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Biblical
Law
by Richard C.
Nickels
" . . . if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,
Matthew 19:17.
Release 2.0First Five Books of
the BibleDecember, 1993
Study No. 103
Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100,
Neck City, MO 64849
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Mr. Artie Satterfield,
whose notes and encouragement formed the basis for this study,
and Mr. Ronald H. Stewart for proofreading and overall support of
the original edition.
Why This Book Was Written
Psalms 19:7-8, 10-11 "The
law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the
LORD is sure, making wise the
simple. The statutes of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the LORD
is pure, enlightening the eyes . . . . More to be desired are
they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than
honey and the honeycomb. Moreover
by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there
is great reward."
Psalms 119:97, 172 "O how love I thy law! it is my
meditation all the day . . . . for all thy
commandments are righteousness."
Matthew 5:17, 19 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law,
or the prophets: I
am not
come to destroy,
but to fulfil . . . . Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least
commandments, and shall teach
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great
in the kingdom of heaven."
Romans 7:12, 14 "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good . . .
. For we know that the law is spiritual . . .
."
I John 5:3, "For this is
the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His
commandments are not grievous."
Revelation 12:17, 14:12 "
. . . the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ
. . . . Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that
they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city."
NOT TO BE SOLD. For a copy of this book, please write:
Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100,
Neck City, MO 64849
We ask for a donation of $4.00
to cover the cost of printing this book.
If you cannot afford a
donation, we will send a free copy, as funds are available.
COPYRIGHT 1993 by Sharing & Giving, Inc. Permission granted to copy this material,
provided it is given away freely, and not altered in meaning.
Table of Contents
Description
Page
The Reading of the Law 1
Which Old Testament Laws Are in
Force Today? 5
Biblical Law in Scripture
Order 25
Biblical Law in Topical Order 33
Man's Law versus God's Law, and
Guide to Bible Laws* 39
The Laws of the Bible** 47
Obedience and Disobedience 53
General Commandments, Loving Our
Neighbor 65
First Commandment 87
Second Commandment 93
Third Commandment 97
Fourth Commandment 99
Fifth Commandment 113
Sixth Commandment 118
Seventh Commandment 121
Eighth Commandment 127
Ninth Commandment 130
Tenth Commandment 132
Biblical Liberty and Freedom 133
Philo: Classical Expounder of Law, Sabbaths 135
Topical Index 141
Additional Literature 142
* From
America's Promise, Phoenix, Arizona.
** Copyrighted by Thomas Nelson
Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. Used by
permission.
Biblical Law
INTRODUCTION
Originally published in 1986,
this revised second edition of Biblical Law has additional articles and
has been reset for laser quality printing.
A proper understanding of
BIBLICAL LAW is important to our spiritual life. Blessings come
from obedience to the Creator's laws, and cursings
from disobedience.
God's Law defines sin, as well
as the character and nature of God, which is LOVE. The essential
teaching of the Bible is the two great commandments: love for God, and love for one's neighbor.
These two great commandments are
summaries of the Ten Commandments, which are in turn
summaries of the rest of the Bible.
This study of Biblical Law
examines the first four books of the Bible, showing how the statutes
explain and magnify the Ten Commandments. Most professing Christians
reject the Law, which is
holy, just and good (Romans 7:12). However, the
very mark, or sign, of true believers in the last
days is that they keep God's
Law:
Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the
faith of Jesus.
Revelation 14:12.
In the future, the Almighty
willing, I plan to expand Biblical Law to include a listing of God's laws
through the rest of the Bible, including the New Testament.
I have concluded individual
articles with the Greek Omega symbol, ê
-- written by Richard C.
Nickels, Gillette, Wyoming
The Reading of the Law
Israel was required to read the Law (first five books of the
Bible) at least once every seven years.
Deuteronomy 31:9 And Moses wrote
this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi,
which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all
the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses
commanded them, saying, At the
end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release,
in the feast of tabernacles, 11
When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the
place which he shall choose, thou shalt
read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather
the people together, men, and
women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that
they may hear, and that they may
learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the
words of this law: 13 And that
their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and
learn to fear the Lord your God,
as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to
possess it.
This reading of the law was done
at least three times in Israel's history:
(1) Joshua 8:34 And afterward he read all the
words of the law, the blessings and cursings,
according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There
was not a word of all that Moses
commanded, which Joshua read not
before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the
little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
(2) II Kings 23:1 And the king [Josiah] sent,
and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and
all the men of Judah
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the
people,
both small and great: and he
read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which
was found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by
a pillar, and made a covenant before
the Lord, to walk after the
Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his
statutes with all their heart
and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were
written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
(3) Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered
themselves together as one man into the street that
was before the water gate; and
they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book
of the law of
Moses, which the Lord had
commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before
the congregation both of men and
women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the
first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before
the street that was before the water
gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could
understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the
book of the law. 4 And Ezra the
scribe stood upon a pulpit of
wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood
Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his
right hand; and
on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah,
and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened
the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all
the people; ) and when he opened
it, all the people stood up: 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the
great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with
lifting up their hands: and they
bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to
the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, and
Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad,
Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,
caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in
their place. 8 So they read in the book in the law of God
distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused
them to understand the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the
scribe, and the Levites that
taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the
Lord your God; mourn not, nor
weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the
law. 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat,
and drink the sweet, and send portions
unto them for whom nothing is
prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry;
for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 11 So the Levites
stilled all the people, saying, Hold your
peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. 12 And all
the people went their way to eat, and
to drink, and to send portions,
and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words
that were declared unto them.
It is plain that "the
Law" refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, written by
Moses:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is the portion of the Bible that
specifically states the Creator's rules for His people. Some of those
who profess to obey the
Eternal's laws have never read and expounded upon these laws. Not
once in seven years. Never.
Why the Law Is Important
Obedience to these laws made
Abraham the father of the faithful: Genesis 26:5 "Because that
Abraham obeyed my voice, and
kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
David loved the law and
constantly meditated on the law: Psalms 119:97 "O how love
I thy law! it
is my meditation all the day." He said that
righteousness is defined by the commandments: Psalms
119:172, "My tongue shall
speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness."
The apostle Paul called the law
holy, just and good: Romans 7:12, 14, "Wherefore the law is holy,
and the commandment holy, and just, and good....the law is
spiritual." Furthermore, he
showed
that love is the fulfilling of
the law: Romans 13:8-10, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another
hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou
shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt
not covet; and if there be any
other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying,
namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh
no ill to his neighbour: therefore
love is the fulfilling of the law."
James referred to the regal nature
of the law of liberty: James 2:8, 12 "If ye fulfil
the royal law
according to the scripture, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself, ye do well:...So speak ye, and
so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."
The apostle John said that sin
is the transgression of the law, I John 3:4. Only those who keep the
commandments will have eternal
life: Revelation 22:14, "Blessed
are they that do his
commandments, that they may have
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates
into the city."
John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love
one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Whole Bible Based Upon Two Great
Commandments
The Messiah said the law must be
kept to enter eternal life: Matthew 22:36-40
"Master, which is
the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
ALL thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On
these two commandments hang ALL the law and the
prophets."
Notice that the whole five books
of the Torah and the Old Testament prophets hang on the two
overall laws of love to God and love to neighbor. The Ten Commandments are divided into two
parts: love to God and love to neighbor. And all the laws hang on one or more of the
Ten
Commandments. This is further amplified in Matthew 7:12 "Therefore
all things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for
this is the law and the prophets."
Jesus did not come to destroy
the law or the prophets: Matthew 5:17
"Think not that I am come
to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil." The Savior Y'shua
came to magnify the law to its
full spiritual intent: Isaiah 42:21 "The LORD...will magnify the
law, and make it [Him] honourable."
The New Testament is merely a magnification of the old.
The law, the prophets, and the
New Testament, that is, the entire Bible, is summed up in the two
great commandments: love God, and love your neighbor as
yourself. All Bible teachings
"hang,"
or relate, to one of these two summary laws.
The Law IS the Gospel
"Why do you speak so much
about the law?" some may ask, "you should speak more of the
gospel." The answer
to this may be surprising to you. The
gospel of the Kingdom of God
concerns four primary things:
(1) the king (Messiah) and His co-rulers (us, if we qualify to rule
with Him), (2) the subjects of
the kingdom (the physical people who will live on into the
millennium and raise families),
(3) the territory of the Kingdom (the earth, NOT Heaven), and (4)
the laws of the kingdom (the commandments, laws, statutes
and judgments of the Bible).
The true Gospel of the Kingdom
of God is not confined to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John or just
the New Testament, but is proclaimed throughout the whole
Bible. Moses preached the gospel to
Israel, Hebrews 4:2 (and 3:16-19). The Law IS the Gospel! It is sad but true that the law is the
most misunderstood, maligned and neglected portion of the
gospel message.
Conclusion
There are at least three ways
one can read the law (1) verse by verse in book and chapter order,
and (2) alphabetically by
topics, according to subject, or (3) grouped according to the Ten
Commandments. With the aid of Scripture Scanner, a Bible
computer software program, all these
methods are presented for
portions of the Law that give the most specific statements of the
Eternal's commandments, statutes and judgments. We believe that the laws grouped by the Ten
Commandments present the most
meaningful study reference.
Note that this study is confined
to the first five books of the Bible.
A future study is planned to
cover the law as expounded in the rest of the Bible.
The end, or purpose, of the law
is shown in I Timothy 1:5, "Now the end of the commandment is
charity [love] out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience,
and of faith unfeigned." Ecclesiastes
12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man."
Read the Law this Feast of
Tabernacles. Live it all the days of
your life. Enter into the joy of the
LORD.ê
Which Old Testament Laws Are in
Force Today?
The Savior's statement,
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God," Matthew 4:4, is quoted from
Deuteronomy 8:3. Paul says in II
Timothy
3:16-17 that "All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly
furnished unto all good works."
In spite of these crystal clear
statements many people are in doubt as to just what portions of the
Bible apply
to us. They are like the rich young
ruler who came to Jesus and asked, "Good
Master, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?" Luke 18:18.
They may realize that nothing they do
can earn them the gift of
eternal life because the result, the wages of their past sins, is the death
penalty, Romans 6:23.
They know that eternal life will not be given to the disobedient,
those who
rebel against their Maker.
How then shall we live to please our Creator so that He will give us
the gift of eternal life?
Jesus clearly answered, "if
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," Matthew 19:17.
Just like the rich man, some
today ask, "Which laws? The moral
ceremonial civil, Mosaic law or
etc.?" They are totally confused about the Law. Patiently the Messiah explained that it is
the Ten
Commandments that we must keep,
verses 18-19. The rich young ruler
claimed that he had kept
the commandments from his youth up. Jesus realized
that this bold claim was unfounded, and
told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor and come
and be His disciple. This cut the rich
young man to the quick.
He could not bear to part with his riches, and went away sorrowful,
verses 20-22. It is
humanly impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of Heaven, verses
23-26.
The "magic formula"
for entering the kingdom of God is plain. It is
"Keep the Commandments."
Which ones? This is also plain.
The two great Commandments are a
summary of the entire Bible, Matthew 22:36-40. ALL the
law (the first five books of the
Bible), and the prophets (rest of the Bible, note that David, Jesus,
Paul and John were prophets)
relate, rest on, or "hang" on the two great commandments: love
God, with all your heart and
soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.
A man said to me, "I'll
just keep the two great commandments and I won't have to worry about
keeping the ten commandments and other Bible laws." Jesus said the law and the prophets all
hang on or relate to the two great commandments. Jesus was quoting the laws stated in
Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus
19:18. The two great commandments are
not separate from the
law and the prophets.
They are the summary of them.
All the law and the prophets relate to the
two great commandments.
The Bible is a Book of Law
Many people today are confused,
wondering which Old Testament laws they are to keep.
Religious leaders muddy the
waters by using non-Biblical terms such as "moral law,"
"spiritual
law," "physical law," and "civil
law." Moses has become a
"whipping boy." Those Bible
laws
most offensive are said to be
part of the "Law of Moses" or "Mosaic (ugh) Code," which
supposedly were "nailed to the cross" and "done away
with."
Biblical Law is a highly
controversial topic, an emotional issue.
The reason is that no other book
authoritatively tells man how to live, describing the penalties for
breaking God's laws. The Bible
shows that sin is universal on this earth. The Bible details how the Eternal will put
an end to
lawbreaking rebellion against Him.
Let us look at the facts:
(1) Ignorance of the Law
There is great ignorance of
Bible Law. Even many Sabbath-keepers
would fail a simple test on
Bible law. Few have read and studied Biblical
Law. Fewer still understand what laws
to keep,
and how to keep them.
(2) Carnal Opposition to the Law
The carnal (fleshly, natural
human) mind is enmity (in bitter opposition) to God's Law, does not
and cannot obey it, Romans 8:7.
Without the gift of the
Almighty's Spirit, no human can understand the Creator's Law, or keep it.
Yet, unless one has a humble
attitude of obedience, he will not be given the Holy Spirit, Acts
5:32.
(3) Ministerial Responsibility to Teach God's
Laws
It is a primary responsibility
of the Eternal's servants to teach God's Laws. Modern priests and
ministers "have violated My
law, and have profaned My holy things: they have put no difference
between the holy and profane,
neither have they shewed difference between the
unclean and the
clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am
profaned among them," Ezekiel 22:26.
Levites had the obligation to
teach Israel all the Lord's statutes, Leviticus 10:11; Malachi 2:1-7.
They departed from the way,
causing many to stumble and disobey the LAW.
Levitical priests
became "partial in the law." That is, they held back from teaching ALL
the law, excusing
lawbreaking. Especially in
the area of divorce and remarriage was their corruption evident. They
treacherously broke their
marriage covenants and encouraged others to divorce and remarry as
well, claiming falsely that He
would not judge them for this evil, which the Eternal hates, Malachi
2:8-17.
Malachi is primarily a prophecy
for the end time, "the day of His coming," 3:2, 3:5, 18, 4:1-3, the
return of Messiah for judgment.
What Malachi says in chapter 2 applies to ministers today who
encourage divorce and remarriage.
Malachi shows that an Elijah will be sent "before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of
the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children, and the heart of the children to the fathers,"
Malachi 4:5-6. Thus, he will teach the
Bible
laws relating to the sanctity of marriage and the family.
Most importantly, the righteous
at the time of the end are exhorted: "Remember ye the law of
Moses My servant, which I
commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and
judgments," Malachi 4:4.
What is the law of Moses? Most
professed Bible believers say that it is
done away.
(4) What is the "Law of Moses"?
The "Law of Moses" is
the "Law of the Lord" as written in the first five books of the
Bible:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy. Those who speak
against "the law of
Moses" are
speaking directly against their Creator.
Moses did not initiate the "Law of Moses,"
John 1:17. The Eternal gave the law to Moses, who in
turn wrote it down and gave it to the
people, Malachi 4:4.
Mary purified herself
"according to the law of Moses," and presented the baby Jesus to
the Lord,
Luke 2:22. Luke quotes Old Testament statutes for this
practice, citing "the law of the Lord,"
verses 23-24. Thus it is
plain from the Bible, that the terms "law of Moses" and "law
of the Lord"
are interchangeable.
Other New Testament references
to the "law" or "Moses" or "the law of Moses"
show clearly this
term refers to the laws contained in the first five books of
the Bible. See Matthew 8:4, 19:7-8,
22:24; Mark 1:44, 7:10, 10:2-6,
12:19, 26; Luke 5:14, 20:28, 24:27, 44; John 1:17, 45, 8:5, 9:29;
Acts 6:11, 13:39, 21:21-23, 28:23; I Corinthians 9:9; II Corinthians 3:15;
Hebrews 10:8.
(5) Messianic Believers Must Follow Law of
Moses
If you truly believe and obey
the Law of Moses, you believe and obey the Messiah. The Old
Testament scriptures testify of
the coming Messiah, John 5:39. If you
don't receive the Messiah,
Moses' Law testifies against
you, verses 40-45. "For had ye
believed Moses, ye would have
believed me: for he wrote of me.
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my
words?" verses 46-47.
In other words, one cannot be a true Messianic believer unless he
believes
and follows Moses.
Would anyone repent if someone
was resurrected from the dead and witnessed to them? They
would not listen to a resurrected saint if they wouldn't
listen to Moses and the prophets.
"If they
hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead,"
Luke 16:27-31. The Jews falsely claimed to be keeping the
Law of Moses, but rejected the Law
through their own traditions.
"Did not Moses give you the law," Messiah told them,
"and yet
none of you keepeth the law?"
John 7:19. See also Acts 7:37-40.
(6) Law the Foundation of the Bible
The entire Bible depends upon
the Law. Matthew 22:36-40 is one of
the most important
foundational statements of the Bible.
It sums up what the Bible is all about. "Teacher, which kind
of commandment is great and important -- the principal kind
-- in the Law? And He replied to
him, You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind (intellect). [Deut. 6:5] This is the great (most important,
principal) and first
commandment. And a second is
like it, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. [Lev.
19:18] These two
commandments sum up and upon them depends all the Law and the prophets,"
(Amplified Bible).
Let's think about what this
means. God is Love, I John 4:8. The two great commandments, love
to God and love for one's neighbor and for oneself, are a
summary of the Ten Commandments.
The first four commandments tell
us how to love God. The last six
commandments tell us how to
love our neighbor as ourself. Many of the Ten Commandments relate to one
another. For
example, covetousness (10th commandment) is idolatry (1st
commandment), Colossians 3:5. If
you break one commandment, you break them all, James 2:10.
Many people stop at the two
great commandments. Others stop at the
Ten Commandments.
Matthew 22:36-40 doesn't allow
this twisted reasoning. It says that
all the law and the prophets
hang on the two great commandments. The "law" here
refers to the "Law of Moses," the first five
books of the Bible. The "prophets" refers
specifically to the rest of the Old Testament scriptures.
The New Testament is a
commentary and magnification of the Old Testament, often quoting
passages verbatim. Jesus
was a prophet, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Acts 7:37. He magnified the
Law, Isaiah 42:21. Therefore the New Testament is included in
Matthew 22:40. The whole Bible
depends upon, relates to, corroborates and expounds upon the two
great commandments. They
ALL fit together and
interrelate.
"But which Old Testament
laws do I have to obey?" you may ask.
"Do we have to sacrifice
animals and keep all the (ugh) law of Moses?"
Recently a man with Protestant
theological training asked me if there is a "magic formula" that
would indicate clearly which Bible laws we are to keep. When I explained Matthew 22:36-40, he
said, "I'll just keep the two great
commandments." What he meant is
that he will decide for
himself how to love God and his neighbor. Matthew 22:36-40 does not allow this! It shows that
the Ten Commandments, further
detailed by the statutes and judgments in the Law and the
Prophets (the whole Bible),
define how to love God and love your neighbor. They provide the
details for the two great summaries of the Law, which is the
Love of God. One cannot have a
summary without detail!
Let's look at a very meaningful
analogy. As an Accountant, I could
correctly state that the two
great accounting principles are: (1) put debits on the left,
and (2) put credits on the right. On
these two great accounting
principles hang all the American Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles as defined by the Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. Now, using this man's
reasoning, could I as an
Accountant, say "I believe that debits are on the left and credits are
on
the right. I'll
decide for myself what items to make debits and what to make credits. I'll ignore all
the accounting statutes and laws." This type of "Accountant" would
sooner or later end up
behind bars!
We cannot perform
"religious surgery," cutting out of the Bible what we do not like
or what we
think has no use for us.
If one throws out the Law he destroys the foundation of the Bible.
(7) Law Not Done Away
Jesus and Paul did not do away
with the Law. In Matthew 5:17-19 the
Savior said, "Think not
that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfill. For
verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall
do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven." Notice that
when
He said "the law" He
was not referring to the Ten Commandments, but "the Law of Moses"
because He says "the law, or the prophets." In the law there are some very little
detail laws, "the
least commandments."
The Messiah did not come to break any one of the detail laws. Those
who teach others to break even
the little laws will be least in the Kingdom
of Heaven, if they are
there at all.
The New Testament usage of the
terms "law" and "commandments" has to be carefully
studied in
context because "law"
does not always refer to the "Law of Moses," the first five books
of the
Bible. "Commandment" does not always refer to the
Ten Commandments.
Paul says that the law is holy,
spiritual and good, and the commandment is holy, just and good,
Romans 7:12, 14, 16. Neither Paul nor Jesus taught the doing
away of Bible law.
(8) Law Binding From Creation
Biblical law has been
continuously binding since Creation.
In Matthew 19:8, Jesus says
that
adulterous divorce and remarriage was a sin from the beginning of
the creation of man. As can
clearly be demonstrated, the
commandments, statutes, and judgments of God existed and were in
force before the ratification of the Old Covenant at Mount Sinai
(Horeb). The
Old Covenant did
not establish these laws.
Israel had been in captivity for over 400 years in Egypt, and had lost
much of the knowledge of God's laws. So, at the giving of the laws at Mount Sinai,
God revealed
laws already in force.
Notice Exodus 16:28 where the Eternal spoke to Moses about Israel's Sabbath breaking.
"How
long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my
laws?" Israel could not refuse to keep what did
not exist! The
Sabbath has been in force since creation, Genesis 2:1-3.
In Exodus 18:16, still before
Sinai, Moses told Jethro his father-in-law, that
when the people had
disputes, "I do make them know the statutes of God, and His
laws." As these statutes and laws
existed before the Old Covenant,
they could not be abolished when the Old Covenant ceased to
exist. The end of the
Old Covenant could not do away with what it did not bring into force.
The Law of the Lord, summarized
in the Ten Commandments, has been in full force and effect
since human life has existed on this earth. It is a spiritual law that is inexorable
and eternal,
summarized in the one word, LOVE.
Death is the penalty of sin, Romans 6:23. Sin is the transgression of the law, I John
3:4. If there
were no law in existence, there could be no sin. Death held
sway from Adam to Moses.
Therefore, every human being
from Adam to Moses sinned. Sin is not
charged to men's account
where there is no law to transgress. Therefore, the law was in effect from the
time of Adam to
the giving of the law from Sinai. See Romans 5:12-21.
Those who state that God did not
explain or give His Holy Laws until Sinai are blatantly accusing
the Creator of being unfair.
Adam knew the law. That is why
his just Maker held Adam
responsible for disobeying. In Noah's day, the world knew of the
message of repentance spoken
by Noah, a preacher of righteousness. In every age, the words of the Eternal have
been available
to mankind. Those
who seek Him, He will in no way cast out.
Adam did not originally know
God's law. The Eternal had to teach
him, Genesis 2:15-17. The
Eternal gave Adam, and us, the freedom
to either accept or reject His commandments.
Adam and
Eve chose to disobey.
The serpent, the Devil, told the
first recorded lie, "Ye shall not surely die," Genesis 3:1-4. He lied
in accusing the Creator of lying. That's the Ninth Commandment broken. Adam and Eve
disobeyed their only Parent and broke the Fifth Commandment. They had another god instead of
the true God -- broke the First Commandment. They broke the Tenth Commandment by lusting
after the forbidden fruit.
They broke the Eighth Commandment by stealing what wasn't theirs.
Four of the Ten Commandments
were directly broken in the first human sin.
Cain murdered Abel his brother
-- broke the Sixth Commandment. The
Eternal labeled it sin,
Genesis 4:4-15. Cain tried to conceal his guilt. Again, this was lying.
Breaking the Second Commandment,
idolatry, which is serving other gods, was a sin before
Moses, Joshua 24:2; Genesis
35:1-4.
Egyptians and Canaanites
profaned the name of the Eternal before Moses, which is breaking the
Third Commandment. They took the name of the Eternal in
vain. The law enjoined Israel not to
follow the Egyptian and Canaanite practices, Leviticus 18:3,
21, 27. Because the wickedness of
the Canaanites in this matter
was so great, God called Israel out of Egypt to displace and destroy
these wicked Canaanites.
Some say that, aside from God
resting on the Seventh Day of Creation in Genesis 2:1-3, there is
no Biblical record of any man keeping the Sabbath until the
Commandments were given at Sinai.
Exodus 16 shows that God
expected Sabbath observance of Israel, weeks before the giving of the
law at Sinai. Abraham kept the Commandments, statutes and
laws of the Eternal, Genesis 26:5.
How could Abraham keep something
that was not given? Abraham kept the
Sabbath.
Canaan, son of Ham, dishonored his grandfather Noah. Dishonoring a parent was a sin and God
pronounced a curse on Canaan for doing so, Genesis 9:18-27.
Adultery, breaking the Seventh
Commandment, was also a sin before Moses.
Do you think that
the creator of marriage, Genesis
2:18-24, would condone "free love" for 2,500 years until he
forbade adultery at Sinai?
Absurd! Righteous Joseph avoided sinning against God when he
repelled the sexual advances of Potiphar's
wife, Genesis 39:7-9. In Genesis 20:2,
Abraham lied to
Abimelech about Sarah, saying she was his sister (a half-truth,
because she was his half-sister).
God let it be known to Abimelech so he would not sin against the Lord in
adultery, verses 3-7.
Coveting -- lusting -- after the
wrong partner was wickedness, Genesis 6:1-3, 5, before the flood.
Every one of the Ten
Commandments was in existence from creation.
And coveting was as much
a sin then as it is now.
(9) Are Sacrifices Still Binding?
Animal sacrifices were temporary
ordinances, imposed until the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Are
we required today to perform animal sacrifices? When did sacrifices begin? Who began them? A
most enlightening book on Old
Testament sacrifices is Andrew Jukes' The Law of the Offerings
(available
from Giving & Sharing). Jukes
explains the symbolical meaning of each one of the
kinds of sacrifices and physical ordinances.
Sacrifices did not begin at Mount Sinai
with the Old Covenant between God and Israel. The first
recorded sacrifice, that of Cain and Abel, is given in Genesis 4.
It is introduced as an already
established practice. Genesis
3:21 may refer to an earlier sacrifice.
Neither animal sacrifices nor
the Ten Commandments were instituted by Moses. They were
sanctioned by the Almighty before the Old Covenant with Israel at Sinai. At the
ratification of the
Old Covenant, Exodus 19, the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20) with the judgments (Exodus
21-23) were made part of the
Covenant. Besides the mention of earthen altars for burnt offerings
and peace offerings (Exodus 20:24-26), the only specific sacrifice mentioned was the
Passover
sacrifice, which the Eternal calls "My sacrifice,"
Exodus 23:14-18. In Exodus 12:11 it is called
"the
Lord's Passover."
Later, because of Israel's rebellion over the golden calf incident, additional
mandatory sacrifices
were imposed. And a Levitical priesthood was ordained to administer these
sacrifices.
God did not originally command Israel to offer sacrifices. Jeremiah 7:21-23 (Amplified),
"Thus
says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the
flesh [if you will. It will avail you nothing]. For in the day that I brought them out of
the land of
Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them
concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.
But this thing I did command
them: Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you
shall be My people; and walk in
the whole way that I command you, that it may be well with
you."
Sacrifices were added to the Old
Covenant later, because of Israel's transgression, Galatians 3:19.
The sacrifices were a continual
reminder of sin, Hebrews 10:3, "But in those sacrifices there is a
remembrance again made of sins every year." The "gifts and sacrifices" of the
Old Testament
sacrificial system could not make the offerers
right with their Creator, Hebrews 9:9.
The meats,
drinks, different washings and
other carnal (physical) regulations were
imposed upon Israel until
"the
time of reformation," Hebrews 9:10,
instituted by Christ.
Were animal sacrifices and all
they symbolize done away by Christ? Let us
understand this
important question. The
Passover is preserved by different symbols today. The fact that Jesus
specifically substituted
unleavened bread and wine for the Passover lamb, and not for the other
offerings and sacrifices, is an indication
that the Old Testament sacrificial offerings are not binding
today.
The sacrificial law was a
temporary schoolmaster, a teacher through symbolic acts, that pointed
Israel to Christ, Galatians 3:24-25.
Some falsely claim "the law" of Galatians 3 refers to the
Commandments, statutes and
judgments. This cannot be so. Sin is the transgression of the law, I
John 3:4. Galatians 3:19 shows a "law" that was "added"
because of transgressions. This
"added
law" was animal sacrifices, oblations, etc. It does not define sin. It is generally a penalty for sin.
A reminder of sin, to teach
people that they need a Messiah to pay for the penalty of sin, which is
death. Since sin is the
transgression of the law, and the "added law" was added because of
sin,
this added law does not define sin. Again this shows that the added law was the
sacrificial system,
not the commandments and statutes which define sin.
(10) Are Animal Sacrifices "For Ever"?
Several times
the Bible shows that the Levitical priesthood and
the sacrifices were ordained
forever. For example, see
Leviticus 7:34, 36, 16:34. Aren't they still in force? NO.
"Forever" means
continuous, as long as the circumstances involved exist. Men could be made
slaves of a master forever,
meaning till the death of one of the parties (see Exodus 21:6; Leviticus
25:46; Deuteronomy 15:17).
What are the circumstances
surrounding the animal sacrifices?
First, there must be a priesthood
and Tabernacle or Temple. Second, there
must be a need for sacrifices.
The purpose of the priesthood
was to offer sacrifices and gifts for sins, Hebrews 5:1, 8:3. Did
these physical sacrifices for sins continue to be
necessary? No. Paul says, "Now
where remission
of these [sins] is, there is no more offering for
sin," Hebrews 10:18.
To offer typical symbolic animal
sacrifices after Messiah gave His life for the true remission of
sins, would be a mockery of Him. Besides, there is no Tabernacle or Temple and no authorized
priesthood to offer sacrifices.
Since the circumstances necessary for sacrifices are no longer
available and the need for
sacrifices no longer extant, the Old Testament sacrificial laws are no
longer binding.
As the resurrection of Lazarus
demonstrates, God alone has the right to change, rescind or alter
material laws. Carnal Old
Testament laws were subject to change because their endurance
depended upon physical circumstances. When the promised Messiah came, and these
physical
circumstances changed, the everlasting obligation to the carnal laws
ceased.
God will not, however, alter His
spiritual laws, because they reflect the character of the Almighty.
God is perfect love, unchanging
and unchangeable, Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; I John 4:8, 5:3.
(11) Animal Sacrifices Not Tied to Sabbaths and
Holy Days
Some "religious
surgeons" attempt to tie animal sacrifices to the Sabbath and Holy
Days. They
say that the Sabbath and Holy Days cannot be kept without
sacrifices. Since sacrifices are done
away, they claim that the Sabbaths and Holy Days are also
done away. Other, more
"conservative"
scripture twisters only tie sacrifices with the Holy Days. They keep the Sabbath,
but throw out the Holy Days.
What is the truth? Numbers 28 and 29 unquestionably show that
special animal sacrifices were an
integral part of Sabbaths, New Moons and Holy Days. The "conservative"
Sabbath-keepers who
are anti-Holy Day are wrong.
Are the "religious
surgeons" right? Are sacrifices
irrevocably tied to observance of Sabbaths and
Holy Days? Numbers 28:1-8 destroys their erroneous
theory. Special sacrifices were offered
morning and evening of every day of the year. Animal sacrifices are no longer binding,
but this
doesn't "do away" with every day of the year. Neither does it abrogate the Sabbaths, New
Moons, nor Holy Days. Sacrifices are not necessary for worship
and religious holy days.
(12) Spiritual Sacrifices Are Still Obligatory
Remember that spiritual laws and
principles do not change. Every
physical law has an underlying
spiritual aspect. The
spiritual principles underlying the physical sacrificial laws are still
binding.
All the sacrifices pointed to
the everlasting sacrifice of Jesus, Y'shua, the Messiah. It is
necessary
to have the Supreme sacrifice applied to our sins.
As believers in the Messiah, we
are "a royal priesthood," i.e., "a holy priesthood," I
Peter 2:5, 9.
The Savior is the High
Priest. Therefore, we must offer
sacrifices. What kind of sacrifices?
Romans 12:1 (Amplified) "I
appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the
mercies of God, to make a
decisive dedication of your bodies -- presenting all your members and
faculties -- as a living
sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is
your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual
worship."
Thus, the spiritual principles
underlying sacrifice are applicable today, even though the physical
sacrificial law passed away nearly 2,000 years ago.
(13) Temporary Laws Are Clearly Defined in
Hebrews 9
Hebrews 9:7-10 shows which laws
were temporary. The "Holy of
Holies" was entered into only
once a year, on the Day of Atonement and only by the High
Priest. This demonstrated our need
for a High Priest to atone for our sins before the Father in
Heaven. The "gifts and
sacrifices" of
the tabernacle and later the Temple, were "a figure for the time then present,"
i.e., a physical type
that did not make the offerers
perfect. These rituals consisted
"only in meats and drinks [meat
and drink offerings], and divers
washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time
of reformation."
These sacrifices and washings were temporary until the
reformation. No, this is
not referring to the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s
A.D. "The time of
reformation" was the
Messianic Reformation of 31 A.D.
when our Savior offered Himself as the supreme sacrifice for
the sins of all mankind.
Any OTHER LAWS not included in
Hebrews 9 were NOT temporary ritualistic laws. They are
STILL BINDING.
(14) What is The Truth About Circumcision?
Physical circumcision is not a
prerequisite for salvation, but is a physical law of good health. The
Apostle Paul spent years
attempting to convince the Jews that ritual circumcision was not
necessary for salvation.
Even though the physical rite was not obligatory for salvation, the
underlying spiritual purpose is still binding. Romans 2:29 says "circumcision is that of the heart."
Philippians 3:3 adds, "For
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Baptism is a physical ritual still binding,
a type
of "the circumcision made without hands,"
Colossians 2:11-12.
Many have misunderstood the
subject matter of Acts 15 relative to circumcision and which part of
God's law is applicable
today. They have failed to understand
just what the Judaizing Pharisees
among the Christians were saying, and just what was the decision
rendered by the Apostle James.
First of all, the main point of
controversy, Acts 15:1, was not the law of male baby circumcision
as found in Leviticus 12:2-3. The dispute concerned the law of
circumcising newly converted
Gentile proselytes, found in Exodus
12:43-49.
When Abraham entered into his
covenant relationship with God, he and his household were all
circumcised. His faithful
descendants continued to circumcise their eight-day-old male babies.
God renewed the covenant with Israel after the forty years in the wilderness, because
circumcision
had been neglected, Joshua 5:2. Based on these precedents, Jews required
Gentile converts to be
circumcised.
In Acts 15, we are told that the
former Pharisee Christians were trying to enforce Exodus
12:43-49 in a physical way upon
the Christian Church. The
validity of the law of Leviticus on all
-- Jew or Gentile -- to
circumcise male babies was not under question. The custom of
circumcising Gentile Christian proselytes was the topic of debate.
With New Testament baptism, it
was now unnecessary for Gentile Christian
converts to be
physically circumcised.
Since salvation does not require circumcision, it would have been a
painful burden. Acts 2:38 says nothing about physical circumcision. James made a decision of
how to observe Exodus 12.
He did not do away with it!
John the Baptist came with a new
kind of circumcision -- baptism.
Circumcision as a religious rite
of entrance into God's covenant is not a part of the Christian
requirement. However, baptism, of
which circumcision is a type, IS required, Colossians 2:11-13. Circumcision
of the heart
(repentance and change of
attitude) is required for conversion, but the physical act of circumcision
is no longer required.
Exodus 12:43-49 is still required of new, uncircumcised believers
before
they can take the Passover -- in the spiritual sense of
repentance and baptism.
What then of the physical law of
circumcision in Leviticus 12? Christ,
setting us an example, was
circumcised on the eighth day, Luke 2:21. He came, not to destroy the Old Testament
physical
laws, but to magnify them to their full spiritual intent.
Even the Old Testament speaks of
circumcision in the spiritual
sense as the truest fulfillment of this requirement, Deuteronomy
10:16, 30:6.
The Ministerial Conference of
Acts 15 did not do away with the physical law of circumcision of
Leviticus 12. A decision was made regarding the law of
circumcising proselytes in Exodus 12.
Gentiles who become Christians
do not have to undergo physical circumcision.
But all of God's
people who want to keep His
living laws are commanded to follow the physical law of
circumcision (and the example of
the righteous Joseph and Mary), and
have their male babies
circumcised the eighth day.
Neither the law of Leviticus 12, Exodus 12, nor any of the Old
Testament laws were, or are
burdens. God's Law defines the right
way to live. The only time
anything is a burden is when it is really
unnecessary in the first place.
God's church does not have the
authority to decide or determine which physical laws from the Old
Testament are binding on New Testament Christians. Instead, the Church should understand and
teach us how to keep the Laws of God. The Bible tells us which physical laws have
ceased:
Daniel 9:27, and Jeremiah
7:22-23. However, the spiritual sense
of these laws is in force as much
as ever. Otherwise
David was lying when he said that all of God's commandments and statutes
were good.
Because of Jewish customs, the
issue of circumcision in the first century was a point of issue
among many Christians. Viewed
without prejudice today, we can see that James merely rendered
a decision on what the Bible specifically required, or as
in this case, did not require.
Did the Apostle Paul teach that
male babies should be circumcised? Yes
he did, consistently.
Acts 21 records Paul's journey
to Jerusalem and his assault at the hands of the Jews in the
Temple. Jerusalem believers told Paul that Jewish zealots had heard that
Paul taught Jews living
among the Gentiles to forsake
Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children
neither to walk after the simple rites and customs. Paul went into the Temple with four other men
who had a vow to be purified
with them, so that "all may know that those things, whereof they
were informed concerning thee,
are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest
orderly, and
keepest
the law," Acts 21:17-27. It was a
lie that Paul taught Jews not to circumcise their male
children! Many today
continue to believe this lie.
One cannot keep God's spiritual
law without as a natural result keeping the physical law,
whenever possible, as well.
Can we as a people circumcise the foreskins of our hearts without
also circumcising our male babies? NO!
We as Christians must remember the law of Moses,
Malachi 4:4, and keep all the
statutes and judgments to their full spiritual intent.
The physical act of circumcision
is of value, only if we keep the whole law.
If we break the law,
circumcision doesn't do us any good at all. True, lasting circumcision is of the heart,
Romans
2:25-29. See Also Galatians 5:1-6, 6:15; I Corinthians 7:19; Philippians 3:3. Let's all be
circumcised in the heart and mind.
(15) Part of the Law of Moses IS Done Away!
Besides circumcision, the
contention in Acts 15 concerned another related issue:
the law of
Moses! "But some who believed . . . belonged
to the sect of the Pharisees, and they rose up and
said, It is necessary to circumcise [the Gentile
converts], and to charge them to obey the Law of
Moses," Acts 15:5
(Amplified).
As we have seen, the common
Biblical usage of the term "Law of Moses" shows that this refers to
the first five Books of the Bible, the Torah, written by
Moses. Acts 15 shows at least one
additional, narrower, meaning for the term "Law of
Moses." Here, "Law of
Moses," refers only
to the ceremonial and ritualistic portions of the
Torah. How can this be proven? Some say that
Acts 15 does away with the
Sabbath, unclean meats or whatever other portion of the law they
dislike.
The Ministerial Council's
decision, rendered by James, lays only four things on Gentile converts to
the New Testament faith: (1)
Abstain from meats
offered to idols, (2) abstain
from fornication,
(3) abstain
from meat of strangled animals, and (4) abstain from eating
blood Acts 15:20, 29.
These four points are binding
upon Christians everywhere, Gentile or Jew.
If the subject of Acts 15 was
whether or not the first five books of the Bible are binding on
Gentile converts and these four
items were the only portions of the law they had to follow, then
these Gentile converts would be free to lie, steal, dishonor
their parents, use unjust weights, etc.
Wouldn't this be an absurd
conclusion to make?
The context of the decision
shows that the point of contention over the "Law of Moses" was not
the Ten Commandments, not the statutes and laws which
magnify the Ten Commandments. The
subject of Acts 15 was circumcision and other ceremonial
laws. The Ten Commandments and
civil laws were not involved.
Notice Leviticus 17:7 and
Numbers 25:1-3. Pagan idolatry
involved physical fornication as well
as spiritual whoredom.
Leviticus 17:10 gives
the statute forbidding the eating of blood.
Any
animal that has been strangled contains blood. The decision of Acts 15 upheld the Law of
Moses,
and stated that these portions
of the ceremonial law were binding on all, including Gentile
converts.
The civil laws, such as those
regulating tithing, unclean meats, annual Sabbaths etc., are still
binding on the New Testament Church because they explain and
amplify the Ten Commandments.
Remember that the point of
contention of Acts 15 was NOT the entire law of Moses. It was the
"customs," Acts 21:21,
the "rites [margin] which Moses delivered," Acts 6:14, the temporary
gifts and sacrifices mentioned in Hebrews 9:9-10.
(16) Civil Governments Should Administer Death
Penalty
There is not a law given that
does not require interpretation, or "administration." Some ask if
the
Church, today, should administer
the death penalty for breaking the law, as did the "church of the
wilderness," Israel under Moses.
How is the law to be
interpreted? The Jewish Talmud is an
attempt to interpret the laws of God.
Jesus Christ
did not come to do away with the law, Matthew 5:17. He definitely did come to
administer, interpret, and magnify the law. In doing so, He often "knocked in the
head" the false
explanations and customs of the Jewish authorities who interpreted
the Law incorrectly.
Today, we have three ways to
interpret the law: (1) The Bible provides many illustrations and
detailed examples of how the law
applies, (2) The Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth, and (3)
The Church, the faithful
ministry, has the authority to make binding decisions regarding the
interpretation of the law, Matthew 18:15-20.
Matthew 5 may seem to be a
paradox. On the one hand, verses 17-20 show that the Messiah did
not come to do away with the law. Not even the little
commandments. Those who teach others
to
break even the
"little" laws will be called the least in the Kingdom
of God, if they make it there at
all! On the other
hand, Matthew 5:21-48 records at least six places where the Savior changes,
or
magnifies, the law: "Ye have heard that it was said,"
and "But I say unto you." Jesus restored
spiritual laws that existed from the beginning. He went way beyond the laws of the letter
given to
the physical nation of Israel. He was
expounding spiritual law for spiritual Israel -- the Church!
The spiritual laws Jesus was
expounding are not civil in nature. A
civil government could not
penalize someone for being angry
with his brother without a cause, for looking lustfully on a
woman, for not turning the cheek, and for not praying for
one's persecutors. Messiah was
showing that the truly spiritual
person should not get close to the edge of the letter of the law, but
stay solidly within the spiritual intent of the law. Civil government can administer penalties
for
sins such as adultery.
The true believer should not even lust after someone else.
The spirit of Messianic
believers is not to take vengeance. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith
the Lord," Romans 12:19.
This is all true. However, if you are robbed, if your wife is
raped, if your children are molested,
are you to willingly let all this happen to you without a
whimper of protest? If you are
besieged
by charity after charity, and
one transient bum after another, are you to give all you have to the
poor and needy? Is this what Matthew 5:38-42 means? If this were true, Christians
would be fair
game for the criminal element and every charitable huckster
group. Adam Clarke's Commentary
provides sound balance to our
understanding of these verses: "These exhortations belong
principally to those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake . .
. . To give and lend freely to all
who are in need is a general
precept from which we are excused only by our inability to perform
it."
The Church is not a civil
government with the divinely ordained authority to administer the death
penalty and other civil judgments. In every nation, there are civil powers
ordered by God that do
have this authority.
These governments are ministers (servants) of the Almighty to execute
wrath
on the doers of evil. Those who resist the civil
authorities resist the Eternal! Romans
13:1-8;
John 19:11; Titus 3:1; I Peter
2:13-17.
In Matthew 5, Jesus did not do
away with laws, which are to be administered by the civil
government. He was
instructing his disciples, Matthew 5:1-2.
The civil penalties of the Law
of God, such as the death penalty for pre-meditated murder and
rape, and restitution for theft, are just as binding today as
they ever were. The death of our
Savior on the stake did not
destroy the civil laws.
Civil governments that do not
enforce God's laws on theft, rape, murder, etc., are defying the
Almighty. As a result they reap the curses for
disobedience. Because human
governments in
general have not obeyed Biblical law, mankind suffers from
rampant crime, disease and misery. In
today's evil society, instead of
the thief paying restitution, society (through taxes) pays for a brief
stay of the thief in prison only to be victimized again when
the thief is released. The land cries
out
for vengeance against all this human injustice! As followers of Biblical laws, we often
feel we
would like to put a stop to all this wicked injustice. This is what the Savior meant, "resist
not
evil." Because
our civil governments do not obey Bible law, we must suffer wrong, and pray
"Thy kingdom come."
(17) "The Administration Of
Death," in II Corinthians 3
Some have said that II
Corinthians 3 proves that the Ten Commandments are done away. Others
have said that II Corinthians 3
does away with civil penalties properly administered by judges,
according to Bible laws.
What does this inspiring chapter really
say? With the aid of the
Amplified Bible, here is the
sense of II Corinthians the third chapter:
False ministers require written
letters of recommendation. Paul's
letter of recommendation, his
credentials, were the true believers at Corinth. They were like a
letter from Christ delivered by
Paul, written not with ink, but
with the Spirit of the living God. Not
on tablets of stone, but on
tablets of human hearts.
God enables us to be fit and
worthy ministers of the new covenant of salvation through Christ,
not
ministers of the letter -- that
is of the legally written code -- but ministers of the Spirit; for the
code of the Law kills, enforces
the death penalty, but the Holy Spirit makes alive, Jeremiah
31:31-34.
Now, the ministration of the
Law, the administering of death engraved on stone, was inaugurated
with such glory and splendor so
that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of
Moses because of its brilliance,
a glory that was to fade, and pass away.
Why should not the
administering of the Spirit that
is, this spiritual ministry whose task it is to cause man to obtain
and be governed by the Holy Spirit, be attended with much
greater and more splendid glory?
For if the service that condemns
had glory, how infinitely more abounding in splendor and glory is
the service that makes
righteous, the ministry that produces and fosters righteous living and right
standing with God!
Indeed in view of this fact,
what once had splendor, the glory of the Law reflected in the face of
Moses, has come to have no
splendor at all because of the overwhelming glory that exceeds and
excels it, the glory of the Gospel reflected in the face of
Jesus Christ. For if that
which was but
passing and fading away came
with splendor, how much more must that abide in glory and
splendor which remains and is permanent!
Since we have such glorious
hope, we speak very freely and openly and fearlessly. We don't put a
veil over our face as Moses did to keep Israel from seeing the splendor. Their minds had grown
hard and calloused, and remain so until today. When the Old Testament is read, that same
veil is
still on their hearts. They are not aware that in Christ
the veil is made void and done away.
Whenever a person turns in
repentance to the Lord, the veil is stripped off and taken away. The
Lord is the Spirit, and where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,
emancipation from bondage,
and freedom.
All of us have unveiled faces
because we continue to behold, in the word of God as in a mirror,
the glory of the Lord, and are
constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever
increasing splendor from one degree of glory to another. This comes from the Lord who is the
Spirit.
This is the meaning of II
Corinthians 3. The Ten Commandments
were written on two tables of
stone. They are so
glorious that the face of Moses shone when he received them from the hand of
YHWH. All the law, the Torah, was written on an
altar of great whole stones, as a witness for
Israel to obey, Deuteronomy 27:1-6; Joshua
8:32-35. Contained in the statutes and judgments are
penalties prescribed for certain
sins: execution for the highest crimes, restitution for others, and
various other judgments.
The Levites and judges had the authority from the Eternal to
administer
these penalties. Civil
governments today should administer these penalties.
Some liberal
"do gooders" of today think that these
punishments are too harsh. Imagine punishing
a wanton murderer, rapist,
kidnapper, adulterer, homosexual or child abuser with the death
penalty! That is what the
glorious Law of Moses (the Law of the Lord) requires. The Apostle
Paul called this law
glorious. Moses' face radiated its
splendor.
How great the Creator was to
give such a law to the physical nation of Israel. Evildoers were
shown the enormity of sin and crime. Taking the life of one hardened criminal
often saved the
lives of many decent law-abiding people. People today take
sin, which is crime, lightly. The
Eternal wants us to FEAR to do
wrong! His system of civil laws
provides quick and efficient
punishment of evildoers, and restitution to the victims.
Now why were these civil
penalties necessary? They are necessary
because of sin. If there were
no murder, there would be no need for the death penalty for
murderers. Judges could not decide
cases arbitrarily or because of bribery. If they didn't judge righteously, they too,
suffered the
severe civil penalties!
As long as Israel obeyed God, there were no long-drawn-out trials, no
sensational media coverage, but simply the speedy administration of
JUSTICE.
Nobody could be convicted of a
crime without at least two witnesses, Deuteronomy 19:15-21.
Punishment for false witnesses
was the same as the penalty for the crime in which they testified.
This severe sentence must have
been much more effective in preventing perjury than swearing
with one's hand on a Bible!
Israel did not have to pay taxes for a prison system because
there was none. Our pitiful court and
prison system of today is wicked and evil, an affront to the
Creator, a travesty of justice. The
Eternal's laws, when enforced, put a STOP to crime and made men
FEAR to do wrong!
(18) What is "the Administration of the
Spirit"?
The more glorious Administration
of the Spirit came to replace the glorious administration of
Death. What is the Administration of the Spirit
and why is it more glorious?
The first administration gave
only strict to-the-letter penalties: death for murder, restoring so
many sheep for one stolen, etc. Human judges could not account for
repentance and mercy, could
not impart eternal life, could only administer the penalty
prescribed by the law. There needed to
be a new administration of the
same laws that could give pardon and eternal life to those who
repented and desired to be obedient.
Ministers of the Messianic
Kingdom teach people the way to eternal life, how to obtain the Holy
Spirit and the need to quit
sinning, i.e., breaking God's laws. Unless our sins are covered by the
blood of the Lamb, we too will suffer the wages of sin,
Eternal death. True believers have the
laws of God written in their hearts, II Corinthians 3:3,
Hebrews 8:10-13, 10:15-22. The laws of
God are
the same under both Old and New Covenants.
The Administration is different.
Instead of administering civil
judgments against sin, ministers of the Spirit "administer"
life. That
is, they teach the people the way to eternal life. True believers are to have the laws of the
Almighty written in their
hearts, not on tables of stone as under the Old Covenant. That is, they
are to obey the laws naturally,
from the desire of the mind, and not because of the "cast in
concrete" necessity.
In the West Hills of Portland, Oregon is a beautiful conservative Jewish Synagogue. On the
South side of the building is a
massive stone wall well over 100 feet tall, containing two huge
tables of stone with the Ten Commandments written in
Hebrew. Standing beneath them is an
awesome experience. It is
glorious. How much more glorious it is
when a Spirit-led believer
lives these laws of love! These stones will eventually erode
and wear away. The Commandments
are sure, "They stand fast forever and ever, and are
done in truth and uprightness," Psalms 111:8.
Messianic followers are now
being judged by this perfect and just law of liberty,
James 2:12. The
law liberated us from sin.
If we break one point of the law, we are guilty of ALL points, James
2:10. Thus we need the Administration of
the Spirit. We need mercy and pardon for our past
iniquities. We need the Holy
Spirit united with our spirit (mind) to give us the power not to sin in
the future, to have the law written in the fleshly tables of
our hearts, II Corinthians 3:3.
The Savior's death, which we commemorate annually at the
Passover, paid the price for our
rebellion against God's law, IF we ask the Eternal to apply that
sacrifice for our sins. He made it
possible for us to receive the Holy Spirit. His ministers (servants), under the
Administration of
the Spirit, are to teach people how to be reconciled to the
Father and receive the Holy Spirit. We
are to forgive men of their
trespasses, Matthew 6:14-15, not to avenge ourselves, but leave
vengeance to the Creator, Romans 12:18-21. We are not to condemn one another, Matthew
7:1-2, that is, not consign
others to eternal condemnation.
(19) Ministration of Death a Type of Eternal
Death
The Lawgiver has not gotten soft
on sin. The wages of sin is still
death, eternal death, Romans
6:23. The penalty of death is still in
effect for those who break God's law.
They are still "under
the law," that is, under the penalty of the law, death.
True believers are "under
grace," Romans 6:14,
"under the law to Christ," I Corinthians 9:21.
Are they then exempt from
obeying the law? Can they sin
willfully now that they are not "under
the law" but instead are "under grace"? Romans 6:15 says "God forbid!" "For if we sin willfully
after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins,
But a certain fearful looking
for of judgement and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised
Moses' [glorious] law died without mercy under two or three
witnesses: of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot, the Son of
God, and hath counted the [more glorious] blood of the [new]
covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of
grace?" Hebrews 10:26-29.
The penalty for wanton murder
under the Administration of Death is physical death -- execution.
Under the Administration of the
Spirit, the penalty for willfully violating God's laws is eternal,
everlasting death.
"Be not deceived; God is
not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap. For
he that soweth
to his flesh [sins] shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting," Galatians
6:7-8. Remember, Matthew 5:17-20 shows
that
even the least commandment is still very much in force!
(20) What Are The Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments are ten
summary statements of love, the very character of the Creator.
They are further summarized by
the two great commandments: love to God, love to neighbor and
self. The Ten
Commandments are a summary of the detail laws, statutes and judgments
contained
in the first five books of the Bible, and expounded and
magnified by the rest of the Bible.
The Ten Commandments are NOT the
"Law of Moses" but a clear statement in human terms of
God's eternal spiritual
character. The Commandments, Statutes
and Judgments are the basis for a
happy abundant life.
Those who keep the Ten Commandments are those who will inherit the
gift
of eternal life.
Repent of breaking God's law, be
baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:38. Through the
Holy Spirit, you will receive
the love to keep His law. The Eternal
will not give Eternal life to
those who rebel against His laws.ê
Biblical Law in Scripture Order
Genesis 1:14Sun, moon, stars
created for seasons, days, years
Genesis 1:26-28Male and female
created in the image of God
Genesis 2:1-3Creation of the
Sabbath
Genesis 2:15-17Adam and Eve
could eat of all trees but one
Genesis 2:18,20-25Man shall
cleave to his wife
Genesis 3:16Curse to Eve for
disobedience
Genesis 3:17-19Curse to Adam for
disobedience
Genesis 4:8-15Cain murdered Abel
Genesis 4:23-24Lamech murdered
Genesis 6:1-13Interracial
marriage
Genesis 7:1-2Noah knew what
animals were clean and unclean
Genesis 9:4Don't eat flesh with
blood (life) in it
Genesis 9:5-6Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed
Genesis 9:20-27Noah and Ham
Genesis 14:18-20Abraham and
Melchizedek
Genesis 16:1-5Abraham's adultery
with Hagar
Genesis 18:19God knew that
Abraham would train his children in God's ways
Genesis 19:4-8Homosexuality of Sodom
Genesis 21:10-13Sons inherit
father's estate
Genesis 22:15-18Abraham's
obedience
Genesis 24:2-4Father to arrange
marriage
Genesis 26:4-5Abraham's
obedience
Genesis 26:34-35Esau's marriage
to Hittite was a grief to Isaac and Rebekkah
Genesis 28:22Jacob's vow to
tithe
Genesis 33:5Children gift of God
Genesis 34:14Interracial
marriage is a reproach
Genesis 48:9Children gift of God
Exodus 12:1-51Passover and Feast
of Unleavened Bread
Exodus 13:2, 11-16Firstborn set
apart to the LORD
Exodus 13:3-10Feast of
Unleavened Bread
Exodus 15:26Diligently obey ALL
statutes
Exodus 15:26The LORD healeth thee--if you obey
Exodus 16:4-5, 23-35Manna and
the Sabbath
Exodus 18:13-26Rulers of 1000's,
100's, 50's and 10's
Exodus 19:5,6A Kingdom of priests, a holy nation
Exodus 20:1-3No other gods
Exodus 20:4-6No graven images
Exodus 20:7Don't take God's name
in vain
Exodus 20:8-11Remember the
Sabbath day
Exodus 20:12Honor thy father and
mother
Exodus 20:13Don't murder
Exodus 20:14Don't commit
adultery
Exodus 20:15Don't steal
Exodus 20:16Don't lie
Exodus 20:17Don't covet
Exodus 20:22-23No gods of silver
and gold
Exodus 21:2-67th Year of Release
Exodus 21:2-6Hebrew servants for
6 years, free in year of release unless they want to stay
Exodus 21:7-11Marriage to a
servant girl
Exodus 21:12-14Murderers shall
be put to death
Exodus 21:15Death penalty for
smiting father or mother
Exodus 21:16Death for kidnapping
Exodus 21:17Death penalty if
curse father and mother
Exodus 21:18-36Eye for eye; what
to do if ox gores a man
Exodus
21:19,32,34,36Compensation for damages
Exodus 21:20-21,26-27Servants
struck by master
Exodus 22:1-15Restitution for
stealing, burning, rules regarding borrowed property
Exodus 22:16-17Fornication
Exodus 22:18-20Death penalty for
witches, bestiality, idolatry
Exodus 22:20Destroy those who
sacrifice to other gods
Exodus 22:21Strangers
Exodus 22:22-24Widows,
fatherless
Exodus 22:25-27No usury to poor
of thy people; neighbor's raiment
Exodus 22:28Don't revile and
curse judges and rulers
Exodus 22:29-30Don't delay to
offer the firstfruits
Exodus 22:31Don't eat flesh torn
of beasts in the field
Exodus 23:1Don't raise a false
report
Exodus 23:2Just judgement
Exodus 23:3Poor
Exodus 23:4-5Returning stray
animals, even of enemy
Exodus 23:6Poor
Exodus 23:7Keep far from a false
matter
Exodus 23:8Don't take a gift
(bribery)
Exodus 23:9Stranger
Exodus 23:10-117th Year Land Sabbath
Exodus 23:11Beasts of field can
eat 7th year increase
Exodus 23:12Rest on the Sabbath
and be refreshed
Exodus 23:12Rest your ox and ass
on Sabbath
Exodus 23:13Make no mention of
name of other gods
Exodus 23:14-17Feast Three Times
a Year
Exodus 23:19Don't seethe a kid
in his mother's milk
Exodus 23:19First of the firstfruits
Exodus 23:24Don't serve other
gods, destroy idols
Exodus 23:25He will take away
sickness
Exodus 23:32-33Don't make a
covenant with idolaters
Exodus 31:12-18Sabbath Covenant
Exodus 34:12-13Destroy images
and groves
Exodus 34:14-15The Eternal is
jealous
Exodus 34:16Interracial marriage
Exodus 34:17No molten gods
Exodus 34:18,22-24Three Times;
promised protection when you go to the Feast
Exodus 34:19-20, 26Firstlings
Exodus 34:21Keep Sabbath, earing time and harvest
Exodus 35:2Death penalty for sabbath breaking
Exodus 35:2-3No fire on the
Sabbath
Leviticus 3:17A perpetual
statute: eat neither fat nor blood
Leviticus 6:1-5Breach of trust:
pay back principal plus 20%; deceitfulness and lying
Leviticus 7:22-27Eat no fat or
be cut off
Leviticus 10:8-11Priests to
teach statutes, not drink when serving
Leviticus 11Law of Clean and
Unclean
Leviticus 12:1-8Purification of
women after childbirth, circumcision
Leviticus 13:1-59Test for
leprosy
Leviticus 14:33-57Cleansing of
leper's house
Leviticus 15:1-15Cleansing of
males with discharge
Leviticus 16:29-31,34Day of
Atonement a Sabbath of rest
Leviticus 17:10-16Eat no blood
or be cut off
Leviticus 17:2-5Death by stoning
for idolaters
Leviticus 17:7Idolatry is devil
worship and whoredom
Leviticus 18:2-5Don't follow the
doings of Egypt & Canaan
Leviticus 18:4-5You shall live
in God's laws
Leviticus 18:6-30Sex sins of
Canaanites: incest, bigamy, homosexuality, bestiality
Leviticus 18:21Don't profane the
name of the LORD
Leviticus 18:21Sacrifice of children
to Molech forbidden
Leviticus 18:26-30Avoid
abominable customs, keep God's laws lest the land spue
you out
Leviticus 19:1-2Be holy
Leviticus 19:3Keep my sabbaths
Leviticus 19:3Fear father and
mother
Leviticus 19:4No idols or molten
gods
Leviticus 19:9-10Corners of
field, gleanings for poor, stranger
Leviticus 19:11,13Don't steal;
don't rob a hired person of his wages
Leviticus 19:11-12Don't deal
falsely and lie
Leviticus 19:12Don't swear
falsely and profane name of God
Leviticus 19:14Deaf and blind
Leviticus 19:15Don't respect the
poor and honor mighty
Leviticus 19:16Don't be a
talebearer (slanderer)
Leviticus 19:17-18Love your
neighbor as yourself
Leviticus 19:19Don't let cattle
gender diverse kind, or mingled seed
Leviticus 19:20-22Fornication
with bondmaid
Leviticus 19:23-25Law of Fruit
Trees
Leviticus 19:26Don't eat
anything with blood
Leviticus 19:26Don't use
enchantment nor observe times
Leviticus 19:27-28Don't round
corners of head, mar corners of beard, make flesh cuttings or print
marks on you
Leviticus 19:29Don't prostitute
your daughter
Leviticus 19:30Keep my sabbaths
Leviticus 19:31Don't follow
familiar spirits or wizards
Leviticus 19:32Honor the elderly
Leviticus 19:33-34Strangers
Leviticus 19:35-36Just weights
Leviticus 19:37Observe ALL God's
laws
Leviticus 20:1-6Seed to Molech; wizards, familiar spirits
Leviticus 20:2-5Sacrifice of
children to Molech forbidden
Leviticus 20:2-6, 27Death
penalty for idolatry and witches
Leviticus 20:7-8Be holy and keep
God's statutes
Leviticus 20:9Death penalty for
cursing father or mother
Leviticus 20:10-21Death penalty
for adultery, incest, homosexuality, bestiality
Leviticus 20:22-23Don't follow
manners of the nations
Leviticus 20:24-26Clean and
Unclean
Leviticus 20:26A holy people
severed from other people
Leviticus 20:27Wizards, familiar
spirits
Leviticus 21:7Don't marry a
whore or divorcee
Leviticus 21:9-10Daughter of
priest who is a whore shall be burnt
Leviticus 21:13-15High priest
shall marry only a Levite virgin
Leviticus 22:28Don't kill mother
with young in same day
Leviticus 23:1-4Feasts of LORD
Leviticus 23:3Sabbath a holy
convocation
Leviticus 23:5Passover
Leviticus 23:6-8Feast of
Unleavened Bread
Leviticus 23:9-14Wavesheaf
Leviticus 23:15-21Pentecost
Leviticus 23:22Corners of the
field
Leviticus 23:23-25Trumpets
Leviticus 23:26-32Atonement
Leviticus 23:33-43Feast of
Tabernacles, Last Great Day
Leviticus 23:44Holy Convocations
Leviticus 24:10-16,23Death
penalty for blasphemy
Leviticus 24:17,21Death penalty
for murder
Leviticus 24:17-21Eye for an eye
Leviticus 24:18,21Restore
animals killed
Leviticus 24:22One manner of law
for all
Leviticus 25:1-247th Year Land Sabbath and Jubilee
Leviticus 25:35-38Take no usury
or increase of thy poor brother
Leviticus 25:39-55Servants and
the jubilee
Leviticus 26:1No standing images
of stone
Leviticus 26:1-13Blessings for
obedience
Leviticus 26:14-46Curses for
disobedience
Leviticus 27:30-33All tithe is
holy; redemption of tithes
Numbers 1:2-3Age of soldiers: 20
years and up
Numbers 9:1-14Passover of second
month
Numbers 9:14One law for all
Numbers 10:10Trumpets blown on
new moons and feasts
Numbers 11:11-17Seventy elders
Numbers 15:14-16, 30One law for both you and stranger
Numbers 15:30-31Death penalty
for defying the law
Numbers 15:32-36Death penalty
for Sabbath breaking
Numbers 15:37-41Fringes on borders of garments with ribbon of blue
Numbers 18:21Levi given all the
tenth in Israel
Numbers 26:2Age of soldiers: 20
years and up
Numbers 27:1-11Daughters of Zelophehad wanted to preserve their father's name
Numbers 27:8,9Daughters heirs
when no sons
Numbers 27:9-11When no sons or
daughters, inheritance to nearest relative
Numbers 28:9-10Special Sabbath
sacrifices
Numbers 28:11-15Special new moon
sacrifices
Numbers 28:16Passover
Numbers 28:17-25Feast of
Unleavened Bread
Numbers 28:26-31Pentecost
Numbers 29:1-6Trumpets
Numbers 29:7-11Atonement
Numbers 29:12-34Tabernacles
Numbers 29:35-40Last Great Day
Numbers 30:1-16Vows are not to
be broken; father can nullify children's vows
Numbers 32:23Your sin will find
you out
Numbers 33:52Destroy idolatrous
pictures, images, high places
Numbers 35:11-12,15,34Cities of
Refuge
Numbers 35:11-34Cities of refuge
for manslayer; murderers shall die
Numbers 36:1-12Daughters of Zelophehad and inheritance
Deuteronomy 1:17Extreme cases
submitted to the LORD
Deuteronomy 1:9-18Rulers of
1000's, 100's, 50's and 10's
Deuteronomy 4:1-46Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 4:9-10Teach God's
laws to your children
Deuteronomy 4:15-31Don't depart
from God to make graven images
Deuteronomy 5:6-7No other gods
Deuteronomy 5:8-10No graven
images
Deuteronomy 5:11Don't take God's
name in vain
Deuteronomy 5:12-15Remember the
Sabbath day
Deuteronomy 5:16Honor thy father
and mother
Deuteronomy 5:17Don't murder
Deuteronomy 5:18Don't commit
adultery
Deuteronomy 5:19Don't steal
Deuteronomy 5:20Don't lie
Deuteronomy 5:21Don't covet
Deuteronomy 6:1-25Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 6:20-25Show your
children that God's ways are good
Deuteronomy 6:4-5One LORD; love
Him with all your heart, soul and might
Deuteronomy 6:4-9Diligently
teach your children
Deuteronomy 7:1-5Don't
intermarry
Deuteronomy 7:1-26Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 7:5,25-26Burn graven
images
Deuteronomy 7:6-8A chosen
special people because of promises
Deuteronomy 7:15He will put none
of diseases of Egypt on you
Deuteronomy 8:1-20Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 8:19-20If you follow
other gods, you will perish
Deuteronomy 10:12-13What doth
the Lord require of us?
Deuteronomy 10:15Chosen seed
Deuteronomy 10:17-19God cares
for fatherless, widow, stranger
Deuteronomy 10:20Fear and serve
the LORD
Deuteronomy 11:16-17Serving
other gods results in curses
Deuteronomy 11:18-21Teach your
children
Deuteronomy 11:26-28A blessing
and a curse
Deuteronomy 12:1-4Destroy all
idols and their names
Deuteronomy 12:5-21Second Tithe
Deuteronomy 12:29-32Follow God
exactly as He says; no pagan customs
Deuteronomy 12:30-32Abomination
of idolatry
Deuteronomy 13:1-18Death penalty
to false prophets
Deuteronomy 14:1,2The children
of God; a peculiar people
Deuteronomy 14:1-21Law of Clean
and Unclean
Deuteronomy 14:22-27Second Tithe
Deuteronomy 14:28-293rd tithe
for Levite, stranger, fatherless, widow
Deuteronomy 15:1-147th Year of
Release of debts
Deuteronomy 15:7-11Give to poor
the 6th year
Deuteronomy 15:12-18Hebrew
servants for 6 years
Deuteronomy 15:19-23Firstling
male animals
Deuteronomy 16:1-8Passover and
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Deuteronomy 16:9-12Pentecost
Deuteronomy 16:13-15Tabernacles
Deuteronomy 16:16-17Three Times
a Year
Deuteronomy 16:18-20Judges and
officers not to take gifts (bribery)
Deuteronomy 16:21-22Groves and
pillars
Deuteronomy 17:2-5Death by
stoning for idolaters
Deuteronomy 17:2-7Death penalty
to false prophets
Deuteronomy 17:8-13Cases too
hard for judges to be taken to Levites the priests
Deuteronomy 17:12Death penalty:
those that don't hearken to priest's judgments
Deuteronomy 17:14-20Strangers
not to be king; kings not to multiply horses or wives, write a
copy of the law
Deuteronomy 18:3-4Firstfruits
given to priest
Deuteronomy 18:9-14Divination, times,
enchanter, witch, charmer, wizard, necromancer, familiar
spirits
Deuteronomy 18:15-22True and
false prophets
Deuteronomy 18:20Death penalty
to false prophets
Deuteronomy 19:1-13Six cities of
refuge for accidental slayer
Deuteronomy 19:11-13Avenger of
blood shall slay murderer
Deuteronomy 19:14Don't remove a
neighbors landmark
Deuteronomy 19:15-21False
witnesses
Deuteronomy 20:1-20Humane rules
of warfare
Deuteronomy 20:19-20Don't
destroy fruit-bearing trees
Deuteronomy 21:1-9Innocent blood
Deuteronomy 21:10-14Wives of
captives
Deuteronomy 21:15-17Double
portion to firstborn son
Deuteronomy 21:18-21Stubborn and
rebellious son to be stoned
Deuteronomy 21:19Court held at
gate of city
Deuteronomy 21:22-23Hanged
criminals to be buried before night
Deuteronomy 22:1-4Restore lost
merchandise
Deuteronomy 22:1-4Returning
stray animals
Deuteronomy 22:5Woman not to
wear a man's garment, vice versa
Deuteronomy 22:6-7Don't take a
mother bird with young
Deuteronomy 22:8Battlement on
roof so no accidents; construction safety
Deuteronomy 22:9Diverse seeds
defile the resultant fruit
Deuteronomy 22:10Don't plow with
an ox or ass together
Deuteronomy 22:11Don't wear a
garment of diverse materials, as linen and wool blend
Deuteronomy 22:12Fringes on four
quarters of vesture
Deuteronomy 22:13-21Proof of
virginity
Deuteronomy 22:22-24Death
penalty for adultery and fornication
Deuteronomy 22:25-27Rape
Deuteronomy 22:28-30Shotgun
wedding
Deuteronomy 23:12-14Covering of
excrement
Deuteronomy 23:15-16Do not
return escaped servants
Deuteronomy 23:17-18Lesbians and
homosexuals
Deuteronomy 23:19-20No usury to
your brother; you may lend usury to a stranger
Deuteronomy 23:21-23Vows shall
be kept
Deuteronomy 23:24-25Eating from
neighbors crops
Deuteronomy 23:24-25Helping
yourself to a few grapes is not stealing
Deuteronomy 24:1-4Divorce and
remarriage
Deuteronomy 24:5Newlyweds
Deuteronomy 24:6Don't take a
millstone as pledge
Deuteronomy 24:7Slave traders
shall die
Deuteronomy 24:10-13Pledges and
loans
Deuteronomy 24:14-18Raiment for
pledge
Deuteronomy 24:16Every man shall
die for his own sin
Deuteronomy 24:19-22Forgotten
sheaf for stranger, fatherless, widow
Deuteronomy 25:1,2Controversies
to be taken to the judges
Deuteronomy 25:1-3Forty stripes
maximum whipping
Deuteronomy 25:4Don't muzzle an
ox when he treads out the corn
Deuteronomy 25:5-10Levirate law
(widow to marry nearest unwed relative)
Deuteronomy 25:11-12Woman not to
grab a man by his secrets
Deuteronomy 25:13-16Just weights
and measures
Deuteronomy 26:1-11Firstfruits
of the land
Deuteronomy 26:12-153rd tithe
for Levite, stranger, fatherless, widow
Deuteronomy 26:16Keep them with
all thy heart and soul
Deuteronomy 27:9The people of
the LORD thy God
Deuteronomy 27:10Do His
commandments and statutes
Deuteronomy 27:15Cursed be
idolaters
Deuteronomy 27:16Cursed be he
that setteth light by father and mother
Deuteronomy 27:17Cursed be he
that removes his neighbors landmark
Deuteronomy 27:18Blind
Deuteronomy 27:19Stranger,
fatherless, widow
Deuteronomy 27:20-23Curse for
incest and bestiality
Deuteronomy 27:24Don't smite
neighbor secretly
Deuteronomy 27:25Cursed be he
that takes reward to slay the innocent
Deuteronomy 27:26Cursed be he
who does not do all the law
Deuteronomy 28:1-14Blessings for
obedience
Deuteronomy 28:15-68Curses for
disobedience
Deuteronomy 29:9Keep the
covenant, that ye may prosper
Deuteronomy 29:16-18Worshipping
other gods results in captivity
Deuteronomy 29:18-28Curses for
disobedience
Deuteronomy 29:24-27Worshipping
other gods results in captivity
Deuteronomy 32:17Idolatry is
devil worship
Deuteronomy 33:1-4The fiery law
is Jacob's inheritanceê
Biblical Law in Topical Order
Adultery -- 7th CGenesis 1:26-28, 2:20-25, 6:1-13, 16:1-5, 19:4-8,
26:34-35, 34:14, Exodus
20:14, 21:7-11, 22:16-17, 19,
34:16, Leviticus 18:6-30, 19:20-22, 29, 20:10-21, 21:7, 9-10,
13-15, Deuteronomy 5:18, 7:1-5,
21:10-17, 22:13-30, 23:17-18, 24:1-5, 25:5-12, 27:20-23.
AgricultureSee Clean and Unclean.
Animals, Kindness toExodus 23:4-5,11-12, Deuteronomy 22:1-4, 6-7,10, 25:4,
Leviticus 22:28.
Atonement, Day ofLeviticus 16:29-31, 34, 23:26-32, Numbers 29:7-11. See Holy Days.
BestialityExodus 22:19, Leviticus 18:23, 20:15-16, Deuteronomy 27:21.
See Adultery.
Blasphemy -- 3rd CExodus 20:7, 22:28, Leviticus 18:21, 19:12,
24:10-16, 23, Deuteronomy
5:11.
Blessings ObedienceGenesis
22:15-18, 26:4-5, Leviticus 26:1-13, Deuteronomy 11:26-28,
28:1-14.
BlindLeviticus 19:14, Deuteronomy 27:18. See Poor.
Blood (Don't Eat)Genesis 9:4, Exodus 22:31, Leviticus 3:17, 17:10-16, 19:26. See Health.
ChildrearingGenesis 18:19,
24:2-4, 33:5, 48:9, Numbers 30:3-5, Deuteronomy 4:9-10,
6:4-9,
20-25, 11:18-21. See Parents, Honor.
Cities of RefugeNumbers
35:11-12,15,34, Deuteronomy 19:1-13. See Government.
Clean and UncleanGenesis 7:1-2,
Leviticus 11:1-47, 19:19,
23-25, 20:24-26, Deuteronomy
14:1-21, 22:9. See Health.
ClothingLeviticus 19:27-28, Numbers 15:37-41, Deuteronomy 22:5, 11-12. See Health.
Corners of FieldSee
Gleanings.
Covet -- 10th CExodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, 23:24-25.
Cursings, DisobedienceGenesis 3:16-19,
Leviticus 26:14-46, Numbers 32:23, Deuteronomy
27:26, 28:15-68, 29:18-28.
DeafLeviticus 19:14. See Poor.
Death PenaltyAdultery:
Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22-24, Bestiality: Exodus
22:19,
Leviticus 20:15-16, Blasphemy:
Leviticus 24:10-16, 23, Defying the Law: Numbers 15:30-31,
Deuteronomy 17:12, Disobedient to Parents: Exodus 21:15, 17, Leviticus
20:9, Deuteronomy
21:18-21, Eating Fat or Blood: Leviticus 7:22-27, 17:10-16,
False Prophets: Deuteronomy
13:1-18, 17:2-7, 18:20, Homosexuality: Leviticus 20:13, Idolatry: Exodus 22:20,
Leviticus
20:1-6, Incest: Leviticus
20:11-12, 14, 17, 19-21, Kidnapping: Exodus 21:16, Murder: Genesis
9:5-6, Exodus
21:12-14, Leviticus 24:17,21,
Rape: Deuteronomy 22:25-27, Sabbath
Breaking:
Exodus 35:2, Numbers 15:32-36, Sex during
Menstruation: Leviticus 20:18,
Wizards and
Witches: Exodus 22:18, Leviticus
20:6, 27. See Government.
DivorceLeviticus 21:7, 22:13,
Deuteronomy 24:1-4. See Adultery.
EnemyExodus 23:4-5. See Poor.
False ProphetsDeuteronomy
13:18, 17:2-7, 18:15-22.
Familiar SpiritsSee
Occult.
Fat (Don't Eat)Leviticus
3:17, 7:22-27. See Health.
Fatherless (Orphans)Exodus
22:22-24, Deuteronomy 10:17-18, 14:28-29, 24:17-22, 26:12-15,
27:19. See Poor.
FirstbornSee Firstfruits.
FirstfruitsExodus 13:2,11-16, 22:29-30,
23:19, 34:19-20, 26, Deuteronomy 15:19-23, 18:3-4,
26:1-11. See Tithing.
FirstlingsSee Firstfruits.
FornicationSee Adultery.
GleaningsLeviticus 19:9-10, 23:22, Deuteronomy 24:19-22.
See Poor.
GovernmentExodus 18:13-26, 19:5-6, 21:18-36, 22:1-15, 18-20, 23:2, 8,
35:2, Leviticus 6:1-5,
10:8-11, 19:15,
20:2-6, 26-27, 24:10-21, 23, Numbers 1:2-3, 11:11-17, 15:30-36, 26:2,
35:11-12, 15, 34, Deuteronomy
1:9-18, 7:6-8, 10:15, 13:5-11, 14:1-2, 16:18-20, 17:2-20, 18:20,
19:1-13, 20:1-20, 21:18-23, 24:16, 25:1-3, 27:9, 24.
HandicappedSee Blind, Deaf.
HealingExodus 15:26, 23:25, Deuteronomy 7:15.
See Health.
HealthGenesis 2:15-17, 7:1-2, 9:4, Exodus 22:31, 23:19,
Leviticus 3:17, 7:22-27,
11:1-47,
12:1-8, 13:1-59, 14:33-57,
15:1-15, 17:10-16, 19:19, 23, 25-28,
20:24-26, 23:12-14, Numbers
15:37-41, Deuteronomy 14:1-21, 22:5, 9, 11-12. See Healing.
Holy DaysGenesis
1:14, 14:18, Exodus 12:1-51, 13:3-10,
23:14-17, 34:18, 22-24, Leviticus
16:29-31, 34, 23:1-44, Numbers
9:1-14, 10:10, 28:11-31,
29:1-40, Deuteronomy 16:1-17.
HomosexualityGenesis 19:4-8, Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17-18.
See Adultery.
Idolatry -- 1st, 2nd CExodus 20:1-3, 4-6, 22-23, 22:20, 23:13, 24, 32-33,
34:12-15, 17,
Leviticus 17:7, 18:21, 19:4,
20:2-5, 26:1, Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 4:15-31, 5:6-10, 7:5,
25-26, 8:19-20, 11:16-17,
12:1-4, 29-32, 13:1-18, 16:21-22, 17:2-7, 18:9-14, 20-22, 27:15,
29:16-18, 24-27, 32:17.
IncestLeviticus 18:6-18,
20:11-12,14,17-21, Deuteronomy 27:20,22-23. See Adultery.
Ingathering, Feast ofSee Tabernacles, Feast of.
InheritanceGenesis 21:10-13, Numbers 27:1-11, 36:1-12, Deuteronomy 21:15-17, 25:5-10.
See Parents, Honor.
InterestSee Usury.
IntermarriageSee Interracial Marriage.
Interracial MarriageGenesis
6:1-13, 26:34-35, 34:14, Exodus 34:16, Deuteronomy 7:1-5. See
Adultery.
Israel, Chosen PeopleExodus 19:5-6,
Leviticus 20:26, Deuteronomy
7:6-8, 10:15, 14:1-2,
27:9. See Government.
JubileeSee Sabbatical Year.
Judges & Priestly GvtExodus 18:13-26, 23:2,8, Leviticus 10:8-11, 19:15, Numbers 11:11-17,
Deuteronomy 1:9-18, 16:18-20,
17:8-13, 21:19, 25:1-2. See
Government.
Kings, Duty ofDeuteronomy
17:14-20. See Government.
Land SabbathSee
Sabbatical Year.
Last Great DaySee
Tabernacles, Feast of.
Lie -- 9th CExodus
20:16, 23:1,7, Leviticus 6:1-5, 19:11-12, 16, Numbers 30:1-16, Deuteronomy
5:20, 19:15-21, 23:21-23.
Murder -- 6th CGenesis 4:8-15,
23-24, 9:5-6, Exodus 20:13, 21:12-14,
Leviticus 24:17-21,
Numbers 35:11-34, Deuteronomy
5:17, 21:1-9, 27:25.
New MoonsNumbers
10:10, 28:11-15. See Holy Days.
ObedienceDeuteronomy 4:1-40, 44-46, 6:1-25, 7:1-26, 8:1-20, 27:10, 29:9,
33:1-4.
OccultExodus 22:18,
Leviticus 19:26,31, 20:1-6,27, Deuteronomy 18:9-14.
One LawLeviticus
24:22, Numbers 9:14, 15:14-16,
30.
Pagan HolidaysLeviticus
18:2-5,26-30, 19:26,
20:22-23.
Parents, Honor -- 5th CGenesis 6:4-9, 20-25, 9:20-27, 18:19, 21:10-13, 26:34-35,
Exodus
20:12, 21:15,17, Leviticus
19:3, 32, 20:9, Numbers
27:1-11, 36:1-12, Deuteronomy 4:9-10,
5:16, 6:4-9, 20-25, 11:18-21, 21:15-21, 25:5-10,
27:16.
Passover & Feast of UBExodus 12:1-51, 13:3-10, 23:15, 34:18, Leviticus
23:5-14, Numbers
9:1-14, 28:16-25, Deuteronomy
16:1-8,16. See Holy Days.
Penalties, CivilExodus
21:18-36, 22:1-15, 18-20, 35:2,
Leviticus 6:1-5, 20:2-6, 27, 24:10-21, 23,
Numbers 15:30-36, Deuteronomy 13:5-11, 17:2-7, 12, 18:20, 19:11-13, 21:18-23, 24:16.
25:1-3, 27:24. See Government,
Death Penalty.
PentecostExodus 23:16, 34:22, Leviticus 23:15-21, Numbers 28:26-31,
Deuteronomy 16:9-12,
16. See Holy Days.
Pilgrimage FeastsSee
Three Times a Year.
PoorExodus 22:21-24, 23:3-6, 9, Leviticus 19:9-10, 14, 17-18,
33-34, 23:22, Deuteronomy 1:17,
10:17-19, 14:28-29, 15:1-11,
22:8, 24:6,10-22, 26:12-15, 27:18-19.
RequirementsExodus 15:26, Leviticus
18:4-5, 26-30, 19:1-2, 37, 20:7, Deuteronomy 10:12-13,
26:16.
Sabbath -- 4th CGenesis 2:1-3, Exodus 16:4-5, 23-35, 20:8-11, 23:12,
31:12-18, 34:21, 35:2-3,
Leviticus 19:3, 30, 23:3,
Numbers 15:32-36, 28:9-10, Deuteronomy 5:12-15. See Sabbatical
Year, Holy Days.
Sabbatical YearExodus
21:2-6, 23:10-11, Leviticus 25:1-24, Deuteronomy 15:1-14.
SafetyDeuteronomy 22:8.
Sanitation & CleannessLeviticus 12:1-8, 13:1-59,
14:33-57, 15:1-15, 24-33, Deuteronomy
23:12-14. See Health.
ServantsExodus 21:2-6, 20-21, 26-27, Leviticus 25:39-55, Deuteronomy
15:12-18, 23:15-16,
24:14.
SicknessSee Healing.
SlavesSee Servants.
Steal -- 8th CExodus
20:15, 21:16,
22:1-15,25-27, Leviticus 19:11, 13, 35-36,
25:35-38,
Deuteronomy 5:19, 19:14, 22:1-4,
23:19-20, 24-25, 24:7, 25:13-16, 27:17
Strangers (Aliens)Exodus 22:21,
23:9, Leviticus 19:9-10, 33-34, 23:22, Deuteronomy 10:17-19,
14:28-29, 24:14-22, 26:12-15, 27:19. See Poor.
SwearingSee Blasphemy.
Tabernacles, Feast ofExodus 23:16, 34:22, Leviticus 23:33-43, Numbers
29:12-40, Deuteronomy
16:16-17. See Holy Days.
Three Times a YearExodus 23:14-17, 34:18,22-24,
Deuteronomy 16:16-17. See Holy Days.
TithingFirst: Genesis 14:18-20, 28:22, Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21. See Firstfruits.
Second: Deuteronomy 12:5-21, 14:22-27. See Holy Days.
Third: Deuteronomy 14:28-29,
26:12-15. See Poor.
Trees, Kindness toDeuteronomy 20:19-20.
Trumpets, Day ofLeviticus 23:23-25, Numbers 10:10, 29:1-6. See Holy Days.
Unleavened Bread, FeastSee Passover & Feast of Unleavened Bread.
UsuryExodus 22:25-27, Leviticus
25:35-38, Deuteronomy 23:19-20. See
Steal.
VowsNumbers 30:1-6, Deuteronomy 23:21-23. See Lie.
Warfare, Rules ofNumbers 1:2-3, 26:2, Deuteronomy 20:1-20. See Government.
Weeks, Feast ofSee
Pentecost.
Weights & MeasuresLeviticus 19:35-36, Deuteronomy 25:13-16. See Steal.
WidowsExodus 22:22-24, Deuteronomy 10:17-18, 14:28-29,
24:17-22, 26:12-15, 27:19. See
Poor.
Witches & WizardsSee Occult.
Year of ReleaseSee
Sabbatical Year.ê
Obedience and Disobedience
What God Requires of Us
Deuteronomy 10:12-13What doth
the Lord require of us?
Leviticus 18:4-5You shall live
in God's laws
Leviticus 18:26-30Keep God's
laws lest the land spue you out
Leviticus 19:37Observe ALL God's
laws
Leviticus 19:1-2Be holy
Leviticus 20:7-8Be holy and keep
God's statutes
Exodus 15:26Diligently obey ALL
statutes
Deuteronomy 26:16Keep them with
all thy heart and soul
One Law For All
Leviticus 24:22One manner of law
for all
Numbers 9:14One law for all
Numbers 15:14-16, 30One law for both you and stranger
Exhortation to Obedience
Deuteronomy 4:1-46Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 6:1-25Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 7:1-26Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 8:1-20Exhortation to
obedience
Deuteronomy 27:10Do His
commandments and statutes
Deuteronomy 29:9Keep the
covenant, that ye may prosper
Deuteronomy 33:1-4The fiery law
is Jacob's inheritance
Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 11:26-28A blessing
and a curse
Genesis 22:15-18Abraham's obedience
Genesis 26:4-5Abraham's obedience
Leviticus 26:1-13Blessings for
obedience
Deuteronomy 28:1-14Blessings for
obedience
Cursings for Disobedience
Leviticus 26:14-46Curses for
disobedience
Deuteronomy 28:15-68Curses for
disobedience
Deuteronomy 29:18-28Curses for
disobedience
Genesis 3:16Curse to Eve for
disobedience
Genesis 3:17-19Curse to Adam for
disobedience
Deuteronomy 27:26Cursed be he
who does not do all the law
Numbers 32:23Your sin will find
you out
What God Requires of Us
Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear
the
Lord thy God, to walk in all his
ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul, 13
To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I
command thee this day for thy good?
Leviticus 18:4 Ye shall do my
judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the
Lord your God. 5 Ye shall
therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he
shall live in them: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments,
and shall not commit any
of these abominations; neither
any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth
among
you: 27 (For all these abominations
have the men of the land done, which were before you, and
the land is defiled; ) 28 That
the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it,
as it spued out the
nations that were before you. 29 For whosoever shall commit any
of these abominations, even the
souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their
people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine
ordinance, that ye commit not
any one of these abominable customs, which were committed
before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the
Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my
judgments, and do them: I
am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto all the
congregation of the
children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord
your God am holy.
Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify
yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. 8 And
ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which
sanctify you.
Exodus 15:26 . . . If thou
wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do
that which is right in his
sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I
will put none of these diseases
upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the
Lord that healeth
thee.
Deuteronomy 26:16 This day the
Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and
judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and
do them with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul.
One Law for All
Leviticus 24:22 Ye shall have
one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own
country: for I am the Lord your God.
Numbers 9:14 ...ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger,
and for him that was born in
the land.
Numbers 15:14 And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be
among you in your
generations, and will offer an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
Lord; as ye do, so
he shall do. 15 One ordinance shall be both for you of the
congregation, and also for the stranger
that sojourneth
with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the
stranger
be before the Lord. 16 One law and one manner shall be for
you, and for the stranger that
sojourneth with you....30 But the soul that doeth aught
presumptuously, whether he be born in
the land, or a stranger, the
same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be
cut off from among
his people.
Exhortation to Obedience
Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore
hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments,
which I teach you, for to do
them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord
God of your fathers giveth you. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither
shall ye diminish aught from it,
that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which
I command you. 3 Your eyes have
seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all
the men
that followed Baalpeor, the Lord
thy God hath destroyed them from among you. 4 But ye that did
cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this
day. 5 Behold, I have taught you
statutes and judgments, even as
the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the
land whither ye go to possess it. 6 Keep therefore and do
them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of
the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this
great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what
nation is there so great, who hath
God so nigh unto them, as the
Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And
what nation is there so great,
that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I
set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to thyself, and
keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget
the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart
all the days of thy life:
but teach them thy sons, and thy
sons' sons; 10 Specially the day that thou stoodest
before the
Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people
together, and I will
make them hear my words, that
they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the
earth, and that they may teach their children. 11 And ye came
near and stood under the mountain;
and the mountain burned with
fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick
darkness. 12 And the Lord spake unto
you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the
words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. 13 And he
declared unto you his covenant,
which he commanded you to
perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two
tables of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to
teach you statutes and judgments,
that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to
possess it. 15 Take ye therefore good
heed unto yourselves; for ye saw
no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake
unto you
in Horeb
out of the midst of the fire: 16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a
graven
image, the similitude of any
figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast
that is on the earth, the
likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any
thing that creepeth
on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the
earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest
the sun, and the moon, and
the stars, even all the host of
heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and
serve them, which
the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the
whole heaven. 20 But the Lord hath
taken you, and brought you forth
out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a
people of inheritance, as ye are this day. 21 Furthermore the
Lord was angry with me for your
sakes, and sware
that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good
land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: 22 But I must die in this
land, I must
not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. 23
Take heed unto
yourselves, lest ye forget the
covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make
you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the
Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. 24
For the Lord thy God is a
consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25 When thou shalt
beget children,
and children's children, and ye
shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves,
and make a graven image, or the
likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord
thy God, to provoke him to
anger: 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that
ye shall soon utterly perish
from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall
not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be
destroyed. 27 And the Lord shall scatter you
among the nations, and ye shall
be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall
lead you. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's
hands, wood and stone, which
neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But if from thence
thou shalt seek the Lord thy God,
thou shalt find him, if thou seek
him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in
tribulation, and all these
things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the
Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the Lord thy
God is a merciful God; )
he will not forsake thee,
neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he
sware unto
them. 32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since
the day
that God created man upon the
earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether
there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath
been heard like it? 33 Did ever people
hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire,
as thou hast heard, and live? 34 Or
hath God assayed to go and take
him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations,
by signs, and by wonders, and by
war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by
great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for
you in Egypt before your eyes? 35
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know
that the Lord he is God; there is none else
beside him. 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice,
that he might instruct thee: and upon
earth he shewed thee his great fire;
and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the
fire. 37
And because he loved thy
fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out
in his sight with his mighty
power out of Egypt; 38 To drive out nations from before thee greater
and mightier than thou art, to
bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this
day. 39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven
above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. 40 Thou
shalt keep therefore his statutes,
and his commandments, which I
command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with
thy children after thee, and
that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth,
which the Lord thy
God giveth
thee, for ever.
Deuteronomy 4:44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children
of Israel: 45 These are
the testimonies, and the
statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto
the children of
Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt, 46 On this side Jordan, in the valley over against
Bethpeor, in the land
of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon,
whom Moses and the
children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:
Deuteronomy 6:1 Now these are
the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the
Lord your God commanded to teach
you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to
possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes
and his
commandments, which I command
thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy
life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O
Israel, and observe to do it; that it
may be well with thee, and that
ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath
promised thee, in the land that floweth
with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God
is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee
this day, shall be in thine heart: 7
And thou shalt
teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt
talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest
by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou
risest
up. 8 And thou shalt bind them
for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between
thine
eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of
thy house, and on thy gates. 10 And it
shall be, when the Lord thy God
shall have brought thee into the land which he sware
unto thy
fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou
buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged,
which thou diggedst
not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst
not; when thou shalt
have eaten and be full; 12 Then
beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of
the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 Thou shalt
fear the Lord thy God, and serve
him, and shalt swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people
which are round about you; 15
(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger
of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy
thee from off the face of the earth. 16
Ye shall not tempt the Lord your
God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 17 Ye shall
diligently keep
the commandments of the Lord
your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath
commanded thee. 18 And thou shalt do
that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that
it may be well with thee, and
that thou mayest go in and possess the good land
which the Lord
sware unto thy fathers, 19 To cast out all thine
enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath
spoken. 20 And when thy son asketh
thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies,
and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God
hath commanded you? 21 Then thou
shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of
Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the Lord shewed
signs and wonders, great and sore, upon
Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our
eyes: 23 And he brought us out
from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land
which he sware unto our fathers. 24
And the Lord commanded us to do
all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if
we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our
God, as he hath commanded us.
Deuteronomy 7:1 When the Lord
thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest
to
possess it, and hath cast out
many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites,
and the
Amorites, and the Canaanites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, seven nations
greater and mightier than thou;
2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou
shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew
mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give
unto his son, nor his daughter shalt
thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from
following me, that they may
serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against
you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5 But thus shall ye deal
with them; ye shall destroy their altars,
and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and
burn their graven images with fire. 6
For thou art an holy people unto
the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a
special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the
face of the earth. 7 The Lord did
not set his love upon you, nor
choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for
ye were the fewest of all
people: 8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep
the oath which he had sworn unto
your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the
hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9
Know therefore that the Lord thy
God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and
mercy with them that love him
and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10 And
repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he
will not be slack to him that hateth
him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the
statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do
them. 12 Wherefore it shall
come to pass, if ye hearken to
these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God
shall keep unto thee the
covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy
fathers: 13 And he will
love thee, and bless thee, and
multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit
of thy land, thy corn, and thy
wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy
sheep, in the land which he sware
unto thy fathers to give thee. 14 Thou shalt be
blessed above all
people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or
among your cattle. 15 And the
Lord will take away from thee
all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which
thou knowest, upon thee; but will
lay them upon all them that hate thee. 16 And thou shalt
consume all the people which the
Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall
have no pity
upon them: neither shalt thou serve
their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee. 17 If thou shalt
say in thine heart, These nations
are more than I; how can I dispossess them? 18 Thou shalt
not be
afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto
Pharaoh, and unto all
Egypt; 19 The great temptations which thine
eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the
mighty hand, and the stretched
out arm, whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out: so shall the
Lord thy God do unto all the
people of whom thou art afraid. 20 Moreover the Lord thy God will
send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and
hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.
21 Thou shalt
not be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God
and
terrible. 22 And the Lord thy God will put out those nations
before thee by little and little: thou
mayest not
consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23 But
the Lord
thy God shall deliver them unto
thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they
be destroyed. 24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt
destroy their name
from under heaven: there shall
no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed
them. 25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with
fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or
gold that is on them, nor take
it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to
the Lord thy God. 26 Neither shalt
thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest
thou be a
cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt
utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed
thing.
Deuteronomy 8:1 All the
commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do,
that ye may live, and multiply,
and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware
unto your
fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all
the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years
in the wilderness, to humble
thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine
heart, whether
thou wouldest
keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to
hunger, and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers
know; that he
might make thee know that man
doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. 4 Thy raiment
waxed not old upon thee, neither did
thy foot swell, these forty years. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine
heart, that, as a man
chasteneth
his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. 6
Therefore thou shalt keep the
commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear
him. 7 For the Lord thy God
bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of
fountains and depths that spring out
of valleys and hills; 8 A land
of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a
land of oil olive, and honey; 9
A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without
scarceness, thou shalt
not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and
out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
10 When thou hast eaten and art
full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for
the good land
which he hath given thee. 11 Beware that thou forget not the
Lord thy God, in not keeping his
commandments, and his judgments,
and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest
when thou hast eaten and art
full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when
thy herds and thy flocks
multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast
is
multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy
God, which brought thee
forth out of the land
of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 Who led thee through that
great
and terrible wilderness, wherein
were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was
no water; who brought thee forth
water out of the rock of flint; 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness
with manna, which thy fathers
knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee,
to do thee good at thy latter
end; 17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and
the might of mine
hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that
giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his
covenant which he sware unto thy
fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall be, if thou do at
all forget the Lord thy God, and walk
after other gods, and serve
them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall
surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish;
because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your
God.
Deuteronomy 27:10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and
do his
commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
Deuteronomy 29:9 Keep therefore
the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper
in all that ye do.
Deuteronomy 33:1 And this is the
blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children
of Israel before his death. 2 And he said, The Lord came from
Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto
them; he shined forth from mount
Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his
right
hand went a fiery law for them. 3 Yea, he loved the people;
all his saints are in thy hand: and they
sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.
4 Moses commanded us a law, even the
inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a
curse; 27 A blessing, if ye
obey the commandments of the
Lord your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if
ye will not obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I
command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not
known.
Genesis 22:15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of
heaven the second time, 16
And said, By myself have I
sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done
this thing, and hast
not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars
of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy
seed shall possess the gate of
his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Genesis 26:4 And I will make thy
seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy
seed all these countries; and in
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that
Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my
charge, my commandments, my statutes,
and my laws.
Leviticus 26:1 Ye shall make you
no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing
image, neither shall ye set up
any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the
Lord your God. 2 Ye shall keep
my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the
Lord. 3 If ye
walk in my statutes, and keep my
commandments, and do them; 4 Then I will give you rain in due
season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of
the field shall yield their fruit. 5 And
your threshing shall reach unto
the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and
ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land
safely. 6 And I will give peace in the
land, and ye shall lie down, and
none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the
land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 7 And ye
shall chase your enemies, and they
shall fall before you by the sword. 8 And five of you shall
chase an hundred, and an hundred of
you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall
fall before you by the sword. 9 For I
will have respect unto you, and
make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant
with you. 10 And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the
old because of the new. 11 And I will
set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor
you. 12 And I will walk among you,
and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. 13 I am the
Lord your God, which brought you
forth out of the land
of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken
the bands
of your yoke, and made you go upright.
Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall
come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently 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: 2 And all these blessings
shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3
Blessed shalt
thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in
the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit
of thy body, and the fruit of
thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and
the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and
thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when
thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest
out. 7 The Lord shall cause thine
enemies that rise up against
thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee
one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The Lord shall
command the blessing upon thee in
thy storehouses, and in all that
thou settest thine hand
unto; and he shall bless thee in the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself,
as he hath sworn unto thee, if
thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy
God, and walk
in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that
thou art called by the name of the Lord;
and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the Lord shall make
thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit
of thy body, and in the fruit of
thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord
sware unto
thy fathers to give thee. 12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure,
the
heaven to give the rain unto thy
land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine
hand: and
thou shalt lend unto many nations,
and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the Lord shall
make thee
the head, and not the tail; and
thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou
hearken unto the commandments of
the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe
and to do them: 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command
thee this
day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other
gods to serve them.
Curses for Disobedience
Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will
not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15
And if ye shall despise my
statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all
my commandments, but that ye
break my covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even
appoint over you terror,
consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and
cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for
your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I
will set my face against you,
and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall
reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this
hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times
more for your sins. 19 And I will break the
pride of your power; and I will
make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your
strength shall be spent in vain:
for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of
the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto
me, and will not hearken unto me; I will
bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will
also send wild beasts
among you, which shall rob you
of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in
number; and your high ways shall be desolate. 23 And if ye will
not be reformed by me by these
things, but will walk contrary
unto me; 24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will
punish you yet seven times
for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge
the quarrel of my covenant: and
when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the
pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of
the enemy. 26 And when I have
broken the staff of your bread,
ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall
deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and
not be satisfied. 27 And if ye will not
for all this hearken unto me,
but walk contrary unto me; 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you
also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times
for your sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh
of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
30 And I will destroy your high places,
and cut down your images, and
cast your carcases upon the carcases
of your idols, and my soul
shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and
bring your sanctuaries unto desolation,
and I will not smell the savour of
your sweet odours. 32 And I will bring the land
into desolation:
and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at
it. 33 And I will scatter you among
the heathen, and will draw out a
sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities
waste. 34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths,
as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your
enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 35 As long as it lieth
desolate
it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36 And upon them
that are left alive of you I
will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and
the sound of a shaken leaf shall
chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they
shall fall when none pursueth. 37
And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword,
when none pursueth: and ye shall
have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And ye shall
perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall
eat you up. 39 And they that are left
of you shall pine away in their
iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their
fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 If they shall confess
their iniquity, and the iniquity of
their fathers, with their
trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked
contrary unto me; 41 And that I
also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into
the land of their enemies; if
then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of
the punishment of their
iniquity: 42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my
covenant with Isaac, and also my
covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember
the land. 43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall
enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth
desolate without them: and they
shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even
because they despised my judgments, and because their soul
abhorred my statutes. 44 And yet for
all that, when they be in the
land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor
them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with
them: for I am the Lord their God.
45 But I will for their sakes
remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out
of the land
of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God:
I am the Lord. 46 These
are the statutes and judgments
and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of
Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
Deuteronomy 28:15 But it shall
come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord
thy God, to observe to do all
his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day;
that all these curses shall come
upon thee, and overtake thee: 16 Cursed shalt thou
be in the city,
and cursed shalt thou be in the
field. 17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18 Cursed shall
be the fruit of thy body, and
the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine,
and the flocks of thy
sheep. 19 Cursed shalt thou be when
thou comest in, and cursed shalt
thou be when thou goest
out. 20 The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and
rebuke, in all that thou settest thine
hand unto for to do, until thou
be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the
wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21 The
Lord shall make the pestilence
cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the
land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22 The Lord shall smite thee
with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and
with an extreme burning, and
with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall
pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over
thy head shall be brass, and the earth
that is under thee shall be iron. 24 The Lord shall make the
rain of thy land powder and dust: from
heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
25 The Lord shall cause thee to be
smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go
out one way against them, and flee seven ways before
them: and shalt be removed into all
the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And thy carcase shall
be meat
unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth,
and no man shall fray them away. 27
The Lord will smite thee with
the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and
with the scab, and
with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28 The Lord shall smite thee with
madness, and
blindness, and astonishment of
heart: 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the
blind gropeth in
darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled
evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30 Thou shalt
betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with
her: thou shalt
build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein:
thou shalt plant a vineyard, and
shalt not
gather the grapes thereof. 31 Thine ox shall be
slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not
eat thereof: thine
ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be
restored
to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine
enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32
Thy sons and thy daughters shall
be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall
look, and fail
with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no
might in thine hand. 33 The fruit of
thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest
not eat up; and thou shalt be only
oppressed and crushed alway: 34 So that thou shalt be
mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou
shalt see.
35 The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch
that cannot
be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy
head. 36 The Lord shall bring thee, and thy
king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor
thy fathers have known;
and there shalt thou serve other
gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt become an
astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the
Lord shall lead thee. 38
Thou shalt
carry much seed out into the field, and shalt
gather but little in; for the locust shall
consume it. 39 Thou shalt plant
vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink
of the wine, nor
gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy
coasts, but thou shalt not anoint
thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast
his fruit. 41 Thou
shalt
beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy
them; for they shall go into captivity. 42
All thy trees and fruit of thy
land shall the locust consume. 43 The stranger that is within thee
shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44 He shall lend to thee,
and thou shalt not lend to him: he
shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. 45
Moreover all
these curses shall come upon
thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed;
because thou hearkenedst
not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and
his statutes which he commanded
thee: 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a
wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. 47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with
joyfulness, and with gladness of
heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 Therefore shalt
thou
serve thine
enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and
in
nakedness, and in want of all
things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have
destroyed thee. 49 The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from
far, from the end of the earth,
as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt
not understand; 50 A nation of fierce
countenance, which shall not
regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: 51 And
he shall eat the fruit of thy
cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also
shall not leave thee either
corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or
flocks of thy sheep,
until he have destroyed thee. 52 And he shall besiege thee in
all thy gates, until thy high and
fenced walls come down, wherein
thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he
shall besiege
thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord
thy God hath given thee. 53 And thou
shalt eat the fruit of thine own
body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord
thy God hath given thee, in the
siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress
thee: 54 So that the man that is
tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward
his brother, and toward the wife
of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he
shall leave: 55 So that he will
not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall
eat: because he hath nothing
left him in the siege, and in the straitness,
wherewith thine enemies
shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56 The tender and
delicate woman among you, which would not
adventure to set the sole of her
foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall
be evil toward the husband of
her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 And
toward her young one that cometh
out from between her feet, and toward her children which she
shall bear: for she shall eat
them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness,
wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee
in thy gates. 58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the
words of this law that are
written in this book, that thou mayest fear this
glorious and fearful
name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59 Then
the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the
plagues of thy seed, even great
plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long
continuance. 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of
Egypt, which thou wast
afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61 Also every
sickness, and every plague, which is not
written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon
thee, until thou be destroyed. 62
And ye shall be left few in
number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because
thou wouldest not obey the voice of
the Lord thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, that as the
Lord rejoiced over you to do you
good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to
destroy you, and to bring you to
nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land
whither thou
goest to
possess it. 64 And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one
end of the
earth even unto the other; and
there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither
thou nor thy
fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65 And among these
nations shalt thou find no ease,
neither shall the sole of thy
foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and
failing of eyes, and sorrow of
mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt
fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67 In the morning
thou shalt say,
Would God it were
even! and at even thou shalt
say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of
thine
heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight
of thine eyes which thou shalt
see. 68 And
the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou
shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto
your enemies for bondmen and
bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
Deuteronomy 29:18 Lest there
should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose
heart turneth
away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these
nations; lest
there should be among you a root
that beareth gall and wormwood; 19 And it come to
pass, when
he heareth
the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall
have peace,
though I walk in the imagination
of mine heart, to add drunkenness to
thirst: 20 The Lord will
not spare him, but then the
anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and
all the curses that are written
in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name
from under heaven. 21 And the Lord shall separate him unto
evil out of all the tribes of Israel,
according to all the curses of
the covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22 So that the
generation to come of your
children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come
from a far land, shall say, when
they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the
Lord hath laid upon it; 23 And
that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that
it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth
therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and
Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his
wrath: 24
Even all nations shall say,
Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth
the
heat of this great anger? 25 Then men shall say, Because they
have forsaken the covenant of the
Lord God of their fathers, which
he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land
of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped
them, gods whom they knew
not, and whom he had not given
unto them: 27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this
land, to bring upon it all the
curses that are written in this book: 28 And the Lord rooted them out
of their land in anger, and in
wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it
is this day.
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy
sorrow and thy conception; in
sorrow thou shalt
bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule
over thee.
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of
which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is
the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy
life; 18 Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19
In the sweat of thy
face shalt
thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return.
Deuteronomy 27:26 Cursed be he that
confirmeth not all the words of this law to do
them. And
all the people shall say, Amen.
Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not
do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your
sin will find you out.ê
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