Recently, someone challenged one of my Bible commentaries, questioning my approach to interpreting the Scriptures. My response was :"You are certainly free to follow the theological tradition you find convincing. As for me, I will continue to stand on the full counsel of God's Word, which repeatedly warns us to test every teaching and every teacher."

The discussion itself is not really the issue. It raises a much bigger question that every believer should ask. When our interpretation of Scripture conflicts with Scripture itself, which one has the final authority?

In this week's reading from Deuteronomy 12:32 (13:1 in the Hebrew Bible), we read:

Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take anything away from it.

Each one of us comes to the Scriptures with our own language, culture, life experiences, and the teachers from whom we have learned. There is nothing wrong with learning from those whom God has used throughout history. God has given His people faithful teachers, and we can learn much from those who have devoted their lives to studying His Word. The problem begins when our traditions, our theological systems, or even our favorite Bible teachers become the lens through which we interpret the Scriptures, rather than allowing the Scriptures to examine our traditions, our understanding, and even our own conclusions.

The very next verses explain why this command is so important. God immediately begins warning Israel about false prophets. Why would Moses move directly from, "You shall not add to nor take anything away from it," to a warning about false prophets?

The answer is found only a few verses later:

For the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 13:3

Notice how God describes the test. He does not describe it as a test of knowledge or intelligence. He describes it as a test of love. God had already revealed His Word to Israel. The question was whether His people loved Him enough to remain faithful to what He had already spoken, even if someone came with signs and wonders and invited them to follow a different path.

Only then does Moses explain how Israel was to recognize a false prophet. Before Israel could test a prophet, they first needed an unchanging standard by which every prophet, every teaching, and every spiritual experience could be examined. Without God's revealed Word, they would have had no objective standard by which to discern truth from error.

We see this same principle throughout the Scriptures. When Yeshua was tempted in the wilderness, He answered each temptation with the words, "It is written." The Bereans were commended because they examined the Scriptures daily to determine whether Paul's teaching was true. The Apostle Paul warned believers that even if an angel from heaven were to preach a different gospel, that message was to be rejected. Throughout the Bible, God's people are repeatedly called to test every teaching against the Word that God has already revealed.

Every one of us must ask ourselves this question: Am I willing to allow God's Word to challenge my understanding when it conflicts with what I have always believed?

Over the years, there have been passages of Scripture that challenged things I had always believed or had simply accepted because someone I respected taught them. Looking back, those moments strengthened my faith rather than weakened it. They reminded me that my confidence should never rest in my ability to be right about everything. My confidence must rest in the fact that God's Word is true. Whenever my understanding and God's Word are in conflict, it is not God's Word that needs to change.

That is why I believe every theological tradition should be willing to examine itself in the light of Scripture. That includes the traditions of Judaism. It includes the traditions of Christianity. It also includes the assumptions that each of us brings when we open our Bibles. None of us should be afraid to ask whether we have allowed the Scriptures to shape our beliefs or whether we have unknowingly allowed our beliefs to shape the way we read the Scriptures.

Isaiah points us in the same direction:

Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you...
Isaiah 55:3

Isaiah begins with the word, "Listen." The Torah portion begins with the word Re'eh, "See." Before God asked Israel to choose between blessing and curse, He first called them to see; before He reaffirmed His everlasting covenant through Isaiah, He called them to listen.

Seeing and listening are inseparable. If we are unwilling to see what God has revealed, we will never truly hear what He is saying. Likewise, if we are unwilling to listen to His voice, we will eventually begin seeing His Word through the lens of our own traditions and assumptions rather than allowing His Word to shape our understanding.

Perhaps that is why the greatest test in Deuteronomy 13 is not presented as a test of knowledge, but as a test of love. Those who truly love the Lord will continue returning to His Word, allowing it to examine their hearts, correct their understanding, and strengthen their faith.

As followers of Yeshua, we should never be afraid to ask the Lord to search our hearts. The question is not whether we have traditions or whether we have learned from faithful teachers. We all have. The question is whether we love the Lord enough to allow His Word to challenge us whenever our beliefs and His revealed truth are not in agreement.

The God who said through Moses, "See," is the same God who later said through Isaiah, "Listen." He has not changed. His Word has not changed. His invitation has not changed. May each one of us continue to come before Him with humble hearts, willing to see, willing to listen, and willing to follow wherever His Word leads.

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran