet’s accuracy on a particular point did not establish his character; character is established in terms of our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. The critical point is faithfulness to the Lord as against apostasy and rebellion. Same is true of ostensible miracles.

Having lived on an Indian reservation I’ve seen Indian medicine people do things that are supernormal, very clearly so. That did not make them of the Lord, far from it. Faced with such a false prophet Moses declares first thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet. An accurate prediction cannot outweigh a lack of faithfulness to God, then second they should continue to obey the Lord, ye shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep His commandments and obey His voice and ye shall serve Him and cleave unto Him. Now this is an emphatic statement. Obedience to God takes total priority over everything else. Then third the false prophet must be executed as a traitor. He’s coming in the name of the Lord but he is not of the Lord. Because he speaks falsely in the name of the Lord he is a traitor. What he does is cowardly and subversive, he does not declare himself openly, he appears as a prophet and yet in the name of God he says let us go after other gods, that’s implicit in what he’s teaching. His message is synchronistic; he tries to unite things which cannot be united. And over and over the Bible speaks of the great evil of syncretism. Syncretism is trying to mix two religions which are alien, Baalism and worship of the Lord. Phariseeism and the worship of Judaism in the days of our Lord with the apostolic message. And the message is come ye out from among them and be ye separate. But the syncretistic tries to fuse all these things and nowadays many of our syncretists try to bring together all religions which is utter nonsense. The only instance we have in the bible of false prophets being executed is in First Kings 18:40 by Elijah. False prophets are frequently mentioned in the Bible but only this one do we have an account of their execution. Verses six through eleven deal with seduction into false faiths by a family member. Such a person needs to be the Bible says, charged with treason and then executed. And the relative first approached had to take part together with all the others in the community in his execution.

Biblical law gives priority in the human scene to the family but nothing can have priority over the Lord. All other loyalties are limited loyalties. The family comes into its own only under God. Anything which puts family or clan or national loyalty over our faithfulness to the Lord becomes therefore wrong and evil. No more than we can say rightly my country right or wrong can we say my family, right or wrong. We live in an era when lawlessness, murders, not executions have become commonplace. Street violence is a grim and constant fact. In some areas parents are no longer able to permit their children to play outside the house or yard. We are deluged with violence and death and at the same time civil and military violence is common all over the world. It is said that a thousand soldiers die daily and many civilians in border clashes and civil wars in some parts of the world. We regard killing on United Nations peace keeping missions as necessary and to be accepted as a fact of life. At the same time our murderous centuries view with horror God’s law. God has no right, they hold, to require judgment. Modern theology believes God should represent love and niceness, not justice and judgment. Humanistic sentiment wants evil doers to be dealt with gently. As a result we have a culture which tolerates criminals, hoodlums and exploiters of welfare who believe that they have a right to pursue their evil ways. Men are intolerant towards the claims of God and tolerant towards evil. In contemporary culture toleration is extended downward to include all classes of evil but toleration is not extended upward to include our superiors, the middle class, Christians or anyone who has been a productive or godly member of society. Least of all is their toleration for our faith. Because the Bible sets forth God’s law and the claim of Jesus Christ on all of us and because God’s law is not only the way of justice but a war against sin and evil and because Christ is our only redeemer from sin and they want to talk about neither sin nor Christ. They have a hatred for scripture and for the Lord.

Toleration has become essentially an anti-law faith and too often it means simply thou shalt not condemn nor punish the evil doer. To take seriously texts such as this is seen as evidence for being a hate-monger, judgmental and an enemy of man. Such persons however being at war with God will naturally be at war with God’s people. Every society has its idea of what constitutes treason. The Marque De Sade believed that Christianity is evil and treasonable to man because it insists on the fact that natural man is evil and fallen and we need to become redeemed by Jesus Christ to become supernatural men. And this is the heart of the problem. Now I said this text is echoed in the New Testament, most notably when Peter says ‘warning the church to remember that judgment begins at the house of God’. God knows the world is going to be ungodly, Christ-hating, law hating, God knows that. So judgment in every time of judgment begins at the house of God. It is the Christian community that is failed, and therefore God begins His judgment there. Because it is cowardly, it is fearfulness, it is apostasy to have the form of Godliness without the power thereof and that’s what Paul is talking about. The same thing that Moses here is in the law. We cannot sail under false colors and a great deal of the world today is. And this is why this text has its echoes in the New Testament and its thunder rolls in some instances, because judgment begins at the house of God and this is what we are told here. God will not have people sailing under false colors. We have to be either of the Lord or openly and honestly against Him. And in more than one parable on judgment our Lord says as in the parable of the separation he is dealing with people who are in the church there, not the ungodly, their judgment was clear cut, but I was in need, I was in prison, I was sick, naked and ye knew me not. Your faith was talk. You were of the enemy. We have to understand the Old Testament to know the new, judgment begins at the house of God. Let us pray.

Our Father, cleanse Thou Thy church speedily, establish it firmly upon the rock of Jesus Christ. Grant oh Lord that Thy church stand unequivocal, that it proclaim the power of Christ, of His atonement and that we be a people given to righteousness. Teach us to separate ourselves from that which is ungodly so that in our lives we may have the freedom of Thy spirit, the power of Thy grace and might make a witness unto all men and nations of the saving power of Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes?

[Question] Is the phrase Judeo-Christian an effort at syncretism?

[Rushdoony] The phrase Judeo-Christian is very clearly syncretistic and it is interesting that some Rabbis have at late denounced it. But what is sad to relate is that in the days immediately ahead a very large number of churches and in the television presentation of the fact they were very catholic but I’m sure they are not exclusively so, we’re going to celebrate instead of communion the Jewish Passover with the help of a Rabbi. And this was to purify their faith. Now that’s syncretism, it’s even more, it’s a surrender totally. But this is the kind of thing that is so common and of course the term Judeo-Christian is syncretistic. Judaism today is simply the Phariseeism of bible times. Any other questions? Yes?

[Question] Various religious cults are attempts at subversion, on television this morning I saw an advertisement for the Book of Mormon where they showed the bible on one side of the screen and the Book of Mormon on the other and towards the end of the advertisement the Bible disappeared and the Book of Mormon was left by itself.

[Rushdoony] Yes that’s a logical consequence of syncretism. Syncretism of course is what the prophets of the Old Testament were constantly railing against. Israel was the Northern kingdom radically given to syncretism, it never recovered. Judea, the Southern kingdom was given to syncretism but more often to open apostasy. So there was more hope for Judah than there was for Israel. They at least knew the difference, they went from the one to the other, but the northern kingdoms sin was syncretism. To unite both and to refuse to see a difference. Their attitude was ‘well it’s all religion, what’s wrong with it?’ And that’s why the prophets concentrated especially on the northern kingdom while never neglecting the southern.

[Question] It’s exactly what [unknown] said, it’s all religion.

[Rushdoony] Well our modernist churches are without question syncretistic. Too many of the fundamental churches are also syncretistic, one of the major problems today is that they have gone overboard for what is called Christian psychology, which is syncretism, they talk about victimhood, not sin. Well, when you talk about saying sin, you are saying thou art the man, when you talk about victimhood, you’re saying you are the poor helpless victim, it wasn’t your fault. And that’s what Adam and Eve were talking about. The woman thou givest to be with me, your fault God, you gave her to me, never would have happened otherwise. She did give me and I did eat. Both Adam and Eve saw themselves as victims and yet church after church across country now has a so called Christian psychologist on the staff who is busy persuading everybody that they’re not sinners, they’re victims. Victims of their parents or somebody. And that’s syncretism. And they may profess to believe the bible from cover to cover but they don’t, they’re syncretists. Any other questions about our text? Well if not let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father, Thy word is truth. And Thy truth, Jesus Christ is the only hope for men and nations. We beseech Thee oh Lord, cleanse Thy church of syncretism, make it again effectual in a mighty way. Grant that Thy word be proclaimed from the pulpits of this world, boldly, unequivocally and in Thy spirit. And now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, Amen.