Quote for the Day
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it…”
Today's Prayer
This week pray for those on the road that they may be able to remember God’s commands and to live by them moment by moment. Pray for those family members that are at home and longing for the return of their loved one. Ask God to grant them added grace as they wait on Him.
Deuteronomy 4:1-14
Deuteronomy 4:1-14Obedience Commanded1 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 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.3 You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the to possess.
Message
Moses is about to give the Ten Commandments to the people of . He has just given them a powerful sermon on the absolute power of God – past, present, and future. As he begins to prepare their hearts for God’s word, he knows that the tendency of man is to choose what feels good at the moment. God has made it very clear that He expects us to do what He says and to keep His commands. We cannot just pick what we like out of the word of God. As was once said, “They are not the ten suggestions.”We also have a tendency to add to God’s word what feels good to us. This has been true since Moses first repeated God’s commands. We see it in the early church after Christ’s resurrection and even today where we see doctrines and commandments added to many church and denominational statements of faith.God is very clear that only what HE has commanded is to be obeyed: nothing to be added or subtracted. Moses was diligent in letting the people know the best way to remember is to carefully remember what God has done in the past. In addition if we pass God’s word to each generation to come, we will better remember it for ourselves. What part of the Word do you need to share with the next generation?