Deuteronomy 13:3

3 do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.

Deuteronomy 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:3

Thou shall not hearken to the words of that prophet, or that
dreamer of dreams
Even though he does give the sign, and work the wonder; for it might be reasonably concluded there must be fallacy in him, and that neither he nor his miraculous sign could come from God, who would never send a person to enable him to do signs and wonders, to persuade men to believe and act contrary to a former declaration of his mind and will; to break a plain law of his, as in ( Deuteronomy 5:7-9 ) , this would be to contradict and deny himself; whatever therefore is contrary to a known law or established doctrine, either of law or Gospel, let it come from whom it will, or pretend to be confirmed by miracles, is not to be received; see ( Galatians 1:8 Galatians 1:9 ) ,

for the Lord your God proveth you, whether you love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul;
for should they be prevailed upon by such a prophet to hearken to his doctrine, and embrace it, and act according to it, it would be a plain case that they did not cordially love the Lord, since they could so easily, and by such pretences, be drawn aside from the true worship of him, and serve other gods; on the other hand, it would be a proof of their sincere affection for God, and of their close and strict attachment to him, that notwithstanding such specious pretences made, and such miracles wrought, yet abode by him and his worship, and could not be wrought upon to forsake him and follow other gods and serve them; see ( 1 Corinthians 11:19 ) .

Deuteronomy 13:3 In-Context

1 “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles,
2 and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before—
3 do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.
4 Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.
5 The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the LORD your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.