Tag: Ten Commandments

Celebrate the Ten Commandments

The Feast of Shavuot is celebrated after eagerly counting 49 days from the second day of Passover. So, it has been seven weeks since Passover, and we commemorate the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai beginning the 50th day. Remember 50th day.

Shavuot-2016“On the 6th Sivan of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), seven weeks after the Exodus, G-d revealed Himself on Mount Sinai. The entire people of Israel (600,000 heads of households and their families), as well as the souls of all future generations of Jews, heard G-d declare the first two of the Ten Commandmentsand witnessed G-d’s communication of the other eight through Moses. Following the revelation, Moses ascended the mountain for 40 days, to receive the remainder of the Torah from G-d.” —Chabad.org (click here)

And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
—Exodus 20:1-11

The Christian Church celebrates this Feast as Pentecost, and marks its dates beginning with its Easter celebration counting forward fifty days.

“Pentecost, i. e., “fiftieth”, found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The festival so named is first spoken of in Ex. 23:16 as “the feast of harvest,” and again in Ex. 34:22 as “the day of the firstfruits” (Num. 28:26). From the sixteenth of the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven complete weeks, i. e., forty- nine days, were to be reckoned, and this feast was held on the fiftieth day. The manner in which it was to be kept is described in Lev. 23:15- 19; Num. 28:27- 29. Besides the sacrifices prescribed for the occasion, every one was to bring to the Lord his “tribute of a free- will offering” (Deut. 16:9- 11). The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the completion of the grain harvest. Its distinguishing feature was the offering of “two leavened loaves” made from the new corn of the completed harvest, which, with two lambs, were waved before the Lord as a thank offering.

“The day of Pentecost is noted in the Christian Church as the day on which the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on which, under Peter’s preaching, so many thousands were converted in Jerusalem (Acts 2).” — Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. — Acts 2:1-4

The Feast of Shavuot and Pentecost are one in the same. When G-d gave the Torah to His people on Mount Sinai, it foreshadowed the Giving of His Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem about 1330 years later. On Mount Sinai, the Law was given to G-d’s Chosen. In Jerusalem, the Law was placed within G-d’s chosen. It has often struck me that we can cry out to our Father in Heaven, saying something like “Just tell me what You want me to do!” and walk away unable to do it. We need more. G-d knew it from the beginning, but He, in His wisdom, allowed us to discover our need. So now, G-d invests Himself in us, that we may live out His commandment, His Laws. G-d writes His Torah on our hearts.

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Daily Living or Living Daily

The Ten Commandments, In SVG
The Ten Commandments, In SVG (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

There is a way in which we must daily live. The fundamentals of such living are summarized in the Ten Commandments, taught by Y’shuaJesus as given in the Gospels, taught by the Apostles, and taught in churches throughout the world. These are rules that we apply to our daily lives. I have observed that a pastor may speak to the congregation about tithing, and use the “Old Testament” references to augment a call to add greatly to the collection plate. On the other hand, I’ve not heard a pastor preach about a baby’s circumcision being performed on the eighth day after birth, though. It seems to me, there is an arbitrary nature to which scriptures to apply. It seems we are able to pick and choose which rules to follow. Now, as far as circumcision is concerned, Paul brought that before a council of Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus while on a trip to Jerusalem. The result: Gentile Believers became exempt to circumcision. They don’t have to follow the Law, as given by Moses, and the Jewish traditions are not theirs. In other words, there is a certain amount of pick and choose going on here.

Now for the observant Jew there are the 613 Divine commandments inscribed in the holy Torah. These are Mitzvoth. Daily living could appear as somewhat mechanical, basic, fundamental. Just understand all the commandments, and follow each one with heart’s intent. Actually, following the Mitzvoth is not so mechanical after all. It has been ruled “that unless one performs a Torah-ordained mitzvah with conscious intent, he has not fulfilled his duty and must perform it a second time with the proper intent.” So daily living must be intentional, performing Divine commands, or not performing negative commands, or restrictions. You have to do this and this, not do that or that, and if you miss doing one, you need atonement. And even if you did a particular Mitzvah, but without the proper intent, then do it again. Get Atonement! Over and Over and Over.

For both Gentile and Jewish Believers, Y’shuaJesus fulfilled the Law by becoming a one-time-is-all-that-is-needed ATONEMENT. We are now one Chosen People, Gentiles, once wild, now grafted into G-d’s cultivated olive tree along with those Jews who are now complete in Y’shuaJesus.

Now, all Believers, have a requirement, an obligation, that is perhaps more strict, more difficult to adhere to than moral codes and traditions. We are called to live daily. This is living deeper. It is more intense. There is a call to both Jewish and Gentile Believers living out daily the faith. It’s not about picking and choosing rules to follow or things to stay away from each day. It’s not about whether or not we’ve followed with intent 613 Divine ordinances. It is living each day in that particular day, with intent. It is life daily with the Spirit of G-d as our compass, directing us in our walk with Y’shuaJesus.

The Apostle Paul talked about putting on the armor of G-d. We put on this armor daily. Each day is today. Yesterday is remembered, but not dwelt upon. We put aside the “I could have. . .” and the “I should have. . .” We offer tomorrow to G-d in our prayer each day, and focus on today. We live in this one lone day, living our faith. It is living daily in the power of G-d, our Creator, our Savior.

Living Daily is being aware each and every moment of Today, as long as it is Today. Aware of G-d’s presence in the world, in our hearts, in the activities in which we partake. Which is the greatest commandment, Y’shuaJesus was asked. With intent, we live daily loving G-d and loving our neighbors in the manner we love ourselves. We are like the disciples walking the road to Amaoz. We may not recognize Y’shuaJesus as He walks alongside, but we do feel our hearts burn. We talk to Y’shuaJesus as we walk. We pray, as the Apostle Paul spoke of, in the Spirit more than anyone else. We are aware in the Spirit when a brother or sister needs prayer. We are conscientious, thoughtful, focused, yet aware always of what is around us and before us. And the Word of G-d is a lamp to show us where we stand, and a light to illuminate the path ahead. We know when to go right, when to go left. We know!

Lord, enable us to live daily with You. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .