John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 13:1

"If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder," — Deuteronomy 13:1 (ASV)

After restraining the Israelites from the strange delusions of the Gentiles, Moses now forbids them from being too credulous if false teachers should arise from among themselves. He warns them diligently to beware of all novel inventions and not to turn aside in the slightest degree from the Law at anyone's instigation. For danger is to be apprehended not only from professed and manifest enemies or from foreign superstitions, but Satan also plots by means of internal deceits and abuses the holy name of God in order to betray us.

Therefore, it is fitting that the faith of the godly should not only be externally fortified and protected by the ramparts of the Word, lest corruption creep in from outside, but also that it should be garrisoned within by the same Word, lest novel imaginations secretly insinuate themselves and destroy the purity of doctrine. Moreover, we gather from this prohibition that there is such certainty in the divine doctrines as to prevent our faith from being undermined or shaken, provided it has put down living roots into them and is firmly grounded upon them.

For it would be vain for God to warn us against admitting false teachers unless He, at the same time, showed the means by which they were to be guarded against. And assuredly, nothing is more improbable than that religion should be ambiguous. Since the rule and definition of it is faithfully prescribed and set forth in the Law, God justly requires His people not to waver but constantly to persist in the truth delivered to them. For Isaiah truly declares concerning the Law that in it, it has not been said in vain to the seed of Jacob that they should seek God’s face²⁹⁷ (Isaiah 45:19).

But in seeking God, it would not be sufficient to teach what is right unless people's minds are established in it; it is necessary, therefore, that religion should be sure and firm, or it will not be duly ordered. Nor is there any doubt that what Paul witnesses of the Gospel was also true of the Law, namely, that it armed its disciples against all the storms of temptation, so that they “should be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men,” etc. (Ephesians 4:14). But the words before us, when examined more closely and systematically, will show the aim of the matter with greater clarity.

If there arise among you. We already perceive that the question is not concerning the falsities and errors that Satan had spread throughout the world, but concerning those that were to appear in the very bosom of the Church. It is as if to say that the Law was given not only to separate the Israelites from heathen nations but also to keep them in the purity and integrity of the faith.

For just as nowadays Christ betroths the Church to Himself by the preachers of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:2), that she might devote herself as a chaste virgin to His obedience and not allow herself to be drawn away from the simplicity of the faith by any seductions, so in ancient times God espoused His ancient people to Himself. He commanded them to close their ears against impostors, who are, as it were, the seducers of Satan tempting them to violate that sacred and special bond of marriage by which God would be united with His people.

We shall soon see why God would have His Church exposed to this evil. Meanwhile, it is useful to warn believers of their danger, so that they may be constantly watching against the snares of Satan. For this abomination not only prevailed in that particular age, but it will exert its evil influence even to the end of the world. We must remember what Peter says: “as there were false prophets among” the Jews of old, so also in the kingdom of Christ “there shall be false teachers who privily shall bring in damnable heresies” (2 Peter 2:1).

Moses, however, does not merely speak of domestic enemies, but of those who will assume the title of Prophets so that they may deceive with greater license and impunity. From this we infer that it is not enough to have an honorable position or a plausible name—whether pastor, prophet, or priest—unless it is allied with sincerity in accordance with our calling. For who are the persons whom God here commands to be avoided and held in abomination? Just those who boasted of being Prophets, but who, when carefully investigated, were forced to drop their mask and were driven to confusion.

A particular description is added to their general one, since the same individual is spoken of as “a dreamer of dreams,” because God in ancient times manifested Himself to the Prophets sometimes in visions and sometimes in dreams. Either of these, then, was an honorable pretext for gaining favor. But the temptation that follows was still more dangerous: namely, if such a one should have commended himself by a successful prediction. For who would despise a prophecy authenticated by events, especially when Isaiah declares this to be the attribute of God alone (Isaiah 45:21)? And the difficulty here is still increased because in chapter 18, God appears to distinguish false Prophets from true ones by this very test.²⁹⁸

I resolve the difficulty thus: God’s claim to the glory of foretelling events does not prevent Him from occasionally conferring even on Satan's ministers the power of prophecy concerning some particular point. Balaam was worse than any hired crier, wishing as he did to frustrate God's eternal decrees, and yet we know that his tongue was directed by the divine inspiration of the Spirit to be the proclaimer of that grace he had been hired to quench. Therefore, there is no inconsistency in a man being a perfidious impostor and yet, at the same time, being endowed with a particular gift of prophecy—not so as always to deliver true revelations (for instance, Caiaphas, who prophesied correctly once, was not always truthful), but insofar as by God’s permission he is allowed to foreknow this or that, so that one instance of truth-telling may be a cloak for many falsehoods.

Fittingly and properly, then, in the other passage, God, by Moses, reproves the vanity of those rash spirits who promise what is not fulfilled. For we must consider His intention. There are many who bring themselves into notice by clandestine acts and eventually boldly burst forth and boast of being prophets, while the people are in doubt whether they should consider them so. But since it most frequently happens that the folly of such men is exposed by marks of infamy and disgrace inflicted upon them from above, so that the world may see that they have spoken falsely, God justly declares that the outcome of their predictions is to be regarded, lest the Israelites promiscuously and unthinkingly receive whatever they may hear.

The principle is therefore established that those speak in God’s name who predict what really comes to pass, for they could not declare the truth about things unknown to man unless God Himself dictated it to them. This is the gist of Jeremiah’s answer to Hananiah:

“The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him” (Jeremiah 28:8–9).

Hananiah promised that the war would end prosperously; but Jeremiah, knowing that he lied, brings him to an empirical test of his falsehood, if the facts should not correspond with what he had said. So far, there is no inconsistency in our statement that all true prophecies must proceed from God, and yet that the same prophet who has predicted the truth may, in other respects, be a deceiver. And especially let us note the admonition of Paul, that

“because they (the reprobate) receive not the love of the truth, that they may be saved; for this cause God sends them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10–12).

Thus we are taught that not only are Satan's reins loosed so that he may do injury, but that he is armed with power effectively to drag the reprobate to final destruction. Moses here teaches the same thing, for there are no reasonable grounds for the differences between Hebrew commentators as to the word sign.²⁹⁹ It is unquestionable that signs were sometimes used to obtain credit for prophecies, as when Isaiah walked naked (Isaiah 20:2), and Jeremiah wore a yoke on his neck (Jeremiah 18:10); it is also unquestionable that Satan often deceives by magical incantations. But I have no doubt that by the words signifying the sign and the wonder, Moses here means anything incredible and unexpected, for the purpose of prophecy.

The Hebrews use the word מופתים, mophethim, to express miracles by which God portends anything future, as if He spoke from heaven. The word אות, oth, is more general and is sometimes used for a banner, a watchword, or a signal (symbolum). Both are used here for extraordinary signs that testify to God's power, as if it were present. In this sense, Christ warns His disciples to beware of signs and lying prodigies (Matthew 24:11).

But although Satan dazzles the eyes with his illusions, so as in his false rivalry to win God's glory for himself, yet we have shown from St. Paul, and Moses has declared before, that impostors in their working of miracles are ministers of God’s vengeance, so that the reprobate may be caught in their snares. If anyone objects that signs would be useless, being able to be dangerous deceptions as well as confirmations of the truth, I reply that such license has never been granted to the devil that God's light should not in the end shine forth from the midst of the darkness.

Therefore, it will happen that God's true power may be obscured for a time (as we have seen before in the history of the magicians), but it will never be overwhelmed. Thus, in the miracles by which the Law was ratified, God's glory so shone forth that they could obtain credit from the godly without any hesitation. Such, undoubtedly, are the miracles that authenticate the Gospel, because they present evidence inscribed upon them by God, by which all suspicion of deceit is fully removed.

And indeed, since people's minds are enveloped in dull stupidity and are blind even to the ordinary course of God’s dealings, they are also almost always mistaken about miracles, unless His Word enlightens them to dispel the darkness. Therefore, in order that we may duly profit from signs, an inseparable connection must be established between them and doctrine. Moses rightly teaches that those who endeavor to pervert piety under the pretext of signs must be repudiated, because they impiously and wickedly divide things that God has joined together and improperly divert to a contrary use the signs that only serve as aids to righteous doctrine.

But after the religion of the Jews had been sealed by sure and evident signs, it was wrong for them to pay attention to accidental signs—an act not altogether without base ingratitude. We now arrive at the sum of this passage: namely, that they must persevere in the worship of the one God, so that not even prodigies should have any power to shake the people’s minds. Therefore, the clause “which thou hast not known” must be observed. By this, Moses signifies that the glory of the God whom they serve was so certainly testified that their fickleness in turning this way or that would be inexcusable. And thus the knowledge that ought to be firmly implanted in their hearts, and to remain there, is opposed to all the devil's artifices, which only affect unstable minds.

²⁹⁷ See note on on Deuteronomy 30:11, , ante.

²⁹⁸ Addition in Fr., “disant, Que si le cas n’advient, le Prophete s’est ingere par presomption;” saying, that if the thing does not come to pass, the Prophet has meddled with it presumptuously.., “disant, Que si le cas n’advient, le Prophete s’est ingere par presomption;” saying, that if the thing does not come to pass, the Prophet has meddled with it presumptuously.

²⁹⁹ C. found in found in S. M.’s note on this verse that some of them understood the word note on this verse that some of them understood the word signs to refer to such a sign as Jeremiah was to exhibit, (to refer to such a sign as Jeremiah was to exhibit, (Jeremiah 27:2,) the like to which was done by the false Prophet Zedekiah, (,) the like to which was done by the false Prophet Zedekiah, (1 Kings 22:12; ) whilst others thought that the text spoke of what magicians might do by their art, as Moses had witnessed in Pharaoh’s presence. — ;) whilst others thought that the text spoke of what magicians might do by their art, as Moses had witnessed in Pharaoh’s presence. — W..