The Bible is undoubtedly the most precious tool that
Yehoah Elohim has put at our disposal.
As we will see later, this universal tool is dealing with almost all fields you can imagine and enriching those who are using it with understanding.
But the Bible is like the Garden of Eden, it also has prohibitions.
Let's read the instructions given by Yehoah Elohim (i.e. the Eternal God), in the Garden of Eden in Genesis, chapter 2, verses 15-17:
" 15 Then Yehoah Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And Elohim commanded the man, saying,
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
In the same spirit, Yehoah Elohim is forbiding us to change His Word in anything and this order is given to us from the beginning to the end, everywhere Elohim reminds us that we must never change His Word!
Already in the time of Moses in Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, we read:
" 1Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which Yehoah Elohim of your fathers is giving you.
2 You shall not add to the word which I command you,
nor take from it,
that you may keep the commandments of Yehoah your Elohim which I command you."
This commandment is so important that Moses deems it useful to repeat it in Deuteronomy 12:32 (or 13: 1 according to the versions):
" “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it;
you shall not add to it nor take away from it."
The key to be able to stick to this order of our Father is to equip ourselves with an essential quality to enter His Kingdom:
BE HUMBLE.
Moses had this quality! Have you often seen nation leaders ready to publicly acknowledge their mistakes in front their people as Moses did. Let's read how he expresses himself in Deuteronomy 4: 21-22:
" 21 Furthermore Yehoah was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which Yehoah your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance. 22 But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and possess that good land."
With his wonderful humbleness, Moses also gives us an admirable example of what it means to "add nothing and take nothing away" if we read how he is assembling the Tabernacle of Yehoah Elohim in Exodus 40: 16-33:
" 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that Yehoah had commanded him, so he did.
17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. 18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 and he set the bread in order upon it before Yehoah, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and he lit the lamps before Yehoah, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as Yehoah had commanded Moses. 33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work."
Agur, another prophet of our Lord, confirms the importance of not adding anything to the writings of our Father and, by the way, please note that here too we are dealing with an example of humbleness! Let's read the words of Agur in the book of Proverbs, chapter 30, verses 1-6:
" 1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. 3 I neither learned wisdom nor have knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?
5 Every word of Elohim is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. "
With this humbleness, Agur is telling us about the Son of the Lord, Yeshuah-Christ. Moreover Agur is also explaining why we must not alter the Word of our Creator:
BECAUSE OF THE FEAR OF BEING A LIAR!
It is also helpful to continue the reading of verses 7 through 9 which are providing additional teachings:
" 7 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is Yehoah?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my Elohim. "
Neither Wealth nor Poverty: Wealth is likely to lead to deny Yehoah Elohim, our Lord, as He is warning the Children of Israel while they are still in the wilderness. Let's read this in Deuteronomy 8: 10-20:
" 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless Yehoah your Elohim for the good land which He has given you.
11 “Beware that you do not forget Yehoah your Elohim by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget Yehoah your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
18 “And you shall remember Yehoah your Elohim, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget Yehoah your Elohim, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which Yehoah destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of Yehoah your Elohim ."
All what we have read above can be summed up by the Word of Jeus-Christ:
"Give us our daily bread".
Jeremiah also obeyed with humbleness to the Creator's will to repeat His words, without omitting a single one, as we will read in Jeremiah 26, verses 1-7:
" 1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yehoah, saying, 2 “Thus says Yehoah: ‘Stand in the court of the Yehoah’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Yehoah’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them.
Do not diminish a word.
3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yehoah: “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yehoah."
This attitude of Jeremiah put him several times in danger of being killed by the religious authorities, who, like most religious authorities of this world, are inspired by Satan and are showing the opposite of humbleness. They are driven by pride and concern to keep a spiritual authority being ready to twist the meaning fo the Bible in an attempt to legitimize their position and attitude.
Jeremiah, on the other hand, does what Yehoah Elohim is asking, even if it seems unpleasant to him at first sight, as can be read in his book, Jeremiah 20: 7-10:
" 7 O Yehoah, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. 8 For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence and plunder!” Because the word of Yehoah was made to me a reproach and a derision daily.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. 10 For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, and we will take our revenge on him.”
Not even an jot!
Yeshuah-Christ is also warning us against any change of in the text of the Bible even very minor ones as you can read in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 17-20:
" 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. "
And Christ also knows what he is talking about since he himself has kept with great care the Word of His Father, showing also the greatest humility (Hebrews 5: 5-10):
“5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”
6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by Elohim as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing."