Idols of the Heart

The gift of prophecy is not usually directive, so it is dangerous to make life changing decisions on the basis of a prophecy uttered by a person who has not been recognised as a prophet. Prophets will sometimes give direction, but generally this should come as a confirmation of something that God has already spoken to the person concerned. God wants to lead his people by his Spirit. He desires that every believer should learn to hear the Spirit’s voice. A message from a prophet should normally come as a confirmation of something that the Spirit has already spoken.

Getting confirmation from a prophet before we act can be really encouraging, but we need to be very careful. A personal prophecy can be misleading if we have let our own plans and desires control our thinking. Ezekiel gives a surprising warning about this.

When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry (Ezek 14:4).

If a person has let something that they want to do become an idol of their heart, God may prophesy to them what they want to hear. If the person acts on the prophecy, it will lead to disaster. God does this to reveal the idol and recapture the person’s heart. This means that we must be careful with personal prophecy. If a prophecy confirms what we want to do, it may just be a sign that we have made our own plans into an "idol in our hearts".

More at Role of a Prophet

Tens and Hundreds (4) - Role of the Hundred

The Hundred derives its functions and authority from the Ten. Hundreds can only act, if the leaders of a Ten gives permission. The Hundred can be used for four main purposes.

1. Defence – sometimes several Tens will come together to deal with an external threat to their society.

• If an enemy army threatens to invade the country, the first Ten confronted would be easily overcome, if they resisted on their own.

• The leaders of the first Ten to see the coming threat would send messages to other Tens asking for help (Judges 6:35).

• Men from a number of Tens might come together in response to the call and form a Hundred to resist the invader. The members of each Ten would serve together. The leaders of the various Tens would appoint several officers to lead the Hundred (Judges 11:5).

• Participation in the Hundred would be voluntary. The Hundred would be held together by the relationships between the leaders of the Tens and their willingness to work together for a common cause.

• If a person chosen as leader of the Hundred proved to be foolish, unwise, harsh or arrogant, a number of Tens might withdraw their support and re-form as a Fifty.

• If the enemy was particularly strong, several Hundreds might join together voluntarily to for a Thousand. Leaderships would rise in the same way as for the Hundreds.

• In a really serious situation, all the Thousand in the nation might come together to repel a serious enemy. The leaders of the thousand would choose a military commander to lead them.

• Authority emerges as groups of people submitting to trusted leaders, not through leaders seizing power and demanding obedience.

2. Welfare – Financial support might flow from one Ten to another.

• Tens that are more wealthy might agree to help another Ten that is in financial trouble.

• Good relationships between leaders would be important for making people aware of needs and ensuring help went to the right place.

3. Justice – The relationships between the Tens that made up a Hundred will be important for resolving issues of justice.

• If someone from outside a Ten steals from someone within in it, the other Tens within their Hundred will take up the cause and assist with tracking down the thief. The leaders of the Hundred will ensure that restitution is made to foster the unity of their community.

4. Marriage – A young man will generally need to go outside his Ten to find a wife. He will have a better chance of finding a wife in one of the neighbouring Hundreds.

• The leaders of the respective Tens will be able to advise the leaders of the other about the character of the prospective marriage partner.

• The leadership of the two tens will have good relationships with each other. They will be able to organise the transfer of the dowry without risk of loss for either party.

Tens and Hundreds (3) - Role of the Ten

The Ten has several important functions.

1. Defence – the Ten share responsibility for protecting their community.

• They will watch out for each other and check on intruders. If someone dodgy comes close to any of their homes, some of the Ten will check them out.

• If someone attacks any member of the Ten, the others will come to their assistance.

• If a large army comes against the wider society, the men in the Ten will join together with other Tens to defend their society.

Modern people tend to look to their government for protection from evil. This is a false hope. Governments continually fail to protect their people from home. Protection does not come from the top. Sound defence and protection must begin at the lowest level of society in the Ten.

2. Justice – most legal disputes will be resolved within the Ten.

• If one member of the Ten steals from another member, the men of the Ten will sort out the problem. They will ensure that the thief makes proper restitution. The thief will accept the authority of the Ten, because he would lose his protection, if he rejected it.

• If a member of the Ten is accused of stealing by someone from the wider community, the Ten will act in his defence. If the case is proven, they will ensure that the thief makes restitution to protect the good name of the Ten.

• If the thief cannot afford to make made restitution, the Ten will make restitution on the thief’s behalf. They will make arrangements for the thief to repay what they have lent over time. They will also keep an eye on the thief to ensure that he does not steal again. If he persists in stealing, he might lose his place in the Ten and have to leave the community. No other Ten would want him, so he might end up as an outlaw. The threat of this sanction should be enough to make most thieves shape up and change their behaviour.

• If someone from outside the Ten steals from someone within in it, the Ten will take up the cause on their behalf. They will assist with tracking down the thief and ensuring that restitution is made.

• Judges will learn their role and prove their credibility in their Ten.

3. Welfare – the Ten will provide support for members who fall into poverty.

• A member of the Ten would make an interest free loan to another member of the Ten who is in financial trouble (Deut 23:19-20).

• If a person is forced to sell their land, a senior member of the Ten will buy their land and hold it in trust until they next Jubilee.

  The land must not be sold permanently... you must provide for the redemption of the land. If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold (Lev 25:24,25).

• If a person commits a crime and cannot afford to pay the required restitution, a member of the Ten will pay on his behalf. The criminal will be bonded to work for the member of the Ten until the debt has been repaid (Ex 22:3).

• Some members of the Ten may provide employment for others who have a need.

• The leaders of the Ten will teach financial management to those who are struggling.

4. Education – the Ten will assist families to educate their children.

• Adults will pass their skills and knowledge on to all the children and young people in the Ten.

Participation in a Ten is voluntary for adults. If they do not like their Ten, they could move and join another. Children will nothave not choice.

Libertarians often assume that defence, education, welfare and justice will be provided by entrepreneurial businesses or insurance companies. Businesses can provide a service to support local communities, but if business is the only source of justice and defence, there is nothing to stop businesses from dominating people and morphing into a pseudo state. In Moses day, justice, defence, education and welfare were mostly managed in the local community by the Ten. Tens were the important and essential foundation for a just and caring society.