Neither add nor subtract
Deuteronomy Chapter 4 Click here to read
Moses is about to repeat the 10 Commandments in his speech, but before that takes what can sound like a detour into an extended warning against idolatry. In verse 2 he said, “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.”
It’s easy to see the danger of subtracting from the law of God—of picking and choosing which of the commandments we want to obey, but much disobedience comes from adding to the law.
When Jesus arrives on the scene, he is repeatedly critical of the additions to the law that have been laid upon the people, weighing them down with commands beyond what God spoke.
Any time we add to the law, as when we make physical idols, we are re-shaping God into our image and presenting to the world a picture of God that is neither honest nor redemptive.