The Glory of the 10 Devarim - Understanding the essence of the 10 Commandments Part 2
The 10 Devarim are filled with promise of shalom as all of the Torah is rooted in these words. All of Fathers laws and commands, His statutes and precepts have their foundation in these 10 Words. Yeshua in His teaching in the gosepls continues to teach on these Words and expounds further and deeper into this truth (Matthew 5).
Picking up from the previous blog we unpacked a few of the devarim and in this post we will continue to do so.
We start with the Devarim 3 and 8.
The 3rd devarim says “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Many hold the belief that this is just about swearing and using the name of Jesus/God when cursing. When we do use the name of our Adonai Elohim to curse or swear it shows a complete lack of reverence for Him and His holiness but it is even more serious when you look deeper.
This is speaking of the reverence of Adonai. Without reverence we cannot hope to operate in His wisdom. Those who do not revere Elohim will therefor not be operating within the manifestations of the Spirit which Yeshua did as an example for us to follow.
Using the name of Adonai in vain is also about deception. The word vain in the Hebrew text is the word shav – Strongs 7723 and it means emptiness, vanity, falsehood, deceit, deception.
In ancient Israel, an oath was a solemn statement that began חי־יהוה (chai Adonai)—“as the Lord lives”—and meant: “If I don’t fulfill this oath, may YHVH, who lives strike me dead!”
When we use the name of Adonai to make an oath or an agreement or when we bring a message in the name of Elohim without wisdom or out of our flesh this would be using His name in vain. This is an incredibly serious thing to do and it comes from a place of lack of reverence for our Elohim. The word 'take' in terms of take in this scripture is the word nasa (Strongs 5375) and it means to lift, to carry, to take up. So, when we do take up Father’s name we carry it as Aharon bore the names of the twelve Tribes on His breastplate.
This is not something we should take lightly and all those who took up the name of Adonai were to keep their oaths or they were to face the consequences thereof. This is why there are laws around oaths and a father or a husband being able to remove an oath from a woman in their household to protect her. (Numbers 30)
Yeshua gave us great wisdom around this in order to prevent us from stepping into sin with this regard –
When we do take Adonai’s name in vain it is also a form of theft. Every time we misuse the name of Adonai we steal His glory. When we don’t revere His name we also diminish His glory shining out of our own lives. Theft is also about deception and dishonesty, taking that which is not yours. When we use the name of Adonai for our own glory and to make ourselves look great we steal from Father and we rob others of His presence.
We can see how Devarim 3 and 8 are therefor also linked with Devarim 5, honour your mother and father. When we live an honouring life and honour others in the physical realm, honouring Father in the spiritual realm will be a natural response.
Devarim 4 and 9
Keeping the Sabbath often evokes a lot of emotion among believers. Many say that the laws have been done away with but this could not be further from the truth! If we say the laws of the Torah have been done away with on the cross, then what of murder and adultery? Are these commands still valid? All will say absolutely – well on the basis of this we cannot say that the Sabbath, out of all the commands, is the only one we no longer need to keep. Even after Yeshua’s death the disciples kept the Sabbath – Paul being one of them whose teachings have been so misunderstood and taken out of context for centuries.
The Sabbath has not been done away with.
The Sabbath was the very first thing Adonai declared as holy and set apart. Yeshua was and is Lord of the Sabbath.
This is a day that sadly since the Council of Laodicea has been changed to a Sunday and even then, we see all sorts of work being done on a Sunday – so in essence it is still not set apart by believers.
This devarim is linked to the 9th Devarim which is:
Exodus 20:16 Do not give false evidence against your neighbour
When we don’t keep the Sabbath we are giving a false witness to the world. How can we call ourselves believers when we don’t keep the Word as we have been instructed to? This is not a hard thing to do but it does require sacrifice, sacrifice of our pleasures and habits.
For us as a family, the keeping of the Sabbath has ministered to each of our hearts about the rest of our Adonai Elohim and what He has for us. Our bodies actually long for the Sabbath and when we have not rested as we have been called to we truly have felt it in the week both on a physical and spiritual level.
The Sabbath is a sign of our fidelity to Father – that we uphold His truth and that we rely solely on Him for our provision. This devarim then linked to Devarim 7 – do not commit adultery.
How faithful are we in our walk and what do we reveal to the world about our reverence and honour of our King and our faithfulness to His Word?
In order for us to experience His Lordship in our lives we must be fully surrendered in giving our time to Him – all that we are.
Then finally Devarim 5 and 6.
Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you.
The Hebrew word for honour here is the word kabbed (Strongs 3513). This means to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome.
That does sound a little odd doesn’t it?
What it does refer to is the fact that this is not something we are to take lightly and it is a behaviour that carries weight and significance. This is why when we do honour our parents, Father promises us long and good life. Deuteronomy 5:16
The 6th Devarim tells us do not murder.
Murder is absolute dishonour, dishonour for life and for the image of Adonai in which every human being is made. Murder is not just a taking someone’s life but also ruining and marring someone’s reputation. If you think about how our words create such damage especially with social media today. We need to walk away from false and damaging reports about others. Father calls us to live a life that is honouring and life giving.
When we keep His commands we show our love for Adonai Elohim with all our, hearts, minds and souls and we will then love our neighbour as ourselves. Each of these commands are fulfilled within those two that Yeshua summarised in Matthew 22:34-40.
Yeshua was not saying that the 10 devarim don’t apply, He was saying on these 2 commands all of the Torah is hinged. All 10 of the devarim are held within these 2 summarised commandments.
As always may you test everything written by man and be blessed as you study the Word. May it being revelation and insight as you wall in Father’s Ways.
May you be blessed as you study.
Michelle