Our Heavenly Father’s Instructions…Are They Important?
YOU Decide!
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Our Heavenly Father, Yahuah, spoke to Moses telling him to teach His torah/commandments to His people. Yahuah wrote these instructions, with his finger, on two tablets of sapphire stone. These ten commandments were meant for ALL generations!
Exodus 24:12 And Yahuah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exodus 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of Elohim.
Deuteronomy 4:12 And Yahuah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. 4:14 And Yahuah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that Yahuah thy Elohim, he is Elohim, the faithful EL, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
In the Book of Matthew, Yahusha (you may know Him as Jesus), Yahuah’s son (you may know Him as God’s son), was asked a question about these very same instructions.
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 22:37 Yahusha said unto him, Thou shalt love Master thy Yahuah with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Yahuah had TEN commands that He wants us to follow. The first five are the instructions to show us how to love Him, our Heavenly Father (Exodus 20:1-12) and the last five show us how to love others (Exodus 20:13-17).
Exodus 20:1 And Elohim spake all these words, saying,
20:2 I am Yahuah thy Elohim, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
#1 20:3 Thou shalt have no other elohim before me..
#2 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I Yahuah thy Elohim am a jealous EL, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
#3 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of Yahuah thy Elohim in vain; for Yahuah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
#4 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahuah thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 20:11 For in six days Yahuah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahuah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
#5 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which Yahuah thy Elohim giveth thee. .
#6 Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
#7 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
#8 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
#9 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
#10 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Again, the question asked was, “Which commandment is the greatest of all ten?” In which Yahusha replied with the two greatest commandments. Many people are taught, or believe, this answer was telling them that they need to ONLY follow those two instructions. However, verse 40 of Matthew 22 clearly states that on these two commandments (Love Yahuah and Love your neighbor) ALL TEN of the given instructions hang. Eight of them have NOT been done away with! Obeying ALL TEN of Yahuah’s commandments are extremely important to our walk as we can see in multiple places throughout the Bible. For instance,
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1John 5:3 For this is the love of Yahuah, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Psalms 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
2John 1:4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
When we find and read verses like these in the scriptures, it seems to me that it is extremely important to follow the instructions that our Heavenly Father laid out, especially for those of us who claim to truly love Him.
1John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Now, I realize that many of us, including myself, were taught the ten commandments growing up and how important they were to follow and abide by. We understood what it meant to do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie or bear false witness, but did (or do) we really have the correct understanding of what the other seven commandments truly mean?
For example, let’s look at commandment #3. Thou shalt not take the name of Yahuah thy Elohim in vain. I grew up thinking that meant not to put a swear word with My Father’s name. Did you know that vain actually means to bring to nothing or emptiness? Translators of the Bible have done just that! They have taken out our Heavenly Father’s true name, YAHUAH, and replaced it with God or LORD thousands of times. (In fact, LORD is used 7,970 times and God is used 4,473 times in the King James version!) YAHUAH means “He that breathes life,” which is just what Our Father did in Genesis 2:7 (And Yahuah Elohiym formed the man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living soul.) Also, we are told in John 5:43 that Our Father’s son comes in His name as well (I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.) Our Father’s son’s name is YAHUSHA, which means “YAH saves,” and as you can plainly see, YAHU is found in both names. You cannot get the name Jesus in the names God or LORD! Here is another fact, did you know that there was no letter “J” in the English language until about 400-500 years ago? The letter/sound that we now use the letter “J” for, used to be the sound for our letter “Y,” like in the word yes. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/J-letter) Therefore, the name Jesus cannot be accurate! Using the correct name for a person is the first step in building a relationship. When you meet someone for the first time, you introduce yourself by telling them your name. When you talk to a friend or your spouse, you address them by their name. Could you imagine how they would feel if you called them by another or the wrong name? There are also many scriptures that address using Our Heavenly Father’s correct name:
Ezekiel 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am Yahuah, the Holy One in Israel.
Jeremiah 16:21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Yahuah.
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahuah shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as Yahuah hath said, and in the remnant whom Yahuah shall call.
Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of Yahuah, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let Yahuah be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 15:23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of Yahuah; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of Yahuah. 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Revelation 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
As you can see, there are many blessings you will receive by using the Heavenly Father’s correct name, not a name that has been replaced or that has been brought to nothing by translators whether on purpose or by mistake.
Now, let’s look at commandment #4, remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Growing up, I went to church just about every Sunday like clockwork and it was important to my family. Attending church service after I got married and while raising my family it was also important as well. Then, we found out that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day of the week (Saturday) to the first day of the week (Sunday) by Constantine (https://sabbathfacts.org/constantine-changed-the-sabbath/). Unfortunately, many people still believe in the first day Sabbath even though it goes against Scripture.
Did you know, there is NOT ONE verse in the Bible that supports a weekly first day (Sunday) Sabbath rest/worship? However, there are many verses that mention a weekly seventh day Sabbath rest/worship.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2:2 And on the seventh day Elohim ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 2:3 And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made.
Exodus 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31:15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to Yahuah: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Yahuah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Deuteronomy 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as Yahuah thy Elohim hath commanded thee. 5:13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 5:14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahuah thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of Yahuah in all your dwellings.
Exodus 16:4 Then said Yahuah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 16:5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Exodus 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to Yahuah: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of Yahuah, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in Yahuah; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Yahuah hath spoken it.
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of man is Supreme Authority/Master even of the sabbath day.
Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Supreme Authority/Master also of the sabbath.
Mark 6:2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
Another interesting fact is that Saturday in many languages comes from the word Sabbath such as: Greeks use Sabbaton*, Slovenians use Sobota, in Spanish it is Sábado, in Polish it is Sobota, Portuguese say Sábado, Romanians say Sâmbătă, and Italians use Sabato, just to name a few.
*Sabbaton (G4521) is normally used for the word Sabbath (59 times to be exact), but for some reason, the translators of the King James Bible used this same word for the word “week” 9 times.
As Believers, we must also be careful about commandments #1 and #2. We must be extremely cautious of what images (pictures, statues, trinkets, etc.) we look at. These objects may seem harmless to us, but NOT to our Heavenly Father, who tells us to stay away from idols. An idol can be anything that takes our mind/focus off of Him.
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other elohim before me. 5:8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I Yahuah thy Elohim am a jealous EL, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 5:10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 6:14 Ye shall not go after other elohim, of the elohim of the people which are round about you; 6:15 (For Yahuah thy Elohim is a jealous EL among you) lest the anger of Yahuah thy Elohim be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other el: for Yahuah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous EL:
1Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
Lastly, I want to share a few thoughts about commandment #5. As a child, I was always taught that it is important to respect your parents and elders. However, what I did not know, was that by doing this, you are not only blessed, because this commandment also comes with a promise, but you are respecting your Heavenly Father as well.
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as Yahuah thy Elohim hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Yahuah thy Elohim giveth thee.
Matthew 15:4 For Yahuah commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Proverbs 20:20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Master: for this is right. 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise😉 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Unfortunately, many people today will tell you that since Yahusha came in the flesh, you no longer have to keep Yahuah’s commandments/instructions, but rather you just have to have faith in the Messiah. However, that cannot be correct since we just found out that we are to keep His Commandments forever or to a thousand generations. We must “work” to show ourselves approved to Yahuah by following His instructions each and every day. Yahusha came to save us from facing the penalty of breaking the Law, which was death, not to save us from keeping the Law!
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I (Yahusha) am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 2:19 Thou believest that there is one Yahuah; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed Yahuah, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of Yahuah. 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
That is all I wanted to share in this teaching. Now, it is up to you to decide if our Heavenly Father’s instructions (commandments) are important to follow and if His covenant is still valid today.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, Yahuah: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Please take some time to study these matters out for yourself. 2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto Yahuah, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. My prayer is that we all gain more wisdom and understanding in these matters, so that we can follow in His way, abiding by His instructions. This action in Hebrew is called shama (H8085) which means listen/hear and obey.
Proverbs 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Yahuah, and find the knowledge of Elohim. 2:6 For Yahuah giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
For additional study into this matter I would strongly encourage you to read Psalms 119, which happens to be the longest chapter in the Bible. Here are the first eight verses of that very important chapter:
Psalms 119:1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of Yahuah. 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 119:3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
Shalom!
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