I would like to present a few premises:
If you believe the Bible,then—

Premise #1.  God does not change.

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Heb.1:10″ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands… and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,( quote of Psalm 102:25)

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

You can find passages in the scripture where God in his mercy chose to deal with his people in another way, as when Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the whole nation of Israel and start over with him. Or when Nineva turned from their evil ways and God did not destroy them.

But God keeps his word, his promises, his covenants.

Premise #2.  There are things we are to do for ever.  Throughout our generations.

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:24  You must observe this event as an ordinance for you and for your children forever.

Exo 31:13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Lev 3:17  It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

Lev 6:18  All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.

Lev 10:9  Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Lev 17:7  And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

Lev 23:14  And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Lev 23:21  And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Deu 12:28  Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.

For ever, throughout your genereations, however you state it, it means forever.

It does not say “until the Messiah comes”.

As a matter of fact, the Messiah said “Luk 16:17  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. ” and “Mat 5:18  For assuredly I say to you, until heaven and earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle shall by no means pass away from the law until all things are fulfilled. ”

But, you argue, this was only for the children of Israel

Really?

Exo 12:48  And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

Num 9:14  And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

Exo 12:49  One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: 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:

Lev 16:29  And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

Lev 17:12  Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

Lev 17:15  And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

Lev 18:26  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

Lev 19:34  But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 24:22  Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

Num 15:13  All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Num 15:14  And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do.
Num 15:15  One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
Num 15:16  One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you

Sounds to me like the ordinances were for everyone.  One set of rules for all.

So, if you agree with premise #1 and premise #2 God does not change, and there are things he told us to do forever –  tell me, are you observing the appointed times in Leviticus 23?

If not, can you tell me why not?

I was speaking with a friend the other evening, and I sort of stumbled on to something.  Have you ever had someone tell you something more than once?  Were they trying to make sure that you understood something, or that you “got the message?”  How about this, have you ever had to tell someone something more than once?  After the first couple of times, do you get a little annoyed?

If you want to transmit a message via radio waves, and make sure it gets there, you break it up into packets and then you broadcast those packets using scattered frequencies, and you broadcast several copes.  Then the receiver on the other end collects the packets and re-assembles them, using good copies and discarding the duplicates.  You are assured of a good, solid, reliable message transmission using that technology.

The Creator of this universe understood that well before we thought of that technology.  There are 4 books of the Gospel.  All have a slightly different viewpoints due to the authors, but if you read all 4, you will get the message.

But that was not the first time a concept was repeated in the Bible.  Do you believe the Bible?  All of it?  Cover to cover?  Here’s a little test.

The “10 Commandments”are listed in the Bible in two  places, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.  Hopefully we can all agree that these commandments were important enough that they were repeated 2 times.  We should really take note of those.

Our Creator mentioned something in the Bible that is in close to 116 verses in most translations of the Bible.  30 Verses in the first 5 books of the Bible, 31 times in the remainder of the  ”Old Testament,” and it is mentioned in another  55 verses in the “New Testament.”

Would you call that important?  Maybe we should give some consideration to this concept.

Here are some example scriptures to look at:

Exodus 16:23 ; Exodus 20:8-11 ;Exodus 31:14-16 ;Exodus 35:2-3;
Leviticus 16:31 Leviticus 23:3 ;Leviticus 24:8 Numbers 28:9-10; Deuteronomy 5:12-15

All these are about the sabbath.  7th day Sabbath.  You do observe the Sabbath, don’t you?
Sunday does not count here.  You may worship on Sunday, but that is not setting the Sabbath apart and keeping it Holy.

Let’s talk about some other things mentioned multiple times:

Pesach/Passover –  In the Torah: 21 verses, among them-
Exodus 12:11-48; Leviticus 23:5 Numbers 9:2-14 Numbers 28:16 Deuteronomy 16:1-6
24 Verses in the rest of the “Old Testament”
26 Verses in the “New Testament”
+21+24+26= 71 Verses in the Bible

Would you say that might be important also,  and before you say that is only for the Children of Israel, go read where the Lord of Hosts says “These are MY appointed times.”  He did not say these are the Children of Israel’s appointed times. And He wants his people  to observe them.  Forever.  Throughout your generations. Yeshua observed Passover.  So did the apostles after his resurrection.  Read the “New Testament” and show me if I am wrong.

Shall we look at some more?

Hag Ha Shavuot (Feast of Pentecost)
In the Torah alone, without trying hard — Exodus 34:22;Leviticus 23:15-16;
Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:10  and also Acts 2:1-4.

Sukkot (Feast of Booths/Tabernacle)
Exodus 23:16; 34:22;Lev 23:33-36, 39-43;Deut 16:13-15.

So, I may be going out on a limb, but I think when the Master of the Universe repeatedly tells us something, we should take care to do as he asks.   And we should not vary to the left nor to the right.

But I guess I’m just funny that way.

I haven’t really finished this, but I’m going to post it anyway.  I can’t seem to find the time to spend on it right now:

Coincidence

There is a Bible Study leader that I like to listen to when I get a chance.  He delivers some of the best comprehensive expositional Bible studies I have heard form anyone.  one Statement he makes occasionally is : “if you claim coincidence, you deny the provision of God.”  I can’t say that I disagree.  If you truly believe in God, then there are no coincidences.

I said that to say this:  Over the last year or so, I would see something in the Bible and look at it a different way.  Then a day or so later, in discussion of this view of a passage of scripture with a friend or spouse, or seeing it presented in the same light by another manner, — after the 3rd or 4th time, you have to ask yourself if you are being led somewhere.  While my views might affect those close to me, some of this has come from areas over which  I have no influence.

So, for whatever reason this happens, here is one of those issues.

When I get into theological discussions with some of my friend who do not see things as I see them, and I mention trying to live according to the Torah, I hear fairly often that “the ‘law’ was nailed to the cross” .

the scripture used for this ‘argument’ is:

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; KJV

Most translations are pretty close in this passage.    And many people intrerpret “ordinances that was against us” as  “The Law” and then assume that this means “The Torah”.

I disagree, and not for what I consider trivial reasons.

If “The Law”, or “The Torah” was “nailed to the cross”, and “taken out of the way” – then what does that say about Matthew 5:17-18?

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 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.

I don’t think that heaven and earth have passed away yet.  If you disagree with that point, you are beyond my abilities to help.
And this is Yeshua the Messiah speaking in this passage, so if you want to disagree with him, that’s your choice.

I would not call Yeshua a liar.

So how can “The Law”, or “The Torah” be “taken out of the way” and “nailed to the cross”?

I did a little studying on this.  Generally when you find the word “law” in the “New Testament”, it is translated from a Greek word – nomos, which is loosely defined as “anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command”.

In Colossians 2:14, the “ordinances” that are spoken of are translated from the Greek word dogmasin, a form of the Greek word dogma.

The root word of dogma is dokein which means opinion; belief; to seem good.  This is generally accepted as man-made.

So, in light of Matthew 5:17-18 and the word used in Col 2:14, we see that there is no contradiction.  The ‘dogma’, or man made parts of “the law “that were “nailed to the cross” were the added by man, not written by God.

So, your opinion may be different, but I will stand by mine….

God has given us some specific instructions on how we are to worship Him.  We can worship Him every day, and love Him with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies.  But there are still rules.

1. Cor. 14:33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints

So, we I will stick my neck out here and say we can’t all choose how we want to worship.  If we did, then what I saw as a means of worship, someone else might see is blasphemy.

But we shouldn’t have to worry about this very much, we have a guide book.  It’s called the Bible.

So, you can tell me you have the best of intentions — I can worship God on the lake, or while I sleep late, or (insert your favorite activity).

Let’s look at some people who had “good Intentions” in the Bible, but did not follow God’s instructions.

First – Uzza -
The Philistines were returning the Ark of the Covenant to Israel, since it was causing them issues:
1Ch 13:3  And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul.
1Ch 13:4  And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
1Ch 13:5  So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.
1Ch 13:6  And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.
1Ch 13:7  And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.
1Ch 13:8  And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
1Ch 13:9  And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
1Ch 13:10  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.

So, was Uzza’s heart in the right place?  Were his intentions good?  I will argue yes to both.  But although his heart was in the right place, and his intentions good, he is struck dead by God for disobeying his instructions.

Second  – Aarons’ sons

Lev 10:1  And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
Lev 10:2  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Looks similar to the story above.  There are scholars that will say they were drunk, or did this in an irreverent manner, but the outcome for doing what God said not to do, or failing to do what he says brings about consequences.

Third – Saul -

1Sa 13:5  And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
1Sa 13:6  When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
1Sa 13:7  And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
1Sa 13:8  And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
1Sa 13:9  And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
1Sa 13:10  And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
1Sa 13:11  And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
1Sa 13:12  Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
1Sa 13:13  And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, not the tribe of Levi, and therefore not authorized to make the offering.  He was looking out for his people and his army, and he knew God could deliver victor.  He tried, but it was wrong, and you can read the rest of the story….

Once again, the intentions were good, but God was disobeyed.

Fourth – Uzziah – one more -

2Ch 26:14  And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.
2Ch 26:15  And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
2Ch 26:16  But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
2Ch 26:17  And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:
2Ch 26:18  And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.
2Ch 26:19  Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
2Ch 26:20  And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.
2Ch 26:21  And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

King Uzziah had it all going his way.  And he goes into the Temple to burn incense — but he was of the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi, again, not authorized to bring anything to the altar himself, and he is struck with leprosy.  I think he was trying to show thanks to God, but he did not do it God’s way.

I won’t even get into the moneychangers in the temple, I’ll save that for later.

Lets see if we can get a few points out of this:

1.  We don’t know God’s ways or intentions:

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2.  If we are going to worship the True and Living God, we need to know his ways:

Psa 119:7  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
Psa 119:8  I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
Psa 119:9  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Psa 119:10  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Psa 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psa 119:12  Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:13  With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

3.  God will not accept just any form of worship: see the Aaron’s sons, Saul, and King Uzziah above.

4.  Our intentions are meaningless if not joined with obedience.

1Sa 15:1  Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
1Sa 15:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

1Sa 15:15  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

So, While I truly believe that intentions matter greatly, they are not enough negate the commands of God.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21-23).

Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So, when you decide to worship God on Sunday, and do not observe the Sabbath, the 7th day, as a Holy day unto the Lord, and tell me that your heart is in the right place, and your motives are good, my response is that in God’s word it shows that obedience is better than intention.

Once again, please show me where I am wrong.

I will start this off with a warning:

If you want to have an excuse for not doing that which you know is right, then stop reading now.
Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

I keep hearing the excuses for not following God’s instructions such as “we are under grace now” , and “that was only for the Jews”, etc.

As Ricky Ricardo used to say “Let me ‘splain you something”!

Have you ever heard the expression “That is written in stone”?  What does that mean to you?  Would it be something that can never change?
That’s what it means to me.

Exo 24:12  And the LORD 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.

So God wrote his law on —  STONE.  And who wrote them?  God.  In Stone.   So they can be changed and erased at will?  I don’t think so.

And God does not change, nor  changes his mind about the commandments and things that he wants taught.

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
( quote of Psalm 102:25)

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 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.

So, you can believe scripture, or ignore it.  Oh, and I don’t think “all is fulfilled”.  I’ve read a lot of prophecy that has not occurred yet, so the Torah, God’s word, has not passed away.

So why would God write something in stone, and then later say “never mind”?  You will be hard pressed to convince me of that.
Your faith in Yeshua and his atoning blood will save your soul.  But if you really want to live a life pleasing to God, he has given us his instructions.

It’s only for the Israelites you say?  Really?

When was Shabbat established, anyway?  Could it be pretty early in history?

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

In Genesis, we’re talking hundreds of years before Abraham, so there was no Israel, no Jew or Gentile distinction.  By the way, the 7th day, not the 1st day.

How about before Moses went up on Mt. Sinai?

Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

We’re not to the 10 commandments yet, but Shabbat is observed.

I’ll get off that one, and meddle in something else.

When were the “Jewish”dietary laws established?  Mt. Sinai again?   I don’t think so.   They may have been written down, but the laws were already in place.

How about hundreds of years before Abraham again?  Still no Jew and Gentile separation….

Gen 7:1  And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Gen 7:2  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

So how did Noah “know” what was clean?  God’s laws were in effect then, and man knew.   Again, this is before Abraham, so “gentiles” don’t get a pass here. They may have been written down at Mt. Sinai, but God’s laws were being lived by those who wanted to please him.

And let’s talk about sacrifices…

Gen 4:2  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

From this passage we see that Cain knew what was right, but chose rebellion.  How did Cain and Abel know?  From God.  Again, this is way before Abraham.  So being “gentile” was not an excuse.

And then:

Gen 8:20  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Still want some convincing?

Let’s talk about contracts.  Covenants.  How were contracts and covenants sealed in the old testament?

The Old Testament had a very significant way to enforce covenants. A covenant was sealed by making a sacrifice of a calf (sometimes more animals) that was cut in two and laid on the ground in such a way that is left a path in the middle. The two covenant makers would pass through, swearing that if one broke his part in keeping the covenant, the other had the right to do to him what they did to the sacrifices (Genesis 15:9-17;
Jeremiah 34:18,19).

Paul makes the point in Galatians 3:15, speaking about covenants, that once a covenant is sealed, it cannot be altered in any way. No conditions may be added and it cannot be set aside, in part or in whole.

So, the covenants are sealed with blood.  When Yeshua became our Passover, his blood was shed.

Yeshua worshiped on Shabbat.  He kept the Torah.  Perfectly.

And you want to move your day of worship to Sunday.  God will accept worship at any time.  But he sanctified the 7th day.  It is one of his appointed times.

Look at it this way –  you can take your “significant other” out on a date at any time.  But there are some dates you had better remember and observe, like anniversaries, birthdays, etc.

God expects the same from us.

You hear Osama is dead with no proof of a body and you celebrate.

You hear Christ died and rose again with no proof of a body and you speculate.

Does anyone else see a problem with this?

I figure someone is going to read the previous post and tell me that we are now “under grace”, and we are not bound by the “law”.

Salvation has always been by faith.  Never by keeping the law.  But that doesn’t mean we can go live like we want.   How did God ask his chosen people to live?

Should we not try to do the same?  Especially if we are not the “chosen” people?

And if you ever really read “the law”, you’ll find that 98% of it you do already. Just make a few adjustments and live as God intended for us to live.

Will you fail at times?  Yes, we all sin.  But we have atonement through Yeshua.

And I have question for anyone who wants to tell me we are not under the law: Which of the laws am I entitled to break, now that we are under grace?  I’ll make it easy, I won’t mention the 613 laws, just tell me which of the ten commandments are OK to break.  I eagerly await an answer.

Life has been pretty busy for the last year.  As a matter of fact, I have learned more in the last year than I think I have in the last 25 years or so.    I figure it will take a lot of posts to explain it all, but that’s OK.  If you want to keep reading, good luck.  And drop a line in the comments every now and then to let me know I’m not just talking to myself.

Suppose I tell you it’s OK to break one of the 10 commandments.   If you were raised similar to me, you’ll say “That’s crazy!”.  OK,  let’s say I don’t break it, but I move the lines around in it so it suits me.  How would you feel about that?  Still think I’m talking foolishness?  Buckle you seatbelts and get ready for the first curve.

If you attend a Church/worship service, what day do you attend?  If you are like 70% + of the world, that day will be “Sunday”.  What day of the week is Sunday?  1st day?

Lets look at the 4th commandment in most of the translations of the Bible:

You can look at either Exodus 20:8-11 or Deuteronomy 5:12-15.  Choose either one and read it.  Is there any doubt that the day we are commanded to set aside is the 7th day of the week, instead of the 1st day?

It looks pretty clear to me.  I’m not saying you cannot worship on Sunday, but I think you had better work on keeping Saturday set aside for the Lord first.

So, for a good 1700+ years, the “church” has deceived people.    You can try and rationalize this saying the early chuch met on the 1st day of the week.  They did.  They were also meeting the other 6 days of the week for a while, but they definitely met on the sabbath day.  But, you say, Christ arose on the 1st day of the week!  Maybe, maybe not.  Luke 24 gives an account of the women who went to the tomb at early dawn on the 1st day of the week, and Christ was not there.  He could have resurrected anytime after sunset on Friday, and none of them would have known until the 1st day of the week.  They observed the Sabbath, and going to a tomb would have made them unclean on the Sabbath, so no one went there on the Sabbath.

But I’ll say, just for the sake of argument, that he did arise on the morning of the 1st day.  Why then, while Christ was on earth after his resurrection did he not tell his apostles and disciples to start observing the Sabbath on a different day?    Can anyone fine a scripture to justify moving Shabbat to Sunday?  I have searched and not found anything of the sort.

What day did Christ observe the Sabbath?  What day did the Apostles and disiples observe the Sabbath?  Are we supposed to be emulating our Messiah?

I’ll stop for now.  More to come.   Someone show me the error in my thinking.

So I went to blog something this evening, and my blog had been hacked by some Moroccan  Pirates.     I guess my Pro-Israel views must have offended someone.    Too bad, I’m just getting started.