Why “Don’t Add or Subtract” Might Be the Hardest Rule of All
In today’s reading, Deuteronomy 4 begins with Moses addressing the Israelites before they cross into the land they've been promised. Early in the chapter, there’s a clear directive: “Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you.” (NLT, verse 2).
It’s a straightforward instruction—don’t change the rules. But that line made me pause. It seems that since ancient times, people have often done exactly that: added to or taken away from what was originally written.
A History of Edits and Add-Ons
There’s a long history of this across religious traditions. Over time, new customs, interpretations, and practices have grown up around foundational texts. Sometimes they help clarify or preserve meaning. Other times, they add complexity or expectations that weren’t originally there. And then there’s the subtracting part—the parts people gloss over, ignore, or reinterpret to fit with changing times or cultural norms.
Were They Already Doing This Back Then?
Reading this verse, I started wondering: was this instruction given because people were already modifying the message back then? Or was it more of a safeguard—a warning based on human nature? It’s hard to say.
Either way, the instruction itself feels simple: don’t make it more, and don’t make it less. But applying that principle seems far from easy. Especially when different communities and cultures have such varied ways of understanding what those original commands even mean.
When Interpretation Becomes Transformation
There’s also the challenge of interpretation. Even if the words stay the same, how they’re understood can shift over time. So what does it really mean to "just obey" a set of commands, especially in a context that’s so far removed from our own?
This verse doesn’t offer a conclusion, but it raises a lot of questions. What counts as adding or subtracting? Who decides? And how do we engage with ancient instructions today—not just by reading the words, but by considering how we respond to them?
For now, I’m sitting with those questions. Not to find neat answers, but to keep noticing where the tension lies.