9.11.25 ~ Diligently Obey all His Commands
Good morning!
Just how rigid are God’s commandments? How carefully must we follow each and every one? Is there wiggle room or are they absolute ethical instructions? Over and over again throughout the Torah, the Prophets and the writings (aka TaNaKh), we are commanded to keep all of God's commandments since they are what set us apart from the nations (Num. 15:40). It reveals that we fear the Lord our God (Deut. 5:29) and by doing so a king is guaranteed to occupy David's throne (1 Kg. 6:12; 11:38). By doing them you're guaranteed to be attacked by the enemy (Rev. 12:17), but they will have access to the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:14). If we despise them then we'll merit the title "Covenant breaker" (Lev. 26:15). And for those who speak contrary to a plain teaching in God's Word, if we can't keep them, as many declare, then why would a Good God punish His covenant people for not keeping the "impossible"?
Our Torah portion this week, Ki Tavo/when you come in, starts off with a command to diligently obey the Lord your God and follow all His commands...then the blessings will follow (Deut. 28:1-14).
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently/shemo tishma unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (Deut.28:1,2)
Isaiah, speaking of obedience to God's Word says, Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn't satisfy? hearken diligently/shamu shamo unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (Isa. 55:2)
For those who've been diligent students of His Word, they will know that there are times when you have to utilize the flexibility that is built into God's commandments. Huh? There are times when the perceived rigidity, or objective boundaries, which are built into God's commands are softened.
In other words, His commandments have flexibility. God’s commandments have a kind of situational ethics built into them. There are higher principles and lower principles within His commandments. Sometimes a lower principle needs to be bent a little to honor a higher principle. That’s not an exception to the rule. It’s an exemption due to circumstances.
An example we'd all be familiar with is the story of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:30-37). When the Samaritan encounters the wounded man on the road, he acts according to a higher principle, the value of life (Lk. 10:33), and violates the lower principle, the value of religious purity (Num. 19). His act is an exemption because the rule still applies—just not now. Did he sin by not keeping all the commandments? In this instance, it's impossible to keep all of them. Sometimes, when there is conflict one has to choose the higher truth and that's what he did; while the certain priest and Levite didn't (Lk. 10:31,32).
Without this sort of flexibility, life under God’s instructions would be virtually impossible. Why? Because the creation itself is out of joint, and along with that misalignment come situations where exemptions are important. The Samaritan is still accountable for the rules regarding ritual purity. He’s just exempt under these circumstances. Order is not nullified. Application just requires some adjustment and the wisdom to know what to apply in specific situations.
Think of this approach when someone challenges you about “keeping all the commandments.” First, of course, no one can keep them all because all of them do not apply to every individual, but even the ones that do apply to you as an individual aren’t quite set in concrete. The beauty (and tension) of the Torah is this flexibility; hence James calls it the perfect law of liberty (Jm. 1:25; 2:12; Psa. 19:7-10; 119:32,45, 96-105; etc.). For those who want everything to be clean and clear, Torah is messy, but for those of us who live in the mess, Torah is comforting and liberating!
And if we still question the Lord God's goodness. In giving us His incredible commandments, let me encourage you to read Nehemiah 9, which is a Fall Feast season passage to "write home to mom about' :-)
Have an amazing day! The fall feasts are coming!
Shalom!
Our Torah portion this week, Ki Tavo/when you come in, starts off with a command to diligently obey the Lord your God and follow all His commands...then the blessings will follow (Deut. 28:1-14).
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently/shemo tishma unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (Deut.28:1,2)
Isaiah, speaking of obedience to God's Word says, Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn't satisfy? hearken diligently/shamu shamo unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (Isa. 55:2)
For those who've been diligent students of His Word, they will know that there are times when you have to utilize the flexibility that is built into God's commandments. Huh? There are times when the perceived rigidity, or objective boundaries, which are built into God's commands are softened.
In other words, His commandments have flexibility. God’s commandments have a kind of situational ethics built into them. There are higher principles and lower principles within His commandments. Sometimes a lower principle needs to be bent a little to honor a higher principle. That’s not an exception to the rule. It’s an exemption due to circumstances.
An example we'd all be familiar with is the story of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:30-37). When the Samaritan encounters the wounded man on the road, he acts according to a higher principle, the value of life (Lk. 10:33), and violates the lower principle, the value of religious purity (Num. 19). His act is an exemption because the rule still applies—just not now. Did he sin by not keeping all the commandments? In this instance, it's impossible to keep all of them. Sometimes, when there is conflict one has to choose the higher truth and that's what he did; while the certain priest and Levite didn't (Lk. 10:31,32).
Without this sort of flexibility, life under God’s instructions would be virtually impossible. Why? Because the creation itself is out of joint, and along with that misalignment come situations where exemptions are important. The Samaritan is still accountable for the rules regarding ritual purity. He’s just exempt under these circumstances. Order is not nullified. Application just requires some adjustment and the wisdom to know what to apply in specific situations.
Think of this approach when someone challenges you about “keeping all the commandments.” First, of course, no one can keep them all because all of them do not apply to every individual, but even the ones that do apply to you as an individual aren’t quite set in concrete. The beauty (and tension) of the Torah is this flexibility; hence James calls it the perfect law of liberty (Jm. 1:25; 2:12; Psa. 19:7-10; 119:32,45, 96-105; etc.). For those who want everything to be clean and clear, Torah is messy, but for those of us who live in the mess, Torah is comforting and liberating!
And if we still question the Lord God's goodness. In giving us His incredible commandments, let me encourage you to read Nehemiah 9, which is a Fall Feast season passage to "write home to mom about' :-)
Have an amazing day! The fall feasts are coming!
Shalom!
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