“You shall love the LORD your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always. . . . Take care, or you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshiping them, for then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain and the land will yield no fruit; then you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you”. . . . “If prophets … say ‘Let us follow other gods’ … you must not heed the words of those prophets.” . . . . If anyone secretly entices you – even a close relative, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse or intimate friend – saying, ‘Let us worship other gods,’ … you must not yield to or heed any such persons. ... If you hear it said about one of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have led the inhabitants astray, saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods,’ if after thorough investigation the charge is found true, you shall put them to sword. Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand. Deuteronomy 11:1, 16-17, 13:1-3, 6-8, 12-15, 17
Wesleyan
Core Term – Yielding to Temptation Deuteronomy 13 describes temptation on a large and public scale, with whole communities forsaking the living God for false Gods. It hints at the subtlety of temptation by portraying its sources as objects of trust; prophets, family, and neighbors. Sin usually approaches us as something common and acceptable; it comes as something practiced by people whom we like and trust. Very few of us are tempted to overt acts of great wickedness. It is more likely that we will fall into the sins that those around us participate in, because they will not appear to be sins. For us, it is fairly easy to avoid the worship of idols. Much more difficult is to avoid the sins that, because they are so common, appear normal. With these sins, yielding to temptation does not seem like yielding. Rather, it seems natural. Deuteronomy 13 warns us to be especially careful regarding the influence of those who surround us. (Wesley Study Bible, pg 234)
O Lord, that I not be enticed, that I not be an enticer of others to anyone but you and the life you desire us to live. That my living be your normal, not follow the “normal” of the world around me. That I not be afraid to enter in the world around me, that as I do I share you, your thoughts, your values and desires for all of your creation. Reveal to me that which I have been enticed by, so I may confess, give to you and return to life with you.