Deuteronomy 11:16: “Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.”

 

“No man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other, no man can serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24.

 

“As soon as a person separates himself from HaShem, immediately he is worshipping idols (God forbid).  There is nothing in the middle.” – Rabbi Yisroel Ben Elieazer.

 

“Gulp!!” –  Chaim Bentorah

 

I ran across this really nifty quote by the some Rabbi sometime ago and for some reason I woke up this morning thinking about. However,  I could not remember the verse he was commenting on, the Rabbi’s name,  nor could I even  remember where I ran across the quote.  But it had touched my spirit and I was wondering if God was not trying to tell me something. So I decided to focus on something else.  I randomly picked up a book and turned to a page and of course you can guess what I found.  I suppose you can call it a coincidence but for me God does not need a megaphone if He is trying to tell me something. I take such coincidences seriously although I am not too thrilled about the road God seems to be leading me down at this moment.  Anyways, with fear and trembling I invite you to join me as I explore Deuteronomy 11:16.  I mean perhaps I am not the only one this message applies to whatever that message is. At this point I am not too sure what God is trying to tell me.

 

Rabbi Elieazer was only expanding on a comment in the Midrash with regard this verse in Deuteronomy which explained that the Hebraic structure of this sentence leaves no room for any middle ground. When you turn aside from God you are automatically worshipping some idol. Yikes!  You are always worshipping and serving someone or something.  No matter how atheistic you may be you are still going to worship something or someone, maybe even yourself.   Jesus said pretty much the same thing in Matthew 6:24.  There is no middle ground. Either you serve and love God or you are into idolatry.  Everyone has some master even if it is yourself.

 

Then to top off my day, I was listening to a story from Focus on the Family about a woman who ran five abortion clinics doing up to 250 abortions a month for each clinic.  She said she thought she was a Christian.  She really believed in her heart that she was a Christian.  She kept a Bible in her top drawer and assured her patients that she was a Christian. When a Christian did confront her of her need for Jesus and pointed out in the Bible that abortion was murder it was like her eyes were opened and she confessed that she was so deceived that even her heart was deceived.  Deuteronomy 11:16  “Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived.”   I could not help but pray, “God if this woman could consider herself a believer while committing such satanic abominations, how much more has my heart deceived me.  I have heard people give testimonies of so called miracles that have been so embellished that they are actually falsehoods.  I recall some famous healing evangelist who discovered I was a Baptist preacher. At the time I did not speak in tongues and or believe in divine healing. I just had eye surgery and wearing a patch over my eye. He called me up to the front of the church I was visiting, put his hand on my patch rather forcibly which made me angry, “Hey, I just had surgery on that eye.” He then prayed his loud prayer finishing with an impressive “Be healed.” He then tried to push me to floor but I stood my ground and would not go down.   I later heard from a friend who asked if I was that Baptist preacher that had his blind eye healed and fell to the floor yakking away in tongues. I assured my friend that could not have been me. But in comparing notes time and place it was indeed I that was being referenced and this old boy had gone on his television program announcing this great miracle of a Baptist preacher being healed of blindness.  I don’t think this preacher was a bad man nor do I believe he actually felt he was doing wrong embellishing this story.  He may have been very anxious to just bless the brethren and help increase their faith. What I do believe is that he did not take heed and his heart was deceived into believing it was ok to embellish this testimony.

 

The word deceived is pateh which means a babbler and also means to seduce.  The word is spelled Pei, Taw and Hei. The Pei would express that this seduction is accomplish by words.  When you look at the shadow meanings of the Pei, Taw and Hei you find it is telling you that this deception is the result of  talking too much (Pei), depending upon something or someone other than God (Taw) and self-deception (Hei).   Pateh has a numerical value of  485.  The words for forsake and leave also have a numerical value of 485. This deception causes you to leave or forsake someone or something.  Also noteworthy is that in this verse pateh (deception) is in a Piel (intensive) form.  This deception is so subtle that like my preacher friend, you do not even realize you have left God. The word for turn away is ratem  which means to withdraw.  It is also the word for a broom.  This deception is such that you are swept away from God and you do not even realize you are worshipping other gods. 

 

History is littered with the dry sunbaked bones of Christians who have stepped out in faith and landed flat on their face.  I know I have made that step of faith, made the sacrifice, was willing to give it all for God and stepped out on faith, only to end up in total failure.  I have often asked God why he did not bless my step of faith. I believe Deuteronomy gives me my answer.  I look back and find that I was quietly pateh deceived.  I had convinced myself I was doing it for God but self was very much involved.  I was worshipping the God of self recognition, honor and pride to be seen as someone who was moving in the power of God.  But I was not serving God, I was serving myself and my needs and desires. I was serving another god, that god was one of the worst gods to serve, next the enemy himself, that god it was me.

 

As I journey to the heart of God, I have moments, like I am sure we all have, when I believe I have touched the heart of God.  It is those moments when consequences to me personally mean nothing.  It is those moments where I am not serving any other god.  It is those moments when I hear and am certain of God’s voice. It is a moment like now.

Subscribe to our free Daily Hebrew Word Study for in-depth commentary using Biblical Hebrew!

* indicates required