January 30, 2024

Deuteronomy 4.2, 6 (NIV)

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God. . . . Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations.

Underlying every sacred commandment is the purpose of God to achieve the utmost happiness and benefit for the obedient child of God.* 

The leaders of the Jewish religion in Jesus’ day were notorious for making “many laws out of a few” but Jesus came along and made a “few laws out of many.”* Jesus points out an example of this in Mark 7.9–11. Often the adding to/taking away was done with the sole intent of making it more difficult to be obedient. In Revelation 22.18, we read that there is a curse attached to adding to or taking away from the prophecies recorded in that book.

God’s law, like God himself, is unchanging and reliable. There is no need to fluff it up or smooth it out in order to make it more palatable (or more difficult). Throughout Deuteronomy chapter four, God enumerates the blessings that obedience to the law would bring to his people. But a secondary benefit was that in keeping the law, the Israelites set an example to the nations around them. Among the other nations, they did not enjoy a reputation for their wealth, their military power, or their artistic achievement, but they were respected for their relationship to God.*

While none of us has reached a level of spiritual maturity which allows us to understand everything, God reveals what we need to know when we need to know it – when we are walking in obedience. And walking in obedience has that secondary benefit of speaking to the world about our God.

“Obedience is the only proof of love." We might add that it is likewise the only proof of faith.*

*Quote sources available upon request.