Scriptures

Exodus 21:1-24:18

Haftorah Reading
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26

B’rit Chadashah
On the penalty for violating the law: Hebrews 10:28–31
On retaliation: Matthew 5:38–42; 26:52
On restitution for thievery: Luke 19:8
On loving our enemies and helping the poor: Luke 6:35
Lawbreakers will be excluded from the New Jerusalem: Revelation 22:15
Caring for the helpless and abandoned: James 1:27
On being honest and truthful: Ephesians 4:25
The fate of those who take advantage of others: Revelation 12:10; James 2:5–6
On avoiding all evil or sin: 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 5:7–8
On the feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles: Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8; John 7:37
On Yeshua at Sinai: Acts 7:38; Hebrews 12:25–29
On the blood of Yeshua ratifying the Renewed Covenant: Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20; 1 Peter 1:2, 19
On the Renewed Covenant with Israel: Hebrews 8:7–13; 9:15–22; 12:24; 13:20
On the glory of YHVH-Yeshua: 1 Timothy 6:16; Revelation 4:2–6; Matthew 17:5; Acts 1:9

Etz Chayeem Hoo (He Is a Tree of Life)

Yeshua is a tree of life to those who take hold of Him, and those who support Him are praiseworthy. His ways are ways of pleasantness and all of His paths are shalom. Bring us back YHVH to You, and we shall come, renew our days as of old.

As we begin to study the Torah let us never forget that YESHUA THE MESSIAH is the Living Torah, the Torah-Word of Elohim made flesh. He is the way, the truth and the life — the Living Manna sent from heaven. Without Him living in our lives through the indwelling Presence of his Set-Apart/Kadosh Spirit (Who leads us into all truth and revelation) the Written Torah can become the dead letter of the law!

Outline of This Week’s Parashah:

• 21:1 The Civil Laws /Mishpatim
• 21:2 Israelite Bondsmen
• 21:7 “Sale” of a Daughter to a Fellow Israelite as a Bondswoman
• 21:12 Murder and Manslaughter and Killing a Slave/Servant
• 21:22 Penalty for Bodily Injury and the Humane Treatment of Servants
• 21:26 Death Caused by One’s Animal—An Owner’s Responsibility
• 21:33 A Pit—An Owner’s Responsibility
• 21:35 One’s Animal Injuring Someone Else
• 21:37 One Who Steals Livestock/Someone Else’s Property to Restore Severalfold
• 22:1 Self Defense; Payment for Theft
• 22:4[5] One’s Livestock Damaging Someone Else’s Property
• 22:6[7] Laws of Shomrim (Custodian of Other People’s Property)
• 22:13[14] The Responsibilities of a Borrower or a Renter When Damage Is Caused to Property
• 22:15[16] Penalties For Seduction of a Virgin (Premarital Sex)—Premarital Sex Consummates and Establishes a Marriage
• 22:20[21] Sensitivity to the Helpless and Abandoned—Care of Widows, Orphans and Strangers
• 22:24[25] The Commandment to Extend Interest-Free Loans
• 23:1 Integrity of the Judicial Process and Fair Dispensation of Justice
• 23:10 The Sabbaths of the Land and the Week
• 23:14 The Three Pilgrimage Festivals: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of the Harvest of Firstfruits/Pentecost, the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles
• 23:21 The Promise of Swift Passage to, and Conquest of, the Promised Land
• 24:1 Moses Ratifies the Sinaitic/Mosaic Covenant
• 24:7 Israel Vows to Do and to Obey
• 24:9 Prophecy at the Mountain; Moses Ascends Mount Sinai to Receive the Stone Tablets

Study Questions For This Week’s Midrash (Torah Discussion):

1. 21:1 These are the judgments [mishpatim]. Most of these laws are civil in nature and relate to our relationship with our fellow man (summarized by the phrase, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” Lev 19:18). These laws would correspond to the second half (five through ten) of the Ten Words or Commandments of Exodus 20. Can you see how these civil laws are an expansion or elucidation of those foundational principles given in chapter 20? For example, death by someone’s animal relates to murder (thou shalt not murder), the charging of usury on loaned money relates to coveting or stealing (thou shalt not covet or steal), the land Sabbath and annual Sabbaths (appointed times or moedim) are an expansion of the weekly Sabbath, etc. What other commandments spring from the original ten? Is it possible to see how all 613 of the Torah’s commands spring from the original ten, which form the foundation for the whole? How do the approximately 1056 imperative commands found in the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament) relate to the 613 found in the Torah? Would YHVH’s Word be consistent if any of the 1056 contradict or nullify the 613? If they did, would that make YHVH into a liar and his Word inconsistent with itself (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8; John 10:35)?
2. 23:1 You shall not raise up a false report. The technical term for this is “the evil tongue” or in Hebrew, lashon hara. How often do we spread untruths through gossip and slander when we are not eyewitnesses or have not heard eyewitness accounts of a situation? And then even if we do have our facts straight, is it really necessary to speak derogatorily of someone else? In most cases, is it not better to just let it go and say nothing to anyone about it? Scripture says hatred stirs up strife and that love covers all sin (Prov 10:12). In 1 Peter 4:8 we read, “And above all things have fervent love among yourselves, for love shall cover the multitude of sins.” There are certain things YHVH hates and calls an abomination. For example, read Proverbs 6:16 and 19 where it discusses one of the misuses of the tongue.
3. 23:10–13 The Sabbath principle relates to more than just the weekly Shabbat. Here we see the commands relating to the land Sabbaths and annual Sabbaths or feasts (moedim). What are the blessings in store for us today when we obey YHVH’s Sabbath principles? What are the spiritual implications of these Sabbaths for those of us in the Renewed Covenant time period?
4. 23:13 Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth. What does this means and how does it apply to us today? (Compare this verse with Deut 12:3; Ps 16:4; Hos 2:17; Zeph 3:9.) If we are to be a truly set-apart (kadosh) people then how far should we go in keeping our lips pure by not letting the names of pagan deities come upon them? Is it possible to do so and live in this world? Is it acceptable to use the names of these pagan deities (such as the names of some of the days of the week and months) in our daily life, but exercise care in not using them in the house of worship? Some may say that obeying this command is impossible and ignore it. Others may refuse to say a word that contains the name of a supposed pagan deity thereby making day-to-day communication nearly impossible with those around them. What does YHVH expect from us? How can we live out these difficult commandments today?
5. 23:14–19 Three times you shall keep a feast. Why did YHVH command the Israelites to go up to Jerusalem (or, to make aliyah) only on these three feasts? How does this relate to the seasons and the crops harvested at those times? How does this relate to the plan of salvation and to Yeshua’s first and second comings?
6. 23:17Three times in the year all your males. This command is repeated in Deuteronomy 16:16. Do you follow the command to give an offering three times yearly at the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles) above and beyond your regular tithes as YHVH has blessed you? Many believers struggle with obeying YHVH’s tithing commands much less those pertaining to offerings and then they wonder why YHVH is not blessing their finances. Is this your case? (Read Mal 3:6–14.)
7. 23:20–21Behold, I send a Messenger before you to keep you in the way. Who is this Messenger [Heb. Malak] from YHVH Elohim?(Read and compare this with 1 Cor 10:4.)
8. 24:1 Worship you far off. This verse clearly tells us that man can approach to worship YHVH on the basis of the blood of the Passover lamb, but not on the basis of his own works of the law, since YHVH had not yet ratified the Siniatic Covenant with Israel. That occurs in chapter 24. That is not to say that the works of the Torah (law) are not essential in one’s spiritual walk—they simply are not the basis of our salvation, but rather a guide to lead us in the paths of righteousness once one is saved. Furthermore, Yeshua taught that our works will determine our level of rewards in his kingdom (Matt 5:19). Some have misunderstood Paul’s teachings to mean that since we are not saved by keeping the law, we therefore no longer need to keep the law. This is not what Paul taught, for in numerous places in his writings he upheld the validity of the Torah in the life of the redeemed believer, and even confessed that he was obedient to the law in his own life. (See our teaching articles on this subject on the teaching page of our ministry web site under the heading “Paul” at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/teaching.html#paul)
9. 24:2 Moses alone shall come near YHVH. How does this passage show that Moses was acting as a prophetic shadow-type of Yeshua’s future ministry? Moses was acting as a mediator between YHVH and the Israelites. Similarly, Yeshua acts as our Mediator. (Read Eph 2:18; 1 Tim 2:5; Heb 7:25–26; 8:1–2,5–6; 9:11–22; 10:19–22; 1 John 2:1.)
10. 24:7 Israel says, “I do” once again to YHVH. They said it a total of three times (see also 24:3 and 19:8). How does this relate to their entering into a marriage covenant with YHVH? What is the significance of three times? (See Num 35:30 and Deut 17:6; 19:15. According to Torah-law they were witnessing against themselves in a legally binding agreement or contract.) Also, the word obedient (KJV) in verse seven is the Hebrew word shema (Strong’s H8085). Compare the usage of shema in this passage with the well-known Shema Prayer passage of Deuteronomy 6:4–9 where the word hear in verse one is shema. What does this word mean and why is it so important here? Discuss why the word shemameans to both “hear”and “obey.” What is obedience?
11. 24:8 Moses sprinkled blood on the people and called it “the blood of the covenant.” What are the spiritual ramifications here (relating to Yeshua)? (Read Heb 9:18–20.)
12. In chapter 24, we see YHVH finalizing a contractual agreement with the Israelites. What are the component parts of a modern contract? What aspects of that do we see in this chapter? This contract was also a marital contractual agreement or ketubah. YHVH was marrying his people (See Ezek 16:1–14). But there were terms and conditions. What are the aspects of a modern contract?

    A contract is an agreement made by two or more persons that is enforceable by law. It consists of voluntary promises to do or not to do certain things. When persons make a contract, their promises become legal obligations.… The making of a contract usually involves two important acts, (1) making an offer and (2) accepting the offer. The acts may be verbal or in writing. … Before a contract is formed, the parties usually negotiate terms of the agreement. One party makes one or several offers. As soon as the other party accepts an offer, the negotiations are over. … Most contracts are enforceable only if all parties get something out of the agreement. … A contract is said to be discharged after the obligations of the agreement have been fulfilled. If either party violates the agreement, a breach of contract occurs. In that case, a court ordinarily awards money, called damages, to the other party. (The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 4, article entitled “Contracts,” 1969)

    After reading this, compare a modern contractual agreement with the covenantal agreement between YHVH and his people. Modern contracts have parties who agree, terms are established, a contract or covenant is ratified (there is a signature, handshake, oral agreement) and there are witnesses. There is a penalty clause if there is a breach of contract. Discuss these things in light of what we read in this Parashah concerning the agreement between Israel and YHVH. Who were the parties, what were the terms, how long were the terms binding, what would happen if there was a breach of contract, what were the parties to gain from the fulfillment of the contract?
13. With whom did Israel make a marital covenant or ketubah? With Moses or YHVH Elohim? Is that covenant still binding today? If not, did it get broken, and if so, how and by whom? Who stayed faithful and who did not? Let’s dig into this issue a little deeper as we delve into the study below about the marriage of YHVH to Israel, her unfaithfulness and her marriage covenant and what YHVH did about it.

The Saga of YHVH’s Divorce and Remarriage to Israel
YHVH Marries the Nation of Israel at Mount Sinai

The Hebrew Scriptures are the history of YHVH choosing a spiritual virgin bride from out of the nations of the world, preparing that bride for marriage and then entering into a spiritual, marital and covenantal relationship with his bride. That bride was the nation of Israel whom YHVH married at Mount Sinai. The Torah-law was the marriage agreement or ketubah. Ezekiel describes the marriage between YHVH and Israel succinctly and poetically in the following way:

“And when I passed by you, and saw you polluted in your own blood, I said unto you when you were in your blood, ‘Live’; yes, I said unto you when you were in your blood, ‘Live.’ I have caused you to multiply as the bud of the field, and you have increased and grown up, and you are come to excellent ornaments. Your breasts are fashioned, and your hair is grown, whereas you were naked and bare. Now when I passed by you, and looked upon you, behold, your time was the time of love and I spread my skirt [kanaph which is the corner of a Hebrew cloak carrying the blue fringes or tzitzit, whichnow takes the form of the modern talit or prayer shawl] over you, and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore unto you, and entered into a covenant [i.e., a marriage covenant or ketubah] with you,” said YHVH Elohim, “and you became mine.” (Ezek 16:6–8; read verses 1–43 for context)

One Nation (Wife) Becomes Two Nations or Houses

At the foot of Mount Sinai, YHVH married the nation of Israel who was a spiritual woman comprised of several million Israelites in twelve tribes who were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those twelve tribes remained as a single national entity for 500 years until the death of King David’s son, Solomon. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king over the nation of Israel the northern ten tribes of Israel revolted against Rehoboam and under the leadership of Jeroboam seceded from Israel and formed a separate nation whose capital was Samaria. In countless places, Scripture refers to this nation as the House of Israel, or Ephraim, named after the largest and most prominent tribe of the Northern Kingdom.

Those Israelite tribes (Judah, Benjamin and part of Levi) that remained loyal to Rehoboam were named the House of Judah after the most prominent tribe of the Southern Kingdom.

Whereas YHVH had married the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai, 500 years later that nation split into two. It was still the nation of Israel, but it was like a woman with a split personality who acts like two people. Indeed, Scripture treats her as if she were two separate women, not unlike the patriarch Jacob who intended to marry one woman (Rachel) and through no fault of his own ended up with two wives (Rachel and Leah).

Both Houses Forsake Their Marital Covenant With YHVH in Favor of Foreign Lovers

Eventually both the Houses of Judah and Israel forsook their spiritual marriage agreements they had made earlier with YHVH and committed spiritual adultery by whoring after foreign gods and lovers. They broke their promises and failed to live up to their marital agreements they had made with YHVH at Mount Sinai where they said “I do” three times to YHVH’s marriage covenant (Exod 19:8; 24:3,7). YHVH sent prophet after prophet as recorded in the pages of the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) pleading with Israel to turn back to him. Jeremiah was such a prophet. As YHVH’s prophetic agent, he proclaimed the following in Jeremiah 6:16–19,

Thus says YHVH, "Stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk therein.' Also I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the shofar.' But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my Torah, but rejected it."

Both Houses of Israel Are Unrepentant: YHVH Divorces Them

Yet Israel’s heart was hardened toward YHVH and she refused to repent of her spiritual adulteries; therefore, YHVH was forced to do that which he hates and dissolve the marriage and divorce both houses of Israel, as recorded below:

Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of YHVH which he loved, and has married the daughter of a strange god. YHVH will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offers an offering unto YHVH of Hosts. (Mal 2:11, emphasis added)

We see above that the House of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) prostituted itself to foreign lovers, forsaking YHVH Elohim, resulting in YHVH having to “cut Judah off” or divorce Judah. Although Malachi refers to Judah in the masculine gender here, in many other places in Scripture, Judah is referred to as a woman, as we see in the Jeremiah passage above. Judah was not unique in this, for the House of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) did likewise and YHVH similarly divorced her. This is recorded in Isaiah 50:1,

Thus said YHVH, "Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement [called a get], whom I have put away or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have you sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away."

YHVH is not asking whether there is a get or not, but rather asking to be shown the get that he had previously written. How do we know this is the correct interpretation? If he had not put her away (divorced her) why would he have to make a renewed covenant (or renew his marriage vows) with her (in Jer 31:31–33)? Furthermore we read in the following Scriptures:

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.(Jer 3:8)

Then said [Elohim], “Call his name Lo-ami: for you are not my people, and I will not be your [Elohim].” (Hos 1:9)

Plead with your mother, plead, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. (Hos 2:2, emphasis added on all)

We ask the question again, after Israel and YHVH formulated a covenantal agreement who broke that marriage covenant, YHVH or Israel? The writer of Hebrews answers this question.

For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, [Who was at fault? YHVH or the people? The covenant or agreement failed because one of the covenanting parties failed to keep their end of the agreement. Torah—the terms of the agreement—did not fail, the people did!] he says, “Behold, the days come, says YHVH, when I will make a renewed covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah: [This statement is based on Jeremiah’s prophecy in Jer. 31:31-33.] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says YHVH. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHVH; I will put my Torah into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them an Elohim, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know YHVH,’ for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” In that he says, “A renewed covenant,” he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away. (Heb 8:7–13, emphasis added).

This sounds like good news for YHVH’s people, but what is the good news that is really behind the gospel message?

It is the good news of the unquenchable love that YHVH-Yeshua has for his people Israel who have been dispersed and exiled among the Gentiles. They were cut off from their Maker, who was their Husband. They became aliens from the covenants of promise and from the commonwealth of Israel, without Elohim and without hope, but who have been brought near and redeemed by the blood of Messiah Yeshua, the Suffering Servant. Yeshua paid the price for the sin of their spiritual adultery and for breaking their marriage agreements with YHVH. As a result of the Father’s love, they are no longer strangers and aliens, but like the prodigal son in Yeshua’s parable, are coming back into their Father’s household (Eph 2:11–19).

Scripture likens Israel to an olive tree and clearly states that because of sin not only were the rebellious northern ten tribes (Ephraim) broken off of the olive tree of Israel, but so were the Jews of the Southern Kingdom broken off, as well (Jer 11:16–17). These same Israelites have to be grafted back into the olive tree of Israel through faith in Messiah Yeshua, the Redeemer and Savior of Israel (Rom 11:13–24; Gal 3:29; Rom 9:8,11).

Yes, YHVH has provided the way for wayward Israel to return to him. He is holding out a cup of wine to Israel, his bride, called the Cup of Redemption­ —the third cup of the Jewish Passover Seder, which corresponds to the Cup of Acceptance that a Jewish maiden drinks at her betrothal ceremony to show her Israelite suitor that she accepts his marriage proposal. This same cup of wine corresponds to the one Yeshua drank on the night of his Passover with his disciples. On that momentous night, he drank from the cup, and passed it around for them to drink from it, as well. When they did this, they were accepting, as representatives of the spiritual bride of Israel, Yeshua’s marriage proposal to Israel. This corresponds to a new believer in Yeshua confessing with his mouth Yeshua as Master and believing in his heart that Elohim has raised him from the dead. At this point, one believes unto righteousness and accepts the redemption of Messiah Yeshua and is saved (Rom 10:9–10), which corresponds to being grafted into the olive tree or tree of life, which is a picture of Yeshua who is the Tree of Life of which he said, “I am the vine and you are the branches … (John 15:1–6; see also Rom 11:13–24).

Haftorah Reading—Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
YHVH Rebukes Judah for its Greedy Disregard for Torah

As the name of the Parashah indicates, Mishpatim (meaning “judgments, ordinances or civil laws”), YHVH is greatly concerned with human dignity. That dignity is determined by how members of a society treat one another. A large section of YHVH’s Torah delineates laws that govern human relationships to insure that dignity, peace, freedom and order are preserved in a society. Both the Parashah and the Haftorah portions deal with the subject of Israelites who, when faced with economic hardships, could sell themselves into servitude to another Israelite in order to pay their debts. But after six years, in the seventh year, the servants were to be set free and all debts were to be forgiven. This was an amazing economic mechanism that insured that the poor would never fall so low as to become permanently so—like serfs—that they would never be able to recover, and conversely, that the rich would never become so wealthy off the backs of the impoverished that they would become permanent feudal lords, so to speak. So every seven years there was a sort of partial wealth redistribution or equalization, but not in the manner that punished or killed incentive, as was/is the case in modern non-capitalistic communistic societies (e.g., the ex-Soviet Union and Cuba). The wealthy were taught to care for their poor brethren, while the poor were given a fresh start economically and a fresh dose of human dignity every seven years. Our modern bankruptcy laws no doubt originate from this concept in YHVH’s Torah, namely, that one can declare bankruptcy only every seven years.

Many of the world’s super wealthy are ripe for judgment for their enslavement of people for their greedy purposes. In fact, this is a major component of the end-time Babylon the Great world economic system (Rev 18:11ff, especially note verse 11, which says the rich merchants of end-time Babylon have used human slaves to enrich themselves. Compare this with what YHVH’s Word says in James 5:1–6.

The rich Jews of Jeremiah’s day were about to bring the guillotine of YHVH’s judgment down upon their necks for their years of disobedience to YHVH’s Torah commandments, not to mention their idolatry, through their greedy exploitation of their poor Jewish brothers. In fact, their careless disregard for their brethren seems to have hastened YHVH’s judgment against Jerusalem, according to what we read in this week’s Haftorah passage.

1. According to the commentary in Soncino Pentateuch on this passage, in the face of disaster threatening Israel at the hands of the Babylonian besiegers, the last king of Judah had induced the ruling classes to bind themselves by oath to release their slaves, so that no Jew should any longer be a bondman to a fellow Jew. They did so, but subsequently, when the danger had passed, they impiously broke their oath, and forced their emancipated brethren back into bondage. Jeremiah is outraged at this base conduct, and announces that the enemy will soon return. Then fire, war, hunger and pestilence will rage in the city (Ibid. p. 323). What lessons can we learn from this? How often have we individually, or collectively as a family, congregation, or nation been walking in sin only to have YHVH send us a 9/11 or hurricane Katrina type wake-up call in hopes of getting our attention? We shed a few tears and collectively sigh, but once the disaster is passed, in pride we rise up, determined to continue in our old ways, as before, failing to learn any lessons from our past mistakes. In the absence of life-changing repentance, we may be leaving YHVH with no choice but to use on us a stronger wake up call the next time.
2. 34:8–10, 18 Zedekiah was a wicked king, and as Rabbi Hirsch points out in his commentary, his act of getting the wealthy Jews to promise to set their Jewish slaves free in accordance with the Torah was “a beautiful ray of light in the dark night, a nobler nature shining through” courtesy of the king. “But alas, it was only a passing impulsive emotion on the part of the king, and a frivolous farce on the part of the great ones, the priests, and the people. For those who had just been given their freedom were immediately violently forced back into the old slavery! It was the most brazen-faced mockery which they dared sling into the face of their [Elohim], paired with the most heartless cruelty towards the unhappy slaves so horribly deceived” (The Pentateuch/Haftoroth, p. 183). Nationally, can we recollect in our lifetime the occurrence of such superficial tokens of spiritual recrudescence? A national disaster occurs that at some level may seem as a wake up call from the Almighty and our political and spiritual leaders give a quick mention of “God,” say a quick prayer, have a moment of silence, have a prayer meeting, hold a candlelight vigil, sing Kumbaiah, and maybe even lead the nation in a “national day of prayer.” But when all is said and done, the religious platitudes and rituals aside, nothing changes in the life of the nation or the individual and afterwards it is business as usual as if nothing happened. What is the lesson in this for us in our own lives?
3. Are we ever guilty of “enslaving” people to work for us in contravention of YHVH’s Torah? In our careless and sometimes spiritually lax modern lifestyle, we may be guilty of unwittingly sinning in this area. For example, do our actions ever require people to serve us on the Shabbat? Do we own a company where we require people to work for us on the Sabbath? Do we go to a restaurant and require people to cook and to wait on us on the Shabbat? Do we buy and sell on the Shabbat? When we stay in a hotel, do we require people to clean our rooms on the Sabbath? (Read Exod 20:10.) The Torah’s land Sabbaths, seven-year release of servants and forgiveness of debts and observance of the Jubilee years spring forth from YHVH’s Decalogue commands to keep the Sabbath and to not steal.
4. One of YHVH’s character attributes and covenant names is “El of truth [Heb. emunah meaning also “faithfulness”], without injustice [Heb. eval meaning “wickedness, unrighteousness, injustice”], righteous [Heb. tzedaqah meaning “just, lawful, right”] and upright [Heb. yasher meaning “straight, level, correct”] is he” (Deut 32:4). In Jeremiah 33:15, we read a prophecy concerning the Messiah, “In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment [mishpat] and righteousness [tzedaqah] in the earth.” Then in the next verse we read, “In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, YHVH our righteousness [tzidkaynu].” What we see from this brief study is that the name and character traits of YHVH are linked—they are the same. Does he want his people to be like him? How does he treat us? The same way we treat others, or much better than that? Now relate this to the overall spiritual issues for which Jeremiah was taking the Jews of his day to task, issues that because the people refused to take to heart brought ultimate judgment upon that nation. What is the summation of YHVH’s Torah? (Read Deut 6:4; Lev 19:18 and compare with Mark 12:30–31 and 1 John 2:3–6, 9–11; 3:7–10, 14–18.) As a popular radio personality likes to say, “Now go do the right thing!”