Six Days Do Your Work,
But on the Seventh Day Do Not Work
23: 12

Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do no work REFLECT: What are the benefits of observing the Sabbath principle in your life? Are there parts of God’s word that you are choosing to ignore? How are you doing in the human rat race? Are you in need of Sabbath rest?

Whereas the land was granted a rest every seven years, the people and beasts of burden were given a rest every seven days. Although the length of time was different, the Sabbath principle was the same. God said: Six days do your work, but on the seventh day you shall stop, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed. Also, the two groups who would benefit from the Sabbath principle, the needy and the animals, found parallels in the ox and the donkey, on the one hand, and the slave and the alien, on the other.

The verb for stop is the Hebrew word shabat, from which we get the word Sabbath. We get the concept of stopping normal, everyday work. Man and beast alike will be refreshed on the Sabbath. In 31:17 we are told that YHVH Himself was refreshed on the seventh day of creation as a result of His resting. Therefore, God’s work and rest serve as an example for our work and rest each week.

ADONAI reviewed this commandment with Isra’el when they entered the Promised Land. The subjects of the Sabbath Day, Sabbatical Year, and the Year of Jubilee are all dealt with in the book of Leviticus. The Sabbath Day was a day of rest every seven days. It is a joyous holiday, a day of spiritual refreshment, and reverent worship. It is a day for mankind to imitate his or her Creator, to be devoted to contemplation. Those who delight in the Lord in this way are promised that they would ride on the heights of the Land and to feast on the inheritance of their father Jacob (Isaiah 58:13-14).⁴⁴⁰

The scope of the Sabbath observance for the Jew is made know to us in the Torah through what is know as the Zakhor (the call to remember), and the Shamor (the call to observe). In the Zakhor, Isra’el is commanded by God not to forget that they were slaves in Egypt, and that God with a mighty hand and outstretched arm brought them out of slavery to observe the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15). They are to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (20:8), and in that keeping, Isra’el is commanded by God to keep all of His Sabbath’s for generations to come as a sign that He is the One who makes them holy (31:13). With the Zakhor, Isra’el is commanded to follow the Shamor by observing the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as ADONAI your God has commanded you (Deuteronomy 5:12).

Through His infinite wisdom, God commanded the children of Isra’el to recharge themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He modeled this principle when He created the universe; thus, the Sabbath day is the antidote for the human rat race.

During the Seventh Year
Let the Land Lie Unplowed and Unused
23: 10-11

This section concerning the Sabbatical year is introduced at this point to teach the lesson of kindness to the poor and to wildlife. For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused (23:10-11a). This was an extension of the Fourth Commandment (20:8-11). One aspect of the Sabbath was that the Israelites were to let their land lay fallow once every seven years. This was to remind Isra’el that the land was God’s, and they were merely His tenants. Further details were given in Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-23. There were two reasons given for the land being given a Sabbath. First, it was humanitarian. The needy or those who had no inheritance would have something to eat. Then the poor among your people may get food from it. They probably rotated the land that was left fallow so that the needy would be able to gather food every year, not merely every seventh year. Secondly, the commandment also benefited wildlife, so the wild animals would have something to eat. And the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove (23:11b). From this mitzvah we learn principles of relying upon God in the same way that ceasing from work on the Sabbath teaches us to rely on Him rather than on our own efforts. More than that, we learn here that the produce of the Sabbatical year is to be left for the poor and wild animals. God is the God of both humanitarian and environmental concerns.

Once the Israelites were in Canaan, they would ignore the Sabbath rest for the land for 490 years; therefore, God would send them into captivity for 70 years in Babylon (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). One year of captivity for each Sabbath rest Isra’el had ignored.

The Festivals of Isra’el
23: 10-17

The festivals of Isra’el REFLECT: What would happen if you followed these commands? How would this be good or bad for you? How does this help you see the reason for these commandments? What will you do today to get the spiritual refreshment God wants from you?

The final section of the Book of the Covenant lays down the religious festivals to be observed in ancient Isra’el. This is the oldest sacred calendar in the Bible. The foundational unit of the calendar is the weekly Sabbath observance. Tied to and built upon the Sabbath are the three national pilgrim festivals that Isra’el was required to celebrate yearly.⁴³⁹

Do Not Allow a Sorceress to Live
22:16 to 23:9

Do not allow a sorceress to live DIG: How do these laws relate to the Ten Commandments? To the sovereignty of God? To where you live? How are the Israelites different, or holy, compared to the pagans around them? On what basis is God entitled to the firstborn (see 12:24-30; 13:1-2 and 14-16)? How are justice and mercy related here?

REFECT: Even though you live in a sinful world, how can you seek to live a more holy life this week? How do justice and mercy compare to the typical way you “do business” or “live and let live?” How can you show justice and mercy to fellow workers, students, customers, family, or strangers because of what God has done for you?

This is a very long section that has one common theme, evil practices or crimes against humanity. Social justice was as important to God in the TaNaKh as it is today. All these commandments were part of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah.

The seducer (22:16-17): This first group of commandments are an extension of the seventh commandment: You shall not commit adultery (20:14). After the cases of stealing property, Scripture proceeds to deal with stealing from the heart. Unmarried and unbethrothed daughters in Israel were considered part of their father’s property; consequently the loss of a daughter’s virginity diminished her value and therefore compensation was due to the father.⁴²⁷ If a man seduced a virgin who was not pledged to be married and slept with her, he had to pay the bride-price, and marry her. The bride-price was a gift, often substantial (Deuteronomy 22:28-29), given by a prospective groom to the bride’s family as payment for her (see Genesis 24:53), a custom still followed in the Near East.⁴²⁸ By the time of Jacob, the custom was that the bride price was supposed to be held in trust in the event it was needed to provide for the wife if she were abandoned or widowed (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Hq – Jacob Flees from Laban). If her father was so angry that he absolutely refused to give her to him, he still had to pay the bride-price for virgins (22:16-17). The specific amount of the payment is not stated. But in a parallel passage in Deuteronomy 22:29, it was set at fifty shekels of silver. The demand for sexual purity and the demand to accord a woman with the dignity of marriage are both revelations of God’s nature. They grant us insights into His character and remind us how His ways are higher than the ways of mankind.

According to the Torah, if two people had sexual relations prior to betrothal, they were required to get married. The seriousness and severity by which the Torah regards the act of pre-marital intercourse ought to give us pause in the community of believers today. We live in an age where sex before marriage is not only commonplace, but appears to be the norm. God is not pleased with such activity. He is not honored by it. The message of abstinence must be proclaimed to a world that has believed the lie of Satan.⁴²⁹

Sorcery (22:18): A sorceress was not allowed to live (22:18). God was very serious about idolatry (see Deuteronomy 18:10, 14; First Samuel 28:9; Isaiah 47:12-14) and witchcraft. According to the belief system in the ancient Near East, all true power in the world was magic. The god who displayed the greatest magical feats was considered the most powerful. Ancient people also used magic to manipulate the gods to their own advantage. Of course, the Israelites were greatly exposed to such practices in Egypt. In fact, the term for sorcerers is used in 7:11 of the magicians of Egypt who contended with Moses and Aaron. Magic was said to be evil by Hebrew law, because it attempted to triumph over God’s will who is supreme over all the earth.

Bestiality (22:19): Anyone who had sexual relations with an animal was put to death (22:19). Bestiality (also see Leviticus 18:23, 20:15-16; Deuteronomy 27:21), although forbidden among the children of Isra’el, was common in both Ba’al and Canaanite worship. The practice seemed to be accepted in countries around the Eastern Mediterranean sea-coast. Hittite law was the only code in the area that discouraged against it. But even they did not condemn it in every case. Their laws said that people were exempt from punishment if they had sex with a horse or a mule! God’s word, on the other hand, allows no exceptions, because bestiality is simply an abomination (Leviticus 18:23, 20:15-16).

Idol worship (22:20): Whoever sacrificed to any god other than ADONAI was destroyed, because at that point he or she became cherem, or devoted to destruction (22:20). There are several examples of this kind of judgment in the TaNaKh (Numbers 31:15-17; Deuteronomy 7:2, 26:16-17; Joshua 10:11 and 11:12; Judges 21:11; First Samuel 15:3 and 27:9-11; Jeremiah 25:9). Probably the best-known example is that of Achan. The entire city of Jericho was declared cherem, or devoted to destruction by God Himself. That meant everything in Jericho wasn’t to be touched. But when Achan kept a beautiful robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, the Israelites were unexpectedly defeated in their next battle of Ai because of his disobedience. Because Achan had touched that which was cherem, he became devoted to destruction. As a result, Joshua, together with all Isra’el, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor and stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them (Joshua 6:18 to 7:28). The same fate waited anyone who sacrificed to foreign gods.

The fundamental principles laid down in the Ten Commandments, which are reflected in the Book of the Covenant, still apply to us today. They are our blueprint for living. That is, idolatry is wrong and an evil activity. We are not to participate in it.⁴³⁰

Aliens in Egypt (22:21 and 23:9): Next, God protected the underprivileged and the needs of people low on the social scale are discussed (22:21-27). Grain was to be left behind for widows and orphans during the harvest (Deuteronomy 24:19-21), including the edges of fields (Leviticus 19:9-10). They were to be given special hospitality at feasts (Deuteronomy 16:11-14), they received a special tithe every third year (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 16:12-13), and they were to be allowed to plant crops in others’ fields during the sabbatical year (23:11-12). Therefore, God said: Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt (22:21 and 23:9).

We should understand the commandment in its simplest form – we are not to be unkind to aliens, nor are we to take advantage of them. Whether they are alien to us ethnically, nationally, regionally or religiously is not the issue. By treating them well, we emulate ADONAI. The Master Himself taught us to become children of our Father in heaven by treating aliens with kindness (Matthew 5:45-47). However, this should not be misunderstood as a mandate to allow any and every alien full fellowship within our communities. In a society full of criminals, we do well to be on our guard. In practical measures, the alien who desires fellowship within a community of Torah should abide by the halachah of the community. His unwillingness to do so puts him in a place somewhat outside of the community, if not physically, then, most assuredly, practically.

Widows and orphans (22:22-24): Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.  This is a revelation of God’s character.  Whereas the human tendency is to take advantage of the weak and the underpriviledged, disregarding the helpless, God is the Father of orphans and the Husband of widows. If you do and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children orphans (22:22-24). The punishment was measure for measure. ADONAI is their defender and He demands that we take up their cause. So much more than a dry collection of legal material, Torah is the very revelation of God’s character!

Lending money to brothers and sisters (22:25-27): A Jew could not lend money to another Jew with interest. They could lend money to Gentiles and gain interest, but not Jews (Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 15:7-11, 23:19; Nehemiah 5:7-12; Job 24:9; Proverbs 28:8; Ezekiel 18:13 and 22:12). Generosity in such matter was extended even further by Yeshua (Luke 6:34-35). If you lend money to one of My people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender and charge him interest, even if one is lending at a lower rate than the standard interest rate, this is a transgression of Torah. In addition, If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate (22:25-27). We learn from these mitzvot that ADONAI is generous and His hand is open. He cares for the downtrodden and destitute. Once again, the mitzvot of lending are revelations of His character.

Some churches often tend to be hesitant in dealing with the needy with whom they come in contact. Part of this certainly stems from a desire not be characterized as a “social-gospel” group of believers, that is, mainly interested in social causes. Many churches consequently bend over backwards to make certain their theology is right, and that they are diligently proclaiming the gospel. That is good, but it should not be at the expense of helping the indigent and needy. Good theology and social activism are not mutually exclusive, but should work together. A proper understanding of the gospel is that it has social ramifications. Israelites during the Dispensation of Torah had no choice. They were commanded by God to care for the alien, the widow, and the orphan. We must do the same.⁴³¹

Next, ADOANI deals with commandments concerning those higher on the social scale (22:28-31). They deal with an expansion of the Third Commandment: You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God (20:7). The basic theme is not using God’s name thoughtlessly or lightly.

The ruler of your people (22:28): Throughout this parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah), the word Elohim carries a double connotation of “God” and “judges.” That ambiguity is certainly present in this verse where we are warned: Do not blaspheme God or treat the ruler of your people with contempt (22:28). The word blaspheme means to take lightly. The emphasis here is not to treat God in a light-hearted way. Two examples of people doing this are found in Leviticus 24:10-13 and First Kings 21:1-16. The word curse means to despise another. 

As the Torah court wields God’s Torah and dispenses His justice on earth, judges on that court are regarded as God’s agents on earth. Even when that ruler is worthy of being cursed, he is not to be reviled or cursed. Thus, Paul repented of having spoken in judgment against the high priest as soon as he realized who he was (see the commentary on Acts Cr – Paul’s Witness before the Great Sanhedrin). In fact, Paul even quoted this passage of Exodus in his apology: I didn’t know, brothers, that he was the cohen hagadol; for it says in the Torah, “You are not to speak disparagingly of a ruler of your people” (Acts 23:5).

We learn from this that ADONAI invests His authority into the authorities placed over us. To despise the religious leaders that Ha’Shem has placed over us is, in some measure, an affront to YHVH. Hence the rabbinical blessing is as follows, “Blessed are You ADONAI our God, King of the Universe, who has appointed of His knowledge to those who fear Him.” The blessing for seeing a king is as follows, “Blessed are You ADONAI our God, King of the Universe, who has given of His glory to flesh and blood.”

Hastening to keep a mitzvah (22:29-30): The Israelites were reminded that their best belonged to ADONAI. Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats (22:29a). Literally this verse says: Do not hold back from your fullness and your dripping. This probably meant the firstfruits of the field and of the vine. The message was clear. Don’t hold back, give the best that you have to the LORD. The same held true for the firstborn of Israel’s sons. You must give Me the firstborn of yours sons. We have already seen in 13:1-16 that the firstborn belonged to God, which meant that they must be sacrificed (of course that meant that they were to be redeemed, or substituted, with a lamb). Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to Me on the eighth day (22:29b-30). There is a clear parallel here with circumcision on the eighth day (Gen 17:12), another type of dedication to God. This time likely represents a period of completeness after which the subject is adequately prepared to be given to God.

This commandment is a revelation of godliness as well. When there is good to do , we should not delay to do it. When we have a choice of fulfilling a mitzvah today or fulfilling a mitzvah tomorrow, we should always choose the most immediate path, for no one knows what a day brings. In the same way, this reveals to us that God hastens to do good for us! Though from our perspective it may seem that He waits and salvation is long in coming, in reality, He is not slow to answer prayer, but He does so immediately according to the best good that can be give to us.⁴³²

Torn meat (22:31): Animals killed by carnivorous beasts were not to be eaten by Isra’el, because eating meat torn by wild beasts made them unclean (Leviticus 17:15 and 22:8). You are to be My holy people. One of the signs of being a people who have been set apart was obeying strict dietary commandment. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn (Hebrew: traif) by wild beasts. Meat that is torn or died on its own is regarded as non-kosher and unclean, even if the animal itself is a clean animal. Throw it to the dogs (22:31, also see Leviticus 7:24). This mitzvah is also a revelation of the character of God. He states that we are not to eat the meat of a torn animal because we are to be “People of holiness.” According to human logic, the difference between eating a hamburger made from a cow that slaughtered and bled has nothing to do with holiness. But God’s ways are higher than ours, which is why we need revelation in the first place. According to ADONAI, it is a matter of holiness, an issue of separation.⁴³³

Not only does this section expound the Third Commandment, but it also reflects the teaching of the Fifth Commandment. It demands of us that we honor those in authority over us, whether it is God or man. It forbids us to despise them. When Paul stood before the Sanhedrin, he was seen rebuking one of the priests. After he was told that the priest was the high priest, Paul backs off by saying: Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written, “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people” (Acts 23:4-5).⁴³⁴ We also need to honor those in authority over us (Romans 13:1-7).

Legal justice (23:1-8): The final cycle of mitzvot pertaining to social responsibility focused on matters of legal justice. Just as we have learned that the judicial mitzvot reflect directly upon ADONAI, His character and His person, so too injustice perpetrated by a Torah court is a direct blasphemy of YHVH Himself. Thus, Torah brings serious admonitions to the judicial process, demanding care when hearing witnesses give testimony, caution against being swayed by majority sentiment, warning against leniency toward a person because they are poor or underprivileged, warning against perversion of justice, warning against executing the innocent and the righteous, warning against accepting bribes and warning against denying justice to an alien.

Most of the commands that follow are expansions of the ninth commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16). Therefore, do not spread false reports in a court of law. No one was supposed to act in collusion with an evil person who was attempting to avoid the rules of justice. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness (23:1). Violations of the basic principles found here are also written in Deuteronomy 22:13-19 and Proverbs 25:21.

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. Much heartache in life could be avoided by obeying this commandment. Usually, the crowd isn’t bent on doing much else! We should only follow truth and justice. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit if he is in the wrong (23:2-3). In other words, he shouldn’t be able to get away with a crime just because he is poor (Leviticus 19:15).

Part of the teaching of this section of the Torah was, that believers were not to follow the crowd when the crowd was determined to do evil. Believers are also to stand against mob rule and against the will of the majority when it is wrong. But someone may say, “I am in the minority.” Yes, but praying people are in the minority. People who love God’s Word are in the minority. Honoring God’s day in His house is an exercise for the minority. But do not be discouraged! For we serve a conquering King who leads the minority! ⁴³⁵

This section continued with the basic idea that justice was to prevail. And that justice was to be unprejudiced, that is, to apply to all people in Isra’el. If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. In this regard, the enemy is treated like a friend or neighbor (Proverbs 25:21).⁴³⁶ If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there. Be sure you help him with it (23:4-5). The word enemy’s and someone who hates you, probably means a legal adversary. The Israelites were to be kind even to the animal of someone with whom they had a legal dispute. A plain reading of these verses – affirmed by the Master’s instruction to love you enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) – reveals to us a piece of true godliness It is a revelation of YHVH that would never occurred to us naturally. Such a mitzvot teaches us about God’s mercy and compassion. The Torah speaks in human language. When we study the mitzvot of helping your enemy get his donkey up onto its feet, we have learned a little bit about ADONAI.⁴³⁷

Denying justice to the poor, giving false testimony in court, and accepting bribes were common problems in the ancient world. Therefore, God commanded the Israelites, “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits” (23:6). This is the other side of the coin of 23:3. There, it forbid favoring them in court; here, it prohibited any form of bias against them for being poor. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death (23:7a). Judges needed to be very careful not to put an innocent person to death. And if that meant that occasionally a criminal might go unpunished, there was no need to despair, because God would eventually judge them Himself. He said: For I will not acquit the guilty (23:7b).

ADONAI commanded: Do not accept a bribe under any circumstances, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists or perverts the words of the righteous (23:8). Someone who was blinded and perverted to justice was, and still is today, a very dangerous person. Taking a bribe became a symbol of individual corruption for the Jews. A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice (Proverbs 17:23; also see Deuteronomy 10:17; First Samuel 8:3; Second Chronicles 19:7 and Psalm 15:5).

Each of these mitzvah of legal justice reveals the character of ADONAI as a God of justice. The Psalmist declares: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne (Psalm 89:14). YHVH is a just judge. No false testimony can stand before Him. He cannot be bribed; He cannot be bought. He will not be swayed by sentiment, not will He condemn the innocent with the guilty. In Abraham’s words: Far be it from You to do such a thing – to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do what is just (Genesis 18:25)?.⁴³⁸

A Thief Must Certainly Make Restitution
21:33 to 22:15

A thief must certainly make restitution DIG: What various kinds of property are protected? From an inventory of the protected items, what things are most important to their society? What does that say about them? What role do the judges play and why are they needed? What extenuating circumstances limit liability? How would an oath settle an issue in a dispute?

REFLECT: If you were to rewrite the list of property protected under the Torah, what would you include from your possessions? Why? What does that tell you about today’s society? What does this passage say about the role of personal integrity in any successful judicial system?

The fine distinctions in these mitzvot reveal the very nature of ADONAI and His relationship with mankind, who are custodians over God’s property. All the He has given to us is given on loan. He holds mankind accountable according to that which He has entrusted us. To those who are given much, much will be required.

The Torah strongly affirmed the right to both life and property. These principles expand on the eighth commandment: You shall not steal (20:15). Our laws today say that if you destroy another man’s property, you must pay the damages. All that our society demands, when you damage or destroy a man’s property, is to replace the item or pay what it was worth. God’s command of restoring fourfold was much better (with human nature being the way it is). If we had to restore four times the amount that we destroyed or damaged, we would be much more careful. Human nature is always the same, and ADONAI is always the same. He deals with mankind on the basis of what is best for us.⁴¹⁹

Damage to livestock (21:33-34): The reasons for digging a pit in antiquity were many. They are known to have been used as receptacles for grain storage, as cisterns, latrines, refuse dumps, and robber’s pits. For purposes of safety, the owner of the pit was required to cover it up. If, due to negligence, a man uncovered a pit or dug one and failed to cover it up and an ox or a donkey fell into it, the owner of the pit was responsible for the loss; he needed to pay its owner, and the dead animal was his (21:33-34). This was important, because these animals were important property for the Israelites.

Having begun with human against human, the laws then treat in turn animal against human, human against animal, and now animal against animal.⁴²⁰ If a man’s bull injured the bull of another and it died, they sold the live one and divided both the money and the dead animal equally. However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his (21:35-36). The owner took full responsibility; he was negligent and he was responsible to pay for the damages. Even these straightforward, mechanical mitzvot of liability and restitution are revelations of godliness. They are a distillation of heavenly wisdom.

Theft (22:1-4 and 9): In the Torah, incarceration is never used as punishment. It recommends a far more practical solution to theft. The thief must return what he has stolen and pay again the value of the object. Restitution for a stolen ox was more costly than for a stolen sheep, because a trained ox was more valuable than a sheep. If a man stole an ox or a sheep and slaughtered it or sold it, he had to pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep (22:1). No doubt this heavy compensation effectively deterred animal theft.⁴²¹

If a thief was caught breaking in and was struck so that he died, the defender was not guilty of bloodshed, because he killed the intruder in self defense; but if the thief escaped unharmed and was caught later and killed in broad daylight, then the homeowner was guilty of premeditated murder. Evidently the homeowner could get help to arrest the thief more easily during the daytime. Since the Torah prescribes restitution for theft, when one is able to see who has stolen something, restitution can be exacted. As a result,  daylight theft would be far less in a society that constantly exacted restitution. The thief needed to make restitution, but if he owned nothing of value, he was sold into slavery to pay for his theft (22:2-3). If the stolen animal was found alive in his possession – whether ox or donkey or sheep – he had to pay back double (22:4). In other words, the thief must return the stolen beast, and he must also provide another beast of like kind to the original owner.⁴²²

Trust between fellow Israelites was also important. When there was a dispute regarding the ownership of an article, it would be brought before the judges for them to decide. In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody said: This is mine. Both parties brought their cases before the elohim. The one whom the judges declared guilty had to pay back double to his neighbor (22:9). The penalty of 22:3 was applied to the guilty party. The thief had to make restitution, but if he had nothing, he was sold to pay for this theft.

These mitzvot also reveal the mercy of ADONAI. Other Ancient Near Eastern legal codes mandated that a thief’s hand be chopped off. But how does a severed hand compensate the victim, and how does it help to rehabilitate the thief? From these mitzvot we learn that God is interested in seeing the victim compensated and the thief restored to society. The means of redemption is established by spelling out a path of repentance. This concept is carried over to the B’rit Chadashah: The thief must stop stealing; instead, he should make an honest living by his own efforts. This way he will be able to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:28). This mitzvah is illustrated by Zacchaeus the tax-collector who, upon encountering the Master, chose the road of repentance and declared that he would repay four times the amount he had swindled from people (to see link click Ip – Zacchaeus the Tax Collector).

Restitution for grazing and fires (22:5-6): Negligence was also a crime. Restitution for destroyed property had to be made from the best of the guilty parties own resources, emphasizing the importance of quality and generosity.⁴²³ If a man allowed his livestock to graze in another man’s field or vineyard, he had to make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard (22:5). But if damage was done through arson, the principle was also restitution. If a fire broke out accidentally and spread into a neighbor’s thorn-bushes (Micah 7:4) so that it burned shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire needed to make restitution since thorn-bushes were often used as hedges (22:6). Again, these mitzvot are more than merely legal minutia; they are revelations of God’s attribute of justice.

Custodianship and borrowing (22:7-8 and 10-15): In the ancient Near East there were no banks, so personal property was sometimes given to a neighbor for protection. But the person’s liability was based upon whether or not he was a contracted custodian of the lost, damaged or stolen property being discussed. A contracted custodian of another’s property was held far more liable than one who was simply doing a favor for a friend. A contracted custodian who could not prove his innocence in the theft of an object with which he was entrusted could take an oath in the Name of God before the court and he would be absolved of all liability.

If a man gave his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they were stolen form the neighbor’s house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. But if the thief was not found, the owner of the house had to appear before the judges (who were the representatives of God and called the elohim), and take an oath to prove that he did not steal the other man’s property (22:7-8).

If an animal in safekeeping was injured or lost, the one taking care of it had to give evidence that he was not negligent or he had to pay double. If a man gave a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it died, was injured, or was taken away while no one was looking, the issue between them was settled by the taking of an oath before ADONAI that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner was to accept this testimony and no restitution was required (22:10-11).

But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, the neighbor must make restitution to the owner. Negligence was assumed on his part because he did not properly care for what had been entrusted to him for safekeeping. The neighbor merely had to make good on what was stolen. However, if the thief was eventually caught, he had to pay double restitution. But no compensation was due to the owner if the neighbor could prove that a predatory animal killed the owner’s animal.⁴²⁴ If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he brought the remains as evidence, and he was not required to pay for the torn animal (22:12-13). These laws were evidently in force as early as the patriarchal period (Genesis 31:39).

A person who borrows something; however, is fully responsible for the item which he borrowed unless the owner of the object was present with him when the damage occurred. A renter is not as liable as a borrower because the rent paid is meant to defer some of the risk of the rental. Thus, a renter is less liable than a borrower, but still has some liability for the object rented.

If an animal was borrowed, the borrower was responsible for its safekeeping. If a man borrowed an animal from his neighbor and it was injured or died while the owner was not present, he had to make full restitution. But if the owner was with the animal, the borrower did not have to pay, because it was assumed that he would watch over his own property. If the animal was hired there is no restitution, the money paid for the hire covers the loss (22:14-15). It was assumed that the one who hired the animal did not do so to kill or injure it, which would have been a complete waste of his money.⁴²⁵

Sins such as stealing have, by their very nature, an ironical quality about them in the Torah. Theft is a means by which people attempt to enrich themselves. However, if and when they were caught, they were required to repay at least double what was stolen. In this manner, the theft ended up actually impoverishing himself! This section also underscored the fact that the Israelites were accountable for other people’s property. What was lent to a person needed to be taken care of. If it was not, then restitution was necessary.⁴²⁶ What a concept!

If You Buy a Hebrew Servant
21: 1-11

If you buy a Hebrew servant DIG: How does God’s commandment about Hebrews serving Hebrews differ from their days serving Pharaoh? What freedoms, rights and needs is the LORD protecting? By freeing slaves every seventh year, how would that affect class barriers?

REFLECT: Do you think these commandments condone slavery? Why or why not? Other than God to whom or to what do you feel indebted, perhaps even enslaved? How does this passage help you to free yourself of that situation? How does your treatment of employees and fellow workers fit God’s ideal?

Parashah 18: Mishpatim (Rulings) 21:1-24:18
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, the people of Isra’el, seventy elders, Joshua and Hur.

The Scene is Mount Sinai.

The Main Events include mitzvot about servants, property, resting, and keeping the three annual travel feasts; an angel sent to lead Isra’el, going into Canaan, and driving out the enemies; Moshe telling ADONAI’s judgments, the response: We will do and we will listen; Moshe sprinkling the people with the blood of the covenant; Moshe going up on Mount Sinai to receive the tablets of stone, staying 40 days and nights, and the Sh’khinah glory like fire.

This portion begins to set forth some of the specific, day-to-day guidelines for life in the redeemed community under the Covenant. When we begin to interpret the specific rulings the first level is halachic (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Ad – Glossary: Halakhah), trying to understand their application to every day life. In doing so, we need to figure out initially what these guidelines meant to Isra’el in the age in which they were first given by Moshe. The second level of interpretation is suggested by Messiah Himself. After His resurrection, Yeshua said to His apostles: This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about Me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds, so that they could understand the TaNaKh (Luke 24:44-45a). That means we can look at the Torah to see what it teaches concerning Yeshua and His person/work.

Therefore, if we are able to see what the specific rulings teach concerning Messiah, that in itself will provide much of the basis for the doing of them. In other words, we live out these rulings because of what they can picture in our everyday life concerning Messiah, what He did for us, and who He has made us to be. These rulings are God’s blueprint for living. Practicing these rulings, therefore, becomes a way of being a walking testimony of what Messiah did and who He is. Not only that, but obeying these rulings in this way will preclude all tendencies to legalism, where one receives credit for the doing of them, which is not what YHVH intended.

God said to Moses: And these are the rulings you are to set before them (21:1). The force of the conjunction and, is to emphasize that although the section on civil law is separated from the Ten Commandments by an intervening passage, both were given on Mount Sinai. These rulings concern the fundamental rights of the Israelites, and what punishments were expected when their rights were violated. They included civil and social rights. This first section describes the rulings involving Hebrew masters and slaves. They were not abusive, but very protective.

These rulings were to be set before all the people of Isra’el. No one was to be excluded from the knowledge of the Torah. That was important because in Egypt, as far as we can tell, there was no codified law. The word of Pharaoh was the law there – and he could change his mind at any time. Here the God of the Hebrews revealed His rulings in writing to all of the people.⁴⁰⁹ This section regulates that sale and treatment of slaves, or servants.

While slavery was a common phenomenon in all countries of the ancient Near East, the treatment accorded slaves differed from one land to another. In some land, Babylonia for example, the demand for slaves was greater than in others. This was due, perhaps, to a lack of free laborers. In order to meet the demand for slaves, large numbers were imported to the country or were captured in warfare. The economic conditions in Babylon as contrasted with Isra’el also had some influence on the manner in which slaves were treated. As far as the Israelite was concerned, it was unique because God was the source of the Torah and those commandments were based on unchanging moral and ethical norms, whereas other law systems were produced out of social and economic necessities.⁴¹⁰

First, the rights of Hebrew male slaves are dealt with. 21:2-6 describe the rights of a Hebrew forced to sell himself into slavery because of a debt. The Torah said he was to be released after six years of labor. If you buy a Hebrew servant because he was sold as to make restitution for his theft, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone without a wife, he is to go free alone (21:2-3a). If both he and his wife were sold into slavery, they were both to be set free after six years. But if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him (21:3b).

However, if the Hebrew became a slave as a single man and then he was given a wife by his master, and the wife bore him children, after six years his wife and children would continue to be slaves of the master who provided them in the first place. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children belong to the master, and only the man shall go free (21:4).

But after six years he did not want to be separated from his family he had the option of becoming a bond slave. If the slave declares, “I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,” then his master must take him before the judges who met in the gate of the city that had doorposts. He shall take him to the doorpost and in an upright position, pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his bond slave for life (21:5-6). There was a difference between a slave and a bond slave. Circumstances beyond one’s control made someone a slave. But a bond slave chose to remain a permanent slave. In that case his ear was to be pierced with a permanent mark, symbolizing his new status.

As a follower of Yeshua, the Paul called himself a bondservant throughout his letters. Because when Messiah redeems us from the slavery of sin, He sets us free. Then as believers, we can make the decision to become a bond slave to Jesus Christ. The means by which we do this is recorded by Paul: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Here we also earn the powerful lesson of the slave who declares lifelong allegiance to his master. Though the Sages frowned upon one who would throw away his freedom, The Torah points out that he does so for the love of his family and the love of his master. This is the path of discipleship. We love our Master and we love our families; therefore, we put on the chains of love and declare our life long allegiance to Him. How would we know what it is to serve the Master of masters if we did not know what godly slavery looked like? In other words, the regulations regarding slavery reveal an aspect of God’s character that is essential to understanding our relationship with Him.⁴¹¹

Secondly, the rights of Hebrew female slaves are discussed. If a man sells his minor daughter who is under twelve years old as a slave, she is not to go free for six years as men slaves do (21:7). But if she, in her slavery, was engaged to be married to the master, but during the period of the betrothal she did not please her master, she could be released early. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to Gentiles, or foreigners, because he has broken faith with her (21:8).

Concubines were permitted under the Torah and were not considered sinful. If she was engaged to the master’s son, who had other wives, she was to be treated equally with all the other women in that household. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter (21:9). If the son of the master subsequently took another wife after marrying the slave girl, he was still obligated to the female slave for three things. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights sexually. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free because of his failure, without any payment of money (21:10-11).

What does this teach us about the nature of God? How is this mitzvah a revelation of godliness? Just as ADONAI forbids a disenchanted husband from reducing his wife’s marital rights, so too, He Himself must continue to care for, provide for and preserve a relationship with us, even when we are less attractive to Him! We need not fear a change in His heart’s attitude toward us. He is not subject to whim. He will not abandon His beloved. He will not turn His back on us. These are important truths, often difficult to grasp, especially if we have been hurt, rejected and abandoned by others before. Yet the good mitzvot of the Torah reveal it to be true of YHVH. He is faithful and true.

Moses and the Torah
21:1 to 23:19

As the name of this parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah) indicates, this reading from the Torah contains the mishpatim, or the rulings. Like an Ancient Near Eastern legal code, the rulings of God come tumbling forth in some of the most densely packed and comprehensive legislation of the whole Torah. Several of the rulings speak of being brought before Elohim, thus it would seem that legal matters are to be settled directly by God. Yet, the context of these trials indicates that a human court of judges in meant. Which is correct? Perhaps both are correct. In Jewish thought there is no disconnecting between civil, moral, and ceremonial mitzvot, for they are all God’s Torah. An Israelite judicial court was a religious court. The legal issues they debated and decided were issues of the Torah legal system. As a result, to appear before a Torah court of law was to appear before YHVH, for the Torah court is the dispenser of God’s rulings.

Because Torah is both rulings and revelation, it functions in a dual capacity. On the one hand, it is a blueprint for living (see Dj – The Ten Commandments) which guides our conduct. On the other hand, it is the expression of Ha’Shem in human terms. We must learn to recognize that Torah is more than merely 613 commandments; it is actually the revealed character of YHVH dressed up as mitzvot. Torah is His spoken Word written down and His self-disclosure to the world. When one realizes this, one must also realize the enormous gravity of declaring it irrelevant to their lives today. Even the smallest commandment of the Torah is saturated with godliness. To declare any commandment as being irrelevant or obsolete is to deny the eternal and unchanging nature of God.

Sadly, far too many people today are put off by these commandments. The sudden jolting return to the culture of the Ancient Near East is more than they are prepared to handle. When the Torah begins to speak in a matter-of-fact manner about the institution of slavery, about selling one’s daughter, about repaying measure for measure, we quickly become queasy. The temptation is to comfort ourselves with the notion that all of these unpleasant commandments have been done away with and replaced by kinder, gentler, and nobler virtues. The problem with such thinking is that is is heretical. To suppose that God’s eternal Torah can simply be dismissed is an affront to the Holiness and Unchangingness of YHVH.

Every commandment of the Torah is spoken by the mouth of God. Each mitzvah is therefore Holy and Eternal. Whether or not a particular commandment seems to apply in our day is irrelevant. Human society may change, but the LORD does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Every commandment is a distillation of His essence, a pure revelation of His person. The study of the commandments is the study of God. As soon as we begin to discard commandments, we have begun editing ADONAI. We have immediately begun the process of reshaping the Holy One into an image that we have deemed more appropriate. So you see, when we try to change the Torah or do away with a commandment, it is actually God we are trying to change or do away with.

When the Torah was completed there would be 613 commandments, including the Ten Commandments. These teachings were divided into two groups, positive and negative. The positive ones start with words like: do or you shall; while the negative ones started with words like: do not or you shall not. There were 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments, one for each day of the year. There are a lot of mitzvot packed into this parashah. Of the 613 commandments, over 50 of them come directly from this portion. Yet there are far more than 50 commandments here. Some of them are repeated in later portions, while other fall under the general categories of broader mitzvot.

When we get to the B’rit Chadashah and we read about the traditions of the Elders (Matthew 15:2) or the traditions of my fathers (Galatians 1:14), those had nothing to do with the Torah. They were man made rules after the Babylonian captivity and were called the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law). The rabbis taught that Moses brought them down with him in written form Mount Sinai, but in reality God had nothing to do with them. By the time of Christ, the Pharisees and Sadducees not only treated them as being equal to Torah, but they actually held them in higher esteem. They said, “He who follows Torah does a good thing. But he who follows the Oral Law, does an even better thing.” Therefore, all of the conflict Jesus had with the religious rulers in Jerusalem was over the Oral Law. But Messiah had nothing to do with the thousands and thousands of oral laws, that is why He called them the traditions of men (Mark 7:8). So although the Torah was misinterpreted and corrupted by pharisaic Judaism, it continues to be a tree of life to those who take hold of its principles. Happy are those who view it as a blue print for living because its ways are pleasant and all its paths lead to peace (Proverbs 3:17-18).

Make an Altar of Earth and Sacrifice on It
20: 22-26

Make an altar of earth and sacrifice on it DIG: How does 20:23 compare with 20:3-4? What can the one true God do that metal gods cannot? How will this come back to haunt the Israelites (see Gr – The Israelite’s Sin of Idolatry)? Why only an altar of earth and not one of dressed stones? What does this say about the place where God is worshiped?

REFLECT: What have you sacrificed to ADONAI? Was it humble? Who knew about it? Do you have peace with God? What distracts you from meeting God? What can you do about it? When the Lord calls to you say, “Here I am, send me?” Or do you make excuses? What has to change? YHVH cannot tolerate sin. How can you be sinless and go to heaven? That’s right. To have Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross transferred to your spiritual bank account by faith. Then all the righteousness of Christ will be yours.

Then ADONAI said to Moses His servant: Tell the Israelites this: You have seen for yourself that I have spoken to you from heaven (20:22). God came down from heaven, His eternal dwelling place, to the top of Mount Sinai (19:20) in order to tell the Jewish people: Do not make any gods to be alongside Me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold (20:23). This statement was a reiteration of the first and second commandments. As a result, before giving the Torah, general principles were restated and elaborated on.

From inside the cloud, ADONAI told Moses that the Israelites could either make an altar of earth or an altar of stones. Altars were for the purpose of sacrifice. There was no altar in the Garden of Eden because God did not intend for them to break the Torah. An altar exists where sin flourishes and forgiveness is required. So it is not surprising that the same chapter that gave the Israelites specific instructions regarding the Torah also gave them specific instructions about an altar. It was an impossible standard and God made provision for when the people broke them. The altar would be a foreshadowing of Messiah, who would pay the ultimate price for our sin.

First the LORD said: Make an altar of earth for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. The earth, which had been involved in the curse of sin, was to be renewed and glorified, not by sinful men, but by the glorious hand of God.⁴⁰³ He said: Whenever I cause My name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you (20:24). The purpose of burnt offerings (to see link click Fe – The Burnt Offering) was to atone for sin, whereas the fellowship offerings (see Fg – The Peace Offering) gave the people an opportunity to enjoy communion with God.⁴⁰⁴

Isra’el was not to erect an altar in any place it might choose, but only in every place that God would bring His name to remembrance.⁴⁰⁵ Throughout the book of Genesis, the patriarchs were allowed to build altars anywhere they wished. Where Abraham settled, he built an altar. Where Isaac settled he built an altar and where Jacob settled he built an altar. In fact, each patriarch built more than one altar in his various travels. That was not to be the case now with the Torah. The first place God would choose after they entered the Promised Land was in the city of Shiloh, in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. That would be a temporary place, because later in the days of King David, God would choose a new place, the city of Jerusalem. From that point on, Tziyon was the place chosen by God where He would be remembered and His altar would be built.

Secondly, God required a humble altar for sacrifice. He stressed: If you make an altar of stones for Me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it (20:25). The moment a tool was put to stones made for an altar, it was polluted. God rejected it. The Canaanites and others made their altars with cut, finished stones. Alters with elaborate craftsmanship and elevated platforms with staircases were common in the worship of false gods.⁴⁰⁶ The Israelites were not to be like them, so as not to be tempted into making idols.

God did not despise craftsmanship, as seen in the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. The fit of the hewn stones there is still marveled at today. But here, He wanted it natural, not marred by man’s works. The altar would be a place of faith, not works, once again pointing to Jesus Christ, a rock not cut by human hands (Dani’el 2:34).

But regardless, of weather they built an altar of earth or of stones, there was to be no sexual elements of their worship. Specifically, there were to be no steps associated with it, least the nakedness of the priest would be exposed. ADONAI said: Do not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it (20:26). Later, when God allowed His people to build stepped altars (Leviticus 9:22; Ezeki’el 43:17), Aaron and his descendents had already been instructed to wear linen underclothes (Exodus 28:42-43; Leviticus 6:10, 16:3-4; Ezeki’el 44:17-18).⁴⁰⁷

Haftarah Yitro: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 6:1-7:6, 9:6-7 (A), 6:1-13 (S)
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

When ADONAI called Isaiah, the prophet saw a vision of  YHVH sitting on His lofty throne (Isaiah 6:1). The Temple is filled with smoke, the S’rafim were crying out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy!” and the doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting (Isaiah 6:2-4). Then Isaiah heard the voice of God and said, “Hear I am (Hebrew: hinneh, meaning behold), send me” (Isaiah 6:8-9)! But the people are being hardened for judgment. The kings of Syria and Isra’el conspired against Ahaz, king of Judah, to remove him and install the son of Tabeel as a puppet government (Isaiah 7:6). Isaiah took his son, Shear-Jashub (meaning a remnant will return), and told Ahaz to stay calm and unafraid (Isaiah 7:4). The haftarah then skips ahead two chapters to announce that the zeal of ADONAI-Tzva’ot (the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies) will guarantee a Davidic throne – Messiah will come (see the commentary on Isaiah Cm – For Us a Child is Born).

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Yitro: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:5:20-30, 15:1-11, and 19:16-30; Mark 7:5-15, 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30; Acts 6:1-7; Romans 2:17-29, 7:7-12, 13:8-10; Ephesians 6:1-3; First Timothy 3:1-14; Second Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5-9; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:18-29; Ya’akov (James) 2:8-13 and First Kefa (Peter) 2:9-10

Some think it is silly that ADONAI could talk to Isra’el from a mountain top in Sinai. Here in Matthew, Yeshua speaks His famous Sermon on the Mount. Various groups receive favor from God: How bless are the pure in heart! for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Yet, David had already written: The earth is ADONAI’d . . . Who may go up to the mountain of the ADONAI? . . . Those with clean hands and pure hearts (Psalm 24:1-4). Another favored group, the peacemakers . . . will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Messiah, the promised Son to sit on David’s throne, is named Sar Shalom, or, the Prince of Peace (see the commentary on Isaiah Ck – He Will Be Called the Prince of Peace). In the Sermon on the Mount, the LORD extends His offer made at Mount Sinai. The righteous and holy may draw near to God. They are even permitted to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But standards are extremely high. Their righteousness must surpass that of the Torah-teachers (Matthew 5:20). In other words, perfection.⁴⁰⁸

Do Not Have God Speak to Us
or We Will Die
20: 18-21

Do not have God speak to us or we will die DIG: What link do you see between 20:1-17 and 18-21? In what sense were the people tested? How was the fear of God to motivate them?

REFLECT: At the end of his life King Solomon wrote these words. After looking back on my whole life, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). How are those words true for you?

The prologue describes Isra’el’s reaction to the scene at Mount Sinai. God has appeared to them in a cloud and fire on top of the mountain, and He has delivered the basis of the Book of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments, to them. Now, how will they respond to it? Earlier they had said: We will do everything God has said (19:8). Was that still true?

When the people heard the voice of God, they perceived it as thunder and lightning, the sound of a trumpet getting louder and smoke around Mount Sinai. As a result, they were shook to the very core and trembled with fear (20:18a). They were so afraid that they fled from the mountain. When the commandments were given to the Israelites they stood at the foot of the mountain (19:17). But now we find them standing at a distance. The Hebrew for at a distance normally means far away (First Samuel 26:13; Isaiah 22:3 and 23:7). But why did they run away? Like Isaiah when confronted with a holy and perfect God, they realized their sin before Him. It was as if they also said, “Woe to us. We are ruined. For we are a people of unclean lips, and our eyes have seen the King (Isaiah 6:5). Their guilt overwhelmed them.

They were so afraid that they said to Moses, who was their mediator: Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die (20:18b-19). They simply could not bear it (Hebrews 12:19). It was too difficult to face the Accuser and the accusation; the Judge and the judgment all at the same instant.

Therefore, Moses responded and said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning” (20:20). The Torah presented an impossible standard because the Torah of ADONAI is perfect. If you were trying to be saved by keeping the Torah you would have to be perfect. If you are not perfect, it cannot save you. I thank God that under grace He can save a poor sinner like me. Grace reveals something of the goodness and wonder of our God.⁴⁰⁰

What kind of test is Moses talking about? The Hebrew verb nsb, often translated to test, should not be understood in the sense of finding out how the Israelites will perform or react to something. God is not revealing Himself in thunder and lightening to see how they will react. It is much more convincing to translate the word here as experience. In other words, it is as if God was saying, “Do not be afraid. I am giving you a taste of Myself so that this memory will stick with you to keep you from sinning.” The people’s fear was to be tempered by the fact that God is giving them this experience for a reason. A debilitating fear would eventually give way to a healthy fear, one that would result in faithfulness on their part and the part of other nations as well.⁴⁰¹

The word fear used here does not mean a sense of terror or dread, but rather a reverence that leads to obedience (Deuteronomy 4:10). Their fear of God should have caused them to bow down before Him in reverence and awe. Sadly, Isra’el would soon lose their fear of Him. This would be a recurrent theme in her history.

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was (20:21). From this point on YHVH would communicate only with Moses, and then Moses would relate all that God had said to him, to the people. Once through the thick darkness of smoke, which represented the presence of God, he would see the Sh’khinah glory. Moses then made another trip up Mount Sinai for a longer visit, to receive the commandments that would be called the Book of the Covenant.

In our natural state, we all stand quaking at the foot of Mount Sinai. Although we were not there with the Israelites (and we need to be careful not to allegorize), the fact is, that each of us stands condemned of living and being disobedient to the Creator. In our unregenerate state we stand guilty as charged. This is the verdict: “Guilty, guilty, guilty!” And that ought to make us tremble and fear for our lives. However, those who have new life in Christ do not approach Mount Sinai with condemnation, but they come to Mount Tziyon under the blood of Jesus. Messiah Yeshua took His people’s debt in the Torah and nailed it to the cross (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Dc – The Earthly Sinai and the Heavenly Tziyon).⁴⁰²

The Book of the Covenant
20:18 to 23:33

The laws in this section are called the Book of the Covenant based on that phrase in 24:7. They are different and distinct from the Ten Commandments. They were written by the hand of Moshe and not from the hand of God. Moses presented the commandments on behalf of God to the people (21:1). The Hebrew word mishpat means to judge or to rule, and implies a law that rests upon prior precedent. Therefore, compared with Suzerainty Treaties, the Torah had specific conditions; these are laid out in the Book of the Covenant. Other specific social and economic issues are also mentioned in Deuteronomy 12:1 to 26:15.

The Ten Commandments are short and cover much ground, they were given to the whole nation on the same occasion, and although they are the most concise code of law, they cover most of the main diverse and moral challenges of a human being. However, to administer a nation, a people, it takes a much more detailed and elaborate code of law that addresses such issues as dealing with slaves that you employ in your household, or with a neighbor’s ox that fell into a pit, or with two men fighting in a public place and one of them puts out the eye of the other, or hits a pregnant woman and she loses her baby, or someone has taken land and appropriated this land for himself and was preparing to build a house on that land. In other words, Moses is adding to the skeleton of the Ten Commandments, flesh and sinew.

This means that the Book of the Covenant is made up of descriptive commandments that met the needs of the new budding nation of Isra’el. But it also had descriptive commandments that were based upon the prescriptive law of the Ten Commandments. For example, in 22:1 we see a commandment dealing with the repayment for the theft of another’s animals. That was based upon the principle of the Eighth Commandment: You shall not steal (20:5). In other words, the Ten Commandments emphasize the fundamental legal principles for any society to function properly. Those principles are just as valid today as they were when Moshe brought them down from Mount Sinai. The principles of the Book of the Covenant, like the Ten Commandments, are a blueprint for living for us today.

Do Not Think
That I Have Come to Abolish
the Torah or the Prophets
Matthew 5: 17-20

New Covenant believers should also love the Torah. At Pentecost about three thousand were saved (Acts 2:41). But about thirty years later, tens of thousands of believers were all zealous for the Torah (Acts 21:20). Therefore, the Torah is not merely for the righteous of the TaNaKh. Even the Rabbi Sha’ul said: The Torah is holy (Romans 7:12), perfect and gives freedom, provided one uses it in the way the Torah itself intends (First Timothy 1:8; James 1:25 CJB).

Christ is the model disciple, the perfect Son who fulfilled all righteousness by completely obeying the Father’s will (Matthew 4:4 and 10). That same obedience should characterize believers today. Obedience to God was to be a priority in the disciple’s life (Matthew 6:33), and complete devotion to God the Father was the goal (Matthew 5:48). Thus, this same righteousness and faithfulness to God the Father and His commandments that is seen in the words of Christ here (Matthew 5:17-20), not only speaks to the true nature of the Torah, but also its relationship to Christ.

Do not think I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). Christ completed the Torah in that He accomplished all that the Torah or the Prophets had said of Him and His coming. Therefore, Messiah provided us with the fullest meaning of the Torah as demonstrated in His life and teachings. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened (Matthew 5:18 CJB). The yud is the smallest letter in the Hebrew Alef-Bet, and the stroke refers to the tiny artistic marks on the tops of Hebrew letters. By saying this, Jesus reminded his listeners that neither the smallest letter nor even the tiniest part of a letter of the Torah would ever be done away with.

The rabbis teach that when ADONAI gave the Torah to Isra’el, He inserted both positive and negative commandments and gave commands, saying: The king must not acquire great number of horses for himself. . . neither shall he take many wives or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of sliver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). But Solomon arose and studied the reason for God’s decree, and said, “Why did ADONAI command this? Well, I will acquire great number of horses, take many wives, and still my heart will not be led astray. Because God granted him a wise and discerning heart (First Kings 3:12), Solomon thought that he could marry as many wives as he wanted.

At that time the yud, the first letter of the Hebrew phrase yarbeh (that means the king must not take many wives), went up on high and prostrated itself before ADONAI and said, “Master of the Universe! Have you not said that no letter shall ever be abolished from the Torah? Behold, Solomon has now arisen and abolished one. Who knows? Today one, tomorrow another, until the whole Torah will be nullified.” And God responded by saying, “Solomon and a thousand like him will pass away, but the smallest letter will not be cancelled from you.”

Therefore, it is interesting to see that Christ agreed with this teaching, and as believers, we should strive to obey God and all of His commands. For as Christ said: If you love Me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).

So whoever disobeys the least of the commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches others to do so will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19 CJB). Actions speak louder than words. The teacher must apply the doctrine personally before being able to teach it to others. The scribes and the Pharisees did not practice what they preached (Matthew 23:2-4). Christ demands from us a much higher form of righteousness than the hypocrisy of false teachers.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20 CJB). Here the term far greater can best be translated as far exceeds. Like a river overflowing its banks, it is something that far exceeds the norm. In this context, Jesus is teaching us that the righteousness that He requires is one of genuine holiness, which far exceeds the hypocritical standards of the world.

In fact, not only does ADONAI require genuine holiness, He requires perfect righteousness. To be qualified for God’s kingdom we must be as holy as the King Himself. But of course, this is a standard we can never obtain by our own efforts. We are spiritually dead in our sinfulness. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is only through the grace of God, for while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). When we trust/have faith/believe in Him, all His righteousness is transferred to our account. We are justified and considered perfect in His sight. What Christ is saying here in this passage, is that the Torah is not abolished in this process – but completed. The true path of the true believer is demonstrated through obedience to ADONAI and His commands.

During the Torah procession in messianic synagogues today, believers in Messiah kiss their bibles and then touch the Torah as it passes by. They believe that the Torah points us to Yeshua, and represents the holiness and purity of God. This custom is taken from the Psalms, where the Ruach ha-Kodesh instructs us to kiss the Son (Psalm 2:12).

Therefore, Christ, as the perfect expression of obedience to God the Father, did not come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets, but instead He completes our understanding of the Torah by calling us to live lives in obedience to His commandments. Solomon referred to the Torah when he wrote: She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed (Proverbs 3:18). Lord, bind our hearts to Your commandments.

You Shall Not Covet Anything
That Belongs to Your Neighbor
20: 17

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor REFLECT: Has my desire for another’s possessions or loved one turned into a preoccupation to get what I want no matter whose it is, or who it hurts?

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17).

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:1-3).

In some respects, the tenth and last commandment is the greatest of the last seven that are more horizontal and describe our relationship with one another. This last commandment gives the internal aspect because it focuses on the desires of the heart. If we keep this commandment, all the other commandments are more easily kept. No system of law has ever had a statute that deals with intent because there is no human way to enforce it. It goes beyond regulating outward acts to requiring us to control our inner thoughts. The apostle Paul said it this way: We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah (Second Corinthians 10:5 CJB).

We need victory over our thought life more than anything else. Covetousness makes people greedy and causes them to steal. Covetousness drives people to sacrifice the lives of others, even to kill, for what they want. Covetousness gives rise to that uncontrolled lust that plunges people into adultery. Covetousness endangers mutual trust and causes people to lie about themselves and each other to gain money, power, prestige or praise. In short, this commandment covers a multitude of sins.

So, what does it mean to covet? Does it mean to desire something? Absolutely not. Desires are a normal and healthy part of human life. Our desire for food makes us hungry. That’s how we maintain our health. Our desire for sex is a vital part of love and marriage. This leads to the creation of life. We desire approval and respect. That’s what makes us bathe ourselves and brush our teeth. Another legitimate desire is to get along with others for common goals within society. Basically, without desires we wouldn’t have life.

Therefore, does coveting mean desiring something that we don’t have? Not exactly. For example, many people attend college because they desire an education, something they don’t have. But this is not coveting. Almost everything we call progress, improvement or civilization has come from a desire for something we don’t have. Desire is even important in spiritual matters. The Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians 12:31, eagerly desire the greater gifts. Jesus also said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. No, coveting is not merely a desire for something, even something we don’t have.

Covetousness is a desire that runs rampant over the rights of others and even over one’s own reason. It is out of control desire that will injure or destroy to get what it wants. It’s not wrong for a man to want a house, wife or a car. But it’s wrong for him to want his neighbor’s house, wife and car. This kind of desire is different because a desire for someone else’s belongings plants the seeds of a willingness to lie, steal or kill in order to fulfill that desire. When we feel this type of desire we may even destroy or injure ourselves to get what we want. Covetousness is a normal desire gone terribly wrong. It says, “I want this and I will get it whatever it costs me, whatever the consequences.” A practical substitute for the word covet might be greed. It’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.³⁹⁷

Nathan the prophet saw it in King David (Second Samuel 12:1-13). ADONAI sent Nathan to King David after he had committing adultery with Bathsheba, his neighbor, and murdered Uriah, her husband. But instead of confronting him with the actual crimes he had committed, he told him a story. There was rich man who had a large amount of land with lots of sheep and cattle. One day one of his very best friends came to visit him and he wanted to have a great feast. But he didn’t go out and find one of his own sheep to slaughter, he took his sheep from a poor man who had only one little ewe lamb, a family pet. The rich man could have chosen a sheep from his vast herd, but he took the only lamb the poor man owned. Nathan pointed out that David was the rich man, and covetousness was David’s sin.

When Jesus came He taught that the cure for covetousness was to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. He wanted change from the inside out. He said that wrong ideas and wrong desires lead to wrong actions. No matter how pious our outer life may be, if we yield inwardly to covetousness, we are guilty of breaking the commandment. Only when we first seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness will everything else be given to us (Luke 12:31). To accomplish this change we need a new birth, a conversion, a change of outlook and a change of values. Since covetousness is a sin of the inner life, our supreme need is to be set right within our hearts.

Are you master or slave to your desires? The only way to change, to become master, is to surrender to Jesus Christ. We must find a new Master who brings us peace so that we can agree with the apostle Paul and say: For to me, life is in the Messiah, and death is gain (Philippians 1:21 CJB). The only answer to covetousness is to find our delight in ADONAI. So the B’rit Chadashah teaches us not to covet by being content in Jesus Christ.³⁹⁸

Yeshua summarized the Ten Commandments by condensing them into two. He said that the first and greatest commandment was to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all soul and with all your mind (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Then He went on to say that the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; Matt 22:39). He concluded by boldly claiming that all the Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:40). Christ was saying essentially that love for ADONAI (that is, obeying the first four of the Ten Commandments) and love for neighbor (that is, obeying the last six of the Ten Commandments) form the basic teaching of the TaNaKh.

Messiah understood love, the most positive force in the universe, as the total intent and thrust of the Ten Commandments. Psychiatrist Karl Menninger says much the same thing in his definition of love as “the medicine for the sickness of the world.” The combination of ingredients in God’s prescription for human happiness known as the Ten Commandments is guaranteed, if taken, to keep us spiritually strong and healthy. To obey His covenant stipulations is to receive His bountiful blessings.³⁹⁹

You Shall Not Give False Testimony
Against Your Neighbor
20: 16

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor REFLECT: Have I lied about another person or hidden the truth to protect myself at another’s expense? When I realize what I have done, how do I feel about it? Do I make amends? Has lying become a habit? What do I do about it?

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (Colossians 3:9-10).

We live in a world full of lies and liars. Often lying is not even considered a vice, and some people think of it as a virtue, or at least an art. Advertisers lie to sell products, Politicians lie to get elected. Because of the relativism that has crept into our society today, most people believe that all truth is personal and nothing is absolutely true or false.

Against all of this stands the Word of God. In its original form, the ninth commandment probably involved a simple legal matter about not going to a court of law and lying about a neighbor. But the prophets, and later Jesus and the New Covenant writers, expanded and restated this commandment so that the Bible ultimately forbids every form of a lie. There’s a reason for this, the same reason we’ve discovered as the basis for all the other commandments. This commandment is founded on the very character of God Himself. He cannot tolerate sin or tell a lie. It is a vital part of His holiness.³⁹³

God is truth. The Son of God said: I AM the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus proclaimed the coming Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth (John 14:17). That is why the Scriptures place such a high value on the truth. The Lord said that one of the basic characteristics of Satan is that there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Therefore, because God is truthful He wants us to be truthful. In First Peter 1:16, Peter quotes from Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2 and 20:7, where ADONAI says: Be holy, because I am holy. Today we would say, “Be truthful, because I am truthful.” That is why the B’rit Chadashah emphasizes our truthfulness. Who do you follow? The father of lies or the Father the Spirit of truth?

The ninth commandment and its restatement in the New Covenant forbid lying in three ways: telling a lie, spreading a lie and living a lie. There is no reason to believe that this commandment is exclusively limited to the judicial realm. It is a law that lays down fundamental principles; therefore, we would expect a wider application. It is likely that the commandment generally protects a person’s name and forbids harming one’s neighbor through slander and uncontrolled defamation. The Hebrew word shaqer means to give an empty promise. Thus, to lie about your neighbor is forbidden. Such things as gossip, slander and needless flattery are also to be avoided.³⁹⁴

First, it forbids telling a lie. Proverbs 6:16-19 says ADONAI hates seven things and two items on that list are a lying tongue and false witnesses who pour out lies. In the book of Revelation, John concludes his overview of the New Heaven and New Earth with a serious and solemn warning. He describes those who will be excluded from any participation in the blessings of heaven – all unforgiven sinners. And the list in Revelation 21:8 concludes with these words: and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. There are similar lists of the unredeemed in Revelation 22:15, Romans 1:28-32, First Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21 and Second Timothy 3:2-5.³⁹⁵ Acts 5:1-10 tells the heartbreaking and frightening story of Ananias and Sapphira, who sold their land and told the apostles that they had given all of the money to the church. But in reality, they had kept some of it for themselves. Before their sudden deaths, Peter said to them: How is it that Satan has filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit. You have not lied to men but to God.

The LORD, whose very nature is truth, who speaks only truth, who loves truth, cannot tolerate our lies. Our lies separate us from Him and hurt our fellowship. To be honest about it, lying is a sin. Before, coming to Christ, many of us were habitual liars. Lying was as easy as falling off of a log and it took a great deal of the Holy Spirit’s influence in our lives to finally break that stronghold and establish a pattern of telling the truth. You see, telling the truth is not a sometimes thing, it is an all the time thing. It is a habit. Some of us have lied so long that we don’t know the difference between the truth and a lie. There is only one way to break the habit, as soon as the Ruach Ha’Kodesh convicts you of lying, immediately tell the truth to the person you just lied to. It may be painful, but it works.

Second, the Bible forbids spreading a lie as well as telling one. In the final analysis, sins are marked by their effect on others. God’s blueprint for living is not merely a list of rules, but a practical guide on how to get along with other people. Giving false testimony against your neighbor is a sin because it hurts someone. Being very honest, many followers of Jesus do not see the harm in this. People who would never think of murder, adultery or theft, gossip their brains out. We need to be extremely careful about what we say to others. That is why James warns us against spreading a lie, calling the tongue a fire and a world of evil among the parts of the body (James 3:6). Proverbs also deals at length with the tongue because it’s so capable of ruining a person’s reputation. Once a lie starts spreading, it is impossible to take back. If you have ever done this, you owe it to your victim to go back to the people you have lied to and set the record straight.

Third, and this is perhaps the greatest meaning or the ninth commandment, we are not to live a lie. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (First John 1:6). Therefore, when we live a lie we deceive ourselves. When what we say is proven false by our life, we are living a lie. Jesus was extremely familiar with people who lived a lie. The scribes claimed to have knowledge they didn’t really possess. The Pharisees claimed to be righteous, but were not. False witnesses told stories of things they had neither seen nor heard. Judas was living a lie when he kissed Yeshua. And Pilate tried to wash his hands of the whole crucifixion, but ordered it nonetheless. You see, the greatest lies we tell are to ourselves. And the reason we do this is because of our pride.

For many people, the biggest lie is when they attempt to maintain a false image of themselves as sinless and not in need of salvation. They try to convince themselves that their lie is true and they try to persuade others that they are something we know they are not. This kind of living lie is described in First John 1:5-10, which ends by saying: If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives. The tragedy is that when people tell this kind of a lie to themselves over and over again, they tend to believe it. Once that happens it is very difficult to face the truth.

God faced the truth about you a long time ago. Maybe you’re just beginning to admit the truth about yourself and see that it’s not a pretty picture. Yet ADONAI knows everything about you and loves you anyway. All He wants you to do is admit the truth. Our sins don’t keep us from the LORD, but our attempts to cover up our sins do.

As we stand before the cross, we realize the truth that we are bad enough to crucify the Son of God. That’s the truth about the human heart. ADONAI has known it for a long, long time and perhaps now you know it also. Admit it to Him. Confess it. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9). The moment you do, the power of the lie, the hold of darkness over you, will be broken. Then the Spirit of truth can begin a miracle in your life, leading you away from lying and darkness to truth and light.³⁹⁶

You Shall Not Steal
20: 15

You shall not steal REFLECT: Have I taken things or ideas that were not mine? Do I consider cheating at school, in my business or on my taxes? If I think I could get away with it, is stealing or cheating an acceptable option for me?

You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15).

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:28).

Of all the commandments in the Bible, this one seems to be the most clear-cut. On the surface it looks very simple. You would think it needs no explanation at all. To steal means the same thing today as it did when God wrote it on tablets of stone. It means the taking of something that belongs to someone else.

This commandment is probably the most universal of all the laws in the world. For example, some primitive cultures had no taboo against immorality as long as neither party was married. But if one of the parties were married, adultery was strictly forbidden, not because it was immoral but because it was considered a form of theft, or stealing another person’s spouse. Often the offender settled the matter by simply paying the husband in cows, goats, money, or the sum the husband originally paid for the wife.

Just as the sixth commandment: You shall not murder, safeguards life, and the seventh commandment: You shall not commit adultery, safeguards love and the family, this eighth commandment safeguards property. It forbids theft, the taking or keeping of something that belongs to someone else. This commandment is desperately needed today.³⁹⁰

Today theft is at an all time high. The cost of crime is now in the billions of dollars a year just in the United States alone. Many teenagers today think stealing from department stores is like a video game. But when they end up in jail with a felony count it is no laughing matter. Amazingly, most of the theft comes from the employees themselves! Therefore, in today’s society honesty is a quality that is highly valued by employers because it so rare. In fact, many godly employees will find security and advancement in their jobs, merely because they follow the eighth commandment.

In our schools and colleges plagiarism on papers and cheating on tests are almost the norm today. Students are infected with the “everyone is doing it” mentality. When caught, most have a “what’s the big deal” attitude. Plagiarism is more and more common because of this fact. Often in my lifetime different people have said to me, “Do you think that posting the Ten Commandments in our classrooms would make any difference at all.” My answer is, “Yes, I do.” ADONAI has said: The word that goes out of My mouth will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

The Bible is clear that stealing can also be taking advantage of someone in need. From the biblical standpoint, to overcharge, to undersell or to deceive is to steal. It’s trying to get something for nothing. It’s trying to gain something at the expense of another person. This is exactly why Jesus drove out the moneychangers from the Temple of His day. Yeshua entered the Temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. It is written, He said to them: My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers (Matthew 21:13). The Temple was supposed to be a place of worship, quiet meditation, contemplation, praise and devotion, a place where God’s people could draw close to Him in worship, sacrifice, and offerings and could seek His will and blessing. But all of that was stolen from them by people who carried on their greedy schemes under the guise of serving and worshiping God.³⁹¹

To cheat is to steal anything, including an honor, which is not rightly yours. Stealing is getting the reward without paying the price, collecting the dividend without making the investment. It’s receiving money without working, its making good grades without studying, it’s getting to the top of the ladder without climbing the rungs. Like the other commandments, the eighth commandment is written from the nature of God into us because we were created in His image. Our lives are an investment. Life involves putting something into it and receiving something in return. Stealing, however, is the shortcut philosophy of life that contradicts this basic principle of God.

The human desire to take shortcuts formed the basis of Christ’s three great temptations in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus knew that there would be no crown without the cross, and no redemption without the suffering of a redeemer, and no resurrection without a crucifixion. But Satan tempted Him to get all of that without paying the price for them, to steal them, if you will. Satan knew people were eagerly looking for a king so he told Yeshua to turn stones into bread, to throw Himself down from the highest point of the Temple so the angles would catch Him, and finally to bow down to Satan himself. In other words, to take a shortcut to the kingship without making the sacrifice. But Jesus would have none of it. He knew there could be no shortcuts when He redeemed us; He was willing to pay the price and be nailed to a cross to die as our substitute.

The Bible also describes another way of stealing, which, from a believer’s standpoint, may be the most serious of all. This is stealing by failing to give our talents or our tithe to ADONAI. This is perhaps the highest level of trying to get something for nothing. We steal by accepting something and giving nothing in return. This sin is not doing wrong acts but failing to use our God-given talents and gifts for Yeshua’s service. These were the people in the parables of Jesus who were condemned and punished most severely. We can also steal from God Himself. Malachi 3:8 asks: Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me. It goes on to explain that we rob God when we fail to give our tithes and offerings. Like his grandfather Abraham who gave tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:40) before him, Jacob acknowledged that everything he had belonged to ADONAI (Genesis 28:22). Later, tithing would become an obligation under the Torah (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21-24). Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, believers should tithe and it should be done cheerfully and gratefully, not grudgingly or with a selfish attitude (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others).

What seems to be a great help in understanding the original purpose of the Ten Commandments is their function within the community. These are commands given by a redeeming God to a recently redeemed people for whom He had a national purpose. As God’s people, His special possession, the Israelites had to know what He required of them. Being an Israelite was not a matter of private, personal faith. It had vertical and horizontal dimensions. After all, if Isra’el could not treat ADONAI with respect and treat each other as a special people, how could they be a light to the Gentiles? How could they ever be a kingdom of priests in a world that did not know the true God?³⁹²

You Shall Not Commit Adultery
20: 14

You shall not commit adultery REFLECT: Have I been unfaithful to my spouse? Am I involved in pornography? Are lust and a wandering eye affecting the relationship with my mate? Do I take that second look? Am I conscious of what I am looking at? Am I aware that others, co-workers or family members, are following my eyes? What is my witness in this area?

You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).

The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God raised up the Lord, and He will raise us up too by His power. Don’t you know that your bodies are parts of the Messiah? So, am I to take parts of the Messiah and make them parts of a prostitute? Heaven forbid! Don’t you know that a man who joins himself to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? For the Scriptures say: The two will become one flesh; but the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

Therefore, run from sexual immorality (see Genesis 39:12)! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body. Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to glorify God (First Corinthians 6:13-20 CJB).

We live in a sex-saturated society today. Sins that used to be kept in the dark are now flaunted in public. Our sense of shame has been replaced with brazen defiance. Norms that used to be accepted are now being challenged; people living abnormal lifestyles now want to be accepted as normal. Sex sells everything today. It is in every industry, all the time, year after year, day after day, every minute, every second. We cannot escape it. Like Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, we are swimming in an ocean of sexual excess and perversion while trying to stay clean. Sex crimes are at all-time highs, while infidelity, divorce, and perversion are now commonplace. We are obsessed with sex to a degree perhaps never seen before in the world.

We have the seventh commandment exactly because sex is God’s idea. Your generation didn’t invent sex. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). The commandment: You shall not commit adultery, is God’s response to our obvious abuse of His great gift of sexuality. He recoils at the thought of a woman leaving her home in the middle of the night to sleep with her neighbor’s husband. He is disgusted at prostitution. He is angry with the teenager who seeks to satisfy unrestrained lust. The seventh commandment is the LORD’s desire to protect us from ourselves.

ADONAI approves of sex within the confines of a marriage. Adultery is the abuse of this great gift. Like fire, it can be used for good or it can destroy. Fire in my fireplace can be a good thing. It warms my family and can cook our food. But fire in my living room can destroy both my house and my family. The same can be said for sex. Within the confines of marriage sex is a good and godly thing. But outside of marriage it can destroy my family. When Sha’ul wrote the church at Corinth he reminded them that since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of sexual self-control (First Corinthians 7:1b-5).

When Jesus, restated the seventh commandment in Matthew 5:27-28, He broadened it, just as He had the sixth, to include thoughts. You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Looking at a woman lustfully does not cause a man to commit adultery in his thoughts. He already has committed adultery in his heart. It is not lustful looking that causes the sin in his heart, but the sin in his heart that causes lustful looking. The lustful looking is but the expression of a heart that is already immoral and adulterous. The heart is the soil where the seeds of sin are imbedded and begin to grow.³⁸⁶ The point that Yeshua made is this: the fact that you may not follow through and act upon your thoughts does not makes you guiltless.

The Biblical standard is simply this: you shall not lust in thought, word, or deed. Faithfulness to your marriage partner is mandatory. This is the believer’s ethic of sex. You may not agree with it. The world certainly doesn’t like it. You may choose to reject it. But as a believer, you cannot repeal it or revise it.

The word adultery comes from the Hebrew word which means adulteration. The term was first used when the Israelites were worshiping idols, thereby adulterating the true worship of God with godless idols. They had perverted that which was originally pure and clean. That’s what adultery is. It is when we wipe our feet on the pure and clean love that God has given us. When we understand this deeper meaning of adultery, faithfulness and commitment in marriage makes sense; anything else seems unreasonable.³⁸⁷

What does the seventh commandment have to say to those who are not married? The New Covenant uses the term adultery to refer to sex outside of marriage. It uses a different word for sex between two unmarried people: sexual immorality (First Corinthians 5:1, 10:8; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3). And the prohibition against sexual immorality is just as strict as it is against adultery. Many unmarried people today believe that they are in love, but they are actually in lust. Once the sex starts, they cannot tell the difference. Sexual immorality refers to premarital relations and adultery refers to extramarital relations, but the message is exactly the same. If you have no discipline in your sex life before you get married, you will have no discipline in your sex life after you get married. God doesn’t make mistakes on His counsel regarding sex in our lives.

Do you take that second look? Your eyes will see what they see. You can’t do anything about that. But once you see something provocative, you don’t have to take that second look. It’s the second look that will get you in trouble. King David was not at fault for seeing Bathsheba bathing. He could not have helped noticing her, because she was in plain view as he walked on the palace roof. His sin was taking that second look, dwelling on the sight, and in willingly giving in to the temptation. He could have looked away and occupied his mind in other ways. The fact that he had her brought to his chambers and committed adultery with her showed the immoral desire that already existed in his heart (Second Samuel 11:1-4).

A popular proverb goes, “Sow a thought and reap an act. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.” That process perfectly illustrates the point that, no matter where it ends, sin always begins when an evil thought is sown in the mind and heart.³⁸⁸

In the 1920s American society whispered, “Follow your libido,” in the 1960s they boldly pronounced, “If it feels good do it,” and today our society screams proudly, “Love the one you’re with!” But why didn’t it work then, and why doesn’t it work now? You can’t swim in the toilet and come up smelling like a rose. Thousands of years ago Moses claimed that God gave him a command and he wrote: You shall not commit adultery. And this commandment came out of the holy nature and character of ADONAI Himself. Since you and I are created in the image of God, this commandment is written for our own good. If we follow God’s blueprint for living, we can prevent a multitude of health problems. But wrong choices always have their consequences. The explosion of pregnancies outside of marriage, in addition to the proliferation of AIDS and STD cases today proves that God’s plan is meant to insure our happiness and well being.³⁸⁹

You Shall Not Murder
20: 13

You shall not murder REFLECT: Have I taken the life of another human being out of greed, malice, jealousy, or negligence? Is anger or rage a regular part of my life?

You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13).

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment”. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother, Raca (an Aramaic term of contempt) is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. You have heard it said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:21-22, 43-45a).

The sixth commandment elevates human life to the highest possible level, because it recognizes that life is sacred. Life is God’s gift, and we must not tamper with it. No person can restore life once it has ended. To kill is a wrong that, once done, cannot be undone. The finality of taking a human life has caused every civilization, no matter how seemingly primitive, to surround it with prohibitions and regulations. The basic principle is that God alone has sovereignty over physical life and death. After Hannah gave birth to her son Samuel, she praised God with this great truth: ADONAI brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up (First Samuel 2:6). Because God alone is the creator of life, He alone has the right to end it.

The Hebrew word here does not mean killing in general; the Hebrew word murder here, always stresses premeditation and deliberateness. It did not forbid the death penalty as some wish to make it today. In Genesis 9:5-6, God instituted the death penalty: And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too. I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made human beings in His image.” This was never repealed but stated another way in the Torah: If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death (Numbers 35:16-21).

Do not confuse this commandment with taking the life of an animal. Murder means the ending of a human life. No other book than the Bible calls for more mercy towards animals, and the commandments were given at a time when even the most “advanced” civilizations of the day abused animals terribly. So, this commandment has nothing to do with animal life as much as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would like to have us think. It does not abolish the authority that man has over animals. As God Himself said: Everything that lives and moves upon the earth will be food for you (Genesis 9:3). As a result, humans and animals are not equals, because man was created in the image of God, and the animals, birds, fish, and insects were not.

As always, to understand this sixth commandment we must remember the first two commandments, which tell us that only ADONAI will be the God of our lives. History is full of examples, from ancient Rome to Adolph Hitler, only when ADONAI is truly God is mankind truly human. And only when God counts for everything, does man amount to anything. We must maintain this important hierarchy. With this in mind, let us see how this commandment guides us amid some of the complexities of modern life. It forbids killing a person directly, as when Cain murdered Abel; or indirectly, as when David killed Uriah by ordering someone else to do it.³⁸¹

First, what about suicide? You have no right to murder yourself. The omission of the object shows that the prohibition includes not only the killing of another person, but also the destruction of one’s own life.³⁸² Life is something that ADONAI does not treat lightly, and it is thus binding on His people to do likewise.³⁸³ The same principle applies, ADONAI gives life and He is the only One who has the right to take it. Suicide isn’t a basic human right. If it is not right to murder other human beings, it is not right to murder ourselves. Our life belongs to God, as the Scriptures clearly point out. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body (First Corinthians 6:19-20).

Nevertheless, we should not condemn those who commit suicide either. The Psalmist Asaph knew only two well the deep distress of human life when he cried out: My flesh and my heart may fail (Psalm 73:26a). And sometimes they do fail. But who is our judge, God alone? Sometimes the circumstances of life drive some people to despair and they are no longer capable of making responsible decisions. However, on a scriptural basis, suicide is murder and murder is not an option if we are accountable to God for our bodies.

Secondly, what about war? Is war wrong? Some believers say that Jesus addresses this when he tells us that we must love our enemies (Matthew 5:39-45), and all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). But others say that just as a judge has the right to condemn a murderer, the government has the right, indeed the responsibility, to protect its citizens from evil men and nations. In fact, the Hebrew word murder is never used in the Bible for executing someone who has been condemned to death or for killing an enemy in war. Jesus is described as Commander of the army of the LORD (Joshua 5:13-15). Who is the King of Glory? ADONAI, strong and mighty, ADONAI, mighty in battle (Psalm 24:8). This is not an easy question. This is something you must decide in your own heart, between you and God. No one else can make this decision for you.

Yet, one thing is certain – Christ never gives us, under any circumstances, the right to hate our enemies. If you opt for war, it must be done in agony of spirit and only as a last resort. It must be done regretfully, repentantly, and realizing that it is not a second best decision but a last choice. Those who love the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will not indulge in hatred, a revengeful spirit, bitterness or gloating over a fallen enemy. A believer will instead show love, forgiveness and mercy, even in the midst of war.³⁸⁴ But sometimes you find yourself staring into the face of evil, and you are the only person standing between a Charles Manson, an Adolph Hitler, or a terrorist and someone you love. That is the moment of truth.

What about abortion? Scripture says: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16; also see Psalm 22:10; Isaiah 44:2 and 24; Jeremiah 1:5 and 20:17). So abortion should never be used to ease the emotional or financial pain of an unwanted pregnancy. In the case of rape, adoption should be an option if the mother cannot see her way clear to raise the child.

But the Scriptures do no cover every situation in our lives. In our Statement of Faith under Faith and Practice, we state that Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We recognize the local church cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible (First Corinthians 8:9; Romans 14). The case of saving the life of the mother because of a pregnancy, or during childbirth, is a difficult one because Scripture is silent. Therefore, the most important thing to do is to bring it before the Lord. Pray about it. Seek God.

Let’s look at a hypothetical situation. Say a young married believer has a five year old, a two year old, she’s pregnant, and she has cancer. The doctor comes in and tells her that she needs chemotherapy to live. But if she has chemotherapy it will kill the baby – abortion or not. She prays about it for several days. If she decides not to have the chemotherapy does that mean she is very godly woman? If she chooses to go ahead with the chemo does that mean she lacks faith? If she chooses not to have the radiation treatment does that mean God will save her life because she exhibited faith? If she says, Lord, “Your will be done,” does that mean that she will live?

Would you judge someone who went ahead and had an abortion under these circumstances? No. But there still are no easy answers. Some would say if she didn’t have the chemo that she is acting in a suicidal manner. Others would say she is displaying great faith. Is it right to make a decision to end someone’s life? No. Is it God who determines who should live and who should die? Of course it is. However, should a person choose to die to save another’s life? Are we commanded to do that? No! Taking your own life is wrong and taking another person’s life is wrong. No easy answers there! None of us really knows what we would do unless we were actually confronted with the situation. The bottom line is that when it comes down to making a difficult decision like this, it’s between you and God.

When Jesus came He restated the sixth commandment and raised it to a much higher level, penetrating deep into our hearts. The Torah only prohibited the outward violence that would kill; however, Christ expanded it to include the inward thoughts and feelings of anger that lead to physical violence. But there is a righteous anger, Jesus Himself got angry at the right time, at the right place, and about the right things. We should do likewise. However, God did condemn that personal, out-of-control type of feeling. The only difference between anger and murder is in degree. Isn’t that the order in which killing occurs? Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15). First comes the seething resentment, an insult, the hatred, and finally murder.³⁸⁵ But ADONAI said: You shall not murder.

Honor Your Father and Your Mother
20: 12

Honor your father and your mother REFLECT: Have I shown disrespect for my parents, or withheld my care for them? Have I been unable to appreciate them as gifts from God and refuse to consider their viewpoints as valid? Do I exasperate my children? Am I raising them in the training and instruction of the Lord?

Honor your father and your mother, so you may live long in the Land ADONAI your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12).

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-4).

As far as Isra’el was concerned, the fifth commandment had a promise of longevity that referred to the nation as a whole. Instead of meaning a long life for each individual Israelite, it meant that the nation itself would live long in the land of Canaan if they honored their fathers and mothers. On the other hand, cursing one’s parents, the same as to rejecting their authority, was a capital offense. ADONAI commanded: Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head (Leviticus 20:9 and Proverbs 20:20).

The Scriptures direct every child to honor his or her father and mother. But just what does it mean to honor your father and your mother? The Hebrew word honor literally means to be heavy, weighty, to honor. Today we would say that his or her words “Carry a lot of weight.” Someone whose words are weighty is someone worthy of honor and respect. However, we can learn even more about what it means to honor someone by looking at its opposite in the Scriptures. The literal meaning of the word curse is to make light of, of little weight, to dishonor. We would say their words “Carry very little weight.” Therefore, when Ha’Shem commands us to honor our parents, He is telling us that they are worthy of high value and respect.³⁷⁷

Our greatest example is Messiah Himself. Even though God the Father would wake God the Son, morning by morning and teach Him that He was destined to go to the cross (Isaiah 50:4-7), Jesus was still obedient to His earthly parents (Luke 2:51). Imagine that, the sinless God of the universe honoring His earthly parents! One of the ways that we are conformed into the likeness of Messiah (Romans 8:29) is by honoring our parents.

Without a doubt, there are some parents whose insensitivity and unloving actions have hurt their children deeply. What if you had a father or a mother was physically or psychologically abusive? What about the parent who has chosen to be a friend of the world and therefore become an enemy of God (James 4:4)? That parent loves everything that God hates. How can you honor that parent? I know that from a human perspective some mothers and fathers don’t appear to deserve honor. I am not saying their actions were not hurtful, nor am I rationalizing the negative effects they may have caused over the years. And if you are in physical danger, of course you need to get to a safe place away from them. You don’t have to subject yourself to abuse. However, I am saying that the only way to be free from the hurt is to honor them. Because every time we lower their value and cut them down, we’re dishonoring a part of ourselves. So if you are in that situation, what can you do? You can make an unconditional decision to treat them (or their memory) as a valuable treasure, and granting them a position of respect and honor in your life. I am not saying this is always easy, but the alternative isn’t very good either. In that way you can stop chasing past hurts and be at peace in the present.

Besides the fifth commandment, the book of Proverbs has much to say about honoring our parents. We honor our parents when we listen carefully to their godly counsel (Proverbs 1:8, 2:1, 4:1, 5:1, 9:8, 10:1, 13:1 and 15:5). We honor our parents when they see us acting wisely (Proverbs 27:11). Praising our parents brings light to our lives, but cursing them will snuff out our lamp (Proverbs 20:20). We dishonor our parents and bring grief to them when we act foolishly (Proverbs 17:25). Involvement in immoral relationships not only affects us, but also causes our parents to grieve (Proverbs 5:1-23, 31:3). Being prideful, critical and judgmental dishonor our parents (Proverbs 30:12-17).³⁷⁸

What happens if a parent has died and you cannot speak face to face? The memory of an absent father or mother can be just as vivid as real life. We carry those mental pictures around with us all our lives. Some people loved their parents deeply but never told them so. Others struggle with a painful past and have horrible feelings and memories of them. May I suggest that you write a letter to that person and share your feelings as if he or she were with you in person. Or if writing a letter is too difficult, make a recording that you can play back and listen to. Love the sinner, hate the sin. You can still be completely honest, and yet not sin with your words.³⁷⁹

Rabbi Sha’ul broadened the commandment to include both children and parents. This commandment deals with the consequences of family behavior. Families are a part of God’s plan. No one is an island and God makes a home for the lonely when He places us in families (Psalm 68:6 NASB). The nature of human life is that each generation begins where the previous generation places it. That’s not some ancient, religious code. That’s an indisputable fact of history. This means that both the blessings and the sins of the parents have an impact on the following generations. This is true genetically, physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually. Each generation starts where the previous generation leaves off. And because this is the nature of humanity, we need a commandment to guide us.³⁸⁰

Remember the Sabbath by Keeping It Holy
20: 8-11

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy DIG: What is the difference between observing the Sabbath and worshiping on Sunday? Are there differences between the way Hebrew Christians and Messianic Jews observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy? Why is the Sabbath a sign of the everlasting covenant between God and the Israelites? What is replacement theology? What is the difference between the first four commandments and the last six?

REFLECT: Do I choose to observe the Sabbath or to worship on Sunday? Do I fail to take time off for rest, spiritual rejuvenation, and worship? Is my day of worship just like any other day of the week? Is a Christian Gentiles’ worship on Sunday any better, or worse, than a messianic Jew observing the Sabbath? Why or why not?

The TaNaKh pictures the wedding ceremony of ADONAI to the nation of Isra’el, just the B’rit Chadashah pictures the wedding ceremony of Yeshua to the Church (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fg – Blessed Are Those Who are Invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb). After the engagement (6:7a), the separation of the bride (5:1), and the segulah (19:5), we now come to the actual wedding ceremony. First, we saw the people purify themselves in the mikveh (19:10 and 14), then we saw them standing under the chupah where the wedding takes place (19:16a). Now we come to the central part of the wedding called the ketubah. In traditional Jewish weddings the ketubah is the marriage contract or covenant. It is the legally binding agreement between the bride and groom which governs their marriage. It is always a written agreement, which is how the word ketubah derives its name, from the Hebrew “to write.” The ketubah is read and signed during the wedding ceremony.

In this wedding ceremony at Mount Sinai, what is the ketubah? What is it that is the legally binding marriage contract or covenant between YHVH and His bride, Isra’el? It is Torah! For here, in Chapter 20, ADONAI begins to give His Torah to Isra’el. The first part of the revelation of the Torah is what the Bible calls The Ten Words, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments (see Dj – The Ten Commandments). However,  the reality is that the entire Torah is the ketubah.

But what is a wedding without a ring? A wedding ring is an outward symbol of the marriage. It is given as a token or a pledge that the person who made the promises will, in fact, keep those promises. It also serves as an outward sign to others that a particular man or woman is married. The ring is Shabbat! We are told that the Sabbath is a sign (see Er – The Sabbath, the Sign of the Covenant ). Consequently,  just as the ring is an outward sign that the husband and wife belong to each other, so is Shabbat an outward sign that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Isra’el belong together.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for ADONAI your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For six days God made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Thus, God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:8-11).

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and ADONAI your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, ADONAI your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15).

Of the Ten Commandments, nine of them are fulfilled in the Torah’s true meaning, which Messiah upholds, and often made more stringent, so we are obligated to obey them. However, this particular commandment regarding the Sabbath day, or Shabbat as it is called in Hebrew, is not found in the New Covenant and as a result, while Gentile Christians may obey it for the blessing (Genesis 11:3a), most choose not to observe it. It is not for the Church. But while keeping the Sabbath saves neither Gentile believers nor Jewish believers; for the Jew, just as the rainbow was the sign of the Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9:12-13) and circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 17:11),³⁷³ Shabbat on Saturday is a special sign between God and the Israelites forever (Exodus 31:13-17; Ezeki’el 20:20). In other words, this passage explicitly states that the Israelites are to keep the Sabbath.

Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Jews observe the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, for the blessing, and to be obedient to the Torah. Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote when speaking of the Day of Atonement: This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath rest (Leviticus 23:31b-32a). Israelites were to keep the book of the Torah on their lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that they would act according to everything written in it (Joshua 1:8). The Sabbath is the most important appointed feast day on the Jewish calendar, even greater than Yom Kippur (see the commentary on Leviticus – Yom Kippur). For messianic Jews, the messianic synagogue is a practical way to express the New Covenant faith within the Jewish cultural framework from where it originated.

An allegory. At the beginning of time was One, eternal. But time undivided, time eternal, would be unrelated to the world of space. So time was divided into seven days and entered into an intimate relationship with the world of space. With every single day, another realm of things came into being, except the seventh day.

The Sabbath was a lonely day. It may be compared to a king who had seven sons. To six of them he gave his wealth, but to the youngest he gave nobility, with the privilege of royalty. The six older sons, who were commoners, found their mates, but the noble one remained without a mate.

After the work of creation, the seventh day pleaded: Master of the universe, all that You have created is in couples; to every day of the week You have given a mate. Only I was left alone. And God answered: The community of Isra’el will be your mate. That promise was not forgotten. When the people of Isra’el stood before Mount Sinai, the Lord said to them: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Here is your mate.³⁷⁴

Are there differences between the way Hebrew Christians and Messianic Jews observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy? Yes, most certainly. Historically Hebrew Christians are those believers in Christ that are Jewish but are not affiliated with Messianic Judaism. As a result, they faithfully attend church but do not keep Shabbat. Messianic Jews, on the other hand, are those Jewish believers in Messiah who fully keep and retain their Jewishness in theology and practice. In this context, a “Messianic Jew” would never consider himself or herself either a “Christian” or “Hebrew Christian”. Paul defines the Christian for us in Acts 11:26 as being a person or congregation of Gentile believers. The Antioch church of Acts 11:26 was exclusively a Gentile congregation, while the Messianic Jews of the first century were commonly called followers of the Way (Acts 24:14), or simply The Way (Acts 9:2).

In the messianic Siddur, or prayer book, it states that, “The children of Isra’el shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Isra’el forever, that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased from work and rested”. For the Jew, it is not a question of salvation, but a question of blessing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Gen 2:3; also see Exodus 20:11b and Isaiah 56:2-7). If a Jew is saved and chooses to worship in church on Sunday, it has no affect on his or her salvation, but he or she will lose the blessing of Sabbath worship. If a Gentile chooses to worship with a Messianic congregation on Saturday, he or she will also be blessed greatly. The blessing will be a result of the Abrahamic Covenant where ADONAI said: I will bless those who bless you (Genesis 11:3a). It is interesting to note that the Sabbath day rest will be reestablished during the messianic Kingdom (Ezeki’el 44:24, 45:17, 46:1-4, 46:18).

The fourth commandment was given to the Jews in the Torah to set apart the seventh day of the week, which would be Saturday, as a day of rest. God ceased His work on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3), and He wanted them to do the same. There was to be no gathering of manna (16:25-30), no traveling (16:29), no plowing or reaping (34:21), no lighting a fire for cooking (35:3), no gathering wood (Numbers 15:32-36), they were not to make wine or transport it (Nehemiah 13:15), no burden bearing (Jer 17:21-22), and no trading (Amos 8:5). In the Torah, the Sabbath was a day of individual or corporate worship.

In the gospels, there were three major areas of conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees: First, His claim that He was the Messiah; secondly, the authority of the Oral Law, or the traditions of the men (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law); and thirdly, the correct way of observing the Sabbath. In the day of Jesus, the Sabbath had become an end to itself. In fact, certain Jewish religious leaders had developed a theology that Isra’el had been created to observe the Sabbath. But by adding so many rules and regulations, the Pharisees made the Sabbath a burden instead of a blessing. By building ‘the fence around the Torah’ with the Oral Law, they detracted from its true meaning. It was supposed to help man, not enslave him. The Jewish religious leaders missed the human element, because the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). Furthermore, Jesus was, and continues to be, Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8).

There is no question that Jesus observed the Sabbath in the manner given by the Torah, though not always in the manner given by the rabbis. However, this is not sufficient ground to insist that Jewish or Gentile believers be obligated to keep the Sabbath today for salvation. Yeshua lived under the Torah and perfectly obeyed every one of the 613 commandments applicable to Him, be they moral, civil, or ceremonial. To insist that Jewish or Gentile believers keep the Sabbath today to be saved would also require them to perfectly keep all of the same commandments, down to the smallest letter, or tiniest part of a letter of Scripture (Matthew 5:18), including the civil and ceremonial laws.³⁷⁵

For the Gentile believer, Sunday, or the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), is not the same as Saturday, the seventh day. Although Sunday is the most common day of worship for the Christian today, no specific day is assigned. One man considers one day more sacred than another; but another man considers every day alike. Each one should be convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord (Romans 14:5-6a). We are commanded to come together in fellowship (Hebrews 10:25), but today the local church determines what day we choose to worship, and most churches have chosen Sunday. Messianic synagogues worship on Saturday. But there are Gentiles whose jobs require them to work both Saturday and Sunday. They should take a day of rest on some other day of the week. The point is that, for our own well being, we need to take a rest from our normal work every week.³⁷⁶

So, are Gentile believers obligated to rest and abstain from work on the Sabbath? No. If you take one day of the week to rest and do something other than your normal work, will you have a richer, fuller, and more rewarding life? But for the Jew, Shabbat can only be celebrated on Saturday.

Although the Christian should have their day of rest, whether Sunday or any other day, it should never be called a “Christian Sabbath”, in that, it does not exist. Certainly, they should all have a designated day or time to rest and be with the Lord in worship, ministry, and service – still that would never be the prescribed Sabbath of the Torah. To call Sunday worship at a church, the “Christian Sabbath”, is a subtle form of replacement theology, where Gentile believers take that which was given to Isra’el and claim it as their own in replacement of the covenant with Isra’el. Thus, because of its great importance, Sabbath worship and Sunday worship cannot be compared.

The first four commandments are more vertical and describe our relationship with God, but the last six are more horizontal and describe our relationship with each other.

You Shall Not Misuse the Name
of the LORD Your God
20: 7

You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God REFLECT: Do I use God’s name in contexts other than prayer, worship, teaching or evangelism? Has God’s name become separated from His person in my everyday life?

You shall not misuse the name of ADONAI your God, for ADONAI will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name (Exodus 20:7).

This, then, is how you should pray. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9).

What’s in a name? Plenty! God’s name is comprised of the four Hebrew letters that in English are YHWH. It was this name that was explained to Moses at the burning bush (3:13-22). The Jewish scribes would take extraordinary precautions when writing His name. They would never dip their pen in the ink in the middle of writing His name. If even the king spoke to them while writing the name of YHWH, the scribe would ignore him. In fact, the Jews took this commandment so seriously that they refused to pronounce God’s name so they wouldn’t accidentally misuse the name of YHWH. For that very reason, the exact pronunciation of God’s name has been lost. Even today, many Jews make no attempt to use or even pronounce the name, referring to God simply as Ha’Shem, Hebrew for the name.³⁶⁸

Some view this third commandment as merely a prohibition against using God’s name as a swear word. The Israelites themselves took it as such. Leviticus 19:12 says: Do not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am ADONAI. But there is a lot more to this commandment than that. The word profane comes from the Latin word pro, which means in front of, and fane, which means the temple. Those who profane the name of God have taken the holy out of the temple and permitted their hearts, minds and mouths to be put in the gutter out in front of it. Do you know anyone who loves God and is close to Him that thinks His last name is damn? Of course not. God will hold us responsible if we profanely use His name.

On another level, this third commandment is a ban against dishonesty of speech, perjury, false promises and the breaking of our word. Early in human history people came to lie so often that no one could trust a person’s common word. In order to be believed one had to call upon god to witness to the truth. We think the cover-ups and evasions going on today in the political arena and elsewhere are modern phenomena, but the problem is really as old as civilization. The idea also surfaced that if you didn’t swear by God, then you didn’t have to tell the truth. But slowly people became such liars that even that didn’t help. People felt that unless they took a certain elaborate oath they were not required to tell the truth.

By the time Jesus was born the situation was much worse. People used many different kinds of oaths but still lied. It became impossible to tell if they were telling the truth or not, even though they used God’s name in an oath. That’s why Jesus said: Do not swear at all, simply let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No” (Matthew 5:34 and 37). His point was that we shouldn’t have to use God’s name to be believed. As believers, our lives should be our witness. We are united in Christ (Ephesians Chapter 1), meaning we belong to Him. We take His name as our name and we should never profane it by breaking our word, or using His name for selfish or evil purposes (Psalm 139:20; Deuteronomy 5:11).³⁶⁹ Not that we are perfect, but honoring God all the time including all we say, should be the desire of our hearts.

This third commandment has an even deeper meaning. The third commandment also warns us against the misuse of God’s power. In both the TaNaKh and the B’rit Chadashah a person’s name was thought to be an extension of their character. Similarly, throughout the Bible ADONAI’s name represents the nature and character of God Himself. So to speak for ADONAI is to speak in His name (Deuteronomy 18:19-20). To praise God is to praise His name (Psalm 96:2, 100:4). To worship God is to call upon the name of ADONAI (Genesis 4:26; Isaiah 84:7). To serve God is to love His name (Psalm 5:11). The Temple of God was the place ADONAI chose . . . to put His Name (Deuteronomy 12:5). The Bible teaches that those who know ADONAI’S name will trust in Him (Psalm 9:10). Therefore, to know the name of ADONAI is in some way to know the power of God.

Acts 4:7 tells how the religious leaders questioned Peter and John about their healing of a lame man, asking: By what power or what name did you do this? And Peter answered: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth . . . (Acts 4:10). Eventually the high court angrily let them go, warning the apostles not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18). You see, God’s name includes His character, His will, and His power. That’s why we are to pray in the name of Christ and why God’s name has special power and meaning for us. It is as if the third commandment is saying, “Be very careful. Don’t use the name of God for your own selfish ends. Don’t attempt to use God’s power for your own will and your own ways. Don’t try to cosign God’s name to a lot of things in your life that are totally unworthy of His name.³⁷⁰

In this age of grace, the believer is encouraged not to swear by any oath. Echoing what Yeshua had said earlier, James said: Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No” be no, or you will be condemned (James 5:12). We need to exhibit truth on all occasions and should not need the name of God to verify our life style of telling the truth.³⁷¹

What’s in a name? Everything. Does you life profane His name or honor His name? Can God sign His name to your body? How about your money? Does ADONAI co-sign His holy name to your checkbook? What about your home, your habits, your mood, your manners, your work, your disposition? Can God sign His name to your life? If so, you are keeping the third commandment.³⁷²

You Shall Not Make for Yourselves an Idol
20: 4-6

You shall not make for yourselves an idol REFLECT: Has a picture or image of God replaced the real the LORD as the object of my worship? Have I changed my ultimate loyalty to an object, an activity, an organization or a person that has become the god I serve?

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in haven above or on the earth beneath or in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me. But I will show love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and obey My commandments (Exodus 20:4-6).

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk (Revelation 9:20).

The First Commandment clearly teaches that ADONAI is the only God, and no others are to be tolerated, or even thought of. The Second Commandment declares the type of God that He is, and how He is to be worshipped. We must remember that God is not against making images. Later, God would command Moses to make a bronze snake in the wilderness. This commandment is against worshiping these idols.

No idols were to be worshiped. Deuteronomy 4:15-18 confirmed that command: You saw no form of any kind the day God spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. The people of other nations worshiped objects in heaven above (like the sun, moon and stars), or on the earth below (such as the crocodiles in Egypt or sea monsters among the Babylonians), but Isra’el was to worship the one true God.

The reason that idols are not to be worshiped is that ADONAI is a jealous or zealous God, and their idolatry is looked upon as spiritual adultery. The Hebrew term qanna’ combines the two concepts of jealousy and zeal (not envy or suspicion).³⁶⁶ So zeal, or zealousness, meaning a passionate devotion to, would be a better term to use than jealous, which has negative, even petty connotations. So idolatry would cause God’s zeal to burn like a husband’s zealousness would burn against an unfaithful wife (Hosea 2:2-5). Because God and Isra’el are viewed as married, Isra’el is viewed as the wife of ADONAI (Deuteronomy 5:1-3, 6:10-15, 7:6-11; Isaiah 54:1-8, 62:4-5; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezeki’el 16:8; Hosea 2:14-23). For that very reason, the Israelites should not have worshiped other gods. God has a right to be zealous over what is rightfully His. As a result, this was not a petty jealousy, but a righteous zealousness.

God will punish the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (Exodus 20:5). When one member of the family commits a sin, spiritual adultery for example, the whole family suffers. They will not all be put to death for the father’s crime (Ezeki’el 18:4b), but if they continue to hate God, the penalty of the father’s act will surely be felt by future generations to come in different ways. On the other hand, obeying ADONAI’s commandments flows naturally from loving Him (John 14:15; First John 5:3).

An idol is anything or anyone who takes the place of God in our lives. Saint Augustine said, “Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped.” Believers are not immune from this temptation. Even different aspects of our faith can become idolatrous. One of the greatest examples of this is the bronze snake in the wilderness. When the Israelites grumbled in the desert, God sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many of them died. ADONAI then commanded Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. So anyone who was bitten by a snake could look up at the bronze snake and live (Numbers 21:4-9). Than bronze snake is a type of Christ on the cross. Yeshua said: Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15). That snake, like Yeshua, was a means of salvation, something to deliver the people from their sins. But the Israelites eventually worshiped it. Seven hundred years later when a godly man named Hezekiah became king, he began to cleanse Isra’el from her idolatry. As Second Kings 18:4 tells us, one of the first things he did was to break to pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. They took a good thing that God had given them, a means of salvation, and turned it into an idol to be worshiped. Thus, we must be careful not to do the same thing.

God will tolerate no rivals; not our service, not our concern, not our passionate devotion, not even our ability, though we live or die for the cause of Yeshua the Messiah. He wants every key to every door in your heart. He is zealous that there be no competition. He will not share the throne of our hearts. There is only one seat on the throne and it is His. He wants to look at us and say, “There go My children. They are all Mine. They belong to Me without exception. Every part of their personalities, every relationship, every ambition, and every desire belongs to Me.”

In the last days those that dwell upon the earth will choose to worship idols that cannot see (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Db – The Sixth Trumpet: Four Angles Who Had Been Kept Ready, Were Released to Kill a Third of Mankind). As a direct result of their rebellion, a third of mankind will be killed. Is there an idol in your heart? Can God look down into your heart and ask, “Do I have a rival here? Why aren’t you all mine?” Dear children, keep yourselves from idols (First John 5:21). ADONAI your God is a zealous God who will tolerate no rival.³⁶⁷