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do not yield, do not shield

Deuteronomy 13:4-10

Deuteronomy 13:4 You must follow Yahveh your God and fear him. You must watch his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful to him.
Deuteronomy 13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way Yahveh your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.
Deuteronomy 13:6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your friend like your own person secretly entices you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ – which neither you nor your fathers have known,
Deuteronomy 13:7 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the land to the other –
Deuteronomy 13:8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

do not yield, do not shield

Moses warned the Israelites that enemies would emerge from their own group. Whether it is false prophets with deceitful evidence of their authenticity, or family and friends, his counsel is plain: do not yield to their requests,and do not shield them from the death penalty they deserve. Israel was a covenant community, and seeking other gods was the highest treason against the God with whom they were covenanting.

Jesus warned his followers that their own families could turn against them for seeking to follow him. Ironically, this very instruction was used to justify that animosity. The Jews who rejected Jesus understood that there was no middle ground with him. To accept Jesus as the Son of God, and give him the honor due that title, was a fundamental change that they were not willing to make.

What about you? Are you willing to accept Jesus as not just one of the possible ways to God, but the only Way?

Lord, we confess that you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through you.