J1. Applying the Mosaic Law in a Manner Consistent with New Covenant Realities. [Make a Comment]
We are to apply the Mosaic Law in a manner that is consistent with New Covenant realities.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
Jeremiah 31:30-33(31-34)
"Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. It will
not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by
their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for
their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband
to them," says ADONAI. "For this is the covenant I will make with the house
of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within
them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my
people. No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his
brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of
them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember
their sins no more."
Matthew 5:17-20
Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I
have come not to abolish but to complete. 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. So whoever
disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be
called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so
teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that
unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and
P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
Matthew 22:36-40
"Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?" He
[Yeshua] told him, "'You are to love ADONAI your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' This is the
greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it,
'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' All of the Torah and
the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot."
Romans 2:13-16
For it is not merely the hearers of Torah whom God considers righteous;
rather, it is the doers of what Torah says who will be made righteous in
God's sight. For whenever Gentiles, who have no Torah, do naturally
what the Torah requires, then these, even though they don't have Torah,
for themselves are Torah! For their lives show that the conduct the Torah
dictates is written in their hearts. Their consciences also bear witness to
this, for their conflicting thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes
defend them on a day when God passes judgment on people's inmost
secrets. (According to the Good News as I proclaim it, he does this through
the Messiah Yeshua.)
Romans 3:19-23
Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living
within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped
and the whole world be shown to deserve God's adverse judgment. For in
his sight no one alive will be considered righteous on the ground of
legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is
show people how sinful they are. But now, quite apart from Torah,
God's way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear -
although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well - and
it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of
Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference
whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, since all have sinned and come short of
earning God's praise.
Romans 7:6-7
But now we have been released from this aspect of the Torah, because we have
died to that which had us in its clutches, so that we are serving in the new
way provided by the Spirit and not in the old way of outwardly following the
letter of the law. Therefore, what are we to say? That the Torah is sinful?
Heaven forbid! Rather, the function of the Torah was that without it, I
would not have known what sin is. For example, I would not have become
conscious of what greed is if the Torah had not said, "Thou shalt not
covet."
Romans 8:1-5
Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in
union with the Messiah Yeshua. Why? Because the Torah of the Spirit, which
produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me free from the
"Torah" of sin and death. For what the Torah could not do by itself,
because it lacked the power to make the old nature cooperate, God did by
sending his own Son as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one
[but without sin]. God did this in order to deal with sin, and in so doing
he executed the punishment against sin in human nature, so that the just
requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who do not run our lives
according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Spirit
wants. For those who identify with their old nature set their minds on the
things of the old nature, but those who identify with the Spirit set their
minds on the things of the Spirit.
Galatians 3:19-25
So then, why the legal part of the Torah? It was added in order to create
transgressions, until the coming of the seed about whom the promise had been
made. Moreover, it was handed down through angels and a mediator. Now a
mediator implies more than one, but God is one. Does this mean that the
legal part of the Torah stands in opposition to God's promises? Heaven
forbid! For if the legal part of the Torah which God gave had had in itself
the power to give life, then righteousness really would have come by
legalistically following such a Torah. But instead, the Tanakh shuts up
everything under sin; so that what had been promised might be given, on the
basis of Yeshua the Messiah's trusting faithfulness, to those who
continue to be trustingly faithful. Now before the time for this trusting
faithfulness came, we were imprisoned in subjection to the system which
results from perverting the Torah into legalism, kept under guard until this
yet-to-come trusting faithfulness would be revealed. Accordingly, the Torah
functioned as a custodian until the Messiah came, so that we might be
declared righteous on the ground of trusting and being faithful. But now
that the time for this trusting faithfulness has come, we are no longer
under a custodian.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth,
convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; thus
anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 7:14-22
for everyone knows that our Lord arose out of Y'hudah, and that Moshe
said nothing about this tribe when he spoke about cohanim. It becomes even
clearer if a "different kind of cohen", one like Malki-Tzedek, arises, one
who became a cohen not by virtue of a rule in the Torah concerning physical
descent, but by virtue of the power of an indestructible life. For it is
stated, "You are a cohen FOREVER, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek." Thus,
on the one hand, the earlier rule is set aside because of its weakness and
inefficacy (for the Torah did not bring anything to the goal); and, on the
other hand, a hope of something better is introduced, through which we are
drawing near to God. What is more, God swore an oath. For no oath was sworn
in connection with those who become cohanim now; but Yeshua became a cohen
by the oath which God swore when he said to him, "ADONAI has sworn and will
not change his mind, 'You are a cohen forever.'" Also this shows
how much better is the covenant of which Yeshua has become guarantor.
Hebrews 8:6-13
But now the work Yeshua has been given to do is far superior to theirs, just
as the covenant he mediates is better. For this covenant has been given as
Torah on the basis of better promises. Indeed, if the first covenant had
not given ground for faultfinding, there would have been no need for a
second one. For God does find fault with the people when he says,
'See! The days are coming,' says ADONAI, 'when I will
establish over the house of Isra'el and over the house of Y'hudah
a new covenant. It will not be like the covenant which I made with their
fathers on the day when I took them by their hand and led them forth out of
the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, did not remain faithful to
my covenant; so I, for my part, stopped concerning myself with them,'
says ADONAI. 'For this is the covenant which I will make with the
house of Isra'el after those days,' says ADONAI: 'I will put
my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God,
and they will be my people. None of them will teach his fellow-citizen or
his brother, saying, "Know ADONAI!" For all will know me, from the least of
them to the greatest, because I will be merciful toward their wickednesses
and remember their sins no more.' By using the term, "new", he has
made the first covenant "old"; and something being made old, something in
the process of aging, is on its way to vanishing altogether.
Hebrews 10:1
For the Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the
actual manifestation of the originals. Therefore, it can never, by means of
the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, bring to the goal
those who approach the Holy Place to offer them.
Commentary
This Mitzvah was written to explain God's expectation of us in the New Covenant, and how to apply His commandments today that were given under the Mosaic Covenant. Although many Mosaic commandments are impossible or imprudent to comply with literally today, 2 Timothy 3:16 assures us that all of them are valuable in some way:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living
The reason that some of the commandments given under Moses cannot be complied with today is that they were constructed for a covenant that has been replaced (or has almost been replaced) by a New Covenant that is very different:
Jeremiah 31:30-31(31-32)
"'Here, the days are coming,' says ADONAI, 'when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. It will not be like
the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand
and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part,
violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,'
says ADONAI."
Hebrews 8:13
By using the term, "new", he has made the first covenant "old"; and
something being made old, something in the process of aging, is on its way to
vanishing altogether.
Today's conditions are changed. We no longer have the Tabernacle or Temple, there is no longer a functioning Levitical priesthood or Levitical High Priest and, even if we rebuilt the Temple and reinstalled Levitical priests, most of the sacrifices required by the Mosaic Law would be unauthorized because Yeshua is now our sacrifice for sin and our High Priest:
Hebrews 10:10-13
It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and
made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah's
body. Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and
over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this one,
after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at
the right hand of God, from then on to wait until his enemies be made a
footstool for his feet.
Hebrews 4:14
Therefore, since we have a great cohen gadol who has passed through to
the highest heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we
acknowledge as true.
Hebrews 7:17-27
For it is stated, "You are a cohen FOREVER, to be compared with
Malki-Tzedek." Thus, on the one hand, the earlier rule is set aside because
of its weakness and inefficacy (for the Torah did not bring anything to the
goal); and, on the other hand, a hope of something better is introduced,
through which we are drawing near to God. What is more, God swore an oath.
For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become cohanim now; but
Yeshua became a cohen by the oath which God swore when he said to him,
"ADONAI has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a cohen
forever.'" Also this shows how much better is the covenant of which
Yeshua has become guarantor. Moreover, the present cohanim are many in
number, because they are prevented by death from continuing in office. But
because he lives forever, his position as cohen does not pass on to someone
else; and consequently, he is totally able to deliver those who approach God
through him; since he is alive forever and thus forever able to intercede on
their behalf. This is the kind of cohen gadol that meets our need - holy,
without evil, without stain, set apart from sinners and raised higher than
the heavens; one who does not have the daily necessity, like the other
cohanim g'dolim, of offering up sacrifices first for their own sins and
only then for those of the people; because he offered one sacrifice, once and
for all, by offering up himself.
Attempting to apply statutory laws in a literal way when the result is improper or does not make sense is what is called "legalism", and it is warned against in Scripture:
Romans 6:14-15
For sin will not have authority over you; because you are not under
legalism but under grace. Therefore, what conclusion should we reach? "Let's
go on sinning, because we're not under legalism but under grace"? Heaven
forbid!
Galatians 3:10-12
For everyone who depends on legalistic observance of Torah commands lives
under a curse, since it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not keep on
doing everything written in the Scroll of the Torah.' Now it is evident that
no one comes to be declared righteous by God through legalism, since 'The
person who is righteous will attain life by trusting and being faithful.'
Furthermore, legalism is not based on trusting and being faithful, but on [a
misuse of] the text that says, 'Anyone who does these things will attain life
through them.'
So, the question remains: How do we apply the Scriptural commandments of the Torah that seem undoable today? The answer is different for every commandment and for every situation in which we find ourselves, and the New Covenant Scriptures tells us how; it is to consult and be led by the Holy Spirit:
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I
have said to you.
Romans 7:6
But now we have been released from this aspect of the Torah, because we
have died to that which had us in its clutches, so that we are serving in the
new way provided by the Spirit and not in the old way of outwardly following
the letter of the law.
Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in
union with the Messiah Yeshua. Why? Because the Torah of the Spirit, which
produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me free from the
"Torah" of sin and death.
Romans 8:14
All who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons.
Notwithstanding the importance of being led by the Spirit, it is sometimes helpful to group literally undoable commandments by subject category and consider their significance and application collectively. What follows is a list of such subject categories along with suggested applications, and one or two Scripture examples for each:
Scripture Catagories
Scriptures that Require the Holy Tabernacle, Temple, or Other Place that God Chooses
Exodus 25:8
They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.
Deuteronomy 12:21
If the place which ADONAI your God chooses to place his name is too far
away from you; then you are to slaughter animals from your cattle or sheep,
which ADONAI has given you; and eat on your own property, as much as you
want.
The Holy Tabernacle, the Temple, and other special places designated by God were not only places in which to conduct sacrifices, but also where the glory of God dwelt on earth, and where men (who were authorized) could encounter God intimately and powerfully. Chapters 40 to 48 of Ezekiel prophesy the detailed rebuilding of a Temple that is mysterious as to its identity, function, and when it is to happen (or has happened). Some scholars believe that the passage is a commandment for the Jewish people to rebuild God's Temple. Most significant, however, is that the place where God chooses to place his name is a foreshadowing of the New Covenant's visitation of the Holy Spirit who has come to live within all men that are willing to receive Him:
1 Corinthians 6:19a
Or don't you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who
lives inside you, whom you received from God?
Also, 1 Corinthians 3:16 shows that the corporate body of Messiah is also a Temple of the Spirit today:
Don't you know that you people are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
This is anticipated by John 4:23-24 where worship in spirit and in truth transcends a particular temple location:
But the time is coming - indeed, it's here now - when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him. God is spirit; and worshippers must worship him spiritually and truly.
Scriptures that Assume an Operative Levitical Priesthood
Leviticus 8:1-4
ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Take Aharon and his sons with him, the garments,
the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket
of matzah; and assemble the entire community at the entrance to the tent of
meeting.' Moshe did as ADONAI ordered him, and the community was assembled
at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
The above Scripture speaks of the ordination of Aaron and his sons as Levitical priests, and Aaron as High Priest. A significant value of the Scriptures concerning Levitical priests, is that they teach us what the functions of a priest and priesthood should be and, although the Levitical priesthood is no longer operative, other priesthoods are. The people of Israel are said, in Scripture, to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). Also, 1 Peter 2:4-5 defines a priesthood of believers in Yeshua, and Hebrews 4:14-16 establishes Yeshua as the New Covenant's High Priest. God has New Covenant priestly expectations of Israelites (today referred to as Jews) and of all believers in Yeshua - not to conduct sacrifices - but to prayerfully intercede for others, teach, counsel, and otherwise serve our fellow man.
Scriptures that Call for Punishment
Exodus 22:2b-3(3b-4)
A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be
sold to make good the loss from the theft. If what he stole is found alive
in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a
donkey or a sheep.
Exodus 31:13-15
Tell the people of Isra'el, 'You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is
a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know# that I am ADONAI, who sets you apart for me. Therefore you are to keep my
Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary
must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from
his people. On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat,
for complete rest, set apart for ADONAI. Whoever does any work on the day of
Shabbat must be put to death.
Leviticus 24:19-20
If someone injures his neighbor, what he did is to be done to him - break
for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth - whatever injury he has caused the
other person is to be rendered to him in return.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
If a man has a stubborn, rebellious son who will not obey what his father
or mother says, and even after they discipline him he still refuses to pay
attention to them; then his father and mother are to take hold of him and
bring him out to the leaders of his town, at the gate of that place, and say
to the leaders of his town, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he
doesn't pay attention to us, lives wildly, gets drunk.' Then all the men of
his town are to stone him to death; in this way you will put an end to such
wickedness among you, and all Isra'el will hear about it and be afraid.
Leviticus 24:19-20 declares that "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" is the Mosaic standard of punishment for causing personal injury to another. Expanding the principle to other kinds of infractions, one is reminded of a quote from W.S. Gilbert's The Mikado: "Let the punishment fit the crime." Sensible as these standards for punishment may seem, they are rarely employed by today's secular governments that tend to not allow creative discretion to judges.
The Scriptures requiring execution and other extreme punishments of those who violate certain biblical commandments are often shocking because, by today's standards, many of the offenses that called for death and other severe punishments during the time of Moses are not even considered crimes today. We no longer stone our rebellious and drunkard sons, nor do we put to death those who violate the Sabbath and, should we attempt to do so, we would be in violation of the laws of the secular governments under which we live.
During the time of Moses, the Israelites lived under a theocracy that was governed directly by God and today, we do not. Torah for us today, is ancient law that we read about in the Bible in order to understand its principles. For the Israelites under Moses, however, it was contemporary law that was spoken by God directly to them from Mount Sinai. For the Israelites to disobey that which God commanded them in so personal a way would have been a direct "slap in the face" of God, and worthy of the severe punishments that we read about.
There are also offenses in the Torah for which punishments are not severe by today's standards, but which, nevertheless, cannot be applied without transgressing today's secular laws. For example, Exodus 22:2b-3(3b-4) directs that a thief must pay double restitution for what he has stolen, and he must be sold as a laborer (a slave) if he cannot afford to pay. On the surface, double restitution seems fair and doable, but it is not enforceable because the secular laws under which we live do not allow for it, and slave labor is, of course, a violation of the secular law.
For us, the main value of the various punishments we read about in the Scriptures is that they give us an understanding of the seriousness with which God considers certain kinds of wrongful conduct. In today's world, capital punishment of a rebellious son would not be allowed. Yet, God considers rebellion and stubbornness so serious a sin that we read in 1 Samuel 15:23:
For rebellion is like the sin of sorcery, stubbornness like the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of ADONAI, he too has rejected you as king.
It is also of interest to note that, except for captives in war, nothing in the Mosaic Law authorizes imprisonment as a punishment; yet, imprisonment is the principle form of punishment employed by secular governments today. Really, imprisonment as a punishment is a blunt instrument because it does not promote heart-felt repentance. For non-capital offenses, restoration through community service and paying back offended persons (and then some) is much more redemptive. What is more, being imprisoned with other offenders often brings greater criminality that is acted out upon the prisoner's release - the opposite of that which is intended. Societies should take this into account in constructing their systems of law.
Scriptures that Pertain to the Government of Ancient Israel
Exodus 30:13-14
Everyone subject to the census is to pay as an offering to ADONAI half a
shekel [one-fifth of an ounce of silver] - by the standard of the sanctuary
shekel (a shekel equals twenty gerahs). Everyone over twenty years of age
who is subject to the census is to give this offering to ADONAI
Deuteronomy 1:17
You are not to show favoritism when judging, but give equal attention to
the small and to the great. No matter how a person presents himself, don't be
afraid of him; because the decision is God's. The case that is too hard for
you, bring to me and I will hear it.
The Scriptures quoted could be complied with if one were a citizen of Israel under Moses, but could not (and cannot) be complied with under other governments. Still, they have teaching value. For example, the Exodus Scripture teaches us that there is a government's need to know how many residents occupy its country, and the Deuteronomy Scripture establishes standards for judging legal cases, except that today, cases that are removed from a lower court are sent to a higher court - not to Moses.
NOTE BY DANIEL C. JUSTER
These standards are crucial for all societies. In addition, the idea of
witnesses, the rejection of trial by ordeal, and more, have informed Western
legal systems. That judges must not take bribes, but be scrupulously honest
and judge on the basis of at least two or three witnesses is also
foundational to courts. The rabbinic tradition also teaches that the
Noachide laws require Gentiles to establish fair courts in order to have a
positive destiny in the age to come. Finally, the idea that rulers are
subject to God's laws and are not a law unto themselves is a great principle
of Scripture that is enshrined in western law. The king can be called to
account by the prophet and is to make a copy of the Law and be subject to it:
Deuteronomy 17:18-20
When he has come to occupy the throne of his kingdom, he is to write a
copy of this Torah for himself in a scroll, from the one the cohanim and
L'vi'im use. It is to remain with him, and he is to read in it every day, as
long as he lives; so that he will learn to fear ADONAI his God and keep all
the words of this Torah and these laws and obey them; so that he will not
think he is better than his kinsmen; and so that he will not turn aside
either to the right or to the left from the mitzvah. In this way he will
prolong his own reign and that of his children in Isra'el.
The law is above the king or, as quoted by the famous Puritan writer Samuel Rutherford: "Lex Rex" - Law is King.
Scriptures that Pertain to the Land of Ancient Israel
Leviticus 25:1-13
ADONAI spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai; he said, "Tell the people of
Isra'el, 'When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to
observe a Shabbat rest for ADONAI. Six years you will sow your field; six
years you will prune your grapevines and gather their produce. But in the
seventh year is to be a Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for
ADONAI; you will neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines. You are
not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous
harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended vine; it is to
be a year of complete rest for the land. But what the land produces during
the year of Shabbat will be food for all of you - you, your servant, your
maid, your employee, anyone living near you, your livestock and the wild
animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food. You
are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is,
forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on
Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the
shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year,
proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a
yovel for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is
to return to his family. That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that
year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of
untended vines; because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the
fields produce will be food for all of you. In this year of yovel, every one
of you is to return to the land he owns.
Deuteronomy 26:1-3
When you have come to the land ADONAI your God is giving you as your
inheritance, taken possession of it and settled there; you are to take the
firstfruits of all the crops the ground yields, which you will harvest from
your land that ADONAI your God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to
the place where ADONAI your God will choose to have his name live. You will
approach the cohen holding office at the time and say to him, 'Today I
declare to ADONAI your God that I have come to the land ADONAI swore to our
ancestors that he would give us.'
This category "The Land of Ancient Israel" and the previously listed category "The Government of Ancient Israel" are closely related, and many of the Scriptures that pertain to one of them also pertain to the other. The modern land of Israel (and its government) does not operate with a functioning Levitical priesthood or Temple as in the past, and therefore certain Scriptures (including those above) cannot be complied with literally. Nevertheless, the principles they teach are valuable today both in the Land and in the diaspora, but they have to be applied utilizing the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that is available to us through the New Covenant. Examples of how we apply and practice such Scriptures today are found in the ways that Jews of today keep the Shabbat and celebrate the feasts and other appointed times wherever in the world they may happen to be.
Scriptures that Pertain to Specific Wars
Deuteronomy 7:1-2
ADONAI your God is going to bring you into the land you will enter in
order to take possession of it, and he will expel many nations ahead of you -
the Hitti, Girgashi, Emori, Kena'ani, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi, seven nations
bigger and stronger than you. When he does this, when ADONAI your God hands
them over ahead of you, and you defeat them, you are to destroy them
completely! Do not make any covenant with them. Show them no mercy.
There are a number of Scriptures in the Torah in which God Instructs the Israelites about how they are to conduct themselves in specific wars (mainly against heathen nations). Some of the Scriptures order destruction of the enemy's idols, while some go further and order the annihilation of all men, women, and children of the enemy, which would be considered a war crime today. The severity of such Scriptures reminds us that destroying idolatry and heathen worship is vitally important to God - so much so, that He commanded the Israelites to not make covenants with them.
Exodus 34:12-14
Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land
where you are going, so that they won't become a snare within your own
borders. Rather, you are to demolish their altars, smash their
standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles; because you are not to bow
down to any other god; since ADONAI - whose very name is Jealous - is a
jealous God.
It is a principle that today's diplomats would do well to remember.
Scriptures that Pertain to Sacrificing Animals
Leviticus 16:3-10
Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin
offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He is to put on the holy linen
tunic, have the linen shorts next to his bare flesh, have the linen sash
wrapped around him, and be wearing the linen turban - they are the holy
garments. He is to bathe his body in water and put them on. He is to take
from the community of the people of Isra'el two male goats for a sin offering
and one ram for a burnt offering. Aharon is to present the bull for the sin
offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and his
household. He is to take the two goats and place them before ADONAI at the
entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two
goats, one lot for ADONAI and the other for 'Az'azel. Aharon is to present
the goat whose lot fell to ADONAI and offer it as a sin offering. But the
goat whose lot fell to 'Az'azel is to be presented alive to ADONAI to be used
for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for
'Az'azel.
There are many animal sacrifices commanded in Scripture. The Leviticus Scripture quoted above is associated with Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. We know that the commanded animal sacrifices cannot be complied with today due to their being no Tabernacle or Temple. There is, however, a more significant reason, and that is because Yeshua has become our once and for all-time sacrifice for sin:
Hebrews 10:11-18
Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and
over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this one,
after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at
the right hand of God, from then on to wait until his enemies be made a
footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has brought to the goal
for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy. And the
Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying, 'This is the
covenant which I will make with them after those days,' says ADONAI: 'I will
put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds...,'" he then adds,
" 'And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.'" Now
where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer
needed.
Scriptures that Pertain to Bloodless Offerings
Leviticus 7:9-13
Every grain offering baked in the oven, cooked in a pot or fried on a
griddle will belong to the cohen who offers it. But every grain offering
which is mixed with olive oil or is dry will belong to all the sons of Aharon
equally. This is the law for sacrificing peace offerings offered to ADONAI:
If a person offers it for giving thanks, he is to offer it with the
thanksgiving sacrifice of unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, matzah
spread with olive oil, and cakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil and
fried. With cakes of leavened bread he is to present his offering together
with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks.
Bloodless offerings - sacrifices such as grain offerings - are many, and they are typically associated with animal sacrifices that are performed at the same time. As with animal sacrifices, most bloodless offerings require the Tabernacle or Temple and the Levitical priesthood, so they cannot be performed today as commanded. Nevertheless, there are two bloodless sacrifice that can be conducted:
Hebrews 13:12-15
So too Yeshua suffered death outside the gate, in order to make the
people holy through his own blood. Therefore, let us go out to him who is
outside the camp and share his disgrace. For we have no permanent city here;
on the contrary, we seek the one to come. Through him, therefore, let us
offer God a sacrifice of praise continually. For this is the natural product
of lips that acknowledge his name.
1 Peter 2:3-5
For you have tasted that ADONAI is good. As you come to him, the living
stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him, you
yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be
cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him
through Yeshua the Messiah.
Scriptures that Pertain to Holy Places & Things
Leviticus 16:3-4
Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin
offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He is to put on the holy linen
tunic, have the linen shorts next to his bare flesh, have the linen sash
wrapped around him, and be wearing the linen turban- they are the holy
garments. He is to bathe his body in water and put them on.
Numbers 4:18-20
Do not cut off the clan of K'hat from among the L'vi'im; rather, do this
for them, so that they will live and not die: when they approach the
especially holy things, Aharon and his sons are to go in - and you are to
assign each one his task; but the descendants of K'hat are not to go in and
look at the holy things as they are being covered; if they do, they will
die.
Although we cannot comply literally with Scriptures pertaining to holy places and holy things that no longer exist, they give us food for thought as to the holy things and places that do exist today. We know that Jerusalem is a holy city (Isaiah 52:1) and the mountain in Jerusalem is a holy mountain (Isaiah 27:13); but where else? We no longer have the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple; is the sanctuary of a modern synagogue holy by analogy? We no longer have the Holy Ark; is a synagogue's "Aron Hakodesh" holy by analogy? The characteristic of anything holy is that it is set apart to God, or for a godly purpose. The original holy places and things we read about in Scripture were made holy by God, but God commanded us:
Leviticus 11:45
For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your
God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
With that understanding we, as holy people, can designate places and things as holy, so yes, the synagogue's sanctuary is holy and so is its Aron Hokodesh.
Scriptures that Pertain to Consecrations, Dedications, & Redemptions
Exodus 13:13
very firstborn from a donkey, you are to redeem with a lamb; but if you
choose not to redeem it, you must break its neck. But from people, you are to
redeem every firstborn son.
Exodus 29:37
Seven days you will make atonement on the altar and consecrate it; thus
the altar will be especially holy, and whatever touches the altar will become
holy.
Numbers 7:11
and ADONAI said to Moshe, 'They are to present their offerings to
dedicate the altar, each leader on his own day.'
Consecrations, dedications, and redemptions of various kinds are performed today, but the persons, objects, and places dedicated, etc. are typically not the same as in the past. The rabbinical ceremony of pidyon ha-ben (buying back one's firstborn son from a cohen) is an adaptation of the Exodus 13:13 commandment to redeem one's firstborn son from serving in the Tabernacle / Temple, and an example of a New Covenant dedication and consecration is found in Romans 12:1:
I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical "Temple worship" for you.
Scriptures that Pertain to Ritual Purity
Leviticus 15:19-24
If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she
will be in her state of niddah for seven days. Whoever touches her will be
unclean until evening. Everything she lies on or sits on in her state of
niddah will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed is to wash his clothes and
bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. Whoever touches
anything she sits on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he
will be unclean until evening. Whether he is on the bed or on something she
sits on, when he touches it, he will be unclean until evening. If a man goes
to bed with her, and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean seven
days; and every bed he lies on will be unclean.
Numbers 5:2-4
'Order the people of Isra'el to expel from the camp everyone with
tzara'at, everyone with a discharge and whoever is unclean because of
touching a corpse. Both male and female you must expel; put them outside the
camp; so that they won't defile their camp, where I live among you.' The
people of Isra'el did this and put them outside the camp - the people of
Isra'el did what ADONAI had said to Moshe.
At the time of Moses, the commandments that pertained to ritual purity had to do with being "clean" or "unclean" - not in the sense of being sanitary, but for the purposes of being able to touch or be in the proximity of holy objects or places. The cleanness of Human beings was the assumed norm, but there were conditions and things that could render persons unclean and unable to serve in the Tabernacle (later the Temple) and sometimes even unable to be within the camp of Israel. Touching dead bodies, possessing weeping sores (and other contagious conditions), giving birth, and a woman's menses are some of the conditions.
Scholars disagree on the expectation of everyone living in ritual purity. For example, a farmer is always touching dead animals and animal excrements. In our opinion, being unclean for such reasons was expected and was not a problem unless the unclean person was planning to go up to the Temple while in that state.
Note also, that violating some of the laws of purity (e.g. disregarding the holiness of blood and having sex during a woman's period) are beyond matters of ritual purity, and required being cut off from one's people. Such standards (without the penalty of being cut off) should be observed today.
In the New Covenant, being unclean always has to do with being in sin. For example, Matthew 5:23-24:
So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you [i.e. you sinned against your brother], leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift.
The assumption here is that you who are about to offer your gift at God's altar, have committed sin against your brother, and need to repent to him in order to be ritually clean. A similar requirement that one must be repentant in order to be ritually clean is found in 1 Corinthians 11:26-29; referring to the Shulchan Adonai (Table of the Lord), we read:
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the Lord's bread or drinks the Lord's cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of desecrating the body and blood of the Lord! So let a person examine himself first, and then he may eat of the bread and drink from the cup; for a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
Scriptures that Pertain to Health & Sanitation
Leviticus 13:32-34
On the seventh day the cohen is to examine the sore, and if he sees that
the crusted area hasn't spread, that it has no yellow hair in it, and that
the crusted area is not deeper than the skin around it; then the person is to
be shaved, except for the crusted area itself, and the cohen is to isolate
him for seven more days. On the seventh day the cohen is to examine the
crusted area; and if he sees that the crusted area has not spread on the skin
and does not appear to be deeper than the skin around it, then the cohen is
to declare him clean; he is to wash his clothes and be clean.
Deuteronomy 23:13-14(12-13)
Also you are to have an area outside the camp to use as a latrine. You
must include a trowel with your equipment, and when you relieve yourself, you
are to dig a hole first and afterwards cover your excrement.
Health-related Scriptures such as those exemplified above are self-explanatory. In both the Tanakh and the New Testament, physical disease is associated with men's sinful condition; in fact, in the Mosaic Covenant, some of the functions of the Levitical cohanim were similar to those of physicians and public health officers. Good hygiene and reasonable care to keep disease from spreading should be (and often is) an obvious application of the Mosaic Law today. This is the way that Jewish communities were preserved in times of plague in numbers that greatly exceeded their Gentile counterparts.
Supernatural healing appears in the Tanakh as well as in the New Testament - for example in Deuteronomy 7:15, where God refers to Himself as the Israelites' healer (see also, Exodus 15:26). Nevertheless, it is in the New Covenant Scriptures that we find supernatural healing emphasized to its fullest, and with the power and authority to summon God's healing delegated to men:
Matthew 10:1
Yeshua called his twelve talmidim and gave them authority to drive out
unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness.
Matthew 10:7-8
As you go, proclaim, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is near,' heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara'at, expel demons. You have
received without paying, so give without asking payment.
James 5:14-16
Is someone among you ill? He should call for the elders of the
congregation. They will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of
the Lord. The prayer offered with trust will heal the one who is ill - the
Lord will restore his health; and if he has committed sins, he will be
forgiven. Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray
for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person
is powerful and effective.
Scriptures that Pertain to Slavery & Indenture
(a) Slavery Resulting from Debt
Exodus 22:2b(3b)
A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be
sold to make good the loss from the theft.
2 Kings 4:1
The wife of one of the guild prophets complained to Elisha. 'Your servant
my husband died,' she said, 'and you know that he feared ADONAI. Now a
creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves.'
(b) Slaves Bought, Sold, & Bequeathed
Exodus 21:7-8
If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free like the
men-slaves. If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him,
then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a
foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly.
Leviticus 25:44-46
Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men-
and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you. You may also buy the
children of foreigners living with you and members of their families born in
your land; you may own these. You may also bequeath them to your children to
own; from these groups you may take your slaves forever. But as far as your
brothers the people of Isra'el are concerned, you are not to treat each other
harshly.
(c) Captives of War Enslaved
Deuteronomy 20:10-11
When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it terms for peace.
If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the
people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you.
(d) Voluntary Slavery & Indenture
Exodus 21:5-6
Nevertheless, if the slave declares, 'I love my master, my wife and my
children, so I don't want to go free,' then his master is to bring him before
God; and there at the door or doorpost, his master is to pierce his ear with
an awl; and the man will be his slave for life.
Leviticus 25:47-48
If a foreigner living with you has grown rich, and a member of your
people has become poor and sells himself to this foreigner living with you or
to a member of the foreigner's family, he may be redeemed after he has been
sold. One of his brothers may redeem him
Deuteronomy 15:12-17
If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he is to serve
you for six years; but in the seventh year, you are to set him free.
Moreover, when you set him free, don't let him leave empty-handed; but supply
him generously from your flock, threshing-floor and winepress; from what
ADONAI your God has blessed you with, you are to give to him. Remember that
you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and ADONAI your God redeemed you; that
is why I am giving you this order today. But if he says to you, 'I don't
want to leave you,' because he loves you and your household, and because his
life with you is a good one; then take an awl, and pierce his ear through,
right into the door; and he will be your slave forever. Do the same with your
female slave.
The Mosaic Law not only permitted slavery - it regulated it. Slavery in Scripture is not, however, the same as typically occurs in some secular societies today, where certain people, for no fault of their own, are kidnaped and enslaved or sold as slaves for personal gain:
Exodus 21:16
Whoever kidnaps someone must be put to death, regardless of whether he
has already sold him or the person is found still in his possession.
Deuteronomy 24:7
If a man kidnaps any of his brothers, fellow members of the community of
Isra'el, and makes him his slave or sells him, that kidnapper must die; in
this way you will put an end to such wickedness among you.
An Israelite or non-Israelite might become a slave for a number of reasons. In the examples above, slavery that was procured by kidnaping was illegal and was punishable by death, but slavery was also a means by which a person could pay off a personal debt that he could not pay otherwise (2 Kings 4:1 supra). Slavery was also imposed on idolaters whose land was conquered by Israel at God's command (Deuteronomy 20:10-11 supra). Also, an Israelite who burglarized and could not afford to pay back double could be sold into slavery, and the value of his labor used to pay his debt (Exodus 22:2b(3b) supra). Israelite slaves would work for six years and be freed automatically on the Sh'mitah, at which time his debt would be forgiven (Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:1-3 supra);1 Slavery was, therefore, an ancient means of debt-collection that had an escape clause for Israelites. Indentured servanthood was a kind of slavery that was voluntarily entered into for a season, and there was another kind of voluntary slavery that was permanent (see Exodus 21:5-6 supra).
Unlike the Scriptures of the Mosaic Covenant, those of the New Covenant do not seek to regulate slavery. They do, however, recognize its existence, and instruct those who are subject to it, how to cope, while bringing glory to God by maintaining a servant's heart.
Colossians 3:22-25
Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not serving only when they
are watching you, to win their favor, but single-heartedly, fearing the Lord.
Whatever work you do, put yourself into it, as those who are serving not
merely other people, but the Lord. Remember that as your reward, you will
receive the inheritance from the Lord. You are slaving for the Lord, for the
Messiah. Don't worry - whoever is doing wrong will be paid in kind for his
wrong, and there is no favoritism shown.
Ephesians 5:5-9
Slaves, obey your human masters with the same fear, trembling and
single-heartedness with which you obey the Messiah. Don't obey just to win
their favor, serving only when they are watching you; but serve as slaves of
the Messiah, doing what God wants with all your heart. Work willingly as
slaves, as people do who are serving not merely human beings but the Lord.
Remember that whoever does good work, whether he be a slave or a free man,
will be rewarded by the Lord. And masters, treat your slaves the same way.
Don't threaten them. Remember that in heaven both you and they have the same
Master, and he has no favorites.
1 Timothy 6:1
Those who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as
worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and the teaching will not be
brought into disrepute.
Titus 2:9-10
Tell slaves to submit to their masters in everything, to give satisfaction
without talking back or pilfering. On the contrary, they should demonstrate
complete faithfulness always, so that in every way they will make the
teaching about God our Deliverer more attractive.
1 Peter 2:18-19
Household servants, submit yourselves to your masters, showing them full
respect - and not only those who are kind and considerate, but also those who
are harsh. For it is a grace when someone, because he is mindful of God,
bears up under the pain of undeserved punishment.
Paul's letter to Philemon urges the New Covenant's position that one who is a slave is not less of a person before God. In this epistle Paul (who is in prison) appeals to Philemon to receive back his runaway slave Onesimus as a brother in the Lord and an equal, because he had received Messiah and been "born again". Also, 1 Corinthians 7:21-23 teaches:
Were you a slave when you were called? Well, don't let it bother you; although if you can gain your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. For a person who was a slave when he was called is the Lord's freedman; likewise, someone who was a free man when he was called is a slave of the Messiah. You were bought at a price, so do not become slaves of other human beings.
The thrust of the New Covenant whereby the slave is considered equal in value as his master who is to treat him as a brother, eventually led to the perception among believers in Yeshua, that slavery was incompatible with there being a brotherhood of believers. Thus slavery fell into disuse in the believing communities of the first century. Today, slavery is outlawed in the western countries, but the Scriptures about slavery are, nevertheless, still useful in teaching us how to selflessly serve God, how to give godly service to others, and how to compassionately treat and respect those who give service to us.
Scriptures that Pertain to the Sh'mitah & the Jubilee
Leviticus 25:1-24
ADONAI spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai; he said, 'Tell the people of
Isra'el, "When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to
observe a Shabbat rest for ADONAI. Six years you will sow your field; six
years you will prune your grapevines and gather their produce. But in the
seventh year is to be a Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for
ADONAI; you will neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines. You are
not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous
harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended vine; it is to
be a year of complete rest for the land. But what the land produces during
the year of Shabbat will be food for all of you- you, your servant, your
maid, your employee, anyone living near you, your livestock and the wild
animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food. You
are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is,
forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on
Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the
shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year,
proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a
yovel for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is
to return to his family. That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that
year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of
untended vines; because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the
fields produce will be food for all of you. In this year of yovel, every one
of you is to return to the land he owns. If you sell anything to your
neighbor or buy anything from him, neither of you is to exploit the other.
Rather, you are to take into account the number of years after the yovel when
you buy land from your neighbor, and he is to sell to you according to the
number of years crops will be raised. If the number of years remaining is
large, you will raise the price; if few years remain, you will lower it;
because what he is really selling you is the number of crops to be produced.
Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your
God; for I am ADONAI your God. Rather, you are to keep my regulations and
rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land.
The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you
will live there securely. If you ask, "If we aren't allowed to sow seed or
harvest what our land produces, what are we going to eat the seventh year?"
then I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land
brings forth enough produce for all three years. The eighth year you will
sow seed but eat the the old, stored produce until the ninth year; that is,
until the produce of the eighth year comes in, you will eat the old, stored
food. The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to
me - you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me. Therefore,
when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption."'
Clearly, that which the sh'mitah and yovel (jubilee) require of us is not enforceable by modern secular law but it is, nevertheless, possible for individuals to comply with some aspects of the Mosaic commandments regarding them voluntarily. We can forgive debts owed to us in the sabbatical year (sh'mitah) by others, but we cannot require that our debts to others be forgiven us. We can give rest to land that we own or control in the sh'mitah or the yovel, but we cannot (especially in the diaspora) return our land to its original owners in the yovel.
The sh'mitah and the yovel were provided by God as a hedge against the social and economic injustice to persons who have become indebted in a society that does not provide them the opportunity to extricate themselves. The forgiveness of debts, the freeing of slaves, and the return of land to its original owners, are a great equalizer of men, a promoter of social and economic justice, and a reminder that it is God and not we who ultimately owns all.
The biblical principle of forgiveness of debts in the sabbatical year slowly found their way into Anglo-American law. In the middle ages in England, debtors were bonded to their creditors similar to indenture in the Bible, but with no escape in the seventh year. Imprisonment for debtors was also employed as a means of coercing family members to pay for a debtor's release. Then, in 1705, the "Bankrupts Act" was enacted in England, that empowered the Lord Chancellor to release debtors from their financial obligations once their assets were accounted for and appropriately distributed to their creditors. This eventually developed into modern bankruptcy law that, in the United States today, allows insolvent debtors to be discharged from their debts every six years, analogous to the biblical discharge every sabbatical year.
The godliness of social and economic justice pervades throughout the Bible, and comes to its highest expression in the Scriptures of the New Covenant; here are some examples from the Tanakh and the New Testament:
Isaiah 1:17
... learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend
orphans, plead for the widow.
Proverbs 14:31
The oppressor of the poor insults his maker, but he who is kind to the
needy honors him.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, for the rights of all
who need an advocate. Speak up, judge righteously, defend the cause of the
poor and the needy.
Matthew 7:7-10
Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will
find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
keeps asking receives; he who keeps seeking finds; and to him who keeps
knocking, the door will be opened. Is there anyone here who, if his son asks
him for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a snake?
Matthew 7:12
Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the
teaching of the Torah and the Prophets.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Matthew 19:21
Yeshua said to him, 'If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and
sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven.
Then come, follow me!'
Matthew 25:35-40
'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, I needed
clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in
prison and you visited me.' Then the people who have done what God wants
will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and
give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you our
guest, or needing clothes and provide them? When did we see you sick or in
prison, and visit you?' The King will say to them, 'Yes! I tell you that
whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these
brothers of mine, you did them for me!'
Acts 2:44-45
All those trusting in Yeshua stayed together and had everything in
common; in fact, they sold their property and possessions and distributed
the proceeds to all who were in need.
Galatians 3:28
... there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither
male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one.
James 1:27
The religious observance that God the Father considers pure and faultless
is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being contaminated by the world.
James 2:1-7
My brothers, practice the faith of our Lord Yeshua, the glorious Messiah,
without showing favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your synagogue wearing
gold rings and fancy clothes, and also a poor man comes in dressed in rags.
If you show more respect to the man wearing the fancy clothes and say to him,
"Have this good seat here," while to the poor man you say, "You, stand over
there," or, "Sit down on the floor by my feet," then aren't you creating
distinctions among yourselves, and haven't you made yourselves into judges
with evil motives? Listen, my dear brothers, hasn't God chosen the poor of
the world to be rich in faith and to receive the Kingdom which he promised to
those who love him? But you despise the poor! Aren't the rich the ones who
oppress you and drag you into court? Aren't they the ones who insult the
good name of Him to whom you belong?
James 2:14-18
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no
actions to prove it? Is such "faith" able to save him? Suppose a brother or
sister is without clothes and daily food, and someone says to him, "Shalom!
Keep warm and eat hearty!" without giving him what he needs, what good does
it do? Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead. But
someone will say that you have faith and I have actions. Show me this faith
of yours without the actions, and I will show you my faith by my
actions!
1 John 3:17-18
If someone has worldly possessions and sees his brother in need, yet
closes his heart against him, how can he be loving God? Children, let us
love not with words and talk, but with actions and in reality!
Throughout the Bible, God's laws concerning debt disclose that the heart of God is that those who fall into debt should have an opportunity to recover. It is vitally important that this principle guide our contemporary societies.
NOTE BY DANIEL C. JUSTER
The jubilee year anticipates equal financial opportunity, and a society that
finds ways to prevent monetary wealth from being concentrated in a wealthy
class of persons generation after generation. This shows the heart of God
for those of limited means, and most scholars see Yeshua announcing His
ministry in the context of liberty being proclaimed in the jubilee year.
Scriptures that Pertain to Criminal Justice
Exodus 21:12
Whoever attacks a person and causes his death must be put to death.
Leviticus 24:19-20
If someone injures his neighbor, what he did is to be done to him - break
for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth - whatever injury he has caused the
other person is to be rendered to him in return.
Deuteronomy 17:2-7
If there is found among you, within any of your gates [in any city] that
ADONAI your God gives you, a man or woman who does what ADONAI your God sees
as wicked, transgressing his covenant by going and serving other gods and
worshipping them, the sun, the moon, or anything in the sky - something I
have forbidden - and it is told to you, or you hear about it; then you are to
investigate the matter diligently. If it is true, if it is confirmed that
such detestable things are being done in Isra'el; then you are to bring the
man or woman who has done this wicked thing to your city gates, and stone
that man or woman to death. The death sentence is to be carried out only if
there was testimony from two or three witnesses; he may not be sentenced to
death on the testimony of only one witness. The witnesses are to be the
first to stone him to death; afterwards, all the people are to stone him.
Thus you will put an end to this wickedness among you.
The section "Scriptures that pertain to criminal justice" overlaps the section "Scriptures that call for punishment". There are behaviors considered criminal under Mosaic Law and not by our contemporary laws, and vice-versa. There are also behaviors that are considered criminal under both but, even when it is criminal under both, the law it offends is not the same because the governments behind the laws are not the same. The way that we of the New Covenant should view the Mosaic criminal law, is that it gives us God's view of the seriousness of certain criminal offences and the punishments that should be applied to them. We read in Romans 13:1-5:
Everyone is to obey the governing authorities. For there is no authority that is not from God, and the existing authorities have been placed where they are by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities is resisting what God has instituted; and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are no terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to be unafraid of the person in authority? Then simply do what is good, and you will win his approval; for he is God's servant, there for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid! Because it is not for nothing that he holds the power of the sword; for he is God's servant, there as an avenger to punish wrongdoers. Another reason to obey, besides fear of punishment, is for the sake of conscience.
NOTE BY DANIEL C. JUSTER
The Puritans applied Mosaic criminal law literally, and so would
Rushdoony.2
The Anglicans, on the other hand, argued that the New Testament, with the
power of Yeshua, gives us an ability to apply the law with greater
flexibility and more compassion.
Scriptures that Pertain to Civil Justice
Exodus 22:4-14(5-15)
If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his
animal loose to graze in someone else's field, he is to make restitution from
the best produce of his own field and vineyard. If a fire is started and
spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is
destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution. If a person entrusts
a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee's house,
then, if the thief is found, he must pay double. But if the thief is not
found, then the trustee must state before God that he did not take the
person's goods himself. In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of
an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person
says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to come before God; and the one whom
God condemns must pay the other one double. If a person trusts a neighbor to
look after a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal, and it dies, is injured or is
driven away unseen, then the neighbor's oath before ADONAI that he has not
taken the goods will settle the matter between them - the owner is to accept
it without the neighbor's making restitution. But if it was stolen from the
neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. If it was torn to pieces by
an animal, the neighbor must bring it as evidence, and then he doesn't need
to make good the loss. If someone borrows something from his neighbor, and
it gets injured or dies with the owner not present, he must make restitution.
If the owner was present, he need not make good the loss. If the owner hired
it out, the loss is covered by the hiring fee.
Much that has been said regarding the Mosaic criminal law is the same for the Mosaic civil law in that they are both promulgated by, and enforced pursuant to, the ancient government of Israel that no longer exists. By the term "civil law", we do not mean law promulgated by civil authorities since that is true of criminal law as well. The difference between criminal and civil law is that offenses of civil law are against individuals, whereas violations of criminal law are deemed to be against society as a whole. We normally associate violations of criminal law with punishment, and violations of civil law with restitution, and damages having to be paid to individuals who have been harmed. Sometimes the same wrongful act violates both a criminal and a civil statute, such as in the case of an unjustified physical assault. An assault against an individual is a breach of the peace against society as a whole, but it also causes injury to the person who is assaulted; consequently, both punishment and monetary damages to the injured party is commonly required. As has been said regarding the Mosaic criminal law, the way that we of the New Covenant should view it, is that it gives us God's view of the seriousness of certain kinds of wrongful behaviors, and the kinds of restitution that should be required for transgressing. Romans 13:7-10 expresses the New Covenant concept of civil law best; it states:
Pay everyone what he is owed: if you owe the tax-collector, pay your taxes; if you owe the revenue-collector, pay revenue; if you owe someone respect, pay him respect; if you owe someone honor, pay him honor. Don't owe anyone anything - except to love one another; for whoever loves his fellow human being has fulfilled Torah. For the commandments, "Don't commit adultery", "Don't murder", "Don't steal", "Don't covet", and any others are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does not do harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fullness of Torah.
Scriptures that Pertain to Mosaic Jurisprudence
Exodus 18:13-24
The following day Moshe sat to settle disputes for the people, while the
people stood around Moshe from morning till evening. When Moshe's
father-in-law saw all that he was doing to the people, he said, 'What is this
that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit there alone, with all the
people standing around you from morning till evening?' Moshe answered his
father-in-law, 'It's because the people come to me seeking God's guidance.
Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me; I judge between one person and
another, and I explain to them God's laws and teachings.' Moshe's
father-in-law said to him, 'What you are doing isn't good. You will
certainly wear yourself out - and not only yourself, but these people here
with you as well. It's too much for you - you can't do it alone, by yourself.
So listen now to what I have to say. I will give you some advice, and God
will be with you. You should represent the people before God, and you should
bring their cases to God. You should also teach them the laws and the
teachings, and show them how to live their lives and what work they should
do. But you should choose from among all the people competent men who are
God-fearing, honest and incorruptible to be their leaders, in charge of
thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Normally, they will settle the
people's disputes. They should bring you the difficult cases; but ordinary
matters they should decide themselves. In this way, they will make it easier
for you and share the load with you. If you do this - and God is directing
you to do it - you will be able to endure; and all these people too will
arrive at their destination peacefully.' Moshe paid attention to his
father-in-law's counsel and did everything he said.
Numbers 35:10-12
Tell the people of Isra'el, 'When you cross the Yarden into the land of
Kena'an, you are to designate for yourselves cities that will be cities of
refuge for you, to which anyone who kills someone by mistake can flee. These
cities are to be a refuge for you from the dead person's next-of-kin, who
might otherwise avenge his kinsman's death by slaying the killer prior to his
standing trial before the community.
Deuteronomy 17:6-10
The death sentence is to be carried out only if there was testimony from
two or three witnesses; he may not be sentenced to death on the testimony of
only one witness. The witnesses are to be the first to stone him to death;
afterwards, all the people are to stone him. Thus you will put an end to this
wickedness among you. If a case comes before you at your city gate which is
too difficult for you to judge, concerning bloodshed, civil suit, personal
injury or any other controversial issue; you are to get up, go to the place
which ADONAI your God will choose, and appear before the cohanim, who are
L'vi'im, and the judge in office at the time. Seek their opinion, and they
will render a verdict for you. You will then act according to what they have
told you there in that place which ADONAI will choose; you are to take care
to act according to all their instructions.
Deuteronomy 19:15-21
One witness alone will not be sufficient to convict a person of any
offense or sin of any kind; the matter will be established only if there are
two or three witnesses testifying against him. If a malicious witness comes
forward and gives false testimony against someone, then both the men involved
in the controversy are to stand before ADONAI, before the cohanim and the
judges in office at the time. The judges are to investigate carefully. If
they find that the witness is lying and has given false testimony against his
brother, you are to do to him what he intended to do to his brother. In this
way, you will put an end to such wickedness among you. Those who remain will
hear about it, be afraid and no longer commit such wickedness among you.
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot.
Jurisprudence is the manner (including the rules) by which violations and disputes of law are adjudicated. Modern Anglo-American jurisprudence draws heavily from Scriptural concepts but there are significant differences as well. An example of a difference is that we no longer have cities of refuge to where persons accused of murder can go to escape capture.
Many aspects of jurisprudence are, however, the same or similar. The delegation of judicial authority to a panel of judges is often the same. Also, one witness alone is not generally sufficient to convict a person of a crime but, by today's standards, one witness plus circumstantial or DNA evidence may very well be. The Torah's requirement that there be more than one witness to convict of a crime is reflected in 2 Corinthians 13:1:
This will be the third time that I have come to visit you. Any charge must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
And also, in 1 Timothy 5:19 we read:
Never listen to any accusation against a leader unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.
Today as in the days of Moses, giving false testimony is considered a serious crime, but a difference from during the time of Moses is that today, maximum punishments for crimes are prescribed by statute and are not individually tailored to each crime (e.g. an eye for eye, etc.3. Today, judgments for restitution in civil cases are generally established according to the extent of injury to the victim, and restitution is usually in money, and not in causing injury to the perpetrator as was often the case during the days of Moses.
In general, Scripture discourages adjudication and, instead, encourages the avoidance of disputes:
Proverbs 17:14
Starting a fight is like letting water through [a dike] - better stop the
quarrel before it gets worse.
Proverbs 20:3
Avoiding quarrels brings a person honor; for any fool can explode in
anger.
Proverbs 25:7b-8
What your eyes have seen, don't rush to present in a dispute. For what
will you do later on, if your neighbor puts you to shame?
Matthew 5:40
If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as
well!
If an offense has already occurred and a dispute cannot be avoided, Scripture recommends settling out of court rather than litigating:
Matthew 5:25
If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are
on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to
the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail!
In the New Covenant, we are instructed to not bring complaints against brother believers to the public courts, but rather to bring them to betei den of the Messianic community:
1 Corinthians 6:1-7
How dare one of you with a complaint against another go to court before
pagan judges and not before God's people? Don't you know that God's people
are going to judge the universe? If you are going to judge the universe, are
you incompetent to judge these minor matters? Don't you know that we will
judge angels, not to mention affairs of everyday life? So if you require
judgments about matters of everyday life, why do you put them in front of men
who have no standing in the Messianic Community? I say, shame on you! Can it
be that there isn't one person among you wise enough to be able to settle a
dispute between brothers? Instead, a brother brings a lawsuit against
another brother, and that before unbelievers! Actually, if you are bringing
awsuits against each other, it is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be
wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
When we do bring complaints against brother believers in the New Covenant, there is a prescribed way of going about it.
1. Deciding Whether to Overlook an Offense
Even when we are authorized to seek redress for a sin committed against us, we need not do so.
Proverbs 19:11
People with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to
overlook an offense.
Some offenses are easily overlooked - especially those that are unintentional, have done no great harm, and are unlikely to be repeated. Although it may seem that overlooking an offense is always the loving thing to do, it is not necessarily so. One's decision should always be based upon what is best for the offender, and what is best for others against whom the offender may sin if he is not made accountable. If, however, the offense is overlooked, it must not be brought up again unless the offense is repeated.
2. Bringing Correction to an Offending Brother
If our decision is to not overlook the offense, we must confront the offending brother privately:
Matthew 18:15
Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his
fault - but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you,
you have won back your brother.
Galatians 6:1-2
Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have
the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye
on yourselves so that you won't be tempted too. Bear one another's burdens -
in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah's true meaning, which the
Messiah upholds.
There are three things in the foregoing Scriptures which stand out. First, when we go to our brother to tell him his fault, our attitude must be pure and our demeanor proper. The operative expression in the Galatians Scripture is "a spirit of gentleness".
Second, we are to go to our brother alone. That means we are not to share our complaint with others before first giving our brother the opportunity to repent and make things right. This principle assumes two things: (1) The parties are relatively equal in their ability to deal with one another, and (2) There is no impropriety in the parties meeting privately. An example of inequality would be a child having to confront an adult; an example of improper privacy would be a male and female meeting alone to confront one another concerning sexual sin. In these and similar cases, the Scriptures should be interpreted broadly enough to permit chaperoning and for allowing the weaker of the two adversaries to be accompanied by a suitable protector but not an advocate or spokesperson.
Third, our purpose for confronting our brother must be to restore him to righteousness, and our hope must be for reconciliation.
3. Returning with Witnesses
If the offending brother agrees with our complaint and repents, the matter is, of course, concluded, and we forgive him. If he does not agree or refuses to meet privately, we must then elect whether to pursue the matter further, or to belatedly overlook his sin (Proverbs 19:11) while being content that we have complied with Galatians 6:1-2. Although overlooking the sin at this point is possible, its appropriateness is unlikely. If there remains un-reconciliation, we are obligated to go to our brother again, and this time, bring one or two witnesses:
Matthew 18:16
If he doesn't listen, take one or two others with you so that every
accusation can be supported by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
These need not be witnesses to the original offense complained of (although they may be), but rather to this second meeting with our brother.4 Our usual concept of witnesses is that they are silent observers. In this case, however, the verse of Scripture that follows (Matthew 18:17), infers that these witnesses determine which of the parties to the dispute is wrong, and urges that person to listen to reason and repent. These verses of Scripture are constructed with the assumption that the brother receiving the visit is the one who is in the wrong but, in our interpretation, we allow for the possibility that, after hearing the dialog between the brothers, the witnesses conclude that the brother bringing the complaint is the one who is in the wrong.
As before, if the parties come to agreement during the visit or the offending brother repents, the matter is concluded. If however, the attempt at reconciliation is unsuccessful, the matter must not be allowed to fester, and must therefore be brought for adjudication to the ekklesia.
4. Bringing the Dispute to the Ekklesia
Matthew 18:17
If he refuses to hear them, tell the congregation; and if he refuses to
listen even to the congregation, treat him as you would a pagan or a
tax-collector.
The word "congregation" in the CJB (translated "church" in the NKJ) is
(ekklesia), in the Greek text,
which means "a gathering", "an assembly (for worship)", "a deliberative
council". According to Matthew 18:17, if the complainant and the
witnesses are unsuccessful in convincing the offender to repent, the matter
is to be brought to the ekklesia for adjudication.
Since the entire ekklesia (the body of believers or even the membership of a single congregation) is too large a group to assemble in order to hear and judge disputes, it is the prevailing view that a bet din (ecclesiastical court) of assembled elders acts for the ekklesia and rules on the complaint brought before it. If, after announcing its judgment, the person ruled to be in the wrong does not repent, we are to treat him as we would "a pagan or a tax-collector" (Matthew 18:17). This is sometimes referred to as a decree of "disfellowship" or "excommunication".
It is a common misunderstanding that when a brother is excommunicated pursuant to Matthew 18:17, he must necessarily be ejected from the congregation. On the contrary, after a judgment of excommunication, the brother must be treated as an unbeliever in every way. Therefore, although he must be refused holy communion (Shulchan Adonai) with the brethren, unless he is also a violator of 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (walking in immorality while calling himself a believer) or Titus 3:10-11 (divisive or otherwise harmful to the body), he should be encouraged to attend congregational services and other events where he is likely to hear the Word of God and be encouraged to repent.
One interesting consequence of a Matthew 18:17 excommunication, is that the complainant is released from the constraint of 1 Corinthians 6:1-7, and is free to sue the unrepentant "former" brother in a secular court. This has special ramifications for persons seeking to divorce an excommunicated spouse.
Another common misunderstanding is that a decree of excommunication applies only to the excommunicating congregation or religious denomination. Biblically, that is not so. Judgments arising from Matthew 18 proceedings apply across the entire body of believers and, so long as correct biblical doctrine is applied and due process is afforded, congregations of all stripes are biblically required to recognize the judgment. What is more, God Himself recognizes and honors the judgment, for we read in Matthew 18:18:
Yes! I tell you people that whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
We note that sins without repentance that would lead to capital punishment in the Mosaic order generally require disfellowship in the New Covenant order.
5. Restoring a Brother to Fellowship
A Matthew 18 judgment of "disfellowship" is reversible in the same way as the status of being an unbeliever is reversible. What is required is that the sanctioned brother repent of his former sin, comply with all orders of the convicting bet din, and receive Yeshua again as his Lord and savior. Ideally, the same bet din that ruled previously is convened to judge the repentance and, if the repentance is deemed genuine, the tribunal should set aside its prior judgment, and publish a decree of restoration. This restoration which is bound on earth, is also bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18).
6. When the Offender is Us!
Matthew 5:23-24
So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember
there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it
is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and
offer your gift.
This is the reciprocal of the situation dealt with by Matthew 18. If we know or suspect that we have sinned against a brother, we are not to wait until the brother comes to us - we are to go to him. A noted author, Jay Adams, has written that, because of Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 18:15, the offender and the offended should be meeting in the street between their respective homes, each on his way to seek reconciliation with the other.
Scriptures that Pertain to Idols & Idolatry
Exodus 20:3-6
You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for
yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven
above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not
to bow down to them or serve them; for I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth
generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.
Exodus 22:19(20)
Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than ADONAI alone is to be
completely destroyed.
Deuteronomy 7:1-5
ADONAI your God is going to bring you into the land you will enter in
order to take possession of it, and he will expel many nations ahead of you -
the Hitti, Girgashi, Emori, Kena'ani, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi, seven nations
bigger and stronger than you. When he does this, when ADONAI your God hands
them over ahead of you, and you defeat them, you are to destroy them
completely! Do not make any covenant with them. Show them no mercy. Don't
intermarry with them - don't give your daughter to his son, and don't take
his daughter for your son. For he will turn your children away from
following me in order to serve other gods. If this happens, the anger of
ADONAI will flare up against you, and he will quickly destroy you. No, treat
them this way: break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to
pieces, cut down their sacred poles and burn up their carved images
completely.
We see from the examples cited above that idolatry (worshiping gods other than the Lord our God) is punishable by death under Mosaic Law, and all objects of idolatrous worship are to be torn down and destroyed. Upon the New Covenant's arrival, pagan worship of physical idols and foreign gods was still rampant among the Romans, Greeks and others, and so a significant number of New Testament Scriptures speak against it; for example:
Acts 15:28-29
For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us not to lay any heavier
burden on you than the following requirements: to abstain from what has been
sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication.
If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing.
Shalom!
Acts 17:29
So, since we are children of God, we shouldn't suppose that God's essence
resembles gold, silver or stone shaped by human technique and imagination.
1 Corinthians 10:7
Don't be idolaters, as some of them were - as the Tanakh puts it, 'The
people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry.'
1 Corinthians 10:14
Therefore, my dear friends, run from idolatry!
1 Corinthians 12:2
You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were being
led, you were being led astray to idols, which can't speak at all.
1 John 5:21
Children, guard yourselves against false gods!
Also, the Mosaic Law that required death for idolaters and destruction of their idols is carried forward into the New Covenant - not that we execute idolaters any longer, but that God dispatches them by denying them eternal life:
1 Corinthians 10:9-10
Don't you know that unrighteous people will have no share in the Kingdom
of God? Don't delude yourselves - people who engage in sex before marriage,
who worship idols, who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than
their spouse, who engage in active or passive homosexuality, who steal, who
are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who
rob - none of them will share in the Kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs,
idol-worshippers, and all liars - their destiny is the lake burning with
fire and sulfur, the second death.
Apart from the New Testament's warnings against worshiping foreign gods and physical idols, the New Covenant expands the meaning of idolatry to giving ourselves to satanic temptations and sinful temptations of the flesh: Of course, explicitly worshipping idols is grounds for disfellowshipping in the New Covenant.
1 Corinthians 10:13-14
No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and
God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.
On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out,
so that you will be able to endure. Therefore, my dear friends, run from
idolatry!
1 Corinthians 10:19-20
So, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols has any significance
in itself? or that an idol has significance in itself? No, what I am saying
is that the things which pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice not to God but to
demons; and I don't want you to become sharers of the demons!
Galatians 4:7-9
So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son
you are also an heir. In the past, when you did not know God, you served as
slaves beings which in reality are non-gods. But now you do know God, and,
more than that, you are known by God. So how is it that you turn back again
to those weak and miserable elemental spirits? Do you want to enslave
yourselves to them once more?
Colossians 3:5
Therefore, put to death the earthly parts of your nature - sexual
immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of
idolatry)
James 4:7 commands us:
Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you.
The NKJ translates James 4:7: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." The New Covenant has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us, and He empowers us to be able to "resist the devil" and keep God's Torah. Nevertheless, the responsibility of inviting the Holy Spirit to help us in resisting is ours and ours alone.
Scriptures that Pertain to Family Matters
Deuteronomy 22:13-19
If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her and then, having
come to dislike her, brings false charges against her and defames her
character by saying, 'I married this woman, but when I had intercourse with
her I did not find evidence that she was a virgin'; then the girl's father
and mother are to take the evidence of the girl's virginity to the leaders of
the town at the gate. The girl's father will say to the leaders, 'I let my
daughter marry this man, but he hates her, so he has brought false charges
that he didn't find evidence of her virginity; yet here is the evidence of my
daughter's virginity' - and they will lay the cloth before the town leaders.
The leaders of that town are to take the man, punish him, and fine him
two-and-a-half pounds of silver shekels, which they will give to the girl's
father, because he has publicly defamed a virgin of Isra'el. She will remain
his wife, and he is forbidden from divorcing her as long as he lives.
Scriptures of the Mosaic Law pertaining to family matters (typical of the above Scripture) are not enforceable in the New Covenant because they infringe on, and conflict with, the laws of the secular governments under which we live. Still, there is teaching value in each of them. So, for example, the Deuteronomy 22:13-19 Scripture instructs us (1) to uphold the value of premarital virginity; (2) to value the permanence of marriage and not seek divorce for unsubstantial reasons such as dislike; (3) to not bring false charges against our spouse; and (4) to not impugn our spouse's reputation. We might also weigh the issue of marriage as required in the Bible for believers who become sexually involved. It is a difficult issue that requires more reflection and discussion. Would it be only with a virgin woman as in the Bible? At the date of this writing, eight states and the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriage, which is a legally recognized state of marriage (despite their being no marriage license or ceremony) by couples who cohabit openly with the intention of being married. Intent is the key. Even in common-law marriage states, sexual cohabitation without the intent of being considered married does not create a marriage and is simply fornication.
1. Gentile slaves were not freed on the Shmitah.'
2. Rousas J. Rushdoony, "The Institutes of Biblical Law", vols. 1-3, 1973.
3. "Eye for eye and tooth for tooth" is an expression referring to Exodus 21:22-25 that is often quoted out of context to justify personal acts of vengeance. Yeshua responded to this wrong application of the Scripture in Matthew 5:38-45.
4. Although not addressed in Scripture, fairness probably allows the offending brother to invite his own witnesses to observe the meeting as well.
Commentary by Daniel C. Juster
Romans 7 makes it clear that we are in the New Covenant Order and not the Mosaic when it refers to the widow and indicates that she is now freed from her covenant bond. That would not have been the case were we still under the Mosaic Covenant. We who are believers have died and been raised in the Messiah and, although we have been released from the Mosaic Covenant, we are, nevertheless, expected to apply its teaching in a manner that is applicable in the New Covenant.
Contrary to the idea of secular society, the Bible enjoins all nations to acknowledge God and to embrace the principles of God's Law for the governing of the society. In classical Protestant thought first defined by John Calvin, this was called the second use of the Law. God's Law (both Mosaic and New Covenant) provides the framework for society's civil law, so followers of Yeshua should work toward bringing their civil society into conformity with its principles. The ideal of all nations acknowledging the Lordship of God and His Law is repeated throughout the Prophets and the Writings.
Classical Commentators
The 613 mitzvot listed by Maimonides and HaChinuch include several that cannot be literally complied with today. Meir's compilation leaves out many of them, which is why his compilation lists fewer. None of the classical Jewish commentators recognize the existence of a New Covenant, and their interpretations of the Torah Scriptures reflect that view.
NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm