Parashah: Ki Tetse” (when you go out) DEUT 21:10-25:19
In this Bible/Torah study, we encounter numerous common-sense commandments that are relevant today, and we can also examine some commandments to see how we can apply them, perhaps not so much literally, but spiritually and morally. In some cases, both. According to some rabbis, there are approximately 74 commandments within these five chapters, many of which remain relevant today. (We need to look at the “big picture”)
But I would like to take a look at the first verse that says; “When you go out to war against your enemies…” the word “enemies” in the original Hebrew is “o’y’Veykha” in the English, we see two “y” s y the Hebrew, those are two “yods” In the ancient Hebrew, the “yod” was a “hand”. A hand holds a weapon to fight in a war, such as a knife, sword, spear, bow and arrow, sling, etc.
The rabbis of old comment that the reason for two “yods” is that we fight against two kinds of enemies, the enemy from without, meaning another person who wishes to do us harm, or harm our families, or fight against our country, and the enemy from within, meaning the “Yetzer Hara” the sin nature, perhaps even bodily diseases. Since we all have that sin nature, it is a constant fight against the enemy inside, and only through the Holy Spirit can we put it under foot. Like the meaning of the word, “Tzadik” (one who hunts or controls his monkey), the “monkey” being the sin nature.
I am not going to go into every commandment, because that would take up a lot of time, and many people tire after reading two pages, especially on these Forum sites. So, I will briefly mention how some commandments remain relevant even today. We also have the "big picture." What is God telling us?
Verse 10 in Chapter 21 talks about taking a captive woman from the enemy and making her your wife. This applied to soldiers during wartime. But what is the "Big Picture?" Could we say that God wants to show compassion on widows who lost their husbands, mothers, fathers, perhaps even children in times of war? Something to consider. The soldier will take her back to the Israelite camp, and there, she will be permitted to mourn for her family, yet here, she will meet the "True God" of “compassion”. Her pagan gods didn't save her, yet here is the God of Israel. She will be given a chance for a new life.
Today, wartime is cruel, and many wives and mothers lose their husbands and children in battle. Should they not be comforted and given a chance to remarry, should they thus choose to do so? I would say yes.
Chapter 22: Here, the commandment is to return lost objects, even animals, to their owners. Would not this commandment also be for today? Today's philosophy is "Finders keepers, losers weepers." That is not God's way. If the owner can be found, we need to return those lost items to their owners. be those items, wallets, tools, jewelry, and even lost dogs and cats. If YOU lost your wallet, wouldn't you want someone to return it to you? (money intact)
Verse 5. "A man should not wear women's clothing nor a woman, men's clothing." In ancient times, the clothing was almost the same. Long tunics that reached the ankles. The difference was the material and the design. Fine linen and feminine design, and probably a silk belt or sash for women, and coarse and perhaps darker cloth for men, and maybe a leather belt for men. Today, there is a lot of unisex clothing. But a man does not look good in a dress.
Verse 8. Most houses in ancient times had flat roofs; here in Central America, some do. There would be stairs going up to the roof so that the family might sit on the roof in the cool of the evening and relax. The commandment of a wall or fence around the roof was given. It makes sense, so no one would fall off. We might take this a step further. God's Word is our roof, and we study and relax in it. It is also a "fence" so we might know the boundaries so as not to venture beyond into Satan's realm.
Verse 10. "Do not plow an ox with a donkey together." Why not? Because the ox is stronger than the donkey and will cause undue strain on the donkey, and the donkey will cause undue strain on the ox, causing it to slow down. We could say that this is an "unequally yoked" union. The same can be said about a mixed marriage. A believer with an unbeliever, each pulling the marriage rope in opposite directions, end result? the rope will break! (the big picture) Better have Mr. and Mrs. Ox plowing or "Mr. and Mrs. Donkey plowing together. Works out better.
Verse 12: “You shall make Tzitziot (tassels) on the four corners of your garments.” This remains relevant today for Messianic Jewish believers and addresses our relationship with Messiah Yeshua, as well as our connection to the Torah and its commandments. The number of windings and the blue thread are 7, 8, 11, and 13, which are significant. (7+8=15) (Yod + Hey) and 11 (Vav=6, and Hey = 5) YHVH and “Echad” (ONE in unity) (13)
24:14 “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a STRANGER (foreigner) in one of the communities of your land.” Very important to know that ALL workers, including immigrants, should be respected, helped, and not HARRASSED! All workers need to be paid their wages on time, whether it is daily, weekly, or monthly.
25:13 talks about “diverse weights” very important to conduct “honest business transactions”, not crooked and unfair. Unfortunately, we live in a world of greed, where some people take advantage of others to exploit them. These scammers prey on others to get the upper hand. Be cautious, especially online. Are not these commandments for today? You decide. I would say yes. But I want to go back to one part of this study, which is the "big, BIG, picture" our salvation is based on it. We need to go back to Chapter 21:22.
This concerns a person who has committed a capital crime and received the death sentence. Their body is NOT to remain on the tree or "stake" all night, but to be taken down and buried before sundown, because a person who has been "hanged" is cursed by God. What a message for us all!
The death penalty in ancient times, in Israel, and in Roman-occupied Israel was stoning (not hanging), and for a Roman citizen, beheading (as in the case of Paul the Apostle. The body was displayed to the public, either hanging from a tree or a stake, or from a cross (the Roman method of death). This would be a warning to the public for "would-be" offenders. The corpse would have to be taken down and buried before sunset.
Such was the case for our LORD and Savior, Yeshua, who was nailed to a cross for our sins and paid the death penalty in our place. God laid the "curse of death and condemnation" on the SON, as explained in Galatians 3:13; "The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf, for the Torah says, 'Everyone who hangs from a stake comes under a curse'
All we need to do is accept this great sacrifice our LORD and Savior made on our behalf. It is needless to "die in our sins." The price was paid, the death penalty paid in full. Nothing is left owing. It isn't YESHUA plus works, it is YESHUA plus nothing else. Have a blessed week.
"you must pay your hired workers their due wages in due time" (24:14-15)
In this Bible/Torah study, we encounter numerous common-sense commandments that are relevant today, and we can also examine some commandments to see how we can apply them, perhaps not so much literally, but spiritually and morally. In some cases, both. According to some rabbis, there are approximately 74 commandments within these five chapters, many of which remain relevant today. (We need to look at the “big picture”)
But I would like to take a look at the first verse that says; “When you go out to war against your enemies…” the word “enemies” in the original Hebrew is “o’y’Veykha” in the English, we see two “y” s y the Hebrew, those are two “yods” In the ancient Hebrew, the “yod” was a “hand”. A hand holds a weapon to fight in a war, such as a knife, sword, spear, bow and arrow, sling, etc.
The rabbis of old comment that the reason for two “yods” is that we fight against two kinds of enemies, the enemy from without, meaning another person who wishes to do us harm, or harm our families, or fight against our country, and the enemy from within, meaning the “Yetzer Hara” the sin nature, perhaps even bodily diseases. Since we all have that sin nature, it is a constant fight against the enemy inside, and only through the Holy Spirit can we put it under foot. Like the meaning of the word, “Tzadik” (one who hunts or controls his monkey), the “monkey” being the sin nature.
I am not going to go into every commandment, because that would take up a lot of time, and many people tire after reading two pages, especially on these Forum sites. So, I will briefly mention how some commandments remain relevant even today. We also have the "big picture." What is God telling us?
Verse 10 in Chapter 21 talks about taking a captive woman from the enemy and making her your wife. This applied to soldiers during wartime. But what is the "Big Picture?" Could we say that God wants to show compassion on widows who lost their husbands, mothers, fathers, perhaps even children in times of war? Something to consider. The soldier will take her back to the Israelite camp, and there, she will be permitted to mourn for her family, yet here, she will meet the "True God" of “compassion”. Her pagan gods didn't save her, yet here is the God of Israel. She will be given a chance for a new life.
Today, wartime is cruel, and many wives and mothers lose their husbands and children in battle. Should they not be comforted and given a chance to remarry, should they thus choose to do so? I would say yes.
Chapter 22: Here, the commandment is to return lost objects, even animals, to their owners. Would not this commandment also be for today? Today's philosophy is "Finders keepers, losers weepers." That is not God's way. If the owner can be found, we need to return those lost items to their owners. be those items, wallets, tools, jewelry, and even lost dogs and cats. If YOU lost your wallet, wouldn't you want someone to return it to you? (money intact)
Verse 5. "A man should not wear women's clothing nor a woman, men's clothing." In ancient times, the clothing was almost the same. Long tunics that reached the ankles. The difference was the material and the design. Fine linen and feminine design, and probably a silk belt or sash for women, and coarse and perhaps darker cloth for men, and maybe a leather belt for men. Today, there is a lot of unisex clothing. But a man does not look good in a dress.
Verse 8. Most houses in ancient times had flat roofs; here in Central America, some do. There would be stairs going up to the roof so that the family might sit on the roof in the cool of the evening and relax. The commandment of a wall or fence around the roof was given. It makes sense, so no one would fall off. We might take this a step further. God's Word is our roof, and we study and relax in it. It is also a "fence" so we might know the boundaries so as not to venture beyond into Satan's realm.
Verse 10. "Do not plow an ox with a donkey together." Why not? Because the ox is stronger than the donkey and will cause undue strain on the donkey, and the donkey will cause undue strain on the ox, causing it to slow down. We could say that this is an "unequally yoked" union. The same can be said about a mixed marriage. A believer with an unbeliever, each pulling the marriage rope in opposite directions, end result? the rope will break! (the big picture) Better have Mr. and Mrs. Ox plowing or "Mr. and Mrs. Donkey plowing together. Works out better.
Verse 12: “You shall make Tzitziot (tassels) on the four corners of your garments.” This remains relevant today for Messianic Jewish believers and addresses our relationship with Messiah Yeshua, as well as our connection to the Torah and its commandments. The number of windings and the blue thread are 7, 8, 11, and 13, which are significant. (7+8=15) (Yod + Hey) and 11 (Vav=6, and Hey = 5) YHVH and “Echad” (ONE in unity) (13)
24:14 “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a STRANGER (foreigner) in one of the communities of your land.” Very important to know that ALL workers, including immigrants, should be respected, helped, and not HARRASSED! All workers need to be paid their wages on time, whether it is daily, weekly, or monthly.
25:13 talks about “diverse weights” very important to conduct “honest business transactions”, not crooked and unfair. Unfortunately, we live in a world of greed, where some people take advantage of others to exploit them. These scammers prey on others to get the upper hand. Be cautious, especially online. Are not these commandments for today? You decide. I would say yes. But I want to go back to one part of this study, which is the "big, BIG, picture" our salvation is based on it. We need to go back to Chapter 21:22.
This concerns a person who has committed a capital crime and received the death sentence. Their body is NOT to remain on the tree or "stake" all night, but to be taken down and buried before sundown, because a person who has been "hanged" is cursed by God. What a message for us all!
The death penalty in ancient times, in Israel, and in Roman-occupied Israel was stoning (not hanging), and for a Roman citizen, beheading (as in the case of Paul the Apostle. The body was displayed to the public, either hanging from a tree or a stake, or from a cross (the Roman method of death). This would be a warning to the public for "would-be" offenders. The corpse would have to be taken down and buried before sunset.
Such was the case for our LORD and Savior, Yeshua, who was nailed to a cross for our sins and paid the death penalty in our place. God laid the "curse of death and condemnation" on the SON, as explained in Galatians 3:13; "The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf, for the Torah says, 'Everyone who hangs from a stake comes under a curse'
All we need to do is accept this great sacrifice our LORD and Savior made on our behalf. It is needless to "die in our sins." The price was paid, the death penalty paid in full. Nothing is left owing. It isn't YESHUA plus works, it is YESHUA plus nothing else. Have a blessed week.
"you must pay your hired workers their due wages in due time" (24:14-15)