Hi Everyone! Hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving! We did! Sorry this is long! Hope you have a very joyful day!
Doing the two greatest commandments is more than all the whole burnt offerings and the sacrifices, though the priesthood and sacrificial system has changed because Yeshua has fulfilled them. Notice in the Scripture below how Yeshua precedes the two greatest commandments with the shema? Notice also how the scribe (a Jew) understood and agreed with Yeshua’s statement? The two commandments are not a “gentile” thing. The two are a summation of Torah, just as the ten are. There clearly hasn’t been a dismissal of responsibility to YEHOVAH in doing what HE deems is love and truth.
“ . . . and Jesus answered him–The first of all the commands is , Hear, O Israel, YEHOVAH is our God, YEHOVAH is one; and thou shalt love YEHOVAH thy God out of all thy heart, and out of thy soul, and out of all thine understanding, and out of all thy strength--this is the first command; and the second is like it , this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; --greater than these there is no other command.' And the scribe said to him,
Well, Teacher, in truth thou hast spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He; and to love Him out of all the heart, and out of all the understanding, and out of all the soul, and out of all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is more than all the whole burnt-offerings and the sacrifices.” (Mar 12:29-33)
Below is a prophetic Psalm of David. Notice how Yeshua says YEHOVAH did not desire the sacrifices? They were a placeholder until Messiah came to fulfill them. Yet Yeshua still kept the rest of Torah.
“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy TORAH is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” (Psa 40:6-10)
Yeshua clearly teaches that, until heaven and earth pass away, nothing of Torah will pass away. We know the priesthood and sacrifices has changed (fulfilled) but, a priesthood and offering still remain, nothing has “passed away”. And, Yeshua clearly teaches that we are to teach others the commandments.
Do not suppose that I came to throw down the TORAH or the prophets--I did not come to throw down, but to fulfill; for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the TORAH, till that all may come to pass.
Whoever therefore may loose one of these commands–the least–and may teach men so, least he shall be called in the reign of the heavens, but whoever may do and may teach them , he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. (Mat 5:17-19)
“And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” -Yeshua (Luk 16:17)
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Gal 5:14)
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: (Jas 2:8)
The Sabbath . . .
We are to remember and sanctify the Sabbath because YEHOVAH remembers us and sanctifies us.
This passage ends with YEHOVAH taking the validity of the Sabbath day back to the beginning of creation.
`Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day is a Sabbath to YEHOVAH thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, – for six days hath YEHOVAH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath YEHOVAH blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it. (Exo 20:8-11)
YEHOVAH’S Sabbath’s are for all people. And, they are for a purpose.
O the happiness of a man who doth this, And of a son of man who keepeth hold on it, Keeping the sabbath from polluting it, And keeping his hand from doing any evil.
Nor speak let a son of the stranger, Who is joined unto YEHOVAH, saying: YEHOVAH doth certainly separate me from His people.' Nor say let the eunuch,
Lo, I am a tree dried up,’ For thus said YEHOVAH of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant: I have given to them in My house, And within My walls a station and a name, Better than sons and than daughters, A name age-during I give to him That is not cut off. And sons of the stranger, who are joined to YEHOVAH, To serve Him, and to love the name of YEHOVAH, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant. I have brought them unto My holy mountain, And caused them to rejoice in My house of prayer, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices Are for a pleasing thing on Mine altar, For My house, `A house of prayer,’ Is called for all the peoples.
(Isa 56:2-7)
Numbers 52 shows a man gathering firewood being stoned. Preceding this statement is the account of sin done in ignorance and YEHOVAH forgiving the sin. The man had willfully disobeyed YEHOVAH.
This proved that the man was not in covenant with YEHOVAH but, obeyed the dictates of his own heart or some other god.
It was Paul’s habit to be in the scriptures and teach on the sabbath.
“And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, . . . “ (Act 17:2)
Yeshua has fulfilled the Sabbath. He has also fulfilled the priesthood and sacrifices. Do we now ignore the duties of the Melchizedek Priesthood or our High Priest? Do we now ignore and forget the price Yeshua paid as the final sacrifice? Of course not. We are commanded to “remember”. Do we forget the fulfilling of the Sabbath? Of course not. What better time to “do this in remembrance” of Him than the day He fulfilled it?
The word purpose in the following scripture means to be πρόθεσις =prothesis
- a setting forth of a thing, placing of it in view, the shewbread
1a) twelve loaves of wheaten bread, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel, which loaves were offered to God every Sabbath, and separated into two rows, lay for seven days upon a table placed in the sanctuary or front portion of the tabernacle, and afterwards of the temple
a setting forth, that is, (figuratively) proposal (intention); specifically the show bread (in the Temple) as exposed before God: - purpose, shew -bread].
We are set forth as the show bread, exposed before God. Our High Priest kneads and bakes us (signifying His hand in our sanctification) and sets us before YEHOVAH from Sabbath to Sabbath (Sabbath signifying the covenant (Yeshua as the complete sacrifice) between us and God, that YEHOVAH is our God, that we are His people and that He sanctifies us.) They all run together.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Messiah Yeshua shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yeshua. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2Ti 3:10-17)
And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath. (1Ch 9:32)
Please notice above, that Paul exhorts Timothy “to continue in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them”
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yeshua.
The “holy scriptures” Paul speaks to Timothy about is the Tanakh (your OT). This “OT” was given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness. These are still important. Are we called to anything less than aiming for perfection and “being throughly furnished unto all good works”? Just saying I’m a believer and trying to continually conjure up feelings of love through tolerance of those things which YEHOVAH calls sin, is a sad substitute for real love and truth, imo. How can we even claim to love a person who we steer away from truth? It is truth that sets us free not sinful behavior whether done in ignorance or willfully.
The Sabbath is a sign (as shown above). It is the sign that we not only have believed Yeshua is the final and perfect sacrifice for our sin but, that He is our High Priest and our King.
Even to obey all 613 commandments of God is a whole lot easier than following all the US laws. One count I read recently said the US has approximatively 1, 298,000 laws. At that rate, how many do each of us break every day? Why aren’t we crying “we’re free from the law” on that? I’ll tell you why, because they come and haul you away if they decide to judge you guilty. YEHOVAH is not “harsh” in His judgments, He is fair and disciplines us for our good not wanting any to perish. Why do we hear the bemoaning of obeying His laws and not these others? How hard can even a full 613 laws be compared to all these others? To now answer your question directly Auggy. The “law” of God is for all people. I think it would be a great civil law to follow as Israel did, it is defiantly less oppressive as you can see by the sheer numbers above. Even in America, there is life for life. If you murder, you may be put to death, or spend the rest of your life in prison. What’s the big difference? Except there are a whole lot less of God’s laws. If you don’t pay your taxes you could be “put to death” by the swat team who comes to pick you up at your house. Why is it so much harder to just take the rest God gives you? At the “judgment”, what law do you think God will use? If He doesn’t judge then there is no need for a judgment (which He obviously does judge) but, since there is a coming judgment, He will use His own standard (or law).
We are saved where we are by grace through faith. We don’t have to do anything to receive forgiveness. However, we are called to good works and are judged according to them. “I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is that of the life, and the dead were judged out of the things written in the scrolls–according to their works; and the sea did give up those dead in it, and the death and the hades did give up the dead in them, and they were judged, each one according to their works; and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire–this is the second death; and if any one was not found written in the scroll of the life, he was cast to the lake of the fire.”(Rev 20:12-15)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (Joh 14:12)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
(Tit 2:14)
Yeshua is our “Sabbath Rest” and we are entering in yet, we are still suppose to be “working”. He has provided rest for us by grace through faith as a sign that we are His covenant people (just like the 7th day Sabbath has always pointed to) and yet, Paul says . . . “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Php 2:12-13)
There are also obviously physical needs that we must attend to. Working for money to buy food, shelter and clothing, as well as, taking care of and preparing these (ie: laundry, meals, etc.) So, where’s the continual “rest”?
I see that we are responsible to be obedient to God,as well as, care for ourselves and others, even though we are being saved by His grace through faith in Messiah. We will be accountable for the work we do even though salvation is not by works.
Therefore,
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 5:17-19)
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1Jn 3:3-4)
Here is endurance of the saints: here are those keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ (Rev 14:12)
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31)
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (Jas 1:25)