And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
This verse captures a question placed directly in the mouth of the Israelites — imagine Moses, near the end of his life, anticipating the exact thing his people are going to ask. He has just told them that God will send prophets to guide them, but also warned that false prophets will exist. The natural response from any thinking person is: "Okay, but how do we tell the difference?" Moses isn't scolding them for asking — he's building the question right into the text. The very next verse (18:22) provides a practical answer: if what a prophet says doesn't come true, the message wasn't from God.
Father, thank you that you are not threatened by my questions. When I struggle to hear your voice through all the noise, guide me. Make me curious enough to keep asking and humble enough to keep listening for your answer. Amen.
God put a question in the Bible. Not an answer — a question. And it's your question, spoken out loud by people who weren't sure and weren't pretending otherwise. "How can we know?" Moses doesn't rebuke the Israelites for asking it. He doesn't tell them to simply have more faith and stop wondering. He builds the question into the text and then answers it practically, without embarrassment. You've probably asked your own version of this — maybe not about ancient prophets, but about the sermon that didn't sit right, the spiritual advice that conveniently benefited the person giving it, the teaching you've held since childhood that you've never actually examined. This verse quietly hands you permission to ask. Sincere spiritual curiosity is not the opposite of faith — it's part of it. The question "how do I know?" isn't doubt dressed up as devotion. It's wisdom knocking on the door. And according to this passage, God expected it, welcomed it, and answered it.
Why do you think God included this question — voiced from the perspective of ordinary, uncertain people — directly in Scripture rather than just providing the answer without it?
When have you asked your own version of "how can I know this is really from God," and what did you do with that uncertainty?
Is there tension in your faith community between asking hard questions and simply trusting spiritual authority? How do you navigate that tension personally?
How does knowing that even ancient Israelites wrestled openly with discernment affect how you relate to people in your life who are skeptical or openly questioning their faith?
What is one question about your faith — or about something you've been taught — that you've been afraid to voice? What would it take for you to start asking it honestly?
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Revelation 2:2
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1 John 4:3
If you say in your heart, 'How will we know and recognize the word which the LORD has not spoken?'
AMP
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’ —
ESV
'You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'
NASB
You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?”
NIV
And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’—
NKJV
“But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the LORD?’
NLT
You may be wondering among yourselves, "How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?" Here's how:
MSG