Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.
This
phrase in our parashah reveals the desire of YHVH’s Heart ….’’mi yiten…’’
Deu 5:29 ‘Oh, (“mi yiten’’ who will give or allow
them… to have a heart such as this heart?) that they had such a heart in them,
to fear Me and to guard all My commands always, so that it might be well with
them and with their children forever!
Why would YHVH ask such a
question? What is the answer?
Maybe such a heart can
only be created by Him in our lives!
Maybe this can only
happen when we are born from above – or born again! See John 3
David cries out in his
despair for YHVH to help him walk in His ways:
Psa 51:10 Create
in me a clean heart, O Elohim, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
The Hebrew word for
‘’create’’ is ‘’barah’’ it is the second word of the Torah ….’’beresheet
barah….’’ Gen 1:1
Pirkei
Avot – The Ethics of the Fathers chapter 5 says with 10 utterances the world
was created.
This
week we once again consider the 10 sayings Moshe received from YHVH on Mount Sinai. The first time these 10 sayings appear,
they are found in parashat Yitro – Shemot 20.
These 10 sayings are repeated by Moshe in this parasha – “Ve et chanan.”
Almost 40 years separated the first and second record of these 10 sayings. The second time the 10 sayings were given just before Yisrael entered into the Promised Land.
The seven days of YHVH’S creation give us a pattern for studying Torah…..
The 10 sayings are and always will be Yisrael’s “Freedom Charter.”
A “charter” is defined as a “written grant by the sovereign or legislative power of a country, in order to establish a people or an organization. This written document contains the principles on which such a people or organization will be established and maintain their freedom and existence.”
Man has never been able to produce a “Freedom Charter” that has provided peace and prosperity for all its people.
YHVH has given us a “Freedom Charter” that will bring those whom He has chosen into freedom. The very first and foundational principle of YHVH’s “Freedom Charter” is found in Dev/Deut 5:6 ‘I am יהוה your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.”
Deu 5:1 And Mosheh called all Yisra’ĕl, and said to
them, “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl, the laws and right-rulings which I speak in your
hearing today. And you shall learn them, and guard to do them.
Deu 5:2 “יהוה our Elohim made a covenant with us in
Ḥorĕḇ.
Deu 5:3 “יהוה did not make
this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of
us who are alive.
(From before the foundation of the world the Torah was in the Heart of YHVH. Abraham kept YHVH’s Torah - Gen 26:5 because Aḇraham obeyed My voice and guarded My Charge: My commands, My laws, and My Torot.”a Footnote: aTorot - plural of Torah, teaching. In the last days this covenant will be renewed in our hearts– Jer 31:31)
Deu 5:4 “יהוה spoke with you
face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
Deu 5:5 “I stood between יהוה and you at
that time, to declare to you the Word of יהוה – for you were
afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain – saying:
Deu 5:6 ‘I am יהוה your Elohim
who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.
“Anochi” “I and only I alone”
–
Isa
43:10 …..Before Me there was no Ěl
formed, nor after Me there is none.
Isa 43:11 “I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no saviour. (Heb
moshiah)
Isa 45:5 ‘I am יהוה, and there is none else – there is no
Elohim besides Me.
Act 4:12
“And there is no deliverance in anyone else, for there is no other Name
under the heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.”
The Gk word “soteria” is often translated “salvation” but means “deliverance or safety.”
This is one of the most critical concepts in understanding our emancipation from sin and rebellion – YHVH doesn’t, didn’t or ever will need anyone’s help to bring us salvation. YHVH requires agreement not assistance. YHVH only requires our obedience to bring about His Redemption. The most obedient person who ever lived was Yahshua who did all YHVH’s perfect will to secure redemption for himself and all of mankind. The first Adam failed the second Adam succeeded.
Isa 59:16 And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no intercessor. So His own arm saved for Him, and His righteousness upheld him.
Yahshua says of Himself:
Heb 10:7 “Then I said, ‘See, I come – in the roll of the book it has been written concerning Me – to do Your desire, O Elohim.’ ” Psa_40:6-8.
Yahshua’s name means YHVH is Salvation.
In this comes the revelation of the secret of YHVH’s desire – Eph 1:9… all created things are brought together in Messiah and at the end of the redemptive age, Messiah hands over all the Kingdom to YHVH alone the Creator of All in heaven and on earth – 1 Cor 15:24. Yahshua came to establish the rightful ownership of all things.
Psa 24:1 The earth belongs to יהוה, And all that fills it – The world and
those who dwell in it. (including Yahshua)
Deu 5:7 ‘You have no other mighty ones against My
face.
Deu 5:8 ‘You do not make for yourself a carved image,
any likeness of which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth
beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth,
Deu 5:9 you do not bow down to them nor serve them.
For I, יהוה your Elohim, am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate
Me,
Deu 5:10 but showing kindness to thousands, to those
who love Me and guard My commands.
Deu 5:11 ‘You do not bring1 the Name of יהוה your Elohim to
naught, for יהוה does not leave him unpunished who brings His Name to naught.
Footnote: 1Or lift up, or take. or “Do not make the name of YHVH
worthless”
Eze 39:7
“And I shall make My set-apart Name known in the midst of My people
Yisra’ĕl, and not let My set-apart Name be profaned any more. And the gentiles
shall know that I am יהוה, the Set-apart One in Yisra’ĕl.
Deu 5:12 ‘Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as יהוה your Elohim
commanded you.
Deu 5:13 ‘Six days you labour, and shall do all your
work,
Deu 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath1
of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor
your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor
your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your
gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do.
Footnote: 1See footnote at Ex. 20:10.
Deu 5:15 ‘And you shall remember that you were a slave
in the land of Mitsrayim, and that יהוה your Elohim
brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore
יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Heb 4:2
For indeed the Good News was brought to us as well as to them, but the
word which they heard did not profit them, not having been mixed with belief(“the
faith” – Gk dative noun – see Eph 4:4-6) in those who heard it.
Heb 4:3
For we who have believed(believing – aorist verb) do enter into that
rest, as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, if they shall enter into My
rest...” And yet His works have come into being from the foundation of the
world.
Heb 4:4
For somewhere He has said thus about the seventh day, “And Elohim rested
on the seventh day from all His works,”
Heb 4:5
and in this again, “If they shall enter into My rest...” (Ps 95:11)
Heb 4:6
Since then it remains for some to enter into it, and those who formerly
received the Good News did not enter in because of disobedience,1
Footnote: 1See 3:18.
Heb 4:7
He again defines a certain day, “Today,” saying through Dawiḏ so much later, as it
has been said, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Heb
4:8 For if Yehoshua had given them rest,
He would not have spoken of another day after that.
Heb
4:9 So there remains a Sabbath-keeping
for the people of Elohim.
Heb
4:10 For the one, having entered into
His rest, has himself also rested from his works, as Elohim rested from
His own.
Heb
4:11 Let us therefore do our utmost to
enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.1
Footnote: 1See 3:18.
Heb
4:12 For the Word of Elohim is living,
and working, and sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through even to the
dividing of being and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Heb
4:13 And there is no creature hidden
from His sight, but all are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him with
whom is our account.
Deu 5:16 ‘Respect your father and your mother, as יהוה your Elohim
has commanded you, so that your days are prolonged, and so that it is well with
you on the soil which יהוה your Elohim is giving you.
If we respect and honour the traditions of our fathers more than the Torah of YHVH – we are heading for disaster.
Now follows some of the practical issues of the first five sayings. It is helpful if we compare two tablets of stone with five sayings on one and five sayings on the other. The first five foundational spiritual sayings which relate directly to our love and obedience to the Father are found on the right hand five sayings and our loving our neighbor as ourselves is found on the left hand side of the five sayings. In Hebrew thinking the right hand represents that which is spiritual and the left that which is the physical manifestation on earth of the spiritual.
Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes coming near, hearing them reasoning
together, knowing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the
first command of all?”
Mar 12:29 And יהושע answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O
Yisra’ěl, יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one. Deu_6:4.
Mar 12:30 ‘And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart,
and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Deu_6:5. This
is the first command.
Mar 12:31 “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your
neighbour as yourself.’ Lev_19:18. There is no other command greater
than these.”
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have
spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no other besides
Him. Deu_4:35.
Mar 12:33 “And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the being, and with all the strength, Deu_6:5
and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the ascending
offerings and offerings.”
Mar 12:34 And when יהושע saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the reign of Elohim.” And after that no one was bold enough to question Him.
Mat 19:16 And see, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good
shall I do to have everlasting life?”
Mat 19:17 And He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One – Elohim. But if you wish to enter into life, guard the commands.”b Footnote: bSee also Luk_10:28, Joh_12:50, Rev_22:14.
Deu 5:17 ‘You do not murder.
Deu 5:18 ‘You do not commit adultery.
Deu 5:19 ‘You do not steal.
Deu 5:20 ‘You do not bear false witness against your
neighbour.
Deu 5:21 ‘You do not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor do you desire your neighbour’s house, his field, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, his ox, nor his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbour.’
As the first five sayings are established in our lives, they enable us to
walk in victory and freedom in the last five sayings of YHVH’s “Freedom
Charter.”
For example, if we compare the first saying to the sixth saying –if we do
not teach people that YHVH and YHVH alone has delivered us from bondage; it’s
just as good as giving someone a spiritual death sentence.
If we take the second saying and compare it with the seventh saying – we see that attempting to usurp the position of YHVH with another Elohim or mighty one, is like committing spiritual adultery. These include charismatic leaders or any other created person.
If we take the third saying and compare it with the eighth saying – we see that taking the name of YHVH lightly is like stealing. This manifests when people try to explain YHVH through their theologies and philosophies that render YHVH’s Name and His Character as useless. Stealing His Esteem.
If we take the fourth saying
and compare it with the ninth saying – we see that guarding the Sabbath with
the right heart and mind will cause us to become true witnesses.
Finally if we compare the
fifth saying to the tenth saying – we will find that honoring a life source (parents)
in ways that please YHVH will bring
increase in our lives so that we will not need to covet what belongs to someone
else.
Deu 5:22 “These Words יהוה spoke to all
your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of
the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone
and gave them to me.
Deu 5:23 “And it came to be, when you heard the voice
from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that
you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders,
Deu 5:24 and said, ‘See, יהוה our Elohim has
shown us His esteem and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the
midst of the fire. Today we have seen that Elohim speaks with man – and he
lives!
Deu 5:25 ‘And now why should we die? For this great
fire is consuming us. If we hear the voice of יהוה our Elohim any
more, then we shall die.
Deu 5:26 ‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard
the voice of the living Elohim speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have,
and does live?
Deu 5:27 ‘You go
near and hear all that יהוה our Elohim says, and speak to us all that יהוה our Elohim
says to you, and we shall hear and do it.’
If we apply the “Remez” principle of Torah interpretation,
we recognize that Yisrael is declaring their need for an intermediary – which
we know points or hints at the work of Messiah. It was only the Messiah who would
be able to lead us and establish us in this Freedom Charter, YHVH’s Freedom
Charter
Deu 5:28 “And יהוה heard the
voice of your words when you spoke to me, and יהוה said to me, ‘I
have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you.
They have done well in all that they have spoken.
Deu 5:29 ‘Oh, (“mi
yiten’ or who will give or allow them… to have a heart such as this heart?) that
they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and to guard all My commands always,
so that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
Deu 5:30 ‘Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.”
Deu 5:31 ‘But you, stand here by Me, and let Me speak
to you all the commands, and the laws, and the right-rulings which you are to
teach them. And they shall do them in the land which I am giving them to
possess.’
Deu 5:32 “And you shall guard to do as יהוה your Elohim
has commanded you – do not turn aside, to the right or to the left.
Deu 5:33 “Walk in all the way which יהוה your Elohim
has commanded you, so that you live and it be well with you. And you shall
prolong your days in the land which you possess.
Deu 6:1 “And this is the command, the laws and
right-rulings which יהוה your Elohim has commanded, to teach you to do in the land which
you are passing over to possess,
Deu 6:2 so that you fear יהוה your Elohim,
to guard all His laws and His commands which I command you, you and your son
and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days be prolonged.
Deu 6:3 “And you shall hear, O Yisra’ĕl, and shall
guard to do, that it might be well with you, and that you increase greatly as יהוה Elohim of your
fathers has spoken to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Jer 11:3 “And you shall
say to them, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ěl, “Cursed is the man who
does not obey the words of this covenant,
True obedience to YHVH’s
covenant will cause persecution and opposition.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved ones,
do not be surprised at the fiery trial that is coming upon you, to try you, as
though some unusual matter has befallen you,
1Pe 4:13 but as you
share Messiah’s sufferings, rejoice, in order that you might rejoice exultingly
at the revelation of His esteem.
1Pe 4:14 If you are
reproached for the Name of Messiah, you are blessed, because the Spirit
of esteem and of Elohim rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on
your part He is praised.
1Pe 4:15 For do not let
any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or doer of evil, or as a
meddler.
1Pe
4:16 But if one suffers
being ‘messianist’, let him not be ashamed, but let him esteem Elohim in this
matter.
1Pe 4:17 Because it is
time for judgment to begin from the House of Elohim. And if firstly from us,
what is the end of those who do not obey the Good News of Elohim?
1Pe 4:18 And if the
righteous one is scarcely saved, where shall the wicked and the sinner appear?
Pro_11:31.
1Pe 4:19 So then, those
who suffer according to the desire of Elohim should commit their lives to a
trustworthy Creator, in doing good.
Baruch
atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh
o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of
the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted
everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah –
Ameyn