Scripture from Five Perspectives
[The devil] said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:`He shall give His angels charge over you,' and,`In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Matthew 4:6
Pick any novel you want, randomly select a seven word chunk to remove, and the plot and themes of the book will almost certainly remain unchanged. However, if you were allowed to choose which seven word phrase was removed, then you could likely change the whole book. Motives could be changed. Key information could be left out and so make the plot fall apart. The removal of a few important words can change everything.
The devil tried to remove seven English words from Psalm 91:11-12 when he was tempting Jesus at the pinnacle of the temple. By omitting the phrase “in all your ways,” Satan completely changed the scripture’s meaning. It would have gotten Jesus to sin by tempting the Lord God if Jesus had believed the devil’s altered version of scripture. Satan sees scripture as something to alter in ways that appear slight, but in reality, are quite consequential. He did the exact same thing when he tempted Eve in the garden of Eden by trying to edit out the words “You shall surely die” and replacing them with the lie of becoming like God.
The Lord knows how important it is that Scripture remains unaltered. In Deuteronomy 4:2 God told the children of Israel to neither add nor take away from His word. In Proverbs 30:6 He promises to rebuke those liars who add to His word. In Matthew 24:35 Jesus promised that His words will never pass away. While God keeps His Word pure and unaltered through generations, Satan seeks to add or subtract just enough words to change the meaning. A few words can change everything. Praise the Lord that His Word does not change.
O steadfast and faithful Lord, let me never seek to change Your Word to fit my life and desires, but change my desires and life to keep Your Word. Amen.