Message Summary:

This week’s Torah portion, Va’etchanan-“And I Pleaded” (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11), coincides with Shabbat Nachamu — the Sabbath of Comfort. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses warns Israel not to add to or take away from God’s Word, urging them to hear, remember, and live by what He has commanded. To understand the depth of this instruction, the message turns to Numbers 20, where Moses, told to speak to the rock, spoke condemningly to the people and struck the rock instead. God declared that Moses had not believed Him or hallowed Him before the people.

This was more than a matter of obedience; it was a failure to trust the sufficiency of the Holy God and Source of all Creation. To add to or subtract from His Word is to imply it is lacking and needs our embellishment. If the Creator Himself has given His Word for our life, nothing we add could make it more complete.

The call is not to follow God’s Word out of obligation alone, but from a heart that recognizes His holiness and trusts fully in His provision. Yeshua demonstrated this perfectly, speaking only what He heard from the Father and living in full reliance on the Spirit. When we receive God’s Word as complete, trust the One who gave it, and reveal His holiness through the wisdom of His Spirit, we bring honor to His name and life to those who see.

Takeaways:

1. God’s Word is complete — to add or subtract is to undermine His holiness and imply its deficiency and His insufficiency
2. Moses’ failure at the rock was rooted in unbelief and misrepresenting God’s holiness before the people.
3. Our trust should come from reliance on God’s Spirit, not from self-reliance or the need to “improve upon” His Word.
4. Yeshua did and spoke only what the Father gave Him.
5. Honoring God means hearing and doing His Word as given, revealing His holiness to others.

Live out your faith by showing love or offering a word of encouragement that points people to the sufficiency of God’s Word. Let your trust in His holiness shape the way you speak and act this week. Read the Torah portion Va’etchanan and reflect on how you can receive His Word as complete without adding or taking away.

Prayer Points:

• Thanksgiving: Thank the Lord for the fulness and sufficiency of His Word.
• Guidance: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear and receive God’s Word as given, without altering it.
• Application: Pray for a deeper trust that honors God’s holiness and reveals it to others in your actions.

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