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Luke 1:79
“… To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." The Torah provides us with much ruling having to do with man’s inhumane behavior. Some of the things the Torah talks about would make very gory bedtime stories. How can such a heavenly document be so besmirched with the filth of human sin? King David said that the Torah is Light (Psalms 119:105). Light is only useful when it shines in darkness. In essence, the Torah finds its mission within the spiritual darkness of our human dimension. Paul built on David’s proclamation in the Psalms with, But when anything is exposed by the light (of Torah), it (the sin of ‘anything’) becomes visible (Ephesians 5:13). He also taught his disciple Timothy that, the law (the Torah) is … not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine (1Timothy 1:8), and I think that includes all of us! The Torah is a Light made to reveal to us our sinful condition. As such, it is a help to direct our paths away from sinful behavior. In studying God’s Oracles, we must be careful to distinguish between what the Torah permits and what the Torah advocates. Failure to do so can be disastrous. Whereas the Torah advocates unbroken marriages, in the knowledge of the nature of man’s heart it gave leeway for divorce (Matthew 19:8). Whereas it advocates monogamous marriages, it gave rulings concerning polygamy. It doesn’t mean that the Torah advocates divorce or polygamy, it only means that the Torah is relevant to the society in which it was given. The same goes for slavery; whereas the Torah gives ruling for slaves, it does not advocate slavery. We must be careful to study it according to its contextual values. Not understanding this could cause us to feel removed from Its text to a point of irrelevance. Many of us who would not consider polygamy as a lifestyle, practice it in a sequential manner, using one spouse, and ‘throwing it away’ for another one. Also many today who would not consider enslaving humans practice a different form of slavery through the very commonly accepted practice of usury (lending for interest) and economic policies that offer less guaranties than those offered to slaves in the Bible. The Torah is a Light, and those who consider it obsolete live in darkness. The Torah reveals the Light of Hashem's nature and character to contrast it with ours, and those who in a cafeteria-style pick and choose what they want from it, are found to ‘edit’, or adding or taking away from the Torah in their hearts, For centuries man has tried to find a better type of government than the one offered in the Torah, and the messy results are evident. In the World to Come, the Light of Torah will expose our sinful world for what it is and we will finally learn to rule and be ruled under the justice and righteousness of Hashem. May it come soon Abba Father, this world can’t wait any longer; too many are crying out for justice.
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Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. The text of rulings started in Exodus twenty can take us back to a time of cultural irrelevancy to the point that we may wonder about their current usefulness. Somehow though, these things about buying and selling children, slavery and polygamy are part of the great Horeb oracle, so to consider them irrelevant can be, and is in my opinion disrespectful. Let’s look for example at the laws of polygamy. If he (a man) takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her (the first wife) food, her clothing, or her marital rights (conjugal intimacy). And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money (Exodus 21:10-11). Read from our modern western cultural viewpoint, these rulings sound barbaric; but while understanding them within their own merit and context, let’s give them a fair try. Polygamy was an accepted Middle-East lifestyle in the days of Exodus when marriage was a business transaction. If he could afford it, a man could marry a woman for financial, political, or just plain lustful selfish reasons and once she served her 'purpose', get himself a new one to the neglect of the first one. Apparently God did not approve of this practice so He decreed that if a man re-marries, the food, the clothing and the conjugal rights of the first wife are not in any way to be diminished. If the husband doesn’t hold to that, she has automatic legal grounds to leave him and even remarry. In a certain way, that makes polygamy impossible unless you are as rich as Solomon. We now are a far cry from these days of healthy ‘woman’s rights’. Today a man can take a woman, and if he has affairs on the side that cause him to neglect the first wife, she has to go through the cruel humiliations of being rejected in public divorce proceedings. This ruling teaches about the heart of the Father against such cruelty as rejecting a wife. A common teaching today is replacement theology: the ideology that because of sin God rejected His first wife Israel in favor of Christianity. For many, this explains our on-going exile, the inquisitions and the Holocaust. People easily understand replacement theology scenario because of the way they live and generally understand God through the lenses of their own perverted divorce-accepting viewpoint. First, God hates divorce (Exodus 20:14; Matthew 10:2-9), and as far as Israel is concerned, Paul explains that, “the gifts and the calling of Hashem are irrevocable (Romans 11:29)”. First, if God practices the irrevocable putting away of wives because of sin, Christians are also in danger. Second, even if He did, our relationship with Him was not to be diminished. My point here is that this commandment reveals the true nature and character of the Father. He may chastise us for awhile to help us know and trust Him more, but never in an attempt to drive us away from Him, and He doesn’t go from ‘bride’ to ‘bride’ as mankind seems to enjoy doing today. We can now see not that this seemingly archaic rule teaches us much about our current value system and even our theology. John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son …" I have heard some who boast that they believe in obeying all the commandments in the Torah. It is a noble thing that we should try to be obedient, but we should also know that it is impossible. If it were, there would be no need for the twice daily offering of a lamb and for the Fall Feasts. Whereas the Torah requires our obedience, without condoning sin, it also provides for our human frailty. Divorce for example, whereas God is against it, guidelines are provided for it because of the hardness of our hearts. Whereas we appreciate God's mercy and compassion for our human state, it is important to keep them in their proper place, as to say that because of these accepted guidelines God condones divorce, would be like saying that because of the cities of refuge God condones murder (Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Mark 10:2-9; Numbers 35:6). On their claim that they obey all the Torah I like to ask people, "If it were legally permissible, would you stone your wife if you found her in an inappropriate relationship? Or should she stone you if you were the guilty one? Would you stone your son if he fit the bill for Deuteronomy 21:18-21? Even Jewish writings tell us that no one ever came to the Sanhedrin for the law of the rebellious son. Today though, not only it is illegal to personally claim and administer the death penalty on the sole basis of disobedience to Torah, but even if it were, the whole Torah procedure requires the presence of a legal Sanhedrin and of a Temple in Jerusalem. In the absence of such these laws, while not obsolete, are presently non-applicable. Some may heave a sigh of relief, but the absence of a legal Sanhedrin does not absolve us from judgment from Heaven as we read, whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4). The law of the rebellious son may seem the most difficult law to observe especially when we look at it as a father towards his son. I personally like to change the perspective and look at it remembering that as a father, I am also somebody's son. I may not fit the bill where my earthly father can accuse me of being stubborn and rebellious; a glutton and a drunkard, but as far as my Heavenly Father is concerned, I do fit that bill and more. King David rightly commented, If you, O Adonai, should mark iniquities, O Adonai, who could stand (Psalms 130:3)? This law may seem harsh and condemning, but come to think of it, if God did not punish iniquity He would be unjust. Justice must be given its due to expunge iniquity; there is no other way. If not by us, by somebody else, and in this case this harsh justice is executed on Yeshua HaMashiach, the Obedient Son. If we were to be executed we would deserve it because we are guilty, but Yeshua was while He was innocent. His death therefore serves as atonement for the sinners that we are. In this case, we can say again that all the commandments tell us of the glory of God, even those that seem the most harsh and cruel. May Blessed be His Name. Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Numbers five tells us of a very strange ritual concerning the 'woman suspected of adultery'. The ritual is very different from all others because it depends on a miracle. In those days women were not to be seen alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not a relative or their husband. Here is a scenario: A man sees his wife several times alone in the company of another man. He does not witness any indiscretion but finds it very strange that his wife should break protocol in this way. He suspects her of adultery. Immediately he has to stop marital relationships until she is vindicated. To vindicate her, the man has to bring his wife to Jerusalem where an officiating priest will unbind her hair and make her drink a potion of water, ink, and dust from the tabernacle (reminiscent of the Golden Calf episode in Exodus: 32:20). If she is guilty, her womb will swell and her thigh will drop, but if she is not guilty of adultery, she will conceive and have a child (Numbers 5: 14-31). At first glance the system seems chauvinistic and even ludicrous The whole thing also solely depends on the operation of a miracle for either vindication or condemnation. The sages of Israel teach that the whole point though was to protect the woman from an over jealous husband, to exonerate her, as well as to preserve marital harmony. He who is married to Israel preserves marital harmony with His bride even at the cost of His own Name. The passage tells us that the priest is to write God's Name and then dilute it in water, mix it with dirt and give it to the woman to drink. This erasure of the Divine Name comes against and despite the forbiddance to do so (Deuteronomy 12:3-4). In order to bring marital peace and unity God is willing to let His own Name be erased and dragged through the dirt. Pondering on this point, I am saddened when I realize the flippant attitude many have towards marriage. Whereas the Father of all Compassions seems to go to the nth degree to preserve marital peace and harmony, I see (and you probably do too) many marriages broken because of trivial and mostly selfish reasons; sometimes even because of theological differences. Whereas Paul, the chosen apostle of the Master, advises marriages between believers and idol-worshipping pagans to remain together (1 Corinthians 7) nowadays people divorce because can't agree on how to worship the same God. Such a sad reflection on the Father! The way I see it, we would be destroyed if He treated us the way we treat each other, and be lost if He judged us the way we judge each other (Psalm 103:10). If only we would realize the sanctity God places on marital harmony, on peace in the home called in Hebrew: 'shalom Bayit', we would understand the infiniteness of His love and compassion. Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. The text of rulings started in Exodus twenty can take us back to a time of cultural irrelevancy to the point that we may wonder about their current usefulness. Somehow though, these things about buying and selling children, slavery and polygamy are part of the great Horeb oracle, so to consider them irrelevant can be, and is in my opinion disrespectful. Let’s look for example at the laws of polygamy. It says that, If he (a man) takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her (the first wife) food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money (Exodus 21:10-11). Read from our modern western cultural viewpoint, these rulings sound barbaric; but let’s give them a fair try. Polygamy was an accepted M. East lifestyle in the days of Exodus. Marriage was a business transaction and if he could afford it, a man could marry a woman for financial, political or just plain lustful selfish reasons. Once she served her purpose, he got himself another to the neglect of the first one. Apparently God did not approve of this practice so He decreed that if a man re-marries, the food, the clothing and the conjugal rights of the first wife are not in any way to be diminished. If the husband doesn’t hold to that, she has automatic legal grounds to leave him and even remarry. In a certain way, that makes polygamy impossible unless you are King Solomon, and even he probably couldn’t live up to it. We now are a far cry from these days of healthy ‘woman’s rights’. Today a man can take a woman, and if he has affairs on the side (in Bible views, a man is joined to a woman through sexual intimacy) that cause him to neglect the first wife (which is inevitable), she has to go through the cruel humiliations of divorce proceedings. This ruling teaches about the heart of the Father against such cruelty as rejecting a wife. A common teaching today is replacement theology: the ideology that because of sin God rejected His first wife Israel in favor of Christianity. For many, this explains our on-going exile, the inquisitions and the Holocaust. People easily understand replacement theology scenario because this is the way they live and we generally understand God through the lenses of our own perverted viewpoint. First, God hates divorce (Exodus 20:14; Matthew 10:2-9), and about Israel Paul explains that, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29)”. If God practices the irrevocable putting away of wives because of sin, Christians then are also in danger. Second, even if He did, our relationship with Him was not to be diminished. My point here is that this commandment reveals the true nature and character of the Father. He may chastise us for awhile to help us know and trust Him more, but never in an attempt to drive us away from Him, and He doesn’t go from ‘bride’ to ‘bride’ as mankind seems to enjoy doing today. We can now see not that this seemingly archaic rule teaches us much about our current value system and even our theology. |
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