Complete

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)

I think this is the first time in the Bible that this statement is made; do not add or subtract from God’s revelation.

Yet it is the running theme, a recurring instruction, wherever you look in the Bible.

Allow me to repeat it in a different way

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20)

Our instruction is not to only maintain the purity of what we are taught. It goes into the observance of the same. And to teach others the same.

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. (Ezra 7:10)

Do we see the same thing here?

Pursue with the purpose of knowing.

Then knowing with the purpose of obedience.

Then the obedience will open avenues for us to teach

That word ALL is our all-important bulwark. It is our pivot. It is our foundation.

All those things for such a small and short word.

But the lack of that word pits us against the world and evil in a completely disadvantageous way.

You see, the devil knows ALL the scriptures. He knows ALL about Christ at the knowledge level.

We are told he even trembles in his belief.

How wise would we be to suppose anything other than knowing the All that we are required to know can face the evil one effectively?

Of course we are not, nor can we be omniscient. We therefore are not expected to get all knowledge. In fact, the fall occurred partly because of the pursuit of that.

And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exodus 25:40)

It has to do with the revelation we have received as opposed to all knowledge.

What we do with revelation is the difference between believers and the evil one, pursuit of knowledge with purpose of obedience against pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

God is therefore challenging us to pursue obedience with diligence. He is commanding us to leave nothing to chance in that pursuit.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2Timothy 2:15)

Again, this is talking about diligence, not perfection. It is talking about a pursuit, a pursuit of God’s revelation.

You may also remember that God rewards His servants at the end of time, not for power or impact but for faithfulness.

We are therefore wise if we determine to know all we are required to know so that we can faithfully do all that is required of us. It is even better if we will be able to distinguish between logic, sense and revelation, however close they may resemble.

Let me give one or two examples of the additions and subtractions dominating Christendom.

God helps those who help themselves.

It is interesting that this statement is quoted by some as a Bible verse yet is not only outside revelation, but it is completely contrary to Biblical teaching.

Your parents are your second god

Again, I have heard this all my life and many think this is part of Biblical revelation.

But the correct position is that God Himself said that we should have no other gods apart from Him.

Now for subtractions

You shall not judge is probably the most quoted absent verse worldwide.

I know I have addressed this in a few earlier posts.

The reality or revelation is that life without judging is plainly animalistic, simply because choice is judgment. We choose one over another because we make a judgment. We have standards because of judgment.

The verse so misquoted does not deal with choices but with grace.

But it also directs us into making just judgments by first being brutal when judging ourselves than when we are judging others.

We can’t have heaven and hell without judgment. We can’t have salvation without judgment. And Christ could not have died if there was no judgment.

He who has the Son has a testimony.

This quote trumped me for long because I did not find it when I started going through the Bible.

I laughed when I was shown where it is apparently taken from. And it says nothing close to the quotation. It is only that it contains all those words, but with a different meaning. I was even surprised that I had memorised that verse.

In short, a verse was being made to say something it was not saying.

I hope you understand what I am saying thus far.

There is revelation and there is what we think or interpret that revelation.

Many times there is a huge disparity between them.

And that disparity could be the difference between heaven and hell.

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32)

And of course,

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. (Revelation 22: 18, 19)

If that is not sobering, I do not know what is.

But it is important to realise that God did not issue those commands because He was seeking to constrain us. It was actually to free us. It was for the purpose of releasing the best from each one of us since aligning with His revelation makes us function at our ultimate as opposed to jumping around looking for affirmations and logics and applauses.

Yet the best way to attain that is by establishing to seek God’s revelation as a priority.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (Psalm 42:1)

We must determine that nothing else will do or satisfy our seeking hearts.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

And the easiest way we can do it is by setting apart time to spend in God’s word consistently.

We can only do that when we determine that the Bible is ONE book and that each part is important.

We must know how to relate with our favourite verses and passages so that we can fit them in the complete tapestry that is the word of God.

We must determine that even the difficult and hard to understand passages and verses are as much God’s word as the ones we easily understand and love to claim.

That is why I am part of a team that prepares Bible reading plans to help believers to read through the Bible on their own and get their revelation as they interact with it.

You can request for one if you are stuck and want to start your own pursuit of revelation and want to get past all the deceptive argument that the Bible is too big or complicated to read.

And this because I am amongst many who read through the Bible constantly, at least once annually.

I lost count at fifty times years ago but have not lost the discipline and the desire that fuels it.

And the Bible is sweet to read, with revelation at every corner once you establish that you must read it to hear from God.

No sermon, however enriching, is as sweet or engaging with raw scriptural intake.

Even the difficult passages become easier, even clear, with that consistency because God’s revelation is always current.