Dreamer of Dreams

Author: Joseph

Date: March 10, 2019

God always intended for His people to hear from His voice and to recognize Him. His relationship with Adam, even at the beginning of all creation, showed that He wanted to be in intimate communion with mankind. He never meant for His voice to be hard to discern or for His presence to seem far away. It was sin that made – and still makes – intimate communion with God difficult. The more time passed and the more mankind rejected His presence, the quieter and less distinct God’s voice became.

In the time of Moses, before Israel entered into the land of promise, it was made clear through Moses’s own words that Israel would struggle to be in intimate communion with God. Moses also warned Israel that there were enemies that would arise from among them to lead them away from God and cause them to be in communion with evil.

Israel was instructed that the type of person who would lead them astray would be a “dreamer of dreams” or a false prophet. The people would be confused by them because they would bring forth signs and wonders that actually come true. In other words, they were a perfect deception. These false prophets would offer “miraculous” signs and testify that their own words were true by them as well. After showing their signs and wonders, they would then ask the people of Israel to follow and serve false gods. This was the only warning sign that Israel would receive to reveal the false prophet’s deception.

What if this warning was unrecognizable to the people of Israel? This warning would be unrecognizable to Israel if they became ignorant of who God is and what He has said. Without knowing who God is, the false prophet could easily persuade them that the false god is God. Without knowing what God said, the false prophet could speak deceitfully and convey a message that God never spoke. As long as Israel stayed faithful to God and sought intimate communion with Him, they could never be deceived by such things.

Moses tells Israel that if a false prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among them, that the people should not listen to their words and put them to death. The evil of trying to turn God’s people away from Him and thereby rebel against Him was worthy of death! If the people did not rid themselves of this evil, the whole nation could be caught up in rebellion and perish from their sin against God.

God allows these dreamers of dreams and false prophets to arise among His people because He seeks to find out if they love Him with all their heart and with all their soul. If the people truly love God, they would have intimate communion with Him, thereby able to recognize any deception and not be turned away. If the people do not love God as they should, then their lack of communion with Him would be proven through their ability to be persuaded to falsehood.

False prophets and dreamers of dreams are convincing because they arise from among the people of God. They do not look like enemies, they are persuasive by their deeds, and they take advantage of ignorance and wavering faith. Do not be fooled by their words. When they arise in your community – whether a church, a fellowship, a home group, a bible study – test them with the truth of God’s words and, if needed, remove them from your community before they become a snare that pulls you and others away from God.

God is allowing dreamers of dreams and false prophets among your community to test your love for Him. Stand firm in intimate communion with God and do not let your faith waver.

Bible Passage: Deuteronomy 13:1-5

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org