Instructions for Angels
Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Deuteronomy 4:1 NASB
To perform – “The Torah was not given to angels. The Torah speaks in the language of human beings.”[1] When we read this declaration, it seems so obvious. Of course Torah speaks human language. What good would it have been if it spoke some angelic tongue? That raises an interesting side issue about speaking in tongues, but for the moment, we will let that one go. Unfortunately, the obvious fact means that we rarely consider its implications. It’s like driving on the freeway. We concentrate on where the road goes but we almost never consider what we are driving on. Now that you are considering the fact that Torah is clothed in human language, it should be just as obvious that it employs a language that isn’t yours, even if you read and speak Hebrew today. The language of Torah is the language of Moses in the 16th Century BC. And if we want to understand God’s instructions so that we may live, we will need to know the language of Moses.
The greatest problem of translations is that fact that translations remove the language of the original. Instead of learning the language of the original, we learn the translation and that means we substitute our language for the author’s language. Torah was spoken in a particular language, not in some “universal” language, and no matter how excellent the translation, the meaning and subtly of the original is lost when I use my language rather than the author’s language. This is why when people ask me what is the best translation of the Bible the answer is, “Any one you choose because none will really do the job.” To read Scripture is to be committed to a lifetime of study. It just isn’t simple.
Moses gives instructions in order that they may be “performed.” The Hebrew word is ‘asot from the verb ‘asa. While it is often a description of doing or making something, in many biblical contexts it carries ethical implications. In other words, in Hebrew thought, doing and making are never far removed from their connection to God’s desires. The statutes and judgments that Moses is about to proclaim are crucial for life precisely because they express God’s will. They do not carry ethical authority in and of themselves. They carry ethical authority because God desires us to perform them.
Therefore, it is insufficient to argue that God desires us not to eat shellfish or pork because of health considerations. It is also insufficient to argue God instructed His people not to eat these because they did not use modern food processing. Neither of these recognize the spiritual causality of the Bible. Not eating shellfish and pork is honoring God’s desire. Food has nothing to do with it. God has His own reasons for these instructions; reasons which we may never understand. Torah comes in human language but that does not mean if comes with human logic.
Topical Index: perform, ‘asa, language, ethics, food, Deuteronomy 4:1
[1] Chaim Stern, ed., Gates of Forgiveness: The Union S’lichot Service, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1993, p. 8.
Skip,
You have made several passing comments on things like speaking in tongues, but never actually written on these topics. Please elaborate on things like speaking in tongues. I would greatly appreciate it.
Ricky
Eventually. I will have to do some work on the background on Corinth before investigating this. Be patient. There is only one of me.
Do you know offhand where you could do research on ancient Corinth and their religious practices? I like to get my hands dirty and research myself, but sometimes do not know where to look.
“The Torah was not given to angels.” No, as they are not given the authority to rule over the earth/land as is given to mankind, nor are they commanded to procreate, neither can they, being spirits having no seed. They are messengers of Elohim, translated as angels-
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering/performing service spirits, sent forth to minister/serve them who shall be heirs/inheritors of deliverance/preservation/safety/salvation?
Torah is given to the Sons of Elohim, to teach and to guide them to submit/obey/rule/govern, firstly over themselves and then over all creation.
““Any one you choose because none will really do the job.” To read Scripture is to be committed to a lifetime of study.” Truly!
Languages have their beauty of expressions that can never be captured in another language.
Reading Scriptures not in Hebrew, we can never grasp the true essence of what is being expressed, nor perceive the many aspects of thoughts conveyed, as even one Hebrew word has many layers of meanings.
It is a lifetime of study, learning and re-learning, digging deeper into treasures of Hebrew meanings of Scriptures, and loving it! 🙂 Very exhilarating.
“Therefore, it is insufficient to argue that God desires us not to eat shellfish or pork because of health considerations.”
It is difficult to explain to non-believers as shellfish and pork has been accepted as food, as in some countries, even dogs and snakes are regarded as something to indulge in (YIKES!).
So, what simple way than to say these are really not created for consumption, and that shellfish are toxic and pork is so very unhealthy. A friend of mine who grew up in a pig farm will never touch pork! He said they are the most filthy of animals as they gobble up garbage, are scavengers.. Utube has many videos on how worm-filled pigs are. (YIKES!)
To non-Torah believers, it is much harder as they suppose “everything is sanctified by prayer and made clean”, “in Jesus’ name”, so they simply close their eyes in giving thanks for the food they will be eating, and asking Father to bless it to their health!
In the song of Noach sung by kids ” the animals went in two by two”, they were not taught about the pairs of twos and of sevens, of clean and unclean animals. How convenient. Poor kids taught the wrong stuff.
“Not eating shellfish and pork is honoring God’s desire.” 100% agree. “Food has nothing to do with it.” Sorry I have to disagree. They are not mutually exclusive.
The connections are so obvious. One should read the book “What the Bible says about healthy living” http://www.amazon.com/What-Bible-About-Healthy-Living/dp/0830743499 The connections are amazing.
It makes me love God even more. He gave His commandments for our benefit. Not just because He has the need for us to obey Him.
Once one get into the mindset that it is God’s desire to do or not to do certain things, it becomes much easier, but that does not mean that God’s reasons are always beyond our reasons. Yes, it does not mean that we first have to understand why, before we obey. No we obey because He desires it. But we are allowed to consider why He would have give us certain guidelines, statutes, and judgments:
“Neh 9:13″ You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.”
As someone said on a previous TW: We don’t have to check our brain at the door.
Agreed. It has everything to do with health, but I do think Skip has a point about health being an insufficient reason, in and of itself. Soda pop can be kosher, vegan, “all natural”, ect — but still lead to health problems in excess. So, God also teaches us RESTRAINT through these laws – not to put everything in our mouth that is available.
We obey because of the blessings we understand, but also because we know there are blessings we couldn’t guess at. The laws were see an obvious health benefit – give us added trust to obey the ones that seem more arbitrary.
Early in my career I worked with disturbed children — and I can attest that they found lots of things edible that were not food. Many of these things were actually digested or at least passed on through with no immediate sign of injury. But that didn’t mean that just because they could eat it, it was food.
What we have to get across to believers is the definition of food. Food is what God says we can eat. It really doesn’t have anything to do with health constraints, though I am of the opinion that your health benefits when you only eat food. 🙂
God’s reasons ARE always beyond our reasoning. Yes, we can hypothesize (reason) about why He would give us certain guidelines, but at the end of the day we have to return to home base: it’s not about what I think. It’s (about) truth. God does not want my brain checked at the door, just my arrogance.
(PS:Have you noticed how everything suddenly has bacon or shrimp on it? Double bacon hamburgers with shrimp sauce and bacon-flavored cheese. And if that’s not enough for you we have bacon ice cream! It’s as if there’s a plan to further entwine the unsuspecting with non-food items to make it harder for them to choose a Torah lifestyle. Selah. :))
The Torah speaks in the language of human beings.”[1]
~ And the Word became flesh and lived among us..~
The written word of God and the Living Word of God are “One.”
How does he know these things? How does any man know these things? “It is written.”
~ I AM He that lives, and was dead; ~ This narrows it down to one Man, doesn’t it? Buddha? dead. Mohammed? History.
~ and, behold, (please do!) I AM alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death ~ (Revelation 1.19)
~ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the Word of God ~ (Revelation 19.13)
Yeshua HaMashiach is the Incarnate Torah of YHWH. ~ Now hear the Word of the LORD! Listen, and do what He says! Listen and obey Him! We, who are His are to “shema” the resurrected, living, reigning, ruling Sovereign Savior! Heed Him! Hearken to Him! ~ Whatever He says unto you- do it! ~
Now, let us all (boldly and brazenly) ask “why?” What wisdom is there in obeying the LORD? Ask Adam. He will testify. Starting with Adam, ask every adam with the exception of one Adam- ask the wounded ones.. ask the defeated ones, ask the blind man who received his sight, ask the lame who is now dancing, ask the leper who has been healed- is there wisdom in obedience?
Ask Samuel who said, ~ Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams ~ (1 Samuel 15.22)
Is there any parent among us who does not delight in obedient children?
“we don’t have to check our brains in at the door.”
Agreed, we better have in full gear when we encounter God and His words to us. Here’s one that “does or doesn’t”have to do with food.
Concerning road kill, 🙂
Duet 14:21 Ye shall not eat [of] any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that [is] in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
One has to wonder what the “physical” benefits of such a command would be simply because it’s allowed to be given to the foreigner living in the land.
AHEM!! I know this arsenic flavored water is bad for me so I’ll give to those aliens over there. I’m not so sure I like ’em all that much anyhow! I wonder how long it’ll take.
Oh yeah, then there’s that thingy about not mistreating the foreigner and in fact, loving them. Is there anything worse than commiting a sin? perhaps coercing others into it and being aware of the destruction that’s sure to ensue would qualify.
No, we don’t have to check our brains in, in fact we ought to use them even more so, but maybe thinking outside the conventional norms will help us proceed a bit easier.
BTW, what’s that seething a kid in it’s mother’s milk all about? Any thoughts? 🙂
YHWH bless you and keep you……..
Hi Robert,
Re your question on seething a kid in it’s mother’s milk…I just remembered my friend’s hilarious incident, enjoy!
“I was at Ikea the other day with my wife. We have a couple of the Swedish superstores here in Israel. We were in Netanya. Before we began our search for cheap towels, or as they say at IKEA, some Fräjens, we decided to get a bite to eat. After checking the first of the two cafes, we sought to venture to the other one only to find a massive glass barrier that basically said, You cannot pass. I was expecting a troll to jump out. Instead, we had to make a massive circle to get to the other café.
Why the inconvenience? Well, it wasn’t just so we would have to pass up deals on Fyrkantigs or the Riktig Ölgas. We weren’t even tempted by the Grökullas. No, this had nothing to do with weirdly named Swedish home accessories, but it had everything to do with the Jewish kitchen.
You see, Jewish law forbids the mixing of milk and meat. We will get to the why in a minute. That means we have three types of restaurants in Israel:
Halevy חלבי—dairy (These restaurants serve everything but meat products. Fish is cool).
Basari בשרי—meat (The restaurants serve everything but dairy products. That means powder in your coffee and no cheesecake for dessert.)
Non-Kosher—Anything goes! (These restaurants serve anything from shrimp to bacon to puppy dog stew [not really]. They are not kosher and therefore have no rules.)
However in Ikea they had #1 and #2, and went to great lengths to separate them. But they also wanted to separate me and my wife. She got some soup at the Basari restaurant, while I wanted a salad from the Halevi restaurant. So Elana, after asking a worker there if it was okay, brought her soup over. When the Orthodox waitress protested, I said in Hebrew, “It’s okay… it is just soup.”
In a panic, as if a lighting bolt from heaven would strike us down, she said, “BUT THE UTENSILS ARE BASARI (for meat)!”
🙂 Shalom!
✓ I find it very interesting that there are two points in departing from sound teaching that was to be the precursor of apostasy:
1. Forbidding to marry, and 2. commanding to abstain from meats
Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
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Gen. 1:29 Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Gen. 9:3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
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Matt. 15:11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.
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Rom. 14:6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
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1 Cor. 10:30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
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Col. 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
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1 Tim. 4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.
There were groups of Essenes (not all of them) who forbade members to marry. Epiphanius writes of a group which taught that NO meat should be eaten.
So we can interpret Paul in two ways: 1. He has a problem with ANY food prohibitions. Or, 2. He has a problem with people ADDING EXTRA-BIBLICAL food prohibitions.
1 Timothy 4:3 – Paul makes it clear that the ‘meats’ which they were forbidding – were the meats that God had ‘created to be received with thanksgiving’ (i.e. ‘clean’ meats).
Genesis 9:3 – This is one of the stronger verses suggesting that ANYTHING could be eaten now. However, we should notice that in Genesis 7:2 it says, “”You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female ; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female”…, which suggests:
1. Clean / Unclean designations for animals existed BEFORE Mt. Sinai.
2. God was probably referring to the clean animals in Gen 9:3, since eating one of the unclean ones would have likely meant extinction of the species (since there were only two put on the ark).
3. If there is a good argument for both sides – then we should look elsewhere in scripture for more evidence.
Matthew 15:11 – If there is confusion about whether this involves meats, or something else – we should look at the CONTEXT which clearly shows that the issue being discussed was RITUAL HANDWASHING:
Matthew 15:2 – “”Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders ? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.””
In addition, it is clear that even after Pentacost, the reception of the Holy Spirit, and a much fuller understand of Jesus and his mission – the Peter did not interpret Jesus’ words as allowing ANYTHING to be eaten.
Acts 10:14 – ” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.””
Many use this story (Cornelius and Peter) to show that God had opened the floodgates of His previously suggested diet, however, lest we misunderstand – we see that even Peter was perplexed as to the meaning, and he did not take the dream as revoking Torah’s dietary directions.
Acts 10:28,29 – “And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call ANY MAN unholy or unclean. 29 “That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.” [emphasis mine]
If we are to truly let the Bible interpret itself – then why would we give a different meaning than what Peter explicitly states for his dream?! We see that his practice, after learning and walking with Jesus, WAS STILL to keep Torah’s dietary directions. We also see an express meaning given to the dream, so why should we interject an additional meaning?
I would suggest, that when one possible interpretation makes God contradict himself or change His standards, we should take added care before we decide on that interpretation. If there is evidence for God changing, and there seems to be equal evidence for His staying the same — well then – God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Now, Romans 14:6 ; 1 Corinthians 10:30 ; Colossians 2:16 ; and 1 Timothy 4:4 – can all be taken in two ways. The first way, is the way many Christians interpret them – as a cancellation of Torah. However, if we study the life of Jesus carefully — and we see the conflict he had with the religious leaders of His time – we will see a different conflict. The conflict between what I might call ‘Simple Torah Living’, and “Tradition ++”. A constant struggle for both Jesus, and His disciples was when they didn’t follow TRADITION – and their ACCUSERS claimed they were doing away with Moses/Torah.
So when Paul says:
Titus 3:9 – “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”
He is likely NOT talking about the genealogy of Jesus given in Matthew 1, or things that are well- established in scripture. He is talking about the EXTRA traditions added onto the Sabbath, onto food restrictions, and onto New Moon observations. Also notice that many times he does not have an issue with the tradition, he just doesn’t like the strife that is stirred up.
Similarly, we should not argue and fight about whether we should have a Wednesday night service, or a tambourine in the church, or whether someone wears jeans to a service — since those are not explicitly commanded in the Bible – nor do those things contradict teachings we DO find in The Word.
I hope this helps, at least it helps me clarify my thoughts.
In my lectures on the formation of the Christian Church in the 2nd-3rd centuries, I show that the historical record reveals the Church adopted three changes from the biblical text because these three changes made it easier to recruit Romans into the congregation and these three changes clearly defined the “Christian” as NOT Jewish. They were circumcision, Sabbath-keeping and eating pork. The Roman way of life viewed circumcision as barbaric, Sabbath-keeping as laziness and not eating pork as foolish. Christian apologists in the first two centuries incorporated these practices so that they could distinguish themselves from Jews. They knew the practices were not biblical but that didn’t matter. Including them made Christianity much more palatable.
And if you frame it all as “freedom in Christ”… hmmm?
Robert, that is interesting . . .
3 times its repeated: ( Ex. 23:19; 34:26; De. 14:21).
Many view it as “a protest against cruelty, and outraging the order of nature,” especially that sacred portion of nature’s order, the tender and protective relation between parent and child, mother and suckling.
I read that kids were thought to be most delicious when boiled in milk; and the mother’s milk was frequently the handiest. But, ewww, this way the mother was made a sort of accomplice in the death of her offspring, which men killed to eat on account of the flavour that her milk gave it.
Reason has nothing to say against such a mode of preparing food, but it feels repulsive.
Some feel the lesson is to cherish sweetness, don’t stamp out tenderness, and everything is to be avoided which would tend to blunt our moral sensibilities.
I see it as having a wide application – today, in this brutal society where mothers willing (but are duped) into freely going into abortion ‘clinics’ — read: death houses — being an accomplice to serving up her child to death, vanity, and pride. I weep for this.
Re: road kill
It’s unclean — it wasn’t slaughtered so that the blood drains out, therefore it is unclean for God’s people who are separated from the pagan culture. Those outside of the people could and did eat the same and worse. So it wasn’t that bad food was being pawned off on the unsuspecting — just like today, there are no apparent immediate physical outcomes of not eating kosher. The animal could be eaten, it was edible. It just wasn’t food for those who were separated unto God.
The key here is “what sets apart.” What is digestible is not always “food” for God’s people because it does not set them apart from the culture. How can we be recognized as different if we aren’t any different? In the very basics of life, we are to be different – set apart. That means what we eat, how we worship, even what we wear – the visible, outward signs of being different.
We are to be known by the FRUIT of the SPIRIT..are we not ?
We are to be known by our LOVE for the FATHER, FOR HIS WORD , FOR THE BRETHREN and for our enemies.
My husband and I were just discussing this the other day about HOW are we to be known.. I can not imagine that it is going to be by out outward form first but of HIS CHARACTER within flowing out. FAITH WITH WORKS …
Mmm..lots to think about !
Thank you Skip, I’m sorry if the post sounded offensive to anyone, it wasn’t intended to be. I was just trying to get at that point, but sort of in a backwards way. This command is an interesting one as it shows that doing it doesn’t gain one a “health” benefit, and I’m pretty well assured that being a non Israelite by definition doesn’t inoculate against food poisoning. (ie; eating road kill)
Someone said in another thread that we shouldn’t just follow God’s commands “blindly” and I’m in agreement with that. However, I don’t think on the other hand that just because we can’t resolve the issue(s) behind it that we shouldn’t do it anyway. That’s not blind faith, it’s submitting to the Divine will which, by the way, brings wisdom. I know it’s difficult to not have the right “answer”, or for that matter any answer at all, other than the fact that God says so, but I’m kinda thinkin’ that’s how it was sometimes intended to be. It’s part of the journey of faith.
The greatest benefit, and I’m sure that there’s many to all the commands, is still above all, that we know Him and the power of His resurrection.
YHWH bless you and keep you…..
Just to muddy the waters a bit, sorry,… I’m in Ecuador right now. There is plenty of edible food around that I was warned not to eat- because it could make me sick. It does not make the locals sick. My mouth, stomach, ect — carries a certain set of stomach flora species – and the people here have a different different set.
I think we are safest saying, “God said it — that’s why we do it.” However, it is very likely that the animal that died on it’s own would not hurt the foreigner because it doesn’t significantly alter their accumulated bacterial set. Whereas, for the Israelite it would be unhealthy. We should also be careful in looking at studies on kosher eating in developed countries — I know quite a few vegetarians that don’t like most vegetables. It is so easy in industrialized countries to eat what might be considered kosher – but not eat healthy. Remember, Cola is the new tobacco. Following one commandment on pork – while ignoring other directions towards moderation and a fast now and then – is not going to help us “live long in the land”.
Didn’t mean to repeat “different” above, sorry.
Suzanne,
Spot on, well said! Shalom!
Diet (absolutely) makes a difference! – What you eat affects your blood and the life of the flesh is in the blood. Healthy blood = healthy life. God does want us to be healthy, happy and holy, but above all, “holy.”
Set apart. Kadosh. Kosher. But..
The question remains: “Is it our diet that makes (or marks) us as “holy?” The real question we have here (for “both” Jew and Gentile) is this: What is it that causes us to be holy? Where (or how) does holiness happen?
Eating only certain “approved” foods may mark us as “different” in the eyes of men. I will “observe” your diet and your refusal to eat “junk” food (eat that which is “good” and let your soul delight itself in fatness!) or your refusal to eat any “pig product,” but it is a matter of motivation- why does any man refuse to dine on swine? Because of my religion, my “Jewishness” forbids me (or even because I was reared (we raise cattle and rear children) in the Islamic “faith.”
So where do we turn to now? It seems we have a three way split? The Torah (or the ancient scrolls given to God’s “chosen” ones- the Jews), the Koran – written by men and for men or the “KJV” purists -“it’s KJV only” crowd.
May I ask a question? (I suppose that was a question!) Is, (he inquired) the Bible (our Bible) for it certainly contains a wide history of Israel, the Word of the LORD? Is our Bible (belonging to the Jew AND the Christian AND “whosoever will” God’s Holy Word? May we (he inquired) DOUBT the “authenticity” of the holy (kadosh) scriptures? Is our Bible (and it is OUR Bible) the inspired (God-breathed) Word of God?
~ If ANY MAN (Jew or Gentile) be *in Christ!!!* ~ He (or she) is a new creation.. ~ Nicodemus, (the original “Nic-at-nite!”) you sir, MUST be born from Above! ~
Why? Didn’t Nicodemus (whose name is “Superior”) “keep kosher?” What is this “second birth?” How does a man (any man) enter again into his mother’s womb?
And our LORD then said..