Articles
God Said What?!?!?
Someone, somewhere, has commented that God has touched their heart, to do this or that, and views their feeling as God speaking to them. Likewise, someone, somewhere, has stated that God led them to a certain work, vocation, vision, dream, or some prophetic utterance of enlightenment by speaking to their heart, and thus concluding that God is with them, and directing them in the true path.
As Solomon affirmed, “That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). Therefore, consider what has been done before in preparation in how to respond to such affirmations.
When Moses spoke to Israel, prior to them going into the land of Canaan, he said, “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 love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).
You will note in the text that the “prophet” or “dreamer of dreams” was accompanied by a sign or a wonder. Of these two, Biblically: 1) a sign always signified something connected with the will of God. When Moses was being prepared to deliver Israel from Egypt he was skeptical that the children of Israel would heed his words. As a result, God gave Moses two signs to convince Israel that he (Moses) had come as a result of God’s command, and Jehovah said, “That they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee” (Exodus 4:5). Jehovah further stated, “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign” (Exodus 4:8). In the Gospel of John, when Nicodemus came to the Lord, he said, “for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him” (John 3:2). Wonders were used for the same purpose: wonders because of the wonder which they excited in the beholder. Thus, the Hebrew writer affirmed, “God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will” (Hebrews 2:4). In like manner, Jehovah said to Miriam and Aaron, “Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream” (Numbers 12:6).
The question is, “What’s the difference in the prophet, or dreamer of dreams, in Deuteronomy 13, and the prophet to whom Jehovah legitimately spoke to in a dream?”
Jehovah said, concerning these false prophets, who said, “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 love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him” (Deuteronomy 13:2-4).
These verses place an overriding element into the equation, i.e., if what the prophet or dreamer of dreams said is contrary to what Jehovah had already revealed in the law, that which had been written was to stand as a precedence. When Eve was beguiled of the serpent, what do you suppose would have settled the matter regarding the obedience of man, and the glory of God? Ross Triplett, Sr.
- God_Said_What.pdf (40.01 kB)
