Title Before the tradition of prophecy
Moses' speech
The character of Deuteronomy is unique in many ways. First of all, the name Deuteronomy (申命記) is a combination of ‘speaking god’, ‘life name’, and ‘writing record’. Perhaps it means that it is a book that records the words of life spoken by Moses. However, the original Deuteronomy has slightly different names depending on the manuscript. Sometimes it's simply called "The Fifth Book of Moses", or it's called Deuteronomium. The name Dutoronomium was derived from a misunderstanding of the Hebrew word for ‘scroll’ in Deuteronomy 17:18, meaning ‘the second law’ that coexists with the law bestowed on Mount Sinai. In any case, it is clear that the book of Deuteronomy was historically accepted as a book with a strong character of prophecy and law.
Formally, Deuteronomy is a collection of Moses' speeches. At the beginning of Deuteronomy is a brief description of the nature of these words, and at the end there is a brief report that Moses died at the end of this speech. It is a speech that not only recalls the past, but also prepares the future Canaanite era, at the very moment when Moses, at the age of eighty, ends his long journey of exodus from Egypt and now at the age of one hundred and twenty years old, before entering Canaan and ending his 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. is. Let's read the first part of Deuteronomy together. “These were the words Moses spoke to all the Israelites in the wilderness of Arabah, across the Jordan River, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Haserut, and Dijahab, facing Suph. It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after Moses came out of Egypt to proclaim to the people of Israel everything that the LORD had commanded him. After he struck down Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei, he defeated them. Moses first revealed the meaning of this law in the land of Moab across from the Jordan” (1:1,3-5).
Mount Horeb in the text is the same as Mount Sinai as the mountain where Moses personally met God. Moses preached two big sermons during his 40 years in the wilderness. Once at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the wilderness life begins, and on the other hand, in the wilderness of Abara, where the wilderness life ends as today's text indicates. The most important sermon in the history of the Israelites was preached by Moses.
However, it is difficult to see that these books of Deuteronomy were all directly proclaimed by Moses. Even from the verse itself, the fact that Moses' death and historical evaluation of his activities are recorded in chapter 34 is proof that at least this part was written by someone else. Also, according to scholars' research, the readers of the book of Deuteronomy were the people of Israel in the dynasty, much later than Moses. It also links the reform movement of King Josiah with the book of Deuteronomy. We do not need to address these theological issues any further here. Don't organize it like this. The book of Deuteronomy says that the word of God that was required in Israel's history was newly composed through the mouth of Moses, who died long ago. Given the importance of Moses in Israel's history, it seems natural that the Israelites linked Moses with the documents that were most important to them.
function of the prophet
The book of Deuteronomy is the standard word for the entire history of Israel, as can be seen from the saying that Israel's historical philosophy is basically 'deuteronomy knight'. This document is the core of Israel's faith to the extent that Deuteronomy is not only a summary of the Pentateuch, starting from Genesis, but also the beginning of the biographical prophetic book dealing with Israel's history.
Verse 15 says: “The LORD your God will raise up and raise up a prophet like me from among his people. You must listen to him.” It is unlikely that Moses referred to himself as a ‘prophet like me’. Moses was the most spiritually charismatic man, but he lacked the speech needed for a prophet. Of course, there is no law that a prophet must be good at speaking, but overall, the power of speech and prophecy are inextricably linked. In any case, the editor of Deuteronomy is not trying to verify the historical facts whether or not Moses said these words now, but rather to point out the fact that the roots of the prophet are in Moses' Mount Horeb event. The story behind the event is related to Moses' receiving the Ten Commandments from Yahweh and proclaiming them to the people of Israel.
Mount Horeb (Sinai), which received the Ten Commandments from Yahweh through Moses, was probably an active volcano at that time. It is said that at the moment the Ten Commandments were proclaimed, the mountain was filled with thunder and lightning. “All the people saw the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoke from afar, and they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). They asked Moses: “You tell us. I'll listen. If God speaks directly to us, we will die” (Exodus 20:19). This request of the people is confirmed again in this very day in Deuteronomy 18:16. “Never again hear directly the voice of the LORD my God. Please don't ever see this dreadful fire again. I am afraid I will die.”
To the Israelites, Yahweh was a fearful being. They were afraid to even hear the voice of Yahweh. Why? Because those who see Yahweh have no choice but to die. When Moses asked Yahweh to show him his face, he said that he could hear the sound of passing by but could not see it directly. Exodus 33:20 says: “But you can’t see my face. No one lives after seeing me.” What does it mean that no one has ever seen God directly, or that anyone who has seen him dies? This means that humans cannot perceive the absolute world as long as they are alive. Just as a fish living in water dies when it comes out of the water, the only way for people living in this world to directly experience God who controls the inside and outside of this world is to die. In this sense, death may be a horror to us, but it is also the only way of salvation in that it is a way to face God. In any case, it is impossible for people living in this world to experience a being beyond that. The Old Testament writers express this fact in a slightly allegorical way.
Moses continues his speech. It means that God accepted the request of the people of Israel for fear of hearing the voice of Yahweh. God has said that He will raise up people to deliver His words to you. “I will raise up a prophet like you from among your people” (verse 18). These words are the fundamental motive for the emergence of a group of prophets in Israel's history.
Prophets are people who will tell them “just as they were instructed” by God. God added: “If anyone does not listen to what he has to say in my name, I will inquire of him personally” (verse 19). After all, this means that God speaks only through those who act as prophets. In this respect, human words are the channels through which God speaks.
false prophet
The question is, how can a person who preaches the word of God know whether or not he is actually preaching the word of God? Judging by the fact that today's text verse 21 directly addresses the issue, it seems that true prophets and false prophets have already competed in Israel's history. Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all competed with the false prophets. What is interesting, however, is the fact that there were many times when false prophets were well-received by the people. That's weird. Prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, although it is clear that they were the direct recipients of the word of God, the prophets who opposed them received equal, and in some cases even stronger, support.
How did the ancient Israelites, who were not so different from our situation today, solve this problem? How would you tell the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet? Today's text does not go into much detail about it. Very simply, we present two criteria. One is that false prophets will die, the other is that their prophecies will not come true. Although there have been instances of false prophets dying in Israel's history, these events are not mechanistically accurate. Even if you don't know it, there were probably not a few people who lived a long life without disease among false prophets. The death of a false prophet is not an empirical fact, but rather a warning. If God is the truth, then we can't just let those who disobey it.
The second discernment criterion is realistic. Since false prophecies do not come true, it is of course not the word of Yahweh. “I speak my own words, and such a prophet has nothing to fear” (verse 22). False prophets may be popular for a short time because they are people who fit the needs of their audiences rather than deeply reflect on God and history, but with time their lies will eventually be exposed. We often see that in history.
The most decisive event in history that proves true and false is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The crucifixion of Jesus, which was considered a complete failure in the life of a human being, has now received a whole new light through the resurrection event. The Jesus event is the decisive channel through which God speaks. Today's Christians are those who apologise with practical words and life that it is the truth. In this respect, all of us Christians are prophets. Are we really living faithfully in the face of this prophecy tradition? Aren't we false prophets?