Welcome to Bible Talk with Jessica! Moses continues to speak with the Israelites today, and yes a lot of it is repetitive. But there’s nothing wrong with that. When the Lord puts something the bible multiple times, there is a reason for it. He wants us to pay close attention and learn from it.
Let’s get started!
Please note – I am not a pastor. I have had no bible training, gone to bible school, or anything like that. I do not consider myself a bible scholar at all. I am just someone who loves the Lord, loves reading the bible, and would love to talk with others about it. This is a place for me to do that. We may not agree on everything I post. I ask that all comments remain polite, and honoring to the Lord. I am just here sharing what the Lord lays on my heart, what I’ve learned, and what jumps out at me as I read. I hope you’ll join me in reading your bible as well and share what you’ve learned!
Scripture Reading for Today
Deuteronomy 10:1 – 12:32
Verse of the Day
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deuteronomy 12:32
Bible Talk
God wanted to make sure that the Israelites followed His commands, exactly as He requested them to. He didn’t want them to add any of their own things, nor subtract from what He was asking them to do. If they were to add to the Word of God, that could have a number of consequences. Things could be harder for people to live up to. The Israelites may feel like they were the ones who needed to judge since they made the rules, or added to the Lord’s rules. Those not able to live up to these unattainable rules would constantly be in a state of frustration. The list goes on and on.
On the flip side, taking away from God’s Word has consequences as well. They may have taken away from God’s Word to make life easier for themselves. But in making things easier, they weren’t 100% following the commands, and therefore committing sin. Sin has consequences, and thus starts that circle again.
We can apply this rule of thinking to our lives today. Those who try to add to God’s Word are really just hurting themselves. Think about those who think that salvation is works based, which is not biblical. They added that part, and are missing out on true salvation because they aren’t submitting to Christ, they are just working to gain acceptance (which they will never get). Even those who do believe in salvation plus works, which again is not biblical. They will never work enough, and thus feel like they will never make it. Let me go on record to say that salvation is a gift. Yes, we work once we are saved, but we are working because of salvation, because we want to do good for the Lord. We are not working to get saved, or to be good enough to get into heaven – because we will never achieve that. I hope you can tell the difference in what I’m trying to say.
Anyways, we should never add to God’s Word. Doing so just causes strife, anxiety, problems, and so much more. At the same time, we shouldn’t take away from God’s Word either. In doing so we are setting ourselves up for failure. We are sinning, and calling it ok because we’ve removed that part from the Bible. That’s walking a very fine line that I do not ever want to cross. The bible is very clear on what is right and wrong. How we should live and act. Let’s not take away from that simply because it’s easier, or the world wants us to.
God told the Israelites not to take away from His Word, or add to it. I believe He’s telling us the same thing today. Perhaps now more than ever. Let’s just stick to what He says and what He wants. Yes it can be difficult, but it is so worth it in the end.
What did you learn from today’s reading?