But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die (Deuteronomy 18:20).

You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

"The Lord told me...", "The Lord is leading me to tell you...", "The Lord gave me a vision..." These are quite significant pronouncements, which in bygone times, would be uttered only by a bonafide prophet of the LORD. In keeping with the Law, the pronouncements had to be tested, and if the prophet's word did not come true, he was to be killed.

Today, these words are spoken by any Tom,Dick or Sally, in the course of a casual conversation. Oftentimes, they are so general or "safe" that no one could prove the truth of the pronouncement one way or another. Even the predictive types of pronouncements have such broad parameters that they could be self-fulfilling for just about anyone that wanted them to be true.

Now, there are still quite a few occasions when someone is bold enough - or foolish enough - to be specific, but, even then, they suffer little to no repurcussion for what would have been a capital crime in God's eyes. 

Sad to say, I could name a number of leaders and members from my former church that regularly made such pronouncements. And even after their pronouncements were found to be false, they continued to do it! They justified their failure by either feigning ignorance or making some excuse like "God changed His mind" or "God must have something better".

Some even try to defend the notion that it is okay for prophecies to fail, or that prophets can mature into their gift such that their percentage of accuracy could improve as they mature. In doing this, they are whimsically changing how Scripture defines prophecy. It is non-sequitur, a logical falacy, to say that people can mature into prophetic accuracy, for the very nature of prophecy is disconnected from spiritual maturity. The gift of prophecy is not a skill or talent that can be developed or improved with time and effort. It is more like pregnancy. You either have it or you don't. 

Even if we were to just think of it pragmatically, consider the havoc such a notion would pose to Christian faith. If prophecies can fail, not only would the pronouncements of contemporary prophets be found unreliable, even the Scriptures would then be found to be unreliable as well, for it too was written by men, who were not necessarily at their peak of spiritual maturity.

With but flimsy evidence I have heard both John Piper and Wayne Gruden, generally solid biblicists, make the dangerously bold claim that the character of the prophetic gift may be different in the Old and New Testaments, such that the New Testament gift may allow for failure. Such a suggestion is both irresponsible and wrong. Just because they use language like "may" or "could" does not excuse such a wrong-headed pronouncement, for such a claim could do even more damage than Rob Bell's suggestion that hell is not a real place. 

Friends, we are living in a very disturbing time, where the people of God are growing more and more ignorant of Scriptural truth. This means that they must rely more and more on the few preachers and teachers that have made it their profession to know and teach God's Word. Consequently, the average believer is ill-equipped to judge anything that a preacher or teacher tells them.

When I was a student in Bible College, I did many research papers. Because I was still biblically wet-behind-the-ears, I found it hard to judge what was the truth. Every book I picked up was persuasive to me, so that I found myself changing my view with every new author. I was "tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). I often found myself defending the view of the last book I happened to read for any given topic. I would have been a crazy dangerous theologian at the time. In fact, I threw away all my early papers because of this. 

I am perhaps a little more competent today and hopefully growing more so by daily meditating on God's Word and memorizing large tracts of it. I have no better counsel than this for those seeking to safeguard themselves against false teaching: You must learn God's Word for yourselves. You must put in the time and effort. There is no other way. If you consider this daunting, listen to this encouragement from the Scriptures:

Oh, how I love your law!
    I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands are always with me
    and make me wiser than my enemies.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
    for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
    for I obey your precepts (Psalm 119:97-100).

Friends, whatever else we choose to do in life, we must all be specialists with respect to God's Word. We must each be accountable for ourselves in this regard. May the Lord bless your efforts! 

Of all the commands given for the king of Israel, the ones most prominent has to do with the Law:

“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

Notice God commands that the king make his own hand-written copy of the law. He cannot order someone else to make a copy for him. He must do it himself. 

What is more, God commands the king to keep this copy with him always. He is not to put it into the royal archives or in the library or even on his nightstand. He is to keep it in his presence at all times. The sense is very much like what God commanded the people of Israel:

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

What is more, God commands the king to read this copy of the Law every day. As you might imagine, the king was probably a busy person, managing the affairs of the entire nation; however, God commanded that he read the Law from beginning to end every day. God, thus, mandated that this be a priority for the king.

What is more, God commands that the king read the Law not only while he is actively serving as the king but "as long as he lives." It is not simply a document for a just rule but a document for a just life.

Then, we are given the outcomes and benefits of daily reading the Law:

1. By daily reading he will learn to fear the LORD in obedience.
   
   That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees (Deuteronomy 17:19b).
   
   
2. By daily reading he will remain humble.
   
   This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens (Deuteronomy 17:20a).
   
   
3. By daily reading he will be careful not to miss even the smallest detail in the Law.
   
   It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way (Deuteronomy 17:20b).
   
   
4. By daily reading he will be blessed and ensure blessings for many generations after him.
   
   It will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel (Deuteronomy 17:20c).

Thus, what was commanded of the common folk in Israel was amplified for the king, for they would read the Law for the benefit of themselves and their families; however, the king was also responsible for the entire nation. 

As Christians we have no lesser command than the Jews of old. We too are commanded to read the Scriptures, even more to study them diligently, so that we may interpret them correctly:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

In his charge to Timothy, as a safeguard against temptations and the false teachers of his time, Paul counsels him to read and apply the Scriptures:

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:12-16).

Can you not hear the counsel to the king in these words? It is a counsel to us. Therefore, dear friends, you who claim the Name of Christ, there is no greater priority for you than to carefully and daily read the Bible. You say that you are just too busy. Are you busier than the king of a nation? You say that you have other priorities. Is it greater than what God has made the chief priority for Christians? You say that you've tried. Is there any ceasing from doing what is right?

As God promises under both the Old and New Covenants, it is the single most necessary thing for you to live a life pleasing to Him.

"then do to him as he intended to do to his brother.  You must purge the evil from among you."(Deut. 19:19)