2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying , ' Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known ) and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams ; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul . 4 " You shall follow e the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments , listen to His voice , serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death , because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery , to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk . So you shall purge the evil from among you.
6 " If your brother , your mother's son , or your son or daughter , or the wife you cherish , or your friend who is as your own soul , entice you secretly , saying , ' Let us go and serve other gods ' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known , 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end ), 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 9 " But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death , and afterwards the hand of all the people . 10 "So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt , out of the house of slavery .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:2-10
Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:1-5
(Read Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with the truths and precepts of the Bible; for we may expect to be proved by temptations of evil under the appearance of good, of error in the guise of truth; nor can any thing rightly oppose such temptations, but the plain, express testimony of God's word to the contrary. And it would be a proof of sincere affection for God, that, notwithstanding specious pretences, they should not be wrought upon the forsake God, and follow other gods to serve them.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:6-11
(Read Deuteronomy 13:6-11)
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and religion, before the nearest and dearest friends we have in the world. We must not, to please our friends, break God's law. Thou shalt not consent to him, nor go with him, not for company, or curiosity, not to gain his affections. It is a general rule, If sinners entice thee, consent thou not, Proverbs 1:10. And we must not hinder the course of God's justice.