The Second Great Commandment

Matthew 22:37-40 And Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments all the Law and the Prophets hang.

(Video Version)

This study is the second part in a two-part series on the two Great Commandments. We will not be repeating information covered in the first part, The First Great Commandment, but that information is vital to understanding this study. If you haven’t already read it, please do so before continuing on with your reading.

We learned in the previous study that the first four of the ten commandments fall under the First Great Commandment: to love YHWH; the last six commandments hang on the Second Great Commandment: to love your neighbour.

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love one another. For the one loving the other has fulfilled the law. For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

John 13:34-35 A new^g2537 commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

The Greek word translated “new” is Strong’s g2537 καινός kahee-nos’: of uncertain affinity; new (especially in freshness; while G3501 is properly so with respect to age).

What is new or fresh about this command of Yeshua’s? The command to love your neighbor is from Torah, so that aspect is not new. The part that freshens up the command and makes it “new” is that we have Yeshua as the example now, so we are to love each other as He loved us.

The following are the final six commandments along with their detailed instructions:

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Ephesians 6:2-3 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you, and you may be long-lived on the earth.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey the parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

1)Honour your parents

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long on the land which YHWH your God is giving you.
Exodus 21:15 Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Exodus 21:17 Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother; as YHWH your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that YHWH your God is giving you.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 7:9-12 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother“; and “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.” But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, ‘Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban'” (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the Word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.

Not only did Yeshua teach to honour your father and your mother, but He also taught to obey YHWH’s commandments instead of the traditions of men. Also, take note that Yeshua called YHWH’s commandments: the Word of God.

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Ephesians 6:2-3 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you, and you may be long-lived on the earth.

1 Timothy 5:3-4 Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

We have included this verse so that it would not come up for you later and be a stumbling block. In this passage Yeshua is explaining how everyone who chooses to follow him must be prepared to give up the people who will not support their ministry. If it comes to needing to choose between YHWH Elohim and any man, we are to choose YHWH. He is not telling us to hate our families. We must give up much to follow the narrow path.

We do not put people to death today, because we are not living in countries that are governed by the Law of YHWH. Even in Yeshua’s day, the Jews needed Rome’s permission to have people put do death for crimes, as they lived under the law of Rome. In our country, Canada, there is no capital punishment. We are not disobeying the Torah by not putting people do death because the legal system that needs to be in place to observe capital punishment does not exist at this time. We covered this in our study How Many Commandments 613, 10, or 2.

Honouring our parents in the 21st Century looks much like it did in the 1st Century: obeying them while we live under their roof, not speaking badly of them, listening to their thoughts and opinions, and caring for them in their senior years.

2)Obey your parents

Leviticus 19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my Sabbaths: I am YHWH your Elohim.
Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey the parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

As we covered in the study on the First Great Commandment, fearing YHWH means fearing retribution from Him if we disobey Him. In the same way, fearing our parents as commanded in Torah means fearing disciplinary action if we disobey them. While we live under their roof, we should follow the instructions of our parents; and once we are on our own, we should continue to respect their thoughts and opinions.

3)Honour the elderly

Leviticus 19:32 You shall rise up in the face of gray hairs; and you shall honor the face of an old man; and fear your God. I am YHWH.

1 Timothy 5:1-3 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are truly widows.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who take the lead well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those laboring in word and teaching.

We are to treat the elderly with honour, protect and provide for them, and ensure that their needs are being met.

Matthew 5:21-22 You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to Judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to Judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1)Do Not Murder

Exodus 20:13 You shall not murder.
Deuteronomy 5:17 You shall not murder.

Matthew 5:21-22 You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to Judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to Judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

James 2:8-13 If you truly fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you have partiality to persons, you work sin, having been found guilty as transgressors by the law. For whoever shall keep all the law, but stumbles in one, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” But if you do not commit adultery, but commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as being about to be judged by the law of liberty. For Judgment will be without mercy. And mercy rejoices over judgment.

1 John 3:15 Everyone hating the brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have everlasting life abiding in him.

Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone loving and making a lie.

You would think that this commandment would be pretty straightforward, but it’s more confusing than it seems. Murder is taking a human life outside of the bounds of the legal system that YHWH put in place. When YHWH led the Israelites into war, He was giving the commands directly, either Himself or through one of His prophets.

Numbers 31:1-3 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute YHWH’s vengeance on Midian.

Taking it upon ourselves to decide when to fight against those we believe are oppressing us, is not a justification for taking a life.

Romans 13:1-2 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

However, if going to war is to defend the defenseless (as in the case of stopping a mass genocide) or if killing is done in defense of yourself or others it is not murder.

Exodus 22:2 If the thief is found breaking in, and is smitten and dies, no blood shall be shed for him.

After all, Yeshua had the opportunity to tell the soldiers (serving as both army and police) not to kill, but he didn’t.

Luke 3:14 And also ones serving as soldiers asked Him, saying, And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not oppress anyone, nor accuse falsely; and be satisfied with your pay.

A child in the womb is considered to be a life according to YHWH.

Exodus 21:22-25 And when men fight, and they strike a pregnant woman, and her child goes forth (premature birth), and there is no injury (the baby is not injured or does not die), surely he shall be fined. As much as the husband of the woman shall put on him, even he shall give through the judges. But if injury occurs (the baby is injured or dies), you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, branding for branding, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Therefore, abortion is murder.

2)Show love towards strangers

Exodus 22:21 You shall not be violent toward an alien. You shall not oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:34 As the native among you, so shall be the alien who resides with you. And you shall love him as yourself for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am YHWH your God.
Deuteronomy 10:19 And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Malachi 3:5 Then I will draw near to you for Judgement. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says YHWH of hosts.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 12:15-18 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Romans 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

We are to treat everyone with love regardless of their religion, ethnicity, culture, or traditions. Treating someone with love does not mean approving of their actions, attitudes, or behaviours and it certainly does not mean joining them. Treating people who have different beliefs and ways than you with love means:

accepting that they have the right to choose their own path,
not trying to force others into compliance with your beliefs,
being kind (see the instruction on “hate the sin but love the sinner”),
helping them when they are in need of assistance,
not passing judgment on them personally (that is not our job!), and
not harming or hindering them in any way.

That being said, sharing your beliefs with others in a public forum, such as social media, is not forcing those beliefs on others because they are not forced to read or listen to what you have to say. In that situation, you are providing the information to those who may be curious or searching, not pushing it on them. In a personal setting, however, you should always wait to be asked before sharing details about your faith. The very best testimony of our faith is seeing it displayed through our obedience to YHWH Elohim.

3)Love fellow believers

Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am YHWH.

Matthew 19:19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love one another. For the one loving the other has fulfilled the law. For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Romans 15:1-7 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 12:25-26 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.“

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Colossians 2:1-3 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

2 John 1:4-5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.

Loving fellow believers means not judging one another. Yes, Paul did instruct the brethren to confront those who were falling away from obedience to set them back on the way; however, he was talking to those who were taught how to live in obedience by people who knew firsthand how to obey the Torah. Today, we are almost two thousand years removed from the Apostolic Church and anyone who actually knew and understood Torah perfectly. Today, we are all just doing our best to learn and obey and we need to be patient with one another, not judgmental. To judge today would be hypocritical, as none of us have it all figured out; and we must guard ourselves carefully against pride and arrogance.

Love is meek, humble, patient, kind, tender, generous, compassionate, and forgiving.

4)Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge

Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am YHWH.

Matthew 5:38-41 You have heard it said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Yeshua is not contradicting the Torah in this passage. He is quoting from the Torah, which says that if you harm someone, then the courts are to order that you be harmed in the same way: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, etc. The Torah is instructing what YOU must pay for wronging another. Yeshua is instructing what ANOTHER must pay for wronging you. He says that if you are wronged, you are not to exact revenge or payment, but rather are to give more than what was taken.

Luke 17:3-4 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” you must forgive him.

Romans 12:17-21 Repay not one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

If a person wrongs us, we are to inform that person of what they have done. We should take this to mean, as opposed to telling everyone else except them, which is a challenge for most of us if we are to be honest. Who likes conflict, right? We tend to avoid conflict by not confronting the person who hurt us; but instead, to get the frustration off our chest, we tell others. Scripture says to gently inform the one who hurt us and if they apologize, forgive them.

But what if the one who wronged us does not apologize? Well, then we are to give them more than they have taken. This kind of flies in the face of what our society condones and even encourages; which is to go after them to exact revenge, take back what they took, or cut them out of our lives. In fact, if you don’t do one of those things, you may even face some flack from the other people in your life. Indeed, this instruction on how to love our neighbor could be the hardest pill to swallow.

Let’s review:

If someone takes from you and is unrepentant when confronted—do not attempt to take it back, instead give them more than they took.
If someone offends you or oppresses you and is unrepentant when confronted—do not retaliate or cut them off, instead attempt to determine if there is some way that you can help them to do better.
If someone hurts you deliberately or by mistake, but is unrepentant when confronted—do not retaliate with violence, instead turn the other cheek.
Always attempt to discern what you can do to mend broken relationships and help broken people.

5)Do not cause others to stumble

Leviticus 19:14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am YHWH.
- There is a double meaning of sorts to this instruction from the Torah. There is the literal aspect of not speaking ill of those who can’t hear to defend themselves and keeping the way clear for blind people so they don’t trip. However, there is a deeper meaning, which is to not cause others weaker in their faith than you to disobey the Torah. Scripture calls those who are disobedient and/or weak in the faith blind and deaf.
  - Isaiah 29:18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
    - Isaiah is talking about the book of the Law.
  - Isaiah 42:18-21 Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger who I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of YHWH? He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. YHWH was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to magnify His Law and make it glorious.
    - The Israelites were blind and deaf to YHWH’s glorious Law.
  - Zechariah 7:8-15 And the Word of YHWH came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says YHWH of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the Law and the words that YHWH of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, great anger came from YHWH of hosts. “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says YHWH of hosts, “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”
    - YHWH listed commandments from the Torah for Zechariah to tell to Israel, but Israel would not listen to the Law from Zechariah or any of the prophets that YHWH sent by the Holy Spirit.
  - Matthew 13:10-17 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘”You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
  - 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the Truth and wander off into myths.
  - Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
  - The phrase, “He who has ears, let him hear,” is found eight times in the gospels, and “He who has an ear, let him hear,” is found seven times in the Book of Revelation.
- Those who are responsible for teaching others how to obey the Torah have historically failed miserably at it—both before Yeshua (the Levitical priests) and after Him, when the church leadership began teaching not to obey the Torah at all.
  - Malachi 2:7-8 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of YHWH of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says YHWH of hosts.
- Those responsible for teaching Torah and failing are guilty of putting a stumbling block before believers.

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

1 Corinthians 8:9-13 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if he is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

1 John 2:10-11 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

It is our responsibility, as people who know the Law and the Prophets, to live as good examples of Torah obedience as we teach others to obey, so that we do not become a source of stumbling to new believers.

6)Do not allow pitfalls to remain on your property

Deuteronomy 22:8 When you build a new house, then you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you do not put blood on your house if someone falls from it.

This instruction does not have an exact match in the New Testament, however, it is covered under any one of the instructions to love one another, as it is about keeping people safe.

Most of us in this part of the world today do not have flat roofs that are used as extensions of our houses. However, we may have balconies or decks on which we need to have a railing so no one falls off. Also, as indicated by Moshe ben Maimon in the title he gave to this law, the intent of the instruction goes beyond this one example and should be considered to mean everything that would make your property safe. Some other examples could be: filling in old wells and covering existing wells, sanding or salting slippery walkways in winter, having railings on stairwells, locking up firearms, and keeping poisons out of reach of children.

7)Give charity to those in need

Leviticus 19:9-10 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am YHWH your God.
Deuteronomy 14:28 At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within our towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that YHWH your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Deuteronomy 24:19-21 When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that YHWH your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers inside any of your gates in your land which YHWH your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother. But you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him enough for his need in that which he lacks.
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to YHWH, and He will repay him for his deed.
Proverbs 21:13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
Proverbs 28:27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Matthew 6:3-4 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Galatians 2:10 Only they ask us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Ephesians 4:28 The one stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good with the hands, that he may have something to give to the one that has need.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 2:14-17 My brothers, what is the gain if anyone says he has faith, but he does not have works? Is faith able to save him? But if a brother or a sister is naked and may be lacking daily food, and any one of you say to them, Go in peace; be warmed and filled—but does not give them the things the body needs—what gain is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

1 John 3:17-18 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Today, we don’t leave part of our field unharvested for the poor or those passing through, because they would not have the means to harvest the grain or make food from it themselves. We also don’t leave produce in our gardens because we have laws in our country that say that taking from someone else’s garden is stealing. The other challenge with this instruction for today is that the majority of people do not have gardens or fields, but instead they earn money at jobs and buy their food in stores. Therefore, a modern interpretation is to give food and money to those in need.

How much food and money should we be giving away to those in need? The Torah says the amount to be given away is ten percent of one year’s production every three years. If a person would rather average that evenly over the three years, it would be 3.33% of each year’s income. This is in addition to helping people when they ask for assistance and donations to ministries.

For anyone who may be wondering about the math on this, here are the calculations in an example:

Paid Every Three Years

Annual income of $10,000 x 10% = $1000

Year 1 =

Year 2 =

Year 3 =

Total =

$0

$1000

Paid Annually

Annual income of $10,000 x 3.33% = $333

Year 1 =

Year 2 =

Year 3 =

Total =

$333

$999

8)Give to those in ministry

Genesis 14:19-20 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
- Abram paid a tithe to YHWH by giving it to His priesthood, which at this time was the Melchizedek Priesthood. See our study on Melchizedek for more information.
Genesis 28:22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.
- Here we have Jacob vowing to give YHWH the tithe that is rightfully His. The priesthood at this time was still the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Leviticus 27:30-32 Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is YHWH’s; it is holy to YHWH. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to YHWH.
- The Israelites are being instructed to give YHWH His tithe of their produce. If someone wants to keep some of what is set aside for YHWH, they must pay interest of 1/5 to YHWH. At this time they were under the Levitical Priesthood.
Numbers 18:26 Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to YHWH, a tithe of the tithe.
- Here we see that even the Levites needed to tithe to YHWH from what they were given. This likely was used for the temple sacrifices and to support the poor and needy, such as widows and orphans.

Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

Luke 11:42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

We see that the Pharisees were tithing to YHWH at this time, but Yeshua chastises them for not also adhering to the other more important instructions in the Torah as well. This is a poignant lesson for us today, just giving our money is not enough, we must also be giving our time, energy, love, and obedience to YHWH, which are more important than our money.

1 Corinthians 9:10-14 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

1 Timothy 5:17-18 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

Hebrews 7:4-10 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Abraham gave a tithe to the Melchizedek High Priest, who blessed Abraham in return. This meant that the Priest was of higher status than Abraham.
Whereas, the tithes are received by mortal men, they still belong to YHWH. Now that Yeshua has risen to take His place as the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek in Heaven, He is the one who now receives the tithes that rightfully belong to Him, as He is YHWH.

There was a time when we understood the tithe to be only for the Levitical priesthood and so not relevant to us today. However, when we realized the bigger picture on tithes, we realized that tithing is to YHWH not the Levites.

The Levites did not receive land because their responsibility was to take care of the spiritual welfare of Israel, therefore, the other Israelite tribes were to provide for them. This came in the form of produce and goods tithed to YHWH. However, they did not receive the entire ten percent because a portion also went to the widows and orphans and others in need.

Once Yeshua rose to Heaven, the Melchizedek Priesthood was re-established and He become the High Priest. Those who teach the Gospel are priests under Him. The tithe did not begin with Aaron, it was in place long before Mt. Sinai and will continue for as long as the Torah exists, because it is our oblation to YHWH.

We pondered the question of the tithes for sometime and have come to the conclusion that the tithe (10% or 1/10) of all production that is to be given to YHWH, is divided among all charity giving: to those in need and those in the ministry. The Torah instructed 10% of the production of the twelve tribes be given to the Levites for two years and in the third year the 10% is to be given to the poor and a portion to the Levites (see Deuteronomy 14:28). The Levites were to give 10% of what they received to the temple for sacrifices, and likely some went to the poor as well. This would have worked out to the Levites keeping a very similar amount as the other twelve tribes in every three year cycle. If they would have collected 10% from each of the other twelve tribes in all three of those years instead, they would have ended up with considerably more income than the rest of the Israelites, which would not have been fair.

So, what does this mean for us today? We saw in the previous instruction that 3.33% of our income is to go to the poor as part of our tithe to YHWH. The other 6.67% of YHWH’s tithe is to be given to ministries spreading the whole Gospel. This is our understanding of tithing, if you believe you are to give 10% to ministry and an additional 3.33% to the poor, by all means do! In fact, the tithe does not need to be the only charity we give. Based on how richly we have been blessed, we can give free will offerings to those in need as well.

If you are looking for places to donate, please visit our External Links page where you will find a few wonderful Torah-keeping ministries.

9)Pay a worker their fair wage

Leviticus 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until morning.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to YHWH, and you be guilty of sin.
Jeremiah 22:13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages.

Luke 10:7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

James 5:4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Colossians 4:1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

This instruction says to pay your workers before the end of the day; we must understand that this would have been the expected norm at that time. This is another example of an instruction that changed as society changed. Similar to our example in How Many Commandments 613, 10, or 2?, if the command was to do the dishes, the instructions on how to would change if you went from handwashing to using a dishwasher, but the command to do the dishes would not change. In Canada today, the norm for paying workers is usually either bi-weekly or twice per month. The Law is telling us to pay our workers on time as agreed upon.

10)Lend without interest to the poor

Exodus 22:25 If you lend money to any of My people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.

Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Galatians 2:10 Only they ask us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

James 2:14-17 My brothers, what is the gain if anyone says he has faith, but he does not have works? Is faith able to save him? But if a brother or a sister is naked and may be lacking daily food, and any one of you say to them, Go in peace; be warmed and filled—but does not give them the things the body needs—what gain is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

1 John 3:17-18 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

We are commanded throughout scripture to help provide for the needs of the poor. How would we be helping them if we are profiting off of their situation? We would not. Separate from the command to give to the poor, we are permitted to lend to them, but not with interest.

11)Ensure childless widows are provided for

Deuteronomy 25:5-6 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first born son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.

This is another example of how the individual instructions can change slightly with time, but the commandment they instruct us on does not change.

In the time when the Torah was given to the Israelites, it was important for a man to have a son to carry on his name. These were nomadic tent-dwelling people who lived in family groups. If brothers lived together in a family group and one died without having a son, the other was to take his widow as wife and the firstborn son would inherit the name of the deceased man. This served the purpose of continuing the man’s name and also caring for his widow.

There are a few major differences in our society compared to the one of Moses’ time that would make implementing this particular instruction challenging, but also unnecessary:

It is illegal for a man to have more than one wife,
we no longer live in this type of geographically isolated family group, so brothers would not likely be “dwelling together”, which would make the instruction moot,
women are independent and can support themselves, especially if they have no children, so they don’t require someone to support them,
the Law also states that a woman’s obligation to her husband ends if he dies, so she would not be obligated to carry on his name by giving him an heir.

The best way to interpret this instruction for our time, and in keeping with the intent of the greater commandment, is to support the widow and provide what assistance she requires, and especially to continue treating her as a part of her husband’s family so she doesn’t lose both a husband and a family all at once.

1 Timothy 5:3-8 Honor widows who are truly widows.But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach.But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

12)Hate the sin and love the sinner

Leviticus 19:17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall certainly reprove your neighbor, and not allow sin on him.
Psalm 97:10 O you who love YHWH, hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of YHWH is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Amos 5:15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that YHWH of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Luke 6:27 But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Luke 17:3-4 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” you must forgive him.

Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Jude 1:22-23 And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Revelation 2:6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

It can be an easy trap to fall into, to hate someone because of the sins they are committing. We must remember to separate the person from their actions. Hate sin. Love fellow believers, your enemies, people you barely know, and strangers you’ve never met. We are all sinners.

Matthew 5:27-28 You have heard that it was said to the ancients: “Do not commit adultery.” But I say to you, Everyone looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 2:22-24 The one saying not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? The one detesting idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in Law, do you dishonor God through transgression of the Law? For the name of God is blasphemed among the nations through you even as it has been written:

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1)Do not have sexual relations with another man’s wife

Exodus 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.
Leviticus 18:8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
Deuteronomy 22:30 A man shall not take his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness.
Deuteronomy 27:20 Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Leviticus 18:14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.
Leviticus 18:15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Leviticus 18:16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.
Leviticus 18:20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her.

Matthew 5:27-28 You have heard that it was said to the ancients: “Do not commit adultery.” But I say to you, Everyone looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

2)Do not commit incest

Leviticus 18:6 None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am YHWH.
Leviticus 18:7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Leviticus 18:9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home.
Leviticus 18:10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness.
Leviticus 18:11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, since she is your sister.
Leviticus 18:12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister, she is your father’s relative. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s relative.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:3 But let not be named among you fornication, and all uncleanness, or greediness, as is fitting for saints;

Colossians 3:5-8 Then put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry; on account of which things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience; among whom you also walked at one time, when you were living in these. But now, you also put off all these things: wrath, anger, malice, evil speaking, shameful words out of your mouth.

Paul is instructing to put to death these sins within yourself, not put to death the people who commit the sins.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone loving and making a lie.

3)Do not have sexual relations with your wife’s sister

Leviticus 18:18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

4)Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter or granddaughter

Leviticus 18:17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

5)Do not have sexual relations with a menstruating woman

Leviticus 18:19 You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.

Ephesians 5:3 But let not be named among you fornication, and all uncleanness, or greediness, as is fitting for saints;

6)Rules around divorce and remarriage

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another mans’ wife and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before YHWH. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that YHWH your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Divorce as found in the Torah requires the legal system that YHWH set in place for the Israelites. As with the other judicial laws found in Torah, we cannot follow them today because we are bound by the laws of the country in which we live.

From Bible Study Tools we learn the following about divorce in scripture:

Marriage a Legal Contract:

As already suggested, marriage among the Hebrews, as among most Orientals, was more a legal contract than the result of love or affection. It would be, however, a great mistake to assume that deep love was not often present, for at all times the domestic relations of the Hebrew married couple have compared most favorably with those of any other people, ancient or modern. In its last analysis it was, nevertheless, a business transaction. The husband or his family had, as a rule, to pay a certain dowry to the parents or guardians of the betrothed before the marriage was consummated. A wife thus acquired could easily be regarded as a piece of property, which, without great difficulty, could be disposed of in case the husband, for any reason, were disposed to rid himself of an uncongenial companion and willing to forfeit the mohar which he had paid for his wife. The advantage was always with the husband, and yet a wife was not utterly helpless, for she, too, though practically without legal rights, could make herself so intolerably burdensome and hateful in the home that almost any husband would gladly avail himself of his prerogatives and write her a bill of divorcement. Thus, though a wife could not divorce her husband, she could force him to divorce her.

Process and Exceptions:

The Mosaic law apparently, on the side of the husband, made it as difficult as possible for him to secure a divorce. No man could unceremoniously and capriciously dismiss his wife without the semblance of a trial. In case one became dissatisfied with his wife,

(1) he had to write her a \BILL OF DIVORCEMENT\ (which see) drawn up by some constituted legal authority and in due legal form. In the very nature of the case, such a tribunal would use moral suasion to induce an adjustment; and, failing in this, would see to it that the law in the case, whatever it might be, would be upheld.

(2) Such a bill or decree must be placed in the hand of the divorced wife.

(3) She must be forced to leave the premises of her former husband. Divorce was denied two classes of husbands:

(1) The man who had falsely accused his wife of antenuptial infidelity (Deuteronomy 22:13), and

(2) a person who had seduced a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:28). In addition, a heavy penalty had to be paid to the father of such damsels.

It is probable that a divorced wife who had not contracted a second marriage or had been guilty of adultery might be reunited to her husband. But in case she had married the second time she was forever barred from returning to her first husband, even if the second husband had divorced her or had died (Deuteronomy 24:3). Such a law would serve as an obstacle to hasty divorces. Divorces from the earliest times were common among the Hebrews. All rabbis agree that a separation, though not desirable, was quite lawful. The only source of dispute among them was as to what constituted a valid reason or just cause.

Grounds of Divorce (Doubtful Meaning of Deuteronomy 24:1):

The language in Deuteronomy 24:1 has always been in dispute. The Hebrew words, `erwath dabhar, on which a correct interpretation depends, are not easy of solution, though many exegetes, influenced possibly by some preconceived notion, pass over them quite flippantly. The phrase troubled the Jewish rabbis of olden times, as it does Jewish and Christian commentators and translators in our day. the King James Version renders the two words, “some uncleanness,” and in the margin, “matter of nakedness.” The latter, though a literal translation of the Hebrew, is quite unintelligible. the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version both have:

“some unseemly thing.” Professor Driver translates the same words “some indecency.” The German the Revised Version (British and American) (Kautzsch) has “etwas Widerwartiges” (“something repulsive”). We know of no modern version which makes `erwath dabhar the equivalent of fornication or adultery. And, indeed, in the very nature of the case, we are forced to make the words apply to a minor fault or crime, for, by the Mosaic law, the penalty for adultery was death (Deuteronomy 22:20). It is, however, a question whether the extreme penalty was ever enforced. It is well known that at, and some time before, the time of our Saviour, there were two schools among the Jewish rabbis, that of Shammai and that of Hillel. Shammai and his followers maintained that ‘erwath dabhar signified nothing less than unchastity or adultery, and argued that only this crime justified a man in divorcing his wife. Hillel and his disciples went to the other extreme. They placed great stress upon the words, “if she find no favor in his eyes” immediately preceding `erwath dabhar (Deuteronomy 24:1), and contended that divorce should be granted for the flimsiest reason: such as the spoiling of a dish either by burning or careless seasoning. Some of the rabbis boldly taught that a man had a perfect right to dismiss his wife, if he found another woman whom he liked better, or who was more beautiful (Mishnah, GiTTin, 14 10). Here are some other specifications taken from the same book: “The following women may be divorced: She who violates the Law of Moses, e. g. causes her husband to eat food which has not been tithed . . . She who vows, but does not keep her vows . . . She who goes out on the street with her hair loose, or spins in the street, or converses (flirts) with any man, or is a noisy woman. What is a noisy woman? It is one who speaks in her own house so loud that the neighbors may hear her.” It would be easy to extend the list, for the Mishna and rabbinic writings are full of such laws.

From what has been said, it is clear that adultery was not the only valid reason for divorce. Besides, the word adultery had a peculiar significance in Jewish law, which recognized polygamy and concubinage as legitimate. Thus a Hebrew might have two or more wives or concubines, and might have intercourse with a slave or bondwoman, even if married, without being guilty of the crime of adultery (Leviticus 19:20), for adultery, according to Jewish law, was possible only when a man dishonored the “free wife” of a Hebrew (Leviticus 20:10).

Divorcement, Bill of:

This expression, found in Deuteronomy 24:1,3; Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:8 is the translation of the Hebrew cepher kerithuth. The two words, literally rendered, signify a document or book of cutting off, i.e. a certificate of divorce given by a husband to a wife, so as to afford her the opportunity or privilege of marrying another man. The Hebrew term is rendered by the Septuagint biblion apostasion. This is also found in the New Testament (Mark 10:4). Matthew 5:31 has “writing of divorcement” in English Versions of the Bible, but Matthew 19:7 the King James Version has “writing,” while the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version have “bill.” The certificate of divorce is called geT, plural giTTin, in the Talmud. There is an entire chapter devoted to the subjects in the Mishna It is not positively known when the custom of writing bills of divorcement commenced, but there are references to such documents in the earliest Hebrew legislation. The fact that Joseph had in mind the putting away of his espoused wife, Mary, without the formality of a bill or at least of a public procedure proves that a decree was not regarded as absolutely necessary (Matthew 1:19).

Spiritual Application.

The Hebrew prophets regarded Yahweh not only as the father and king of the chosen people, and thus entitled to perfect obedience and loyalty on their part, but they conceived of Him as a husband married to Israel. Isaiah, speaking to his nation, says:

“For thy Maker is thy husband; Yahweh of hosts is his name” (54:5). Jeremiah too makes use of similar language in the following: “Return, O backsliding children, saith Yahweh; for I am a husband unto you” (3:14). It is perfectly natural that New Testament writers should have regarded Christ’s relation to His church under the same figure. Paul in 2Co says: “I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (11:2); see also Matthew 9:15; John 3:29; Revelation 19:7. Any unfaithfulness or sin on the part of Israel was regarded as spiritual adultery, which necessarily broke off the spiritual ties, and divorced the nation from God (Isaiah 1:21; Ezekiel 16:22; Revelation 2:22).

To sum up the rules around marriage and divorce in the Torah:

During the time of Moses and before, men could have as many wives as they wanted, even though YHWH’s intention is for only one man and one woman.
It was not considered adultery for the man to sleep with another woman, as long as the she was not married to another man.
Women had to be faithful to their one husband or be put to death along with the man they slept with.
If the husband did not want to be married to his wife, he could petition the Israelite judicial system for a divorce if he could prove some kind of indecency in her—not likely adultery because she would be put to death for that if it could be proven. This appears to have been fairly easy to accomplish for him.
The only conceivable purpose for a husband to issue a divorce would be to allow the woman to marry another, as he could have as many wives as he wanted and they did not have to live together.
If the woman marries another man, she cannot be reconciled to her first husband in the future even if her second husband dies.
In the first half of Deuteronomy 24:1, When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some^h1697 indecency^h6172 in her, there has always been dispute over the meaning of the Hebrew words Strong’s H1697 and H6172, here translated, “some indecency”. However, that dispute should have been settled by Yeshua’s words in Matthew 5:31-32.

Matthew 5:31-32 It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Sexual immorality was the only acceptable reason to issue a divorce, therefore a divorce for any other reason is not valid according to Yeshua. Yeshua did not specify that the sexual misconduct needs to be on the part of the wife. If a husband issues his wife a divorce without just cause, any man who subsequently marries her is committing adultery because she is still married to her first husband in YHWH’s eyes.

Matthew 19:7-8 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.

The hardness of heart that Yeshua is referring to is not towards each other, but towards YHWH Elohim. YHWH made the divorce provision because He had married Israel and knew that they would be unfaithful to Him and that He would need to divorce them. This is why Yeshua says that sexual immorality is the only just cause for a man to divorce his wife.

For more information on marriage and the roles of husbands and wives, please see our studies Honourable Relationships.

In Canada, both husbands and wives can initiate a divorce for any reason; the Torah is not the law that governs our country. As with the other commandments in the Torah that require the judicial system described by Moses, we cannot fully observe the instruction regarding divorce today. There is no doubt that YHWH’s intention was that one man and one woman marry for life—become one flesh—but that is not the reality for many when both parties are not following the Torah. Scripture tells us that the believing spouse should stay with the unbeliever as it will make the unbeliever holy; but if the unbelieving spouse divorces the believer, the marriage is made null and void. The believer is free to move on and marry another.

1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

YHWH does not want us to be unequally yoked to an unbeliever, which is why we are instructed to not intentionally marry an unbeliever.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

YHWH meets us where we are at when we first come to know Him. When we repent he forgives us for the sins of our past, and our lives start fresh from that point. We don’t need to carry those burdens any longer, so any offenses that we cannot make right, we leave in our past. (Including marrying someone not living in obedience to Torah, before we knew better.)

Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O YHWH!

Isaiah 43:18-19 Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:25 I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

7)One who seduces a maiden must marry the maiden if she chooses

Deuteronomy 22:29 If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

Whereas, this exact instruction is not repeated in the New Testament, sleeping with someone you are not married to is fornication and the only way to make it right is to marry. Originally, before Mt. Sinai, the process of getting married was just to start living together. We see this when Jacob married Laban’s daughter, Leah. If there would have been a feast, exchange of vows, and signing of contracts, then Jacob could not have “accidently” married the wrong daughter. Living together as husband and wife is being married in YHWH’s eyes, and is not something that should be taken lightly.

8)Do not have sexual relations with an animal

Leviticus 18:23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

Beastiality is not specifically addressed in the New Testament; however, it is covered under all of the verses about fornication.

Ephesians 5:3 But let not be named among you fornication, and all uncleanness, or greediness, as is fitting for saints;

Ephesians 5:5 For be knowing this that every fornicator or unclean one or covetous one, who is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Colossians 3:5-8 Then put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry; on account of which things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience; among whom you also walked at one time, when you were living in these. But now, you also put off all these things: wrath, anger, malice, evil speaking, shameful words out of your mouth.

Paul is instructing to put to death these sins within yourself, not put to death the people who commit the sins.

9)Do not have homosexual sexual relations

Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

This instruction is not more or less important than any other in the Torah. There is nothing that would make this instruction moot in our lives today, therefore homosexual sexual relations is sexual immorality.

10)Do not try to appear to be the gender you are not

Deuteronomy 22:5 There shall not be the thing of a man on a woman, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment. For whoever does these things is an abomination to YHWH your God.

Ephesians 5:3 But let not be named among you fornication, and all uncleanness, or greediness, as is fitting for saints;

Ephesians 5:5 For be knowing this that every fornicator or unclean one or covetous one, who is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Colossians 3:5-8 Then put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry; on account of which things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience; among whom you also walked at one time, when you were living in these. But now, you also put off all these things: wrath, anger, malice, evil speaking, shameful words out of your mouth.

Paul is instructing to put to death these sins within yourself, not put to death the people who commit the sins.

Every one of the individual instructions under the commandment to abstain from sexual immorality are covered by all of the New Testament passages at the beginning of the section. This is one of the topics that YHWH goes into detail with in his instructions in the Torah, like a modern legal document would do, because people always want to find a loophole so they don’t have to obey. The New Testament authors do not go into as much detail with their instructions, but mostly use the blanket terms “fornication” and “sexual immorality” to cover them all.

This is the same as in our example in the study How Many Commandments 613, 10, or 2? , after weeks of giving detailed instructions listing out every step in “cleaning the kitchen” you would be able to just list the main tasks because your son should know how to do them by then. The New Testament authors did not need to repeat every possible situation of sexual immorality that YHWH already gave us in Moses writings, because we should already know them (or can look back and read them ourselves!)

Scripture tells us that YHWH does not change, and that the Word is YHWH, therefore the Word does not change. By this we know that the definition of sexual immorality that YHWH gave us in the Torah (His Word) does not change.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 4:28 The one stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good with the hands, that he may have something to give to the one that has need.

1)Do Not Steal

Exodus 20:15 You shall not steal.
Leviticus 19:11 You shall not steal, or lie, nor deceive to one another.
Leviticus 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until morning.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Ephesians 4:28 The one stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good with the hands, that he may have something to give to the one that has need.

2)Do not move a boundary marker to steal someone’s property

Deuteronomy 19:14 You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that YHWH your God is giving you to possess.

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

3)Do not cheat one another

Leviticus 19:35-36 You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:13a You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him.
Deuteronomy 25:13-16 You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that YHWH your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to YHWH your God.
Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to YHWH, but a just weight is His delight.

Matthew 7:12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Luke 6:38 Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

1 Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox treading out grain”—and, “The laborer is worthy of his pay.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, by busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

4)Make right the wrongs you have committed

Leviticus 6:2-5 If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against YHWH by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
Numbers 5:5-8 And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, man or woman, when they commit any of the sins of man, by committing a trespass against YHWH, and that person is guilty: Then they shall confess the sin that they have done. And he shall restore his guilt in its principal, and add its fifth to it, and shall give it to him against whom he has been guilty.

Matthew 5:23-24 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:25-26 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

This is the second instruction that we see that contrasts how the courts are to handle wrong-doing compared to how we are to handle it as individuals. The Torah says that if one person wrongs another, the courts are to order a compensation of eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, etc. However, the Torah also says that as individuals we are not to allow our disputes to reach the courts. We know what this is like in modern times, as we would be all over anything that saved us a massive lawyer bill. The Law says that if we are wronged, we are to give more than what was taken from us (see the instruction on murder for Yeshua’s exact words); and it says in this instruction that if we wrong someone else, we are to repay what we took plus one fifth.

5)Do not overcharge or under pay for an article or service

Leviticus 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until morning.
Leviticus 25:14 And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to YHWH, and you be guilty of sin.
Jeremiah 22:13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages.
Malachi 3:5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says YHWH of hosts.

Matthew 5:40-42 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.“

Romans 13:7-8 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

1 Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and “The laborer deserves his wages.”

James 5:4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

6)The creditor must not forcibly take collateral

Deuteronomy 24:10-11 When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.

Luke 3:14 Soldiers also asked Him, “And we, what shall we do?” And He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

Luke 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

7)Return collateral to the debtor when needed

Deuteronomy 24:12-13 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before YHWH your God.

Luke 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

8)Do not demand as collateral tools needed to earn a living

Deuteronomy 24:6 No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

9)Do not lend to or borrow from your neighbor with interest

Exodus 22:25 If you lend money to any of My people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
Deuteronomy 23:19-20 You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that YHWH your God may bless you in all that you undertake to take possession of it.
Leviticus 25:35-37 If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.

Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Luke 12:33-34 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 As for the rich in his present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, this storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

James 5:1-5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

The New Testament authors were interpreting the instructions for the times they were living in, so the first century believers would understand how to apply the Torah to their lives. These verses from the New Testament talk of the evil of storing up money and becoming wealthy at the expense of others. They may not repeat this instruction word-for-word, but they certainly cover its intention. If you obey these New Testament passages, you will also be obeying this instruction.

10)Return a lost object when found

Deuteronomy 22:1-4 You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.
Exodus 23:4 If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 4:28 The one stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good with the hands, that he may have something to give to the one that has need.

The instructions under this commandment are all just different ways of saying the same thing: do not take or keep ANYTHING that does not rightfully belong to you—essentially stealing. Simple.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting off the false, speak truth each with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his practices.

Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone loving and making a lie.

1)Do not bear false witness

Exodus 20:16 You shall not testify a witness of falsehood against your neighbor.
Exodus 23:1-3 You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many who do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to YHWH, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

Matthew 19:17-19 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, God! But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, which? And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother,” and, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Obedience to this instruction is the same today as two thousand or three thousand years ago. Do not lie about other people, in court or out, to cause a negative judgment to fall on them.

2)Do not side with the majority when you know they are wrong

Exodus 23:2 You shall not fall in with the many who do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice.

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

Romans 13:9-10 For, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of law.

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting off the false, speak truth each with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

It can be frightening to stand up against the majority, especially today with social media spreading reports rapidly all over the world, and people attacking one another online for having differing views. However, YHWH says that we are to be brave and stand up for what is right and true, even when it isn’t popular.

3)Do no unrighteous judgment

Leviticus 19:15 You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 19:15 A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

1 Timothy 5:19-21 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

If you are a judge or a member of a jury in court, always rule what is right. Do not be partial to one side for any reason, but always judge what is the truth. Never convict someone on the testimony of only one witness.

4)Do not slander

Leviticus 19:16 You shall not go slandering among your people; you shall not stand up against the blood of your neighbor.

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting off the false, speak truth each with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his practices.

Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone loving and making a lie.

This instruction is almost a repeat of the first, but YHWH is thorough in ensuring there are no loopholes for people to squeeze through when they try to only obey the letter of the law instead of the intent as well. Do not say things about other people that are not true. Simple.

5)You must bear witness in court

Leviticus 5:1 If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity.
Psalm 82:3-4 Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 31:8-9 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Isaiah 1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Matthew 25:45 Then He will answer them, saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

If you have knowledge pertinent to a court case, you are obligated to testify. If you do not testify and justice is not done because of your silence, then the hurt you cause the victim, you did to Yeshua Messiah!

6)Do not break oaths or vows

Numbers 30:2 If a man vows a vow to YHWH, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Deuteronomy 23:23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to YHWH your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Matthew 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients: “You shall not swear falsely, but shall give your oaths to the Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, neither by Heaven, because it is God’s throne; nor by the earth because it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. But let your word be Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these is from evil.

James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

We are not to swear by anything or anyone, but to just have our word, yes or no, be sufficient. The Torah does not say that you have to swear, only that when you do, it is YHWH that you fear retribution from. However, YHWH wants us to keep our word even without swearing an oath.

1)Do not desire or scheme to acquire what your neighbour has

Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his slave-girl, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which belongs to your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 5:21 You shall not lust after your neighbor’s wife; nor shall you covet your neighbor’s house, his field, nor his male slave, nor his female slave, his ox nor his ass, nor anything which is your neighbor’s.

To covet means to want to take something from someone else so that you can have it for yourself. It is not “keeping up with the Jones'”; which would not be right either, but it is not coveting.

Some hypothetical examples of coveting could be:

Scheming against your neighbor so they get a divorce so you can go after their spouse, or even just hoping it happens.
Scheming against your neighbor so they go out of business so that you can buy their land, or even just hoping it happens.

Be satisfied with what you have and what you can rightfully earn with your own hard work.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The Torah in Summary

Relevance to Believers

The modern mainstream Christian church teaches that the only commandments that we must obey are the ones repeated in the New Testament, despite Paul telling us that all scripture (including the Torah) is valid instruction for us.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Just the same, we have learned in this two-part series, that the entire Torah has been repeated in the New Testament.

The Torah consists of two Great Commandments, which are specifically stated in the New Testament.
The two Great Commandments contain all of the ten commandments, every one of which is either listed or shown to be observed in the New Testament.
The ten commandments contain sixty-eight individual instructions for how to obey them. Most of these instructions are either specifically repeated or shown to be observed in the New Testament, or they are somehow updated for the change in culture or technology. Those “updates” do not void or change the nature of the instruction and are still the how to for obeying the commandment that they are under. Some of the instructions have not been repeated, however, they are still covered by the commandment they are under. An example of this is beastiality, no New Testament author specifically said not to have sex with an animal, yet we still know we are not to do it because it is sexually immoral by the definition given in the Torah.

Reason to Obey

Obedience to the Torah is how YHWH wants us to love Him.

1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not heavy.

And Yeshua Messiah Himself instructed us to obey YHWH’s Torah.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the ones who do the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name do many works of power? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, those working lawlessness!

And Yeshua says that all of the Torah will remain until the end of His thousand-year reign, when all the prophecies have been fulfilled, heaven and earth pass away, and the dead are raised to Judgment. He says that the one who obeys the Torah, and teaches others to obey the Torah, will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19 Do not think that I came to annul the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to annul, but to fulfill. Truly I say to you, Until the heavens and the earth pass away, in no way shall one iota or one tittle pass away from the law until all comes to pass. Whoever then shall break one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the Heavens.

Anyone saying that we are not to be obeying the Torah is calling Yeshua Messiah a liar. Obedience to Torah may not be required for Salvation for those who disobey through ignorance, but for those who know better disobedience is death.

Hebrews 10:26-29 For if we are willfully sinning after receiving the full knowledge of the Truth, there remains no more sacrifice concerning sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and zealous fire being about to consume the adversaries. If anyone did not regard the Law of Moses, that one dies without pity on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will be thought worthy to receive having trampled on the Son of God, and having counted the blood of the covenant in which he was sanctified common, and having insulted the Spirit of Grace?

Just because obedience to the Torah may not be required for Salvation does not mean we should dismiss it as unimportant.

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God which brings Salvation appeared to all men, instructing us that having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live discreetly and righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself on our behalf, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify a special people for Himself, zealous of good works.

Since when is doing the bare minimum acceptable? Disobeying the commandments of YHWH is sin; our sin is why Yeshua had to be crucified. Did His death on the cross mean so little that we should just go on sinning because we can? Why would we want to put out the least amount of effort necessary to achieve Salvation, instead of showing YHWH how much we love Him and appreciate the sacrifice made on our behalf? The more we love YHWH our Elohim, the greater our place in the hierarchy of the Kingdom of Heaven!

Respect Your Elders

1)Honour your parents

2)Obey your parents

3)Honour the elderly

Take Care of Your Neighbours

1)Do Not Murder

2)Show love towards strangers

3)Love fellow believers

4)Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge

5)Do not cause others to stumble

6)Do not allow pitfalls to remain on your property

7)Give charity to those in need

Paid Every Three Years

Paid Annually

8)Give to those in ministry

9)Pay a worker their fair wage

10)Lend without interest to the poor

11)Ensure childless widows are provided for

12)Hate the sin and love the sinner

Abstain from Sexual Immorality

1)Do not have sexual relations with another man’s wife

2)Do not commit incest

3)Do not have sexual relations with your wife’s sister

4)Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter or granddaughter

5)Do not have sexual relations with a menstruating woman

6)Rules around divorce and remarriage

7)One who seduces a maiden must marry the maiden if she chooses

8)Do not have sexual relations with an animal

9)Do not have homosexual sexual relations

10)Do not try to appear to be the gender you are not

Keep Only What is Yours

1)Do Not Steal

2)Do not move a boundary marker to steal someone’s property

3)Do not cheat one another

4)Make right the wrongs you have committed

5)Do not overcharge or under pay for an article or service

6)The creditor must not forcibly take collateral

7)Return collateral to the debtor when needed

8)Do not demand as collateral tools needed to earn a living

9)Do not lend to or borrow from your neighbor with interest

10)Return a lost object when found

Speak the Truth

1)Do not bear false witness

2)Do not side with the majority when you know they are wrong

3)Do no unrighteous judgment

4)Do not slander

5)You must bear witness in court

6)Do not break oaths or vows

Do Not Covet What Your Neighbour Has

1)Do not desire or scheme to acquire what your neighbour has

The Torah in Summary

Relevance to Believers

Reason to Obey

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