Deuteronomy 12:32 –
“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.”
This chapter kinds of tied me up a bit this morning and it all related to this last verse. We get into the Law and see many things which are defined and have been taken as commands. This chapter makes me wonder how many are really more “boundaries” and not so much hard spiritual “commands”. First I want to look at verse 4 and how we worship God today. The basic formula of Church today is sing worship songs, pray, teach/preach, offering and worship. We compare this to how the Jewish worship and I often wonder if we are following this correctly. Granted Jesus removed the sacrificial aspects of worship, so maybe this new formula is right.
The next is verse 15 which says eating unclean meat is ok. Now does that mean southern staples like pork and catfish? The Law is very specific on what meats are ok to eat and what are not. I know we can go into Peter’s vision in acts which implies it’s ok to eat unclean meats also, but are theses the same? Did man move the food Law’s from God’s guidelines to God’s commands? I like the food Law’s since they have a scientific foundation and therefore make total sense. Anyway did the Law’s here change or have they always been clear?
Finally verse 29 takes us into following customs of conquered lands. As you read through the history of the Jewish Kings you see this happen often. These kings try to ignore or “redefine” the Law and forget this base command. Even wise ole Solomon drifts away from the Law with taking a foreign wife. It’s easy to do, we see our nation starting to fold to other religious beliefs. Ironically, freedom of religion somehow gets interpreted as freedom from Christianity. We tend to allow other religious influences to change our systems away from their basis. He courts are a great example of how our “religious freedoms” are being stifled. But this is another soap box. The key is to learn the Bible and ensure you focus on the truths found within FIRST!!