by Garry Maddux

October 30, 2022

Opening Scripture, I Jn 5:1-3

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

As we begin our journey into the laws of God, we start with what Paul says,  

Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 

The Law is good, and it defines sin. Our desire as believers is to avoid sin and to serve God.

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 

The law converts our souls and opens our eyes to understanding God and his desire for our life

Psalm 19:7  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 

Psalm 19:8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 

What is God’s law?

A Written law according to Webster's (1828) dictionary is a rule of action prescribed or enacted by a sovereign and promulgated and recorded in writing: a written statute, ordinance, edict, or decree.

The Mosaic law the institutions of Moses, or the code of laws prescribed to the Jews, as distinguished from the gospel (Webster, 1828).

In this study, all reference to The Law refers to the Mosaic law except where noted.

All scriptures are quoted in the KJV unless stated otherwise.

Laws Given to Moses at Sinai

Silberberg (2020) says, “When Moses went up to heaven to receive the Torah, God gave him the Written Torah together with many instructions. These instructions are called (the Law that was given to Moses in Sinai). It is impossible for there to be an argument or disagreement concerning the law for the Israelites who heard the instructions from Moses implemented them into their daily lives and passed it on to their children, who passed it on to their children, etc.”

There are 613 laws and commandments related to the Law with scripture support. It is broken down into 248 positive and 365 negative commandments.

The law was enforced by Judges and/or priests. 

Deu 1:16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 

We are responsible to know and follow God’s law which is to do good

If someone does not follow God’s law, it is sin or transgression of the law

When we study The Commandments, we are to base it upon the precepts of how we love God and how we love our neighbor.

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Love is the bases throughout the teachings of the law in the Bible

God was so gracious he gave us instructions on how to love and his expectations of us

We are to remember the law of Moses and keeping it is a great reward (right to the tree of life)

Mal 4:4  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Some Facts about the Law

If a commandment is not possible to be fulfilled in a generation, it does not pass away. It might be possible for future generations that this commandment can be obeyed.

Matt 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.

There are blessings and curses for keeping the law.

Deu 11:26  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 

Deu 11:27  A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 

Deu 11:28  And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. 

• The positive commandments are things God desires us to do.
• The negative commandments are things God desires us not to do.
• Every negative law correlates to a particular punishment.
• Punishments are decided upon by the judges according to the law

In most cases for judgment to be rendered, there must be two or three witnesses

Deu 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 

"One witness must not testify against a person to inflict any punishment or penalty, but he may testify to require an oath." Chabad (2022)

The earthly punishments are not in effect today because there are no temples or judges.

Punishment Rules

Whenever Scripture indicates a punishment, there must be another source indicating the actual prohibition  Chabad (2022)

There is a difference in punishment between intentional and unintentional acts

The types of punishment are generally listed in positive Commandments 224- 230

The specifics of punishment are for a future study.

Here is only a list of the types of punishment

• Punishment by Stoning
• Punishment Sacrifices (Usually unintentional acts)
• Punishment by Strangulation (Usually intentional acts)
• Punishment by Burning
• Punishment by Lashes
• Punishment by hanging
• Punishment Karet
• Karet means excision or removal
• A cutting of the soul, causing premature death on the earthly plane
• A severing of the soul’s connection with God on the spiritual plane
• Removal from the camp for a day or 7 days or longer

Studying the Commandments

Many lists are available online which list the 613 commandments

Lists vary with various scripture and comments

Some list all 613 in one list while others break down the list into positive and negative

For this study, I chose the listing from Chabad.org

Today we will examine the first 8 positive commandants

• The first positive commandment

  1st Positive Commandment (I am the LORD thy God)

  This  commandment instructs us to learn the nature of God's existence and that there is no other God

  Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

  Deu 5:6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

  Deu 5:7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 

  God is the source of the existence of all creations.

  Psa 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: 

  Psa 146:6  Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 

  Isaiah 45:5–6 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.

  Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

  Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 

  Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

  To discover and have faith in his plan of salvation for us personally and for Israel.

  In God’s plan of salvation, God Himself is the only one who can provide for our salvation. We are utterly unable to save ourselves because of our sin and its consequences.

  People are without excuse if they don’t know God and his laws.

  We are forbidden from entertaining the thought there is any god other than our God.

  Kapach (5731), p. 181, footnote 1; offers a literal translation, "being of the opinion."

  When thoughts come into our mind, and we believe those thoughts or opinions about other gods it is mixed worship

  The Israelites mixed their worship with God and calves

  Exo 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 

  Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 

  Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 

  Exo 32:5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 

  Exo 32:6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 

  We are to have our mind fixed on the Lord our God is one God.  I like to repeat this often,

  The Lord our God is one God

  The Lord our God is one God

  The Lord our God is one God

  When a belief is repeated over and over it gets into your spirit and assists us in overcoming the temptations

  This belief is especially helpful in keeping a person from falling into idol worship

• 2nd Positive Commandant (Hear O’ Israel God is One)

  This 2nd commandant is we are instructed to acquire knowledge of the nature of God's Unity,

  The source of this commandment is God's statement, "Hear [i.e. "understand"] O Israel, God is our Lord, God is One."

  Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

  Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

  Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  

  God was so gracious he took us out of bondage from Egypt and takes us out of bondage to the world. With this knowledge we have his unity fixed in our minds.

  This commandment is also called  "Kingdom, to accept upon oneself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven," i.e. to acknowledge and comprehend His Unity. Chabal (2022)

  Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

  The kindness of God bringing us out of Egypt

  The kindness of God bringing us out of the world

  The kindness of God for opening our eyes to the truth

  God wants us to have joy, and peace when he dwells on his deliverance and the hope we have for eternal life.

• 3rd Positive Commandant (Meditate upon his commandments)

  This 3rd commandant is we are commanded to love God.

  To meditate upon and closely examine His commandments, and His works, in order to understand Him; and through this understanding we learn to love and honor God and reach a state of inner knowing God. This is the goal of the commandment to love God.

  Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 

  Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

  Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

  We can see meditation is the way to create this feeling of love from the statement, 'You shall love God your Lord, can I know how to love God?

  From the saying of Moses, “and these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart”

  Through this meditation about His commandments, you will gain an understanding of 'the One Who spoke, and thereby brought the world into being.'

  From this it is clear meditation will lead to understanding, and then a feeling of enjoyment and love will follow automatically since the second verse explains the way to reach the goal of the previous verse.

  Choose a mantra (commandant) to meditate on. A mantra is a word or phrase you constantly think about to get your find focused. The purpose of the mantra is to give you something to put your attention on other than your thoughts. You may use any phrase you like.  I like to use The Lord that God is one God.

  The priest would constantly repeat Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 

  This commandment includes being a witness to others to serve God and to believe in Him. This is because when you love a person, for example, you praise him and tell others about that person.

  I enjoy sharing complaints about my wife with others

  If you love God, you will have the desire to talk about and exalt him in your daily life.

  Abraham, because of his understanding of God, acquired a love for God, as the verse testifies, "Abraham, who loved Me" and Abraham became a friend of God.

  Abraham was blessed because of his love and obedience to God

• 4th Positive Commandant (The fear and dread of God)

  The 4th commandant is we are commanded to determine to reverence God.

  We are to be aware of the punishment [for misdeeds.]

  The biblical source of this commandment is God's statement, "You shall fear God your Lord."

  Deu 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 

  Included in fear of God is not mentioning His Name in vain.

  Fear of God is mentioned more than 45 times in the Bible, the fear of God, the fear of the Lord, and the terror of the Lord.

  Pro 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

  Many times people take the modern translation of words in the bible, which causes a lack of understanding of major truths.

  Putting God’s law in the right context and word usage at the time of writing allows a better understanding of God’s laws and how they were used in the original texts.

  According to White (2020), a known scholar there are two Hebrews words used for “Fear”, as in Fear of the Lord.

  yârê' yaw-ray' A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: - affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing). Total KJV occurrences: 334

  It means to fear, reverence, honor, adore, and terror.

  Example: Joshua 2:9  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 

  The other translation is Pachad the discovery of His will.

  From H6342; a (sudden) alarm (properly the object feared, by implication the feeling): - dread (-ful), fear, (thing) great [fear, -ly feared], terror. Total KJV occurrences: 49

  It means the terror of the Lord and implies an emotional feeling.

  This is a typical use of this word that modern people use to interpret fear

  Example” 2Ch 17:10 And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

  The uses of the two words will bear out what White (2020) illustrates about the types of fear of the Lord.

  Pachad will move someone away from God.

  yaw-ray will move one toward God.

  The wrong fear of the Lord focuses on a sense of unfairness.

  The right kind of fear focuses us on the Highness and Holiness of God.

  The realization of how high God is creates in us an awe, a complete wonder of how Great God is.

  This passage indicates "You shall fear God," is a positive commandment.

• 5th Positive Commandant (Serve God in Prayer)

  The 5th commandant is we are commanded to serve God. This commandment is repeated many times

  Exo 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 

  Exo 9:13  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

  How do we serve God?

  Do what is right in the eyes of the Lord

  Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 

  Psalm 119:10-12  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

  Psa 19:14  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. 

  To serve Him' means prayer.

  To serve Him' means bible study.

  To serve Him means going to church

  To serve Him means with thy whole heart

  We are bondservants to him

  BOND'SERVANT, n. bond and servant. A slave; is one who is subjected to the authority of another, or whose person and liberty are restrained. (Webster, 1828)

  Philippians 1:1-2 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  To serve God from your heart is to pray to God and express yourself to him from your innermost being.

  Psalm 51 is a prayer of David after his sin with Bethesda it is called Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

  David prayed from his Heart to God

• 6th Positive Commandant (Cleave to God and the wise)

  The 6th commandant is we are commanded to be close to the wise and to associate with them.

  Since God is a Spirit, it is hard to cleave to God. So a way to interpret the law is to cleave to those that emulate God.

  Associate with them in all imaginable ways of friendship, such as eating, drinking, and doing business, to thereby succeed in emulating their actions.

  Deu 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; he shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 

  Cleave to our church leaders and teachers.

  Act 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 

  The breaking of bread (meal after church) is a way to cleave to the Lord

  Do business with those of like mind

  Example in the Bible of cleaving: the story of Ruth and Naomi

  Rth 1:14  And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 

  Rth 1:15  And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 

  Rth 1:16  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 

  Rth 1:17  Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 

  Rth 1:18  When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 

• 7th Positive Commandant (Swear in God’s name)

  The 7th commandant is we are commanded to swear in G‑d's name whenever necessary — whether to insure something is done or to prevent ourselves from doing something.

  We are required to swear in His name because it exalts, glorifies, and magnifies God.

  The source of this commandment is God's statement, "And swear in His name."

  Deut 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.  

  Our Sages said explicitly, "The Torah tells us 'swear in His name' and 'do not swear.' " This means just as one may not make an unnecessary oath, which is a prohibition, one is commanded to make a necessary oath, which is a positive commandment. Chaba (2020)

  Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 

  One may take an oath to fulfill a commandant.

  Example of overcoming sin (pornography)

  In helping someone overcome an addiction such as pornography many times swearing by God’s name in an oath assist with overcoming the temptation; for example, I swear by God for the next 30 days I will not look at porn.

  Swearing in God’s name shows an accountability to a higher authority.

  There are several commandants related to oaths which we will study at a later time.

  According to Got Answers to bible questions (2022), “Using the phrase I swear to God may be right or wrong depending on the context. In a court of law, those called to the witness stand traditionally place a hand on a Bible and swear before God, to tell the truth. In such an instance, the holiness and power of God are called a witness to the proceedings. The invocation of God’s Word is meant to make the one testifying soberly aware of God’s presence, as God’s honor and righteousness are held up as a standard. However, in other cases, “I swear to God” is used as a tagline or in jest, and the character of God is never even considered. This is wrong. It is similar to the flippant “Oh, my God!” that is so common today.”

• 8th Positive Commandant (Emulate God)

  The 8th commandant is we are commanded to emulate God, blessed be He, to the best of our ability.

  The source of this commandment is God's statement  "And you shall walk in His paths."

  Ephesians 4:1 says, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.”

  Deu 28:9 The LORD shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 

  This commandment is repeated to walk in all his ways.

  “Those who walk with God, always reach their destination.” ― Henry Ford

  Deu 8:6  Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. 

Bible Characters That Walked with God

The word “walk” is the biblical expression for “fellowship and obedience with God that results in divine favor.” It refers to the manner of life a person living in nearness to God.

Ephesians 4:1 says, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” This means letting our ways of life match what we claim to be; our behavior witnesses our profession. The Bible has much to say about walking with God. (McKeithen. 2020)

Here is a Bible person that walked with God and held on to their faith.

Genesis 5 tells us that “Enoch walked with God.” 

Hebrews 11 says, “By faith Enoch … pleased God” (vs. 5). Enoch’s testimony of his life and journey of a godly man whose walk and life pleased Almighty God. Enoch walked with God in a walk of dedication and devotion. His walk lived up to His name. Enoch means “Dedicated.”

In conclusion, this lesson reviewed some thoughts about the law and the importance of following the commandants.

We discussed the first 8 Positive commandants:

• I am the Lord
• There is only one God
• Mediate upon his commandants
• Fear the Lord
• Serve the Lord
• Cleave to God and the wise
• Swear by his name
• Emulate God

Walk with the Lord, keep his commandants that you might live a life worthy of his highest calling.

Works Cited

(2022) The Commandants of God. Chabad. http://Chabad.org

Got Answers to Bible questions (2022), What are oaths of God, Gotanswers.com

McKeithen. (2020) Bible Characters That Walked with God, www.beliefnet.com

Silberberg, (2020). Laws given to Moses, Chabad. http://Chabad.org

Webster (1828), Definitions: Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.

Abstract

The first eight laws discussed: I am the Lord; There is only one God; Mediate upon his commandants; Fear the Lord; Serve the Lord; Cleave to God and the wise; Swear by his name; Emulate God