🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Have you ever been truly fooled by someone? Worse, were you fooled because the liar was a great actor that looked and sounded exactly like someone or something you would naturally trust? Maybe the sheep would not be fooled by a fake shepherd (since YahShua said His sheep know His voice and won’t follow another shepherd), but who’s looking at the sheep right next to us? Aesop put it into a classic fable you’ll likely recognize.
Most of us grew up hearing a version of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing that ended in sheer carnage—a helpless flock devoured from the inside out. Yet the oldest classical renderings of Aesop’s fable carry a very different, deeply ironic twist: a story not of predator victory, but of poetic justice, where the deceiver is ensnared by the very costume he crafted to fool others.
The Classic Fable Retold from Aesop’s Point of View
Frustrated by the watchful shepherd, the barking hounds, and the stone walls of the pasture, a hungry wolf realized that direct force would never win him a meal. Cunning would work far better than brute strength.
The Masquerade
Prowling the edges of the farm, the wolf discovered a thick, fluffy sheep’s fleece left drying over a split-rail fence after a sheep had been prepared for the farm table. Slipping the woolly skin over his back, he tucked in his sharp muzzle, concealed his dark paws, and flattened his bushy tail beneath the disguise.
The Infiltration
Ambling into the open meadow, the wolf mimicked the slow, quiet grazing of an ordinary ewe. The disguise worked flawlessly. The sheep paid him no attention, the shepherds conversed leaning against their staves, and the farm dog slept lazily in the grass without a flicker of suspicion. When dusk gathered, the shepherd whistled the flock together, leading every sheep—and the masquerading beast—safely into the stout stone fold, bolting the heavy gate for the night.
The Reckoning
The wolf chuckled in the darkness, waiting for the farm to fall asleep so he could feast. But late that night, the shepherd re-entered the fold holding a dim lantern, needing to supply meat for the coming day’s provisions. Reaching into the quiet pen in the dark, his hand clamped onto the thickest, heaviest wool in the flock. Before the trapped predator could shed his borrowed coat or bare a claw, the butcher’s blade fell. The deceiver met the very fate he had planned for the sheep.
~ ~ ~
The Snare of the Disguise
YahShua (Jesus) told us to watch carefully, and He gave us the timeless warning about deadly enemies masking their true intentions:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
— Matthew 7:15
Jude sounded the exact same alarm about those who slip into the assembly wearing innocent disguises:
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness...”
— Jude 1:4
It shouldn’t take us by surprise that everyone who claims to be one of us (A Christian believer) is not so just because they say it. We have multiple warnings to protect ourselves from the prowling enemy looking for any trusting souls to devour. It’s hard, because we don’t want to believe in the possibility of someone who seems so nice actually being a trickster, but it’s their good acting ability that makes them strong deceivers. Pray for open eyes and for discernment like we talked about in yesterday’s post.
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14–15
Spiritual predators rarely show up with fangs bared and horns blaring. They borrow the gentle language, peaceful posture, and familiar outward appearance of the flock to creep in unawares. Yet Aesop’s ancient ending adds a reassuring truth for those who trust the Shepherd—deceit always carries its own undoing:
“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”
— Proverbs 26:27
No matter how clever the camouflage appears, the Chief Shepherd knows who belongs to Him. The deceiver’s trap ultimately collapses back upon himself, but the flock is called to remain alert, watchful, and standing firm in the Lord’s strength.
Christian, Dost Thou See Them?
Written by St. Andrew of Crete in the 8th century and translated by John Mason Neale, this solemn, dramatic hymn confronts the subtle, disguised forces of darkness that circle the soul—and summons the Christian to unrelenting spiritual vigilance:
– SZABO MUSIC (Hymn & Singalong) (with lyrics)
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There Will Be A Test
Exams Start Now by Flickr User Ryan M aka shinealight, CC License = Attribution, Share Alike
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What if every moment of our lives was actually a test? When stuff just doesn’t seem to go our way, we often think, “Hmm; maybe I’m being tested,” and when we think we’re being tested, we try harder to pass. But what if the good times are also part of the test? When everything is at peace and going smoothly, it can be too easy to forget Who brought us that peace and comfort, let alone to think it might be part of our testing and refining.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 12:29 through all of Deuteronomy 13, we will read about the not-so-surprise tests given by our Greatest Teacher. We start out with a warning to Israel. Moses tells them to be careful after God destroys the nations He is driving out of The Promised Land and not to question how they served their gods and seek them out. He tells Israel not to do that to The Lord, Yahveh, because the things the former inhabitants did for their gods including burning up their own children.
Moses then tells them not to add or subtract anything from the laws he is passing along to them. And then he tells them that even if a prophet has a dream or vision of a sign or wonder, and that sign or wonder comes to pass, if with it the prophet tries to entice the people to follow after a god that is not Yahveh, it is a test from Yahveh to see if they really love Him. They are to kill that prophet or dreamer used in the test because he urged them to turn away from the God who delivered them from Egypt and slavery and turn instead to a false god.
Next, Moses says that even if someone’s own flesh and blood brother, his child, his loving wife, or his best friend tries to convince him to follow another god, do not listen. Beyond that, he should not even feel pity for that person. No matter how close the two are, the one who is being enticed is not to spare or even conceal the one trying to entice him. He must not only kill him, but his own hand must be first in making a strike of death against him. God’s reasoning for these rulings includes that when the rest of Israel sees the person die for trying to entice someone away from Him, all Israel will fear God and avoid such wickedness.
The warnings continue. Moses tells them that if they hear of a city among them where deceivers spring up to draw people away from Yahveh Almighty and toward serving other gods, they should investigate. If the rumors prove true, they must put the inhabitants of that city to death by the sword. They are even to destroy all the livestock. When all are dead, Israel must toss all the dead and the spoils into heaps and then set them on fire. They are to burn every remnant of the city to the ground. Once burned, the city must remain a heap of ruins forever and never be rebuilt. The law-abiding Israelites will not bear any curse or guilt for taking out the city, and they will be fine as long as they obey God and do what is right in His eyes.
All those warnings are pretty dire. I read the part about not having any pity even to the point of not concealing a wrongdoing, and I knew it was talking to people like me. I will stand firm in my own behaviors, but if someone goes another way, I’ll usually just keep my mouth shut for fear of offending that person. But this is saying that any person who tries to turn you against the Almighty God who delivered you from sin should be destroyed without pity. Yikes! I mean, I know we have the law of our land to contend with now, so I don’t have to take anyone out, but it does mean I need to get over my fear of even offending those types of people by correcting them.
So what do true believers do these days with all the false and apostate witnesses spreading through our lands? I wrote just a brief overview of my battle with other believers over the whole Todd Bentley thing, but there was so much more to it. I did not start out seeking to find any fault with the man. I asked God if I should seek his ministry for a healing to avoid surgery, and it was through that request that God showed me the apostate spirit spreading rapidly through the church with Todd Bentley greatly fanning the flames. An adulterous and sinful generation seeks after a sign (or signs and wonders), but people who follow God in honesty and purity of heart will have signs follow them without trying to manufacture them. And when the signs do follow them, they will not worship the signs and wonders, but they will continue to worship Yahveh Almighty and Him alone.
The biggest argument I faced (and sometimes still face) with those who do not discern the apostasies of our times is that they see real miracles. While there are multiple Scriptures warning that false ministers can conjure up real miracles, today’s reading puts it in yet another light. This shows that God Himself may allow the dreams, visions, signs, and wonders to come to pass and show true just to test the children of God. The test is to find out if people love God or just what He can do for Him; if they worship the miracles or the Creator of miracles; or if they are more concerned about what they can give to God or just what they can take from Him.
Even if believers pass those tests, we may still be tested with how we deal with the apostate teachers who try to use the powerful to distract from the All Powerful. Even with proof of Todd Bentley’s pending divorce, other apostates like Rick Joyner and John Arnott are refusing to deal with him in God’s way. Instead, they’re saying, “We do not judge him unworthy of a second, third, or even fourth chance.” But that’s not how you deal with someone who calls the pulpit his own, says that God told him he doesn’t have time to study to show himself approved of God because time is too short, and who kicks people in the face to bring a “move of God” on the congregation. Truth is hard, but it will set us free. The study materials are not easy to get through, but we need to be prepared because–you guessed it–there will be a test.
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It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…
It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Super Jimmy!!! by Flickr User Kerri Lee Smith, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike
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Superman. No, wait, maybe it’s Underdog. I guess it depends on the era in which you grew up. I was definitely more Underdog than Superman, but when I grew up, we got great Superman movies, so my affections changed. I still hope that Underdog eventually got to marry Sweet Polly Purebread, though. 😉 No matter which one of the characters was your favorite, you know that people said all kinds of stuff about the blur in the sky and never knew exactly who it was until he got closer.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 18:14 through Deuteronomy 19:13, we begin with Moses telling the people that God will soon raise up a new prophet in his place. He reminds them how there was a time when God wanted to dwell with them, but they rejected God for fear He would kill them, so God used Moses to speak for Him instead. Now, Moses is getting ready to go away, and because the people cannot hear from God directly, they will need a new person to speak God’s words.
To prophesy is to speak, and to prophesy for God is to speak for God. It’s an awesome place to be and not one to take lightly. If you’ve followed these Torah passages with me, and especially if you’ve read any of the passages yourself, you know that God’s words to the people through Moses were more often harsh than sweet. It’s hard to be a prophet (or prophetess) for God because most of what He has to teach us after we are saved is how to get the junk out of our lives when it becomes a wall between us and hearing His pure voice.
Moses has to give the hard words again in this passage. He warns the people that while God will raise up a prophet from among them, they are responsible to test the words of that prophet. If the prophet speaks words in the Name of Yahveh and the words are not something God told him to say, or if the prophet speaks in the names of other gods, that prophet must die. Moses then tells the people that if they are not sure if the words have been spoken by The Lord, they can tell by the outcome. If the prediction does not come true, that is, if the word is not fulfilled, then it was not spoken by God. If the prophet has spoken presumptuously, there is nothing to fear from his words.
At this point in the passage, the chapter changes, and Moses goes into repeating the instructions for building the cities of refuge. You can read the verses in Chapter 19 for yourself if you need a refresher because I want to focus on the parts in 18. It’s interesting that the information about the cities of refuge would directly follow the teaching about the new prophet since the replacement prophet for Moses points directly at Yeshua. It’s even referenced in Acts 3:22 and Acts 7:37. The first of those verses (in the Amplified Bible) reads…
Of course, those of us who have New Testament history know that Yeshua never spoke presumptuously, and everything He prophesied did come to pass. As our Prophet now, we have many warnings that Yeshua offered for us to be protected from those who would come in His name and testify falsely. In Matthew 24:24-26 (Complete Jewish Bible) we read…
The part that concerns me is where Yeshua said they could come close to deceiving even those chosen by God, but as I cast my concerns and anxieties upon His shoulders, I am reminded that if I keep my heart and mind in His word, I have nothing to fear. If I strive to walk in His holy presence at all times, I can become more and more sensitive to even His still, small voice. And if I pay attention to all the warnings in His word (see all of Matthew 23-25 for full context), both Old and New Testament, I will know to make sure that any words spoken in His name are true. Even if someone claims to speak as a prophet for God, I will not believe that it’s a bird, a plane, or anything else until it lands and proves itself.
Last minute addition here: I just realized how much this reminded me of an old Hinson’s song I used to love. It is called The Original Superman and I was able to find it on Youtube…
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August 20, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, false prophets, God's words, Israel, Moses, prophet, Scripture, Superman, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, Yeshua | Leave a comment