Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
The children of Israel were rescued from enslavement in Egypt on that first Passover night, when they smeared the lintels of their houses with the blood of an unblemished Passover lamb, by faith. Because they believed God, the angel of death passed over them. They demonstrated their faith by carrying out His instructions. It was not long after their redemption from their Egyptian slave-masters, that God made a conditional covenant with the nation of Israel. If they were to keep the terms of the agreement, God promised to bless them. However, if the nation broke its agreement with the Lord, they would be punished. That first generation of Israelites, solemnly promised that they would do all that the Lord required. However, like us they had a sin nature and started to murmur against the Lord and His chosen servant, Moses. They displayed unbelief, dishonored God with their idol worship, and even yearned to return to Egypt because they missed the cucumbers and garlic! For forty years that first generation of Israelites was sentenced to wander about the wilderness, until every one of these disobedient people died, and their bones were buried in the desert sand. Only Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land, because they alone retained their trust and faith in the Word of the Lord. Not only were Joshua and Caleb saved because of their faith, but they also lived their life by faith. And so it was, that a new generation of Israelites grew up in the wilderness, and needed to be taught the same set of covenant rules their parents had despised. Moses called them together so that he could teach them the same statutes and judgments of the Law. But before Moses started to rehearse the terms of the agreement in the ears of the people, he gave them a serious warning. “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” God knows that a half-truth or part-truth can be equally deceptive as a full-blown lie. Adding to God’s Word or removing sections of it can cause greater damage than ignorance of it. This is not only true of the Law of Moses, but is the case for all holy Scripture…and we should be diligent to know the truth of God’s Word and discerning in its correct interpretation. Let us reject those that read their own biased opinions into God’s Word or try to supplement it with extra-biblical text, dreams, visions, or wild imaginations, which seek to add to God’s final revelation, and thus, enlarge the completed canon of Scripture. And let us seek out men of God, who are prepared to teach the whole council of God’s Word, literally, historically, dispensationally, grammatically, prayerfully…and to teach it in its correct, biblical context.
Spiritual Steve 