Seder 144: Deuteronomy 13, 1 Corinthians 5---Protecting the Covenant Community

 In Deuteronomy, Moses emphasized that Israel would need to follow God exclusively.  Adding the worship of additional deities would undermine their mission.  

In chapter 13, Moses discusses three challenging scenarios.  In the first (verses 1-5), a prophet or miracle worker proselytizes for other gods.  God would not cause such a thing to happen, but if it did happen, it would serve as a test of the nation's commitment.  A prophet of this kind was committing treason and should be executed for the sake of preserving the nation's holiness.  

In the second scenario the traitor is a close family member or friend.  Here loyalty to God takes priority over loyalty to family, and the traitor again should be executed.  Each member of the community is responsible for guarding the community, and others should be deterred from considering the worship of other gods (vv 6-11).

In a third scenario a whole town falls into apostasy.  If the town's fall is carefully established, then the town is to be eliminated, again for the sake of the community as a whole.  

Some underlying principles brought out in Deuteronomy 13 are 

• the importance of community holiness;
• the responsibility of each community member to uphold that holiness;
• the importance of deterring community members from falling into sin.

Early Christian communities applied these principles to their own situations.    1 Corinthians 5 gives an example of a man guilty of a serious sin who is excommunicated from the congregation.  In this chapter we can see how Paul appeals to the principles of Deuteronomy 13 in his ruling.