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Do Not Turn Aside!

Sh’muel Aleph (1st Samuel) 12:20-21
20 And Samuel said to the people, “Fear not; you have indeed done all this evil; yet do not turn aside from following YHWH, but serve YHWH with all your heart;
21 and do not turn aside; for then you would go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.”

The evil the people had done, was to desire, and even demand, a king like the nations around them.  Sh’muel took this personally, but YHWH told him not to, for they were not rejecting him, but were rejecting YHWH as their king.  Truly a great evil!  But even so, YHWH still wanted the people to continue serving Him rather than to stop serving Him altogether.  Just because a person or a group of people commit one sin, should never be cause to stop serving YHWH altogether.  It should be cause for repentance, but not more sin.  Sadly, it is often more sin which is chosen simply because the people or person does not truly understand the love and compassion of YHWH.

Sh’muel Aleph (1st Samuel) 8:4-8
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Sh’muel to Ramah;
5 and they said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
6 But the thing displeased Sh’muel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.”  And Sh’muel prayed to YHWH.
7 And YHWH said to Sh’muel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be king over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also to you.”

It is in this very act of desiring, wanting, and even demanding, a human leader that one rejects YHWH from being his King.  While YHWH puts men in authority over His people, one needs to make sure that the authority these men exercise, is only to the extent that YHWH has granted them.  If these men go beyond that authority, then they are usurping the rightful place of YHWH.  So how does one tell if a leader is going beyond the authority YHWH has given to him?

To answer this question, we need to be able to discern what it is the leader or leaders are leading His people to do.  To do this, one needs to have a basic knowledge of Scripture, particularly of Torah, as well as being filled with His Spirit.  Let us consider this next passage in light of this discussion.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:22 
“when a prophet speaks in the name of YHWH, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which YHWH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him.”

There are times when YHWH sends a prophet with a message to His people.  When YHWH does this, it is expedient for the people to hear and obey His Voice through that prophet.  However, there are other times when a man (or woman) will lift himself (or herself) up and declare a word from YHWH, and YHWH has not spoken it at all.  Such times His people are not to fear.  Furthermore, there are times when YHWH will send a messenger to His people to test them, because, while the messenger may do signs that come to pass, such a person may then attempt to lead the people astray. 

This most often seems to happen when a person brings a message from YHWH and it comes to pass, and then the person is lifted up with pride and attempts to get the people to follow him rather than to follow YHWH.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 13:2-3 
2 “and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, whereof he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them’;
3 you shall not hearken to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for YHWH your Elohim is testing you, to know whether you love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Many people today are unknowingly serving other men.  These men have come with a message from YHWH, causing their hearts to be lifted up with pride, and then they have led many people astray.  This is one of the many ways in which leaders lead His people astray from following after Him.  Leaders and teachers are to lead His people to hear and obey His Voice, not their own.

Qorintyah Bet (2nd Corinthians) 11:13-15 
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Mashiach.
14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashions himself into an angel of light.
15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

The enemy of one’s soul will use unwitting men to accomplish his means.  Satan will do anything within his power to get you and me to stop serving YHWH.  Satan does not care who one serves, as long as it is not YHWH.  He will get his messengers to say anything and to promise anything, using highly religious language, in an attempt to get the people of YHWH to turn aside from following YHWH. 

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:22-23 
22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy by Your name, and by Your name cast out demons, and by Your name do many mighty works?’
23 And then will I profess to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you that work iniquity.’ ”

Could it be that the iniquity these are guilty of working, was leading His people away from serving Him to serving themselves?  It seems highly likely in light of other passages of Scripture.

Those referenced in this passage, fit quite well into the passage above, found in Devarim 13, in which we are warned about those who come from YHWH, whose messages or dreams come true and then attempt to lead His people astray. 

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:21 
“Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Master, Master’, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

Even Yeshua taught us that one is to be doing the will of our heavenly Father.  This is one of the ways to determine who is leading others to do His will, and who is leading them away from serving our heavenly Father YHWH. 

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:20 
“Therefore by their fruits you shall know them.”

One can know a person by his fruits.  What is fruit?  Many have been led to believe that it is how many other people are brought into a saving knowledge of Yeshua, or by the miraculous deeds one accomplishes.  However, this is not a Scriptural definition.  In fact, this definition has been used to hide the truth from His people, and used to deceive them into following wrong paths and wrong men.  Let us briefly examine what it means to have fruit, and in particular, good fruit, and being able to rightly judge that fruit for what it is according to Scripture.

Please note that in the context of what good fruit is and what evil fruit is, Yeshua gives us an example of what it will be like on Judgment Day, in that there will be those who call out “Master, Master,” pointing to all the miraculous works which they had done, even having done them in His name.  Nevertheless, He will say to them that He never knew them.  The truth is, miracles do not necessarily equal good fruit!

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:16-20
16 “By their fruits you shall know them.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you shall know them.”

Please note that fruit comes in two different varieties, and the variety of fruit is totally dependent upon the kind of tree it is.  If a tree is good, then it will have good fruit.  If a tree is evil, then the fruit will be evil.  Now look at what Scripture says is good fruit and evil fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 meekness, self-control; against such there is no Torah.

Please note that fruit consists solely of character traits.  In this case, bringing forth good fruit means developing and having characteristics that are good according to His Spirit.  If a person looks at another person and he is looking for evidence of this fruit or traits, it will be visible.  It may take some time to be able to see this fruit clearly, but with a little patience, (notice this is part of the fruit) this fruit will manifest itself in a person’s life if it is there.

Now notice what the evil counterpart of good fruit is as listed in the verses before where the good fruit is listed.

Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
21 envying, drunkenness, reveling, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim.

Likewise, if we are willing to see with open eyes, these things will be manifest for us to see if we are willing to see them.

Please note, Mashiach Yeshua taught us concerning the judgment, that not everyone who says “Master, Master,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but rather, it is the one who actually does His will and brings forth good fruit.  Miraculous works are not synonymous with a good heart as was shown above.  There will be those who did miraculous works, but Yeshua will say to them that He never knew them. 

He commands His people not to turn aside.  Yet, many do this, and are doing it, because those they look to are leading them away from obeying YHWH, all the while claiming to be obeying YHWH.  Brothers and sisters in Mashiach, let each person look for the fruit in their lives and then he will know.  Nevertheless, once he sees it, then he must take action to move away from such a person so that he is not swallowed up into the earth as Qorach and all those who were part of that rebellion.

ABBA YHWH, open our eyes that we may see the fruit of others; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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