The Torah (6)
Yeshu‘ah and the Ten Words
André H. Roosma
29 March 2012
In this series we already paid attention to Yeshu‘ah and the Torah and
to the beginning of the Ten Words (also known as the Ten Commandments). Now I want to deal specifically with how Yeshu‘ah (ישׁוּעה)
dealt with the Ten Words.
The New or Second Testament refers frequently to what He taught, so it is
also important to see how He dealt with ‘the Ten Words of the
Covenant’ (Exodus 34: 28). We will throw
some light upon a few of them here.
We already saw that the Torah was not about
the outward appearance and/or obeying a series of commandments in one’s
own strength. So, that counts for the Ten Words just as well. What they are:
instructions teaching us what God considers important. When our heart has
become focused on Him by His Love, we like to do what He shows to be
important to Him, don’t we? Or like the apostle Paul phrases it:
“I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to
God, [which is] your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, so that you may test and approve [or: recognize] what [is] that good and pleasing and perfect will of God. For by
the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of
yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as
God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.”
Romans 12: 1-3
In this context, the teachings of Yeshu‘ah are certainly suitable to
discern what God wants, what is good, pleasing to Him and perfect.
It is absolutely not fitting to think that we know better...
Or to say that we do not have to engage ourselves in finding this perfect
will of God because the Spirit will do it all in us. Yes, He does it, but
that does not mean we are not involved. We are encouraged to study
‘that good and pleasing and perfect will of
God’.
What strikes me then immediately, is that Yeshu‘ah, in His explanation of the
Torah and the Ten Words, emphasizes the
relationship with God the Father, and the change that has to occur inside; in
our hearts. Not external precision, like some scribes were teaching back then
and up to today, but a change from the inside out, on the basis of our bond
with God; that is what it’s all about!
“I [am] YaHUaH your God,
Do not abuse the Name of YaHUaH your God”
One thing that becomes clear as well, when we read the Gospels, is that
Yeshu‘ah
had a lot of respect for the exalted Name of God: YaHUaH and that He attached great significance to that glorious
Name.
“Pray then like this: Our Father Who art in
heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven....”
Mattit-Yahu (Matthew) 6:
9-10 (and Luke 11: 2-3)
And in prayer with God, just before the climax of His redemptive work:
6 “"I have
manifested Thy Name to the men whom Thou gavest
Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they
have kept Thy Word. 7
Now they know that everything that Thou hast given me is from Thee; 8 for I have given them the
Words which Thou gavest Me, and they have received them and know in
truth that I came from Thee; and they have believed that Thou didst send me.
9 I am praying for them; I am not praying for the
world but for those whom Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine;
10 all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine, and I
am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in
the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to Thee. Holy Father,
keep them in Thy Name, which Thou hast given Me,
that they may be one, even as We are one. 12
While I was with them, I kept them in Thy Name,
which Thou hast given Me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but
the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to Thee; and these things I speak
in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Thy Word;
and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am
not of the world. 15 I do not pray that Thou
takest them out of the world, but that Thou willt keep them safe from the
evil one...”
Yahu-chanan (John) 17: 6-15
Note that the glorious Name of God, God’s Word(s), and the
bond with God the Father, YaHUaH, form the core of this passage.
And how did Yeshu‘ah interpret the Words that
are more focussed on our behavior?
“Worship no other gods besides YaHUaH,
Make no statues of idols,
Love YaHUaH, your God, above all”
When He was tempted by the adversary, Yeshu‘ah cited Deuteronomy 6: 13 and
10: 20, saying:
“You shall worship the Lord [YaHUaH] your God and Him
only shall you serve.”
Mattit-Yahu (Matthew) 4:
10b (and Luke 4: 8)
Apparently, He had made these passages His own. According to His view,
the Torah was fully valid and useful to contradict
the adversary (i.e. for spiritual warfare).
Questioned about the greatest commandment of the Torah, He cited Deuteronomy 6: 5; 10: 12 and 30: 6, saying:
“You shall love the Lord [YaHUaH] your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment.”
Mattit-Yahu 22: 37-38 ( cf. Luke
10: 27 and Mark 12: 30)
The above passages denote clearly how Yeshu‘ah dealt with this. The fully
devoted love towards God YaHUaH radically
excludes any flirtation with idols.
In the Revelation of Yeshu‘ah to Yahu-chanan
(John) He says it very clearly as well:
“But I have a few things against you: you
have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a
stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they
might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. So
you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaites. Repent then.
...” Revelations 2: 14-16a(cf. also 2: 20-22)
A person by the name Nikolaus and his followers were teaching in those
days that fornication and eating of meat that was sacrificed to idols
was not so bad. That ‘should be allowed’ as well. According
Yeshu‘ah
definitely not. Please, do not think: this was
applicable back then only. Even today it is applicable. Here in the
Netherlands, a big chain of grocery stores advertises that all their
meat is hallal – so: specially slaughtered and consecrated to
another god... Is that that good and pleasing and perfect after the will
of our God? In other words: Can we continue to buy our meat there? I
can’t!
And what to think of the idols of, for example, public opinion? I see many
Christians bow before this! Because ‘everybody’ has a flat screen
tv or an i-pad, they must have one also. Because ‘everyone’ ... et
cetera... The result is that many couples have to work both to be able to pay
for all that craziness, and their rest, their time with God, and their small
children suffer tremendously. Is that good, pleasing to God and perfect?
We will do well by regularly asking the question: How did Yeshu‘ah
Personally deal with the Tenth Word; how did He practice that in everyday
life?
Yes, in fact the rest of God’s instructions for us follow logically
from our dealing with these first ones!
The central question is: do we value our God enough to adapt our lifestyle
to what He likes or dislikes? Do we really love Him? Did we really allow His
Love and passion to touch and change our heart?
Hallelu YaH !
This is a sequel to: The Shema‘ – the First Testament declaration of faith (1),
Part (2),
Part (3),
Part (4),
Part (5), and
Torah
- (1) A series of laws and commandments?,
(2)
Throughout the First Testament,
(3)
Absolutely delightful!,
(4)
Yeshu‘ah and the Torah and
(5)
The Ten Words – a special beginning.
The next article in this series is:
(7)
Chag Shabhu‘ót - The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.
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