August 8,2026

Torah: Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Prophets: Isaiah 54:11-55:5

Gospel: John 6:35-51

Quick RecapA choice is set before Israel by Moses: blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. The Lord gives strict guidelines for idolatry and commands the destruction of all idolatrous sites. The Israelites are required to worship at the place where God will set his name, Jerusalem. There is a warning against false prophets and anyone who tries to turn you away from the LORD your God. The dietary laws are given and Moses teaches about tithing, the year for cancelling debt, and how we should care for the poor. The portion ends with Moses detailing the three pilgrimage festivals Passover, The feast of weeks, and Tabernacle. (Pesach, Shavu’ot, and Sukkot)Key Verses: See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. Deuteronomy 12:32If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. Deuteronomy 13:1-3Personal Reflection and ApplicationMy Jewish Savior’s goal has always been to help bridge the gap between Jews and Christians around the world. Many conventional Christians do not regularly read and study Scripture in its entirety. We are often comfortable studying the story of Jesus and the disciples while neglecting much of the Old Testament, or Tanakh. But when we study Scripture out of context rather than as one unified story, we can easily end up with false teachings. That is one reason I felt led to writethese devotionals based on the weekly Torah portions: to show my brothers and sisters in Christ that Jesus is beautifully woven throughout the Old Testament. My hope is that both my Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters will come to see that we were uniquely created to walk together in faithfulness to the God of Israel. In Deuteronomy 12:29-13:18, Israel is warned to carefully follow the LORD’s commands and not take on the gods of the nations around them. Chapter 12 closes with this warning: “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.” Then, as chapter 13 continues, Israel is warned not to believe a prophet who tells them to follow other gods, even if that prophet performs signs and wonders. I felt compelled to dig into these Scriptures more deeply because I believe this passage can help bridge some of the gap between us. Jesus was considered by some of the religious leaders of His time to be a false prophet, and many Jewish people todaystill struggle with that same concern. But why did they think that about Jesus, and how can we recognize a false prophet today? I believe the answer is right here in the text. Moses says not to listen to the prophet or dreamer if that person says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known). Right there, that is how we will know. First, we recognize a counterfeit by truly knowing God. Through faithful study of Scripture and drawing near to Him in prayer, we come to know His character and can discern when someone is leading us astray. Second, anyone who calls us to follow any other god is a false prophet. Ultimately, we must test everything against the Word of God.  When Christians teach that Jesus did away with the Torah, it becomes easier to understand why many Jewish people struggle to see Him as Messiah. Moses warned Israel about false prophets who would turn people away from the LORD and His instruction. Since the early centuries of the church, many followers of Jesus have taught that Jesus canceled the Torah, that the “new covenant church” replaced the old, and that the law, the festivals, and even the Sabbath no longer matter. Can we see why Jewish people might view that message as evidence that Jesus led people away from God’s Word? That teaching can make Jesus appear to fit the very warning Moses gave. But Jesus’ own teaching does not support that conclusion. His core message to His disciples was not to abandon the Law of Moses, or Torah, but to rightly understand and live it from the heart rather than through man-made traditions. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” The closing verse of chapter 12 tells us to do all that God commands and not to add to it or take away from it. This is the same heart Jesus echoed. It is often said that Jewish tradition can be tempted to add to Scripture, while Christian tradition can be tempted to ignore or take away from parts of it. Both warnings matter. When we add to Scripture, we can become legalistic and lose the heart of God’s instruction; when we take away from Scripture, we risk losing the fullness andmeaning of what God has spoken. The warning in Deuteronomy is not only about identifying false prophets; it is about guarding our hearts from anything that pulls us away from the LORD. The more we know God through His Word, the easier it becomes to recognize His voice and reject anything that contradicts His character. My prayer is that both Jews and Christians would approach the Scriptures with humility, refusing to add what God has not commanded or remove what He has spoken. May we see that Jesus did not come to turn us away from the God of Israel, but to call us back to Him in truth, obedience, and love. 

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