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In my last post we looked at Deuteronomy 6:4-9 where it describes how we are to love God. Following that are several commands that both Jews and Christians observe, like "teaching your children God's Word" and "speaking of God's Word constantly." Finally, we are given two further commands about what we are to do with God's Word. We are to wear it on our hands and forehead and we are to put it on our doorposts and our gates. These last commands are not viewed as very essential to most Christians.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (KJV)
4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Yet, here they are, in the midst of how we are to demonstrate our love for God. In fact, these two commands are two more ways of showing our love. We are to wear tefillin, in other words, we are to bind some of God's Word upon our hands and on our foreheads. Traditionally, only males wear tefillin. They are little boxes attached to a long strap that are placed on the arm and hand, and another one on the forehead. Inside of the box is a small piece of Scripture.
Secondly, we are to place mezuzahs on our doorposts and gates. Again, a small piece of Scripture (the mezuzah) is placed inside a small case that is attached to the doorpost of one's house.
Why did God feel that these two rather obscure commands were necessary? In order to ascertain why, we need to look further at the passage in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 6:10-15 (KJV)
10
And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11
And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12
Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15
(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Once the people came into the Promised Land and they were living well, God warned them not to forget Him (verse 12). They were to fear God, serve Him, and not go after the gods of their neighbors (verses 13 & 14). For if they did, God would destroy them from off the face of the earth (verse 15). The advice given in verses 4 through 9 were meant as helps in remembering God's Word and His commandments. Again, God was trying to keep the people safe by giving them tools to help them stay in Him.
As Christians are we so arrogant to believe that we don't need help in remembering God's commands? Perhaps we are just naive. In any case, it is time to reclaim the commands of God and put them to practice.
Showing posts with label Mezuzah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mezuzah. Show all posts
Monday, June 17, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Hear, O, Israel! But Forget The Tefillin and the Mezuzah!
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 is a beloved passage in Scripture for both Christians and Jews.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (KJV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
In a way, this passage is our statement of faith!
This is not surprising that the Jews believe this, since it is plainly addressed to Israel. However, Christians also accept this statement. Those in Replacement Theology believe that God is done with Israel, so therefore everything supposedly for Israel is now for the church, except that the Law has been fulfilled by Yeshua and is no longer applicable. This statement of faith, however, does apply. For the Dispensationalists, this is one of the few times that they will admit that the passage is for both Israel and the church, even though, again, the Law has been fulfilled and is no longer applicable.
The reason for Christians accepting this statement undoubtedly has to do with Yeshua's repetition of it in the New Testament.
Matthew 22:37 (KJV)
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Therefore, even though it is in the Old Testament, it is applicable to Christians. But why does the passage end with verse 7, when the topic of this statement of faith continues for at least two more verses? Let's look at those verses.
Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (KJV)
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
These verses contain commands from God Almighty. Can it be, that Christians will accept a statement of faith, but will stop at following the commands that result from that faith statement?
The reasoning is again that Yeshua has fulfilled the Law and any commands are over and done with. However, no Christian seriously believes that the commands against murder and theft are done away with even though Yeshua also fulfilled those commands. It is only those "Jewish ritual" type of commands that seem to be repugnant to the Christian.
Christians again would respond that Old Testament Law is applicable to Christians only if Yeshua repeated those commands. Therefore, the commands against murder and theft are still in force.
Although Yeshua did not verbally repeat the commands to wear tefillin or to put up a mezuzah on one's doorpost, He would have worn tefillin in obedience to God's command and He would have lived in homes where mezuzahs were placed on the doorposts. To do any other would have disqualified Him from being the unblemished sacrifice for our sin. Why would we not want to emulate our Savior and God?
But what exactly are tefillin and mezuzahs? Stay tuned for next time! We'll also discuss the reasons for them.
Next:
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (KJV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
In a way, this passage is our statement of faith!
This is not surprising that the Jews believe this, since it is plainly addressed to Israel. However, Christians also accept this statement. Those in Replacement Theology believe that God is done with Israel, so therefore everything supposedly for Israel is now for the church, except that the Law has been fulfilled by Yeshua and is no longer applicable. This statement of faith, however, does apply. For the Dispensationalists, this is one of the few times that they will admit that the passage is for both Israel and the church, even though, again, the Law has been fulfilled and is no longer applicable.
The reason for Christians accepting this statement undoubtedly has to do with Yeshua's repetition of it in the New Testament.
Matthew 22:37 (KJV)
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Therefore, even though it is in the Old Testament, it is applicable to Christians. But why does the passage end with verse 7, when the topic of this statement of faith continues for at least two more verses? Let's look at those verses.
Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (KJV)
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
These verses contain commands from God Almighty. Can it be, that Christians will accept a statement of faith, but will stop at following the commands that result from that faith statement?
The reasoning is again that Yeshua has fulfilled the Law and any commands are over and done with. However, no Christian seriously believes that the commands against murder and theft are done away with even though Yeshua also fulfilled those commands. It is only those "Jewish ritual" type of commands that seem to be repugnant to the Christian.
Christians again would respond that Old Testament Law is applicable to Christians only if Yeshua repeated those commands. Therefore, the commands against murder and theft are still in force.
Although Yeshua did not verbally repeat the commands to wear tefillin or to put up a mezuzah on one's doorpost, He would have worn tefillin in obedience to God's command and He would have lived in homes where mezuzahs were placed on the doorposts. To do any other would have disqualified Him from being the unblemished sacrifice for our sin. Why would we not want to emulate our Savior and God?
But what exactly are tefillin and mezuzahs? Stay tuned for next time! We'll also discuss the reasons for them.
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