Under the Law

May 19th, 2012

This is the fourth message I ministered to my congregation when our Rav was away ministering to Torah Observant kehillot that are now under our spiritual covering. This I also used a lot of power point and so it's taken me awhile to get this uploaded as I had to go back and remember all that I said during the slides which, when combined with my notes, make for an article that you can follow and receive edification from. Please enjoy.

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Rav Shaul, the Apostle Paul, has letters that make up two thirds of our Apostolic Writings, and he has a lot of very valuable things to teach us. But apparently, Paul was misunderstood, even in his day. This is why Peter writes to us in his second epistle saying,

“Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:14-16 NASB)

Last week we spoke about the dividing wall of Ephesians 2:14 which, when properly understood, is all about the central concept of the first century faith: the fellowship between the Jew and the Gentile Believer. I told you guys earlier that if I had a few weeks with you I’d go into some of Paul’s difficult to understand or often misinterpreted phrases, and so this week I’d like to continue with this and cover one of the most grossly misrepresented phrases in Paul’s writings – UNDER THE LAW.

It’s interesting, when I went to go gather some opinions about this phrase, I went to google and began typing in “what does under the law mean” and my internet browser gave me a few suggestions to search for. The first said “what does under the law mean” and the second said “what does under the law really mean”. So today I would like to establish for everyone here the plain meaning and reality about what this phrase actually means. Because Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, obviously said it for a reason so it must be important for us to both hear and understand. We just have to make sure that what we’re hearing and understanding is what Paul really meant.

Now, there are several places that this phrase occurs in our Bibles, but the key verse when we talk about this is Romans 6:14,

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NASB)

Under Law in Greek is Hupo Nomon. In Aramaic it’s t’cheyt namusa. This is important to keep in mind because there are several passages we will see that are translated as “Under the Law” in most Bible translations, but not all of those passages actually read that way in the original Greek or Aramaic and we’ll examine each of those instances a little bit later.

First however, we need to establish what the common understanding of this verse is and then see if this is what Paul was actually saying by looking at the entire context of Scripture.

So, I did a quick google search just to get a stereotypical understanding of this passage, and I found a picture with a little caption that seemed to sum it up best. It proclaimed,

“Conclusively, positively, and without any doubt, the entire law of Moses (aka the law of G-d), the 10 commandments (including the Sabbath) was ABOLISHED, PASSED AWAY, and CAST OUT. We are not under the law because we are dead to the law that we might be married to Christ.”

Oftentimes when I read statements like that I have to shake my head because Yeshua clearly said in Matthew 5:19 that He did not come to abolish the Law, and neither do we read such a bold statement anywhere within the Scripture. Rather, we can only come to such a conclusion when we make assumptions of what certain phrases mean, like with the Diving Wall that we talked about last week, and another such assumption is that this phrase “Under the Law” as opposed to being “under grace” is implying that very message that this author so boldly proclaimed – that the law is abolished, passed away, and cast out.

So, let’s examine this passage in light of its context and the rest of Scripture and see if that’s what Paul is really saying. Because like I said already, Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write what he did, and so we better ensure we understand what he meant so that we can then apply it to our faith walk, right? We can’t ignore this phrase because it seems to go against our theology, and we also can’t ignore it because we think it does support our theology and we don’t want to be proven otherwise. Okay, and consider also that Shavuot is coming up where we are celebrating two great events: the giving of the Torah, and the pouring out of the Spirit. Therefore I think it’s critical for us to understand the relation between Law, Grace, and the Spirit.

So, before we go any further let’s first of all see what the Torah itself has to say about this.

“ Now, Israel, what does the Lord your G-d require from you, but to fear the Lord your G-d, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NASB)

Okay, so Torah is for our own good; that is fundamental to realize because people often treat it like it’s not. And in doing so they often make the claim that it’s somehow too difficult, but, the Torah actually says,

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach… But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. (Deuteronomy 30:11,14 NASB)

Alright, so we can see very clearly from the Torah itself that it is often misrepresented. But truly, again, it's for our own good. This is important to establish because another stereotype that exists out there is that the Torah is somehow a bondage in a bad sense… but it doesn't make sense that HaShem would take the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, which was bad, just to put them in another kind of bad bondage in the desert. I say bad because, within the Hebrew mind set, a yoke of some sort isn't a bad thing. It's actually often presented as a good thing, and we can see this when Paul uses the imagery of slavery in his writings. In fact, he uses it just a few verses after our key passage in Romans chapter 6 starting in verse 17 when he says,

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to G-d that \though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching [Torah means teaching] to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-19)

So, since slavery and bondage is the same thing, I guess being in bondage to righteousness, of which Torah defines and Yeshua perfectly kept and demonstrated... well, that's a very, very GOOD thing. Just as it says in the Torah, it is for our own good. The second thing we can clearly see from the Torah is that it is also not too difficult for us. These two statements alone seem to clash with some schools of theology, but if the Word of G-d is true we certainly cannot ignore them. And Paul Himself testifies,

"But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the G-d of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; (Acts 24:14 NASB)

So he obviously believed this too. And that's why you'll catch Paul spouting out such pro-Torah statements as,

“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” (Romans 3:31 NASB)

“So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12 NASB)

“what matters is the keeping of the commandments of G-d” (1 Corinthians 7:19 NASB)

And it's a good thing that he was teaching such, because his Master, our Lord Yeshua the Mashiach, taught the following,

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least* of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19 NASB)

The word here for least is “elachistos” which means “The least; minimal in magnitude; in number and quantity; in rank or dignity; in weight or importance”. So even the most seemingly insignificant aspects of Torah are, according to our Lord, still valid and still important. You know, we live in a society where we don’t like to do anything unless we know why. But in Hebrew, the word for statutes, chukkat, denotes something that HaShem has commanded us but that we don’t actually understand. We are simply to follow it on the basis of faith and faith alone. Perfect example is when Torah says to wash your hands under running water. Nobody back then knew why, although now we realize that it’s important to do so that the germs actually get washed away and don’t just sit in the bowl and stay on our hands. So, that’s one example of a chukkat, a statute that was never explained, but that Israel was expected to follow, and look at that: science has now confirmed that HaShem really knows what He’s talking about; even when we don’t understand it.

Now, moving on, here is what John has to say about the Torah,

“By this we know that we love the children of G-d, when we love G-d and observe His commandments. For this is the love of G-d, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:2-3 NASB)

And one of the last things prophetically recorded in Scripture says,

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” (Revelation 22:20 NKJV)

I could go on, but I think you guys get the point. These are very straight forward statements that teach that the Torah isn't nullified or done away with in the sense that we sometimes stereotypically hear, and certainly not how that one author I quoted earlier put it. And so when we come to other Scriptures that seem contradictory to that, we know that we're looking at it wrong because if Scripture is truly inspired by G-d, it cannot contradict itself.

So let's go back to our passage and see if we can glean a bit more by reading just a little bit further,

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!” (Romans 6:14-15 NASB)

So sin, what is sin? I think the best Biblical definition of sin comes from John's first epistle, where he says,

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4 NASB)

The word here for lawlessness is anomnia, coming from anomos. Torah in Greek is translated as nomos, so anomos to nomos is the same thing as a theist to an atheist. Thayers Greek Lexicon has a few notable definitions of this including departing from the law, a violator of the law, and destitute of (the Mosaic) law. This is why David Stern in his Complete Jewish Bible translation paraphrases this verse saying “Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah - indeed, sin is violation of Torah.”

Earlier Paul says in his letter to the Romans,

“through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20b NASB)

Because the Torah defines sin by making known what a righteous, holy lifestyle is. HaShem says several times in Torah “Be Holy for I am Holy”. Mashiyach during His sermon on the mount said “Be you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect”. And here we have Paul saying that just because we’re under the grace of G-d doesn’t mean we should be any means sin. And if by definition, sin is violation of Torah, then Paul is actually telling us here NOT to transgress the Law of Moses.

So if that’s true... then what in the world does Under the Law mean?

Well, first, I want to show you where this phrase actually occurs in Scripture because there are a couple places where many Bible translations choose to use this phrase when that’s not actually what the Greek or Aramaic text says. But since I’m pressed for time with this phrase, I’m going to limit myself to the book of Romans and briefly go over the instances of this phrase in there.

“For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;” (Romans 2:12 NASB)

Now as mentioned, under law is upo nomon, but in the text here it actually says en nomow, - “in the law” (this is how KJV, YLT, Douay Rheims, WBT correctly render it). The Aramaic agrees and Janet Magiera’s translation of the Aramaic Peshitto will also say “in the Law” and another Aramaic translation that’s a little less literal renders this passage as “with The Written Law”.

So, what this passage is saying is that there are two groups out there: those without knowledge of G-d’s law and those with knowledge of G-d’s law. But even those without knowledge of G-d’s law will still perish because as Paul goes on to say, their conscience, given to them by G-d, bears witness and becomes a law for them, where as those who are “in the law” and therefore “in the know” of what G-d’s will and desire is… well, as James says in chapter 4 verse 17 of his epistle “whoever knows what it is good but does not do it, to him it sin.” So if you know what is good and DO choose to it… that should be a very good thing, right? And this is why Paul goes on to say,

“For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before G-d, but the doers of the Law will be justified” (Romans 2:13 NASB)

The NIV, which is not known to be a pro-Torah translation, actually says,

“it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Romans 2:13b NIV)

Okay, next.

“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to G-d;” (Romans 3:19 NASB)

The Greek here reads en tow nomow – “in the Law” (as YLT renders it). Just like en nomow above, but with one additional word. So, all this passage is really saying is that the Torah speaks to those who know what it says. But yet this verse also says all are without excuse and accountable to G-d. This is brought to light in the next verse which we have already visited,

“through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20b NASB)

So because Torah reveals sin it holds us all accountable, and as believers, this is actually a way evangelize. Because see, you can’t tell someone that they need a Savior if they don’t think they need to be saved from anything. But if you can show them how they’ve broken G-d’s law and would be guilty on judgement day, now all of a sudden Mashiach’s atonement becomes a little bit more relevant.

Okay, so, now that we know that these passages are not using the term “under the law” this brings us back to our initial passage (Romans 6:14-15) where it is used. Under the law, what does it mean?

Well, Messianic teacher David Stern in his translation and commentary says that upo nomon which is often rendered as under law should more accurately be understood as “in subjection to the system which results in perverting the Torah into legalism.” He says that because upo means “controlled by” or “in subjection to” the word nomos, or law, is best rendered as “legalism” in this context.

So in Stern’s translation we will read,

“For sin will not have authority over you; because you are not under legalism but under grace. Therefore, what conclusion should we reach? "Let's go on sinning, because we're not under legalism but under grace"? Heaven forbid! (Romans 6:14-15 CJB)

But I don’t believe that Stern is entirely accurate in his paraphrase here. Aramaic scholar Andrew Gabriel Roth, although along the same lines as David Stern, has what I see as a more accurate explanation where he says,

“Under Torah means to look to its rituals as a form of magic; a power that needs no purity of intent to bring about blessing, but merely fixed repetition.” (AENT footnote on Romans 2:12)

He says this referencing certain documents within the Dead Sea Scrolls that actually use this term “Under the Law” and allude to that kind of imagery (so under the law is not actually a phrase unique to Paul’s writings).

I’m going to have have an even clearer explanation in just a moment, but a good example of what Andrew Roth is saying would be Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel both brought sacrifices to HaShem in Genesis chapter 4, and by what we could call the “letter of the Law”, both sacrifices were actually acceptable. The reason however that Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted was because his heart was not right. He was thinking that he could justify himself before G-d on the basis of this ritual act alone, but he didn’t actually care about his relationship with HaShem. He was looking at this as a mere obligation, something he had to do to avoid punishment, and HaShem, who knows the heart, does not accept that. This is the traditional Jewish understanding of this passage, but we can see Cain’s heart and intentions made very clear by his subsequent actions following that event.

Now, this is something that is taught very strongly within Torah, that it is all about our intentions more so than a ritualized action.

So, what does Under the Law mean? Well, in both Greek and Aramaic, as well as if we took the Hebrew equivalent and looked at passages in Tanach, the word for under means that we are subject to, controlled by, or under the authority of whatever it is that we’re under. So here’s a truth I want us all to think about. The Scripture says that before we knew Messiah we were dead in our sins, right? Well, we were dead in our sins because we, like everyone else, were under the authority of the law, and the law reveals our sin and therefore condemns us to death as death is the consequence of sin. And the reason we were under the authority of the law, other than the fact that HaShem designed the universe in this manner, is because we had not accepted the authority of G-d. Choose this day whom you will serve, right? When we reject G-d we chose to be our own master and therefore to stand in His court room alone trying to justify ourselves.

But the problem is, using the authority of the Law, we can’t justify ourselves by ritual action as Andrew Roth says, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of G-d. So therefore, to be under the law would be to subject ourselves to its penalties for breaking the law.

In simplicity, under the law means we are under the condemnation of the law. Why? Because we haven’t accepted the free gift, the free pardon that was Messiah’s sacrifice.

We have to realize, we broke the law and are therefore guilty and must pay the charge. But Messiah stepped in and He paid our fine for us, and therefore by His blood, he has conquered sin and death. But don’t think either that before this event, covenant keeping Jews and G-d fearing Gentiles were under the law in the sense that they attempted to gain any sort of justification from it and thereby fail, condemning themselves to death. Because prior to Mashiyach, everyone was still justified by faith, a faith of relying upon haShem as your source of salvation and deliverance, and there’s an entire chapter devoted to proving this in both Romans and Hebrews. So they were not under the condemnation of the law but rather justified by faith, same as us. There is just more revealed for us to believe in at this point, but the key, whether it’s before or after Mashiach’s resurrection, is to depend upon HaShem as our source of salvation. If we’ve rejected HaShem’s salvation we have rejected Him as our G-d. Those who reject the Son reject He who sent Him, right?

Those before Mashiach’s coming were simply looking forward, where as we are now looking backwards. And at the same time we are still looking forward, because all that is prophesied in the fall feasts with Mashiach’s second coming is still yet to pass. And then there is HaShem who is not bound by time and is therefore existing in some way in all of those places and events all at the same... “time” if you will. Try wrapping your head around that one!

Anyway, so now that we know what under the law means, let’s now return to our passage and see what it’s really saying in context.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?[Okay, we have to realize that through our sin, the grace of G-d is demonstrated. Israel, in their stumbling, were able to show just how merciful and gracious HaShem was, and it is very encouraging to see how HaShem continues to be there for Israel, despite their disobedience, all throughout the Tanach. But just because our disobedience makes known His grace, should we still continue to disobey? What does Paul say?] May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been immersed into Messiah Yeshua have been immersed into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through immersion into death, so that as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. [Okay, lots going on here – we see that it is SIN, our disobedience to Torah, that we are free from. But since we are freed from the power of sin to condemn us to death, so we should walk according to our spiritual man, born from the beginning – that is, in that newness of life according to the footsteps of the living Torah whom we are to model ourselves after.]

Now if we have died with Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Messiah, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to G-d. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to G-d in Messiah Yeshua. [Notice how Paul says consider yourself dead to sin. Although we are born from the beginning, we still live in a sinful world and as such are looking towards the ultimate fulfillment of all things when we shall be changed in the blink of an eye or resurrected incorruptible in the Kingdom of Heaven. But even in this fallen world, we are looking towards that newness and acting as if it were already here, because our Biblical mandate is to be… what? A light to the nations! The salt of the earth! As we pray in the Lord’s prayer “may your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. See, our goal is not to get out of here, but rather, to bring heaven down to earth, just as we read in revelations when the New Jerusalem descends down from heaven. And because we are looking towards all this, Paul goes on to say…]

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to G-d as those alive from the dead [again, looking towards the resurrection and new Kingdom], and your members as instruments of righteousness to G-d. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. [Sin cannot master us and have power of us because we are not under the condemnation of the law, that is, it’s power to condemn us to death because it reveals our sin, rather, we are under the grace of G-d, receiving that which we don’t deserve, but using that grace to empower us to overcome this world by faith and walking in a newness of life according to our spiritual man that is born from the beginning; at a time when there is no sin. We empty ourselves of the old man and present ourselves as willing vessels to do His will – as in heaven, so on earth!]

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! [So, just in case we missed the memo Paul clarifies himself be saying that grace is not a license to break the Torah, it just means that you aren’t being penalized for your disobedience; but that is not an excuse to continue to live that way, and if we do, guess what happens? Paul goes on to say…] Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? [So as the Torah says, there are two paths: life and death, the blessing, and the curse] But thanks be to G-d that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness [Indeed, G-d has given us the power to overcome and benig born again we have been given a new heart with new desires, rejoicing in His ways and becoming servants of rightesouness. The NASB here says slaves of righteousness which once again goes to show that having a yoke is not a bad thing at all; just make sure it’s the right yoke!]. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness [It’s a downward spiral when we disobey, so if we want to serve the Lord we are left simply with the option of trusting and obeying, no questions asked. Or, as Paul says], so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. [Or holiness; we’re set-apart for Him!]

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [That’s not a good thing]. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to G-d [there’s no way around it – we’re slaves, but as Joshua says, choose this day whom you will serve and reap accordingly. When we choose to serve HaShem Paul says], you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life [ Amen! Now that’s a deal that everyone ought to be in on]. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of G-d is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. (Romans 6:1-23, emphasis added, inserted commentary in italics)

So I really hope you guys are beginning to see how the true meaning of under the law works in with all the imagery and figurative language Paul is using in his writing here. When I look at his statement telling me that I’m not under law but under grace, and that despite this I should of course still not sin, I see an unquestionable truth and then I see a question. First, I see the reality of G-d’s love. His love that has redeemed us from the fallen nature of this world, the curse of sin and its power to condemn us to death! But then I see the question that begs of us “do we serve G-d because we’re expecting something... because we’re trying to avoid punishment... or to appease G-d... or... are we serving Him merely because we love Him. Because He has adopted us as sons and daughters and made us co-heirs with Messiah, and therefore, we rejoice in His goodness and are full of His joy, and that inspires and drives us to do the things that He wants His set-apart people to do?” So what’s our motivation?

There’s a very important lesson here that becomes extremely practical in several aspects of our life. Messiah said that the greatest among us shall be a servant. Someone who is selfless... without ego... without a secret agenda... but simply someone who has the love of Messiah in them and desires to do good not for their sake, but for the sake of others and the glory of G-d!

That is not only what I would call true love, but true faith as well. When James says that faith without works is dead, he’s saying that true faith will always have an outpouring of good fruit, because when we are under the grace of G-d and His love, His Spirit, fills us up, we literally shouldn’t be able to hold that in. His love is uncontainable and just pours out like water under pressure. And indeed, the imagery in the Hebrew word for His glory or His presence is an imagery of pressure or heaviness. Like the early and the latter rains pouring down upon us as we always say in the Shema.

So, shall we go on sinning because we are not under law and condemned to death for it? How could we? When the love of G-d fills us it’s impossible to sin! Doesn’t mean we won’t... but neither does His love always fill us up. And that’s why, like with any relationship, we need to work at it. Just as we take the time to spend a night out with our spouse, so we need to spend time prayer. Did you ever think about having a prayer and worship date with HaShem? I’ve had times where I’ve “gone out for coffee” with HaShem in the sense that I’ve gone into extended prayer simply to tell Him about the exciting things in my life. It’s not that He doesn’t already know of course, it’s just that I’m excited to tell Him myself, and then to rejoice in His goodness and thank Him for His blessing. And its little things like this which keeps the fire going and keeps that young love that marks the excitement of any relationship. And that’s the beauty of Torah, because HaShem, knowing how busy life gets, set up some ways in which we can always spend time together. You can have the busiest, worst week in the world where things have just come upon you so hard that you’ve been nothing but stressed, and haven’t made time for any prayer, and you’re just feeling miserable, and... then all of a sudden it’s Shabbat! And Shabbat is the day where you say good bye to the week, good bye to stress, and hello to the presence of the living G-d. Doesn’t mean that HaShem wasn’t with you the other days, you were just so busy that you didn’t have a chance to look up and see Him.

And then we have the feast days to constantly remind us of all the other wonderful things that HaShem is doing for us. It’s like an anniversary in marriage; the feast days are very similar. And just like in marriage, you don’t keep these things because you’re worried about getting married in the first place, which would be like our justification with G-d; but since you’re already married, just like how we’re already justified before G-d, we therefore do and keep these things because we love them and we want to spend time with them, and we want to celebrate and rejoice with them. It’s the exact same thing. And we specifically keep HaShem’s feast days because… they’re important to Him. In Leviticus 23 He says “these are MY appointed times”, so they mean something to Him. They even tell us so much about Him, and about His ultimate plan of redemption, and all about Mashiyach, and so… knowing that, why wouldn’t we keep them?

Now, another awesome thing about having this sort of a relationship with HaShem is that… the love that we experience pours out into allll of our other relationships in life. And see, the best relationships are always the ones where HaShem is in the center, and then He can just bless us and work so powerfully in our lives, as Psalm 34:7 says – “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”

1 Corinthians 6 where Paul goes on to say,

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from G-d, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore honour G-d in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

So if we choose not to honour G-d with our bodies, how can He dwell in us? Although He wants to be there, every time we sin we are choosing a different Master and slowly pushing Him out of our life. As Paul quotes HaShem Himself in 2 Corinthians chapter 6,

“ I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people.
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
“ And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

The good thing however is that despite our stumbling He is faithful to help us in our weakness and continue to cleanse, refine and prepare us for a time when there will be no more sin and where we can then experience pure communion with our G-d. But until that happens, we have rehearsals for that event: The Feast Days! Right? Like I said, in Leviticus 23, HaShem says “The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as sacred gatherings—My appointed times are these:” HIS appointments... He wants to meet with us at special times and give us a preview of all the good things that are to come. And if we don’t show up, then we’re once again missing out on the fullness that He has to offer us as His people here and now; and the fullness of the relationship He desires with us.

It’s like not showing up to a date... although; I think HaShem is much more forgiving and understanding than your date may be in that situation. Reminds me of my dad actually because apparently he stood my mom up TWICE when they were supposed to first go out. But I guess HaShem gave her patience and forgiveness, because she gave him a third chance, and, well, here I am! So I suppose I’m the product of patience and forgiveness, which is very reflective of all of us when we consider our relationship to HaShem.

But as we approach this season of Shavuot which commemorates both the giving of the Torah as well as the pouring out of the Spirit, I want us to keep a few things in mind. First, let us remember that as the Torah says, it was given for our own good and is still therefore to this day for our own good. HaShem loved us so much that not only did He give us His divine instructions in righteousness, but He did everything He could to mercifully allow us not to be subject to the penalty for breaking the Law without taking away our free will. But at the same time, let us be reminded that although Mashiyach redeemed us from the power of sin and death, He did not absolve us from living set-apart, righteous lifestyles in Him. Not only are we IN Torah, but we are IN the LIVING Torah, the Word made flesh, Yeshua our Mashiyach, and it is in His strength that we are able to walk according to Torah, just as the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel both proclaimed. We walk according to His righteousness, His law, not because we are trying to justify ourselves, but because we love HaShem and wish to draw near to Him, so that once again His Spirit can dwell in us and others would see the love of G-d and so be drawn towards it also. The summer period after Shavuot before the Fall Feasts represents the time between Messiah’s first and second coming, and so on Shavuot we have been given the standard of righteousness, the Torah, and then also the Spirit of HaShem so that we could walk according to it; it's our very mandate (obligation) to live as a Holy People. We have been given this mandate so that we can be a light to all nations and draw as many people as possible to the Kingdom before Messiah comes back as the fall feasts so prophesy. And it is therefore my prayer that we would each embrace this truth in this season and share the grace of G-d with others.