ESOCS Devotional 13 June 2023
MEMORY VERSE: ““Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2
TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 4:1-13
Now listen and give heed, O Israel, to the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, and do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you.
2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
3 Your eyes still see what the Lord did because of Baal-peor; for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor the Lord your God has destroyed from among you,
4 But you who clung fast to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to possess.
6 So keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what great nation is there who has a god so near to them as the Lord our God is to us in all things for which we call upon Him?
8 And what large and important nation has statutes and ordinances so upright and just as all this law which I set before you today?
9 Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your [mind and] heart all the days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children’s children—
10 Especially how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people together to Me and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn [reverently] to fear Me all the days they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children.
11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick gloom.
12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
13 And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tables of stone.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
God honours His word more than His name, because, He is His word (Jn. 1:1). No wonder Prophet Samuel told King Saul that obedience to the word of God was more important than sacrifices (1 Sam. 15:22). In our text today, Moses was also telling the Israelites to obey the commandment of God in order to live. The truth is, due to man’s fallen condition, keeping the law of God was beyond his ability. So, the sacrificial system served as a means to atone for sin; however, every Israelite was definitely to try to keep the law. The only One who kept the Law perfectly, and in every respect, was the Lord Jesus Christ, who did it all on our behalf (Gal. 4:4). Listening, without obedience, is not sufficient. In trying to obey the word of God, Moses warned them not to add nor subtract from what they were told. Regrettably, Israel decimated this command. By the time of Christ, they had added over 600 oral laws to the original Laws of Moses, even claiming that the oral laws were more important. Diminishing the Word of God, or adding to the Word of God, or ignoring it altogether is the sin of the Modern Church.
The book of Revelation 22:18-19 warns, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
For the seriousness God attaches to His word, every Believer must carefully obey the word (commandments) of God. You don’t say, “God says”, when God has not said it. Don’t try to interpret using carnal wisdom. Carnal wisdom doesn’t help in spiritual matters. In obeying the word of God, you neither add nor subtract from it.
- Rely solely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in order not to run afoul of the Law (commandments) of God.
- Pray to God to grant you the grace to obey His word correctly.
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 28:1-10; Mark 14:1-9; Acts 5:27–42
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ESOCS Devotional 13 June 2023
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