Yesterday, I compared Deuteronomy 4 to a Glory Hole, which is a gold mining term that refers to that place in the mine that most likely contains the most gold. This morning, I’ve been mining deeper in the first four verses and they haven’t disappointed! Today, we’ll take a look at just verses 1 and 2.
1 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.
Moses is passing on God’s commands to the nation of Israel as they get ready to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land He promised to give to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. The Israelites have been wandering in the desert for 40 years, but they’re about to experience the fulfillment of God’s promise.
In verse 1, Moses tells the people to follow God’s commands SO THAT they may live and go in and take possession of the land. God’s commands aren’t meant to be a burden. They’re not meant to steal the Israelite’s joy. On the contrary–God’s commands will provide life and will allow Israel to possess, and stay in possession, of the land God is giving them.
Do you ever find yourself thinking of God’s commands as too restrictive? Do you ever wish He hadn’t given a few of them?
I think we’ve all wrestled with those thoughts. At least I have.
What would really be the harm if I ___________________? You can probably fill in the blank with something as easily as I can.
God is the Author of life. He knows how He designed us. He knows how this life is to be lived. We get into trouble when we think we know better. We think just a little sin or a little disobedience won’t be so bad.
That line of thinking is a lie. Crossing the line is dangerous. Even just a little. I wonder how many men thought they could just look at a little pornography. How many thought it wasn’t really hurting anyone?
They didn’t realize Satan was setting a trap. They thought they were going to enjoy a little harmless fun, but found themselves ensnared before they even knew what had happened. Now they can’t get out. Believe me, I’ve talked to a lot of men who are stuck in the trap of pornography and cannot free themselves.
The key is this–you and I must believe that God is good and that He can be trusted. If we don’t, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking God’s commands really aren’t best for us. That maybe He’s holding out on us. It’s the strategy Satan used to deceive Eve. It’s the strategy he still uses today.
In verse 2, Moses tells the people to not add to what God commands or to subtract from it, but to just keep the commands as they’re given.
When we add to God’s commands–it’s called legalism. It’s what the Pharisees were guilty of. It’s another easy trap to fall into.
I think the one of the biggest problems with legalism is the pride it breeds. And pride can lead to being judgmental.
Let’s return to the example of pornography for a moment. Let’s say a guy has struggled with it for years and is finally beginning to see some victory. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s been able to turn away from it and is now seeking God. It’s still a daily battle for him though.
As part of his healing process, he has determined that seeing certain R-rated movies would not be good for him. In fact, to remove as much temptation as possible, he has come to the conviction that he should not see any R-rated movies.
That’s a wise decision. For him. Now it may also be wise decision for others to make, but the Bible is silent on R-rated movies. In other words, it’s not a sin to go see one. The problem comes when our friend decides that seeing R-rated movies are not only wrong for him, but for others as well.
He has now added to God’s commands. And now he wants to hold everyone else to his standards. That’s legalism.
Legalism can rear its ugly head in almost any area that someone has developed a personal conviction and wants to impose it on others, even though the Bible is silent on the matter. It may sound something like…
- It’s wrong to get plastic surgery.
- It’s a sin to drink alcohol.
- You shouldn’t send your child to public school.
- A Christian shouldn’t have such a big house.
- A Christian woman should be committed to modesty and never wear a two-piece swimsuit.
Depending on where you live or go to church, you could probably add to the list. Again, there’s nothing wrong with developing a personal conviction, but it crosses the line when I want to hold you to my convictions and then judge you for not living up to the standard I’ve set.
Of course, the other extreme is subtracting from God’s commands. It’s easy to see how this plays out…
“Well, I know the Bible says we shouldn’t have sex before marriage, but we love each other. And besides we’re going to get married someday.”
“Yeah, the Bible says to honor my parents, but you don’t what they were like. They don’t deserve it.”
“I know God says to give, but I can’t really afford it right now.”
Again, what’s required is a correct view of God. If I believe He is good and I believe He loves me and wants the best for me, then I can believe His commands are good for me and I will be less susceptible to Satan’s lies and temptations.
How do you tend to view God’s commands? Do you believe they’re really for your good and meant to provide for you and protect you?
Do you add to them and stray into legalism? Or do you subtract from them because you think God is holding out on you? A wrong view of God makes it very easy to slip into error either way.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at an example of what we just talked about. How some of God’s people came so very close to entering the Promised Land and then blew their shot because they strayed from God’s commands. It’s a tragic story.
It happened to them and it can happen to us.