Parashah 18- Mishpatim

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    Parashah 18: Mishpatim

    Parashah 18: Mishpatim (Judgements) - Exodus 21:1 through 24:18.

    Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26.

    B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Matthew 5:38-42; 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23;10:17-31; Acts 23:1-11; Hebrews 9:15-22; 10:28-39.

    Summary & Overview

    TORAH

    o  Exodus 21:1 | The Law concerning Slaves

    o  Exodus 21:12 | The Law concerning Violence

    o  Exodus 21:28 | Laws concerning Property

    o  Exodus 22:1 | Laws of Restitution

    o  Exodus 22:16 | Social and Religious Laws

    o  Exodus 23:1 | Justice for All

    o  Exodus 23:10 | Sabbatical Year and Sabbath

    o  Exodus 23:14 | The Annual Festivals

    o  Exodus 23:20 | The Conquest of Canaan Promised

    o  Exodus 24:1 | The Blood of the Covenant

    o  Exodus 24:9 | On the Mountain with God

    The purpose of YHVH’s Commandments is toreveal Himself to us. When we study HisCommandments, we get to understand what

    was on His mind and which things are importantto Him. It is like reading YHVH’s Autobiographyfinding personal details about the unseen Godand Creator of all things. To get this knowing,you need to “go beneath the surface” of HisWord to see right into His heart and mind. TheCommandments are spiritual, Holy and good as

    Paul teaches in 2 Tim 3:16, saying that all Scripture is God-breathed, inspiredby YHVH and profitable for teaching, for reproof, correction and training inrighteousness. The Scriptures He referred to was the Torah (theCommandments) and the Prophets, because the NT was not compiled yet.

    One thing you need to understand is that YHVH expressed His Torah in such away so that people could relate to it and understand it, meeting them at theplace they were at. The Book of Exodus captured the Words of YHVH speakingto an audience that consisted of people that lived a few thousand years ago,who just left a land of slavery and were going into an agricultural type ofeconomy. He used terms and examples of situations that related to theireveryday lives so that they could understand His Torah.

    When you read the Commandment about an ox falling into a ditch, you cannot just say that this does not apply to me. You have to search beneath the surface

    to glean the wisdom beneath the surface in order to understand what YHVHthought when He gave that particular Commandment so that you can apply thatwisdom in your life.

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    There is not one of the 53 Commandments listed in this Torah Portion that willnot apply to us in some way or form. What you have to do is to respect YHVH’sWord, guard it and then peel away the layers to find the hidden gems andprinciples and how they can enrich your life. For example, Paul teaches in 1 Tim5:18, using the Commandment about not to muzzle an ox, to reveal wisdom thatapplies to us, underlining how the Commandment is given for our sakes asbelievers in Messiah. If you believe the Torah is abolished, then you will dismissand erase all the wisdom that is God-breathed and essential for our daily living.

    Freedom

    This Torah Potion lays the foundation of how to live as freepeople, to a nation that just came out of slavery, on theirway to a land of promise and blessing. The Parashah startswith Commandments, and you may think that this not aboutfreedom at all, but of bondage, loading another 53

    Commandments on the people after receiving the TenCommandments at Mt Sinai. When we hear aboutCommandments we think of rules and laws that onlyrestricts us, we never think of them in relation to freedom.

    Q - What is this “new freedom” all about or is it just anotherform of bondage and slavery? How do you think Israel reacted when theyreceived more Commandments?

    The word “Freedom” is found the context of a slave being set free, and is thefirst Commandment in this Torah Portion found in Exo 21:2. The slave is setfree at no charge, this implies no cost to the slave. This word “free” (no charge)

    in Hebrew is the word “chinnam”, that comes from the root word “chen” that istranslated as grace. So grace is connected to the “price that was paid” toensure that there is no cost to the slave who is redeemed.

    Grace or “chen” is first found in Scripture in Gen 6:8 where it said that Noahfound favour (chen) in the eyes of YHVH. We all know the story of Noah whereYHVH saved him and his family in a time of Judgement, and this is the contextof wherein Grace and Salvation is found in. We see the same theme of“Judgement” when YHVH freed Israel from Egyptian bondage. This means thatIsrael was “Saved” through “Grace” in a time of Judgement, setting them free asslaves at no charge. The same applies to us where we will be “saved” through

    “grace” during a time of Judgement at the Second Coming of Messiah.

    YHVH’s Grace set them free from sin and bondage (Egypt), not from His Authority or Commandments. Sin and bondage came into being through the fallof man, imparting a sinful nature within us. This freedom has to do withreversing the effect of sin, freeing us from our sinful nature or “old man” as Paulteaches in Rom 6:6.

    Grace can be misinterpreted as a “covering” over us because we are sinners,but it is actually about “removing” the root or origin of sin so that is the old manor nature can be replaced with a new nature through His Spirit. But now you canargue that the Spirit replaced the Commandments if you walk in the Spirit,making you FREE from the bondage of the Law (Torah). That is the wronginterpretation of the meaning of what YHVH’s Spirit purpose is.

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    His Spirit is confirming His Commandments and writes the Torah on our hearts,meaning that we now walk in His Commandments because of our new nature,which is YHVH’s Nature, with the help of His Spirit within us.

    The Torah is the knowledge of sin is and not sin in itself that we should bereleased from it. The Torah highlights and exposes sin and YHVH’s Spirit “set

    us free” from the bondage of sin so that we can move from Egypt (sin andbondage) to the Mountain (YHVH’s Torah – New Nature).

    Q – If we have His Spirit, do we still need His Commandments?

    If you ask this question, then you still do not understand that the relationshipbetween His Commandments and His Spirit and that they are actually One(Echad). The Spirit reveals the Commandments to us and writes them on ourhearts. The Spirit is YHVH’s Spirit and is known as the Spirit of Truth and theHoly Spirit. This means that His Spirit will reveal the Truth to us, and His Truthis non-other than His Commandments. His Spirit helps us to become Holy orset apart, to be Holy as He is Holy.

    True freedom is when you are set free from judgement, and HisCommandments are the barriers along the road that guards and leads you tothe Promised Land. His Commandments protects your “salvation” until to theday when you need the salvation during His final Judgement.

    Judgements Placed Upon Us

    The Parashah begins with the following words; “Now these are the Judgements(Mispat) you shall set before them (Israel).”Set” also means to “put upon” givingthe idea of “placing the Judgements upon” Israel. This links with the passage in

    Gen 18:19 where the word Judgement is first found in Scripture where YHVH’sJudgements were “brought upon” Abraham. This was where YHVH repeatedthe Covenant Promise to Abraham.

    Gen 18:17-19  And YHVH said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thingwhich I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mightynation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I knowhim, that he will command his children and his household after him, andthey shall keep the way of YHVH, to do justice and judgment; that YHVHmay bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. 

    The Judgements referred to here is not the Judgement of Sodom andGomorrah, but the Judgement that He will bring upon Abraham that Hepreviously revealed to Abraham. The Judgements are the promises given to Abraham that included “becoming a great Nation”. In order to “bring theseJudgement upon” Abraham and his descendants, he and his children had to“walk in the way of YHVH”. Similar words are used at the beginning of the TorahPortion; “these are the Judgements that you shall place upon them”, which isIsrael, the mighty nation YHVH that was promised to Abraham.These Judgements (Promises) that were promised to Abraham will come uponIsrael if they “keep the way of YHVH” and this is what this Torah Portion isabout; learning how to “keep the way or walk in the way of YHVH”.

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    Judgement or “Mispat” means; a verdict (favourable or unfavourable), divinelaw, justice, a participant's right or privilege, statutory or customary, custom,measure, sentence. The word “Judgement” has three distinct meanings that canbe classified as Positive, Negative and Neutral.

    Positive: This shows that Judgement has a positive meaning that reveals the

    rights and privileges of the person being “ judged” (right or privilege revealed). Ina practical sense, this is when you receive the blessings from YHVH because ofthe promises given to Abraham, that you will receive becoming a child of Abraham, being grafted into Israel through Messiah Y’shua. Deut 28 lists all theblessings that will “come upon you” if you “keep the Way of YHVH”.

    Negative:  Judgement also has a negative meaning, theverdict spoken over a person who violated the divine law orCommandments of YHVH that we have seen in the context ofGen 18 where YHVH judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Thistime, the Judgement is the consequences or removing of sinfrom YHVH’s Creation. 

    Neutral: Lastly we see that Judgement has a neutral meaningthat has to do with customs or the way you should conductyourself in order to take on your “new culture” becoming part of Israel. TheseJudgements or Customs are detailed in Exodus Chapter 23 where it describesthe Sabbatical Years and Festivals etc. Customs are defining a culture and

    every culture in the world has their owncustoms that differentiate them and makesthen unique. These customs or Judgementsare also known as Ordinances. We willdiscuss these Ordinances in detail later on

    and if we should keep them or not, asbelievers in Messiah. Should we allow YHVHto “place these Judgements upon us”, as Hepromised He would do with Abraham’schildren?

    The Commandment of the Bondservant

    The Commandment regarding the Bondservant is the firstCommandment YHVH gave Moses to give to Israel afterthey received the Ten Commandments at Mt Sinai. Thisindicates the importance of this Commandment and that it isfoundational in them following YHVH as their new Master. They werenot completely set free but rather changed Masters, moved from being a slavein Egypt to becoming a Servant of YHVH.

    Q – What does the Commandment regarding a Bondservant has to do with us?

    You will be surprised to know that Paul, Peter and John, all identifiedthemselves as Bondservants of Y’shua in their letters to Believers in Messiah.They knew exactly what it meant to be a Bondservant and how that relates to usfollowing Y’shua. Let's look at the Commandment of the Bondservant and see if

    we can make the same link.

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    Someone was sold as a servant if he owed that person money and could notrepay. After serving that master for six years, the Commandment states that hecould be set free in the seventh year and walk as a free man owing nothing. Butwhen the servant choose to stay in his master’s house and keep on serving Him  out of free will, then he had to confess in public, that he loves his Master andthat he loves the wife and children his master gave him and that he chooses outof free will to stay a servant in his Master ’s house. This servant is then called a“bondservant”. To finalise this public declaration, he had to stand in his Master’shouse and get his ear nailed to the doorpost. This was the visable sign and thesign in his flesh to show that he served his Master out of free will and became apermanent part of his household.

    Being a bondservant, he had all the rights as one of his Master’s children; helived in his Master’s house, and no longer in the servants quarters, he could eatat his master’s table, and enjoy all the benefits of a child as part of his Master’sfamily being treated as a son.

    Gal 4:6-7   And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his

     Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore you are no more

    a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Messiah.

    This verse connects to the idea of a servant becoming a son, and that is exactlywhat it means to become a Bondservant, you are being adopted as a child intothe Household and Family of YHVH, your Father. To become a Bondservantdescribes the process of re-birth, coming into the Kingdom of YHVH throughaccepting Y’shua as your Master and Savior. Then you have all the benefits asa child of YHVH and live in His house under His authority, eat at His table and

    become part of the family. This is why Paul, Peter and John called themselvesBondservants of Master Y’shua the Messiah because to be called aBondservant is to be a son.

    The Sign of the Bondservant  The servant’s ear had to be nailed to the doorpost of his Master’s house. What

    does this symbol represent and how do we receive that sign today being

    Bondservants of Messiah Y’shua? 

    We read in Galatians 4 that YHVH has sent the Spirit of His Son

    into your hearts to be a sign to you that you are a son (daughter) ofyour new Master. Receiving Y’shua’s Spirit is the sign to us that we

    are His Bondservants but where do we find the sign in public?

    The servant had to confess in public that he loves his Master and

    then had to go to his Master’s hour to be nailed to the doorpost.

    Picture the servant’s ear nailed to the doorpost; he would have to

    stand at an angle to have his ear fixed to the doorpost.

    The word for doorpost is Mezuzah, and you will find these signs displayed in

    public at the entrances of Jewish homes and businesses.

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    This links to the Commandment in Deut 6:9 where YHVH told Israel to write

    His Commandments on the doorpost, and that is what the Mezuzah

    symbolise today. The ear nailed to the Doorpost links to the Shema that says,

    “hear oh Israel…” indicating that the Bondservant will listen and do whatever

    his Master asks of him.

    That symbol of mounting the Mezuzah on the doorpost of your home is an

    Ordinance that YHVH gave Israel to remind the person living in the house as

    well as those entering, that the people living here ate Bondservants of the Most

    High God and they acknowledge and submit to His authority. It is declaring what

    Joshua said in Josh 24:15 “...but for me and my house, we wil l serve YHVH ”.

    The sign of the Mezuzah is Jewish, but the symbolism is Scriptural that still

    applies to us who follow Y’shua as our Master.

    The Laws Concerning Violence

    This is an example of showing how the TenCommandments from the Index for the rest ofthe Commandments found in the Torah. Exo21:12-22 covers violence and is the detail of the6th Commandment – You shall not kill.

    Exo 21 V12 – 26: You shall not kill; if you killedsomeone, then you must die. If you fought andkilled someone as a result of the fight, then youcan flee to a place YHVH appointed. Premeditated murder must be punished by

    death. If you hit your parents, you must be put to death. If you curse yourparents, you will be put to death. If you kidnap someone, you will be put todeath.

    If you fight and strike someone and he is injured so that he cannot work, you willprovide for him till he is healed. If two men fight and a pregnant woman getsinjured, the husband of the woman will demand compensation from the hand ofthe offender. The judges will determine what the compensation will be, evendeath if the baby died. If someone other than the owner injures a servant, theservant will be set free for the sake of his or her loss or injury.

    These Commandments are not for us to enforce but are given to the leaders ofthe land through the Government to execute justice and to protect the people.Most Countries build their Justice System on the Ten Commandments, somewith and some without the death penalty. How these Commandments relate tous is based on the Laws of the Land you live in, and that Country’s laws willapply to you. If you return to the Land where YHVH is the Authority, then theseCommandments will be applicable to you and everybody living in the Land.When Y’shua returns He will establish His Kingdom, and His Justice System willbe the way He will Govern His People.

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    The Four Deadly Forces

    There are a few Commandments found in Exodus chapter 21 and chapter 22that reveals more than what is written on face value. The first Commandmentdeals with a situation where someone was killed by someone else’s’ ox. Thenext Commandment deals with resolving the issues caused by an open pit andsomeone’s ox or donkey fell into it. The following Commandment deals withsomeone whose animal has eaten someone else’s field or vineyard. The lastCommandment deals with fire damage to someone’s field.

    When you read these Commandments, you might say that you are not a farmerand you do not have livestock, a pit or a field and these Commandments do notapply to you at all. Think again, YHVH’s Word is full of wisdom that will revealtruths that will enrich your life, or will warn you of pitfalls you need to be awareof. Let us look at each of these Commandments from a Hebraic perspective tounfold the wisdom within each of them.

    The Ox  – Exo 21:28-32, 35-36 - rvs (shor) = rvs (shur) that alsomeans, “to look”. This teaches us that one of the deadly forces in ourlife is “the eye”. This is what caused Eve to sin, she saw the fruit,and it was good to the eye. John taught the same where he saidthat the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh are the two things tocontrol in your life. Faith comes by hearing, and everything that

    destroys faith comes from seeing. If you talk to people and ask themwhich of your 5 senses would, you hate to lose and the answer is

    always eyesight. The ox is symbolised by the letter Aleph that means “strength”. As you give in to fleshly desires, your flesh will grow as strong as an ox, leavingyour “spirit-man” weak. We as fleshly creatures that value eyesight more thathearing, but from YHVH’s perspective the most important one is hearing.

    The Pit  – Exo 21:33-34 - rvb (bor) = rvb (bur)“ignoramus” or someone who is completely ignorant. TheSages say that an ignoramus is someone who fails tostudy the Torah. Not studying Torah is dangerous in yourlife, does not matter if you love Y’shua / Jesus, you willsow destruction through your ignorance. We read inHos 4:6 that YHVH’s people perish because of a lack ofknowledge, the knowledge of the Word and specifically the

    Torah. What the enemy has done to our Jewish brothers is to blind them of theknowledge of Who the Messiah is, to the Christians, he blinded them to whatthe Word is, that every part of the Torah is still applicable to believers in Y’shua/ Jesus. To be ignorant of the Torah is deadly, it is like walking without sight thatcan cause you to fall into a pit where you can die of hunger and thirst. TheTorah provides all the spiritual nourishment you need for life and to avoid all thepitfalls and traps set by the enemy.

    The Eater   – Exo 22:5 – hibm (mav’ah) = hibm (mav’eh) “glutton”.Gluttony is to take form this world more than you need to. This Deadly

    Force is rooted in the sin that is found in the 10th

     Commandment;you shall not covet. This Commandment is the driving force forbreaking all the other Commandments.

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     Phil 3:19  …whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, andwhose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

    Coveting or devouring more than required has become their god meaning thatearthly things that people covet, become the gods they serve and all theirefforts and time goes into feeding this monster called greed.

    The Fire  – Exo 22:6 - ribh (hev’ir ) = ribh (he’veir) “anger”. Anger is one of the emotions that will cause you to act irrationaland out of control, resulting in the destruction of relationships.This Deadly Force is connected to the 6th Commandment whereY’shua said that you commit murder, if you are angry with your

    brother / sister without a cause, this anger is out of envy or jealousy. Then there is the case of someone who is just

    an angry person because of disappointments in lifethat they cannot seem to get over, causing them to be

    an angry person. This anger can be directed towardsYHVH that will damage their relationship with Him if they are believers.

    Q – What will cause this anger to stop and how do I manage anger thataccumulates within me?

     Eph 4:26-27   In your anger do not sin”  : Do not let the sun go downwhile you are still angry, 27  and do not give the devil a foothold.

    These are wise words or wisdom that ensures that you never stay angry formore than a day; make peace and forgive at the end of every day before you goto sleep so that your anger will not grow and lead to your destruction. Talk to

    the person you have issues with so that the “air can be cleared” before the endof the day. Talk to YHVH about disappointments so that He can help you sortthings out, carrying your burdens when you face circumstances beyond yourcontrol. Trust in Him; He will help you because He is a caring Father,

     Pro 15:1  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs upanger.

    The Four Guardians

    Exo 22:6 –14 speaks about four types of people who looked after someoneelse’s property under different circumstances and agreements.These four types of agreements give us four different types ofrelationships we as believers can have with YHVH and we willsee which one of these relationships is the ideal relationshipYHVH wants us to have with Him.

    The Borrower : v 14 The Borrower is a person whobenefits from what he borrows, but the owner enjoys noadvantage. He seeks self-fulfillment and mayacknowledge who the owner is, but feels that he oweshim nothing. He borrows it, uses it, gives it back saying,thanks a lot, and moves on. He seeks self-fulfilment alone.

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    This is a typical example of a non-believer or someone who knows God butdoes not have a relationship with Him. You do not belong to yourself, you arebought with a price, and you need to give YHVH what He has purchased, andthat is you. You need to lay down your rights, your privileges and yourownership rights to yourself and you realise; “I do not belong to me, I belong tomy Master ”. The moment you think that you have rights to your life, your time oryour possessions, then you are on the road to misery.

    The Renter  : v15 The Renter is similar to theBorrower, but he borrows something with theintention of giving to the owner. He believes tohave the right to the things he “rent” but feelsobligated to recognise and repay the Ownerwhile using it.

    This is where the most believers are in theirrelationship with YHVH; we know everything wehave come from Him and recognised YHVH asthe Owner. In return, we serve Him as a way topay Him for using all that He gave us.

    Q - Is there any love in this or is it just a deal you made with Him?

    This relationship is still just about yourself, your talents, your time and yourpossessions, but in exchange, you will use a portion of what you received togive back to Him. It sounds just like Jacob and the deal he made with YHVHwhere he promised to give YHVH a 10th back if YHVH will bless him. What agreat deal.

    Jacob is the Biblical figure we have looked at before that represents us asBelievers most accurately. We expect YHVH’s blessings first, and then we arewilling to pay the “rent” for what He gives us. We get the most out of this deal.The Renter has a “better” type of relationship with YHVH than the Borrower butstill not ideal. He also has to realise that he is not his own and belongs to YHVHin everything he is and have. Then serve YHVH out of love first, withoutexpecting anything in return

    The Paid Guardian : v10 The Paid Guardian is a someone who seesYHVH’s Will as the ultimate purpose of his life, but he reserves forhimself a “self-interest”  because he thinks he deserves some payment

    for his work. It is like someone who believes in serving YHVH and all his“good works” will earn him treasures in Heaven or will give him a placeof authority as a reward in the Kingdom. The difference between thisperson and the Renter is that he knows that everything belongs toYHVH and serve YHVH selfless and out of love but knows that he willreceive a “reward” one day.

    This kind or relationship is another example that is quite commonamong Believers where we know YHVH as the Owner and that we areonly the Guardians, but we deserve to be rewarded for our duties. Wenever own anything and are selfless in every way, except for the

    reward we expect to receive at the end.

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    The Unpaid Guardian  : v7 This is the highest form ofrelationship we can have with YHVH and should aspire to. Wetend to think that everything we are, have or own, belongs to us,but this man sees all his possessions as YHVH’s property, not hisown and do not think that YHVH owes him anything. His motiveof guarding the assets of the Owner is only out of love for Him.

    This is a relationship where you know you are created only toserve YHVH, not wanting or expecting anything in return. It is aselfless relationship that will survive even if the other person doesnot love you back. This is the type of relationship YHVH has withus and He wants us to have the same kind of relationship with Him. It is like aMarriage relationship where both parties give a 100%.

    If you want to feel miserable really, tell yourself that you deserve something.The moment you think that “I deserve………” (fill in the blank) or think “Ideserve this or that to be happy, then you will become miserable. These arethoughts the enemy put in your mind, things you do not necessarily need or

    deserve, in order to make you needy, weak and unhappy. Adam and Eve hadbeen perfectly happy until Satan told them they could be happier, greater andmore successful. This allowed sin to come in and everything changed for theworse. Let's get things straight, you do not deserve anything, and so do I. Fromthis knowing, look at everything you have and thank YHVH for it, even thesmallest thing and be grateful.

    Q - Which one of the four relationships match your relationship with YHVH?

    You can spend a fair amount of time meditating on these four types ofrelationships to see which areas of your life connect to which type ofrelationship. For example; you can be a Paid Guardian regarding your childrenand a Renter when it comes to your abilities and a Borrower when it comes toyour finances. You need to do introspection and weigh each one up against allthe areas of your life, in order to see what you need to work on with a view toimproving your relationship with the Father / Owner.

    We all need to aspire to become like Unpaid Guardians where we know theOwner; we are aware everything is from YHVH and that we are HisBondservants who serve Him out of love. We do not keep an eye on the rewardwe will get one day and know that He is our exceedingly Great reward.

    Relationship with your Father  The Torah is full of gems and can only be discovered through the Hebrewlanguage. One of these treasures is found in the following Commandment:

     Exo 22:29  You shall not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and ofthy liquors: the firstborn of your sons shall you give unto Me. (KJV)

    On face value, this seems a bit odd finding an instruction about offerings, liquorand your first-born son. This is one of the most mistranslated verses inScripture, not only the King James but other translations as well, they all give a

    different translation:

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    You must be prompt in giving me the tithe of your crops and your wine,and the redemption payment for your oldest son. (TLB)

    “  Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must

    give me the firstborn of your sons. (NIV)

    The first part of this Commandment consists of four Hebrew words; “ lo (do not),'achar (delay), mĕle'ah (fullness), dema (tears)”. This can be literally translatedas; “ Do not delay to bring your fullness and your tears to me” . 

    YHVH asks us to bring our fullness to Him; when things are great,when we are happy and full of joy about something great thathappened. These are the “offerings” of thanksgiving and praise toHim as a result of the “fullness” we received from Him.

    He also asks of us to bring our tears to Him, tears that result fromlife’s dynamics, things that happened unexpectedly that caused youpain. He wants you to bring those tears as an “offering “ to Him

    without delay so that He can help you deal with it. Whatever you aregoing through, good or bad, YHVH wants to be part of that. Hewants to share your life with you so that He can be part of yourfullness and your tears, your joys and your struggles.

    We typically share these things with loved ones and friends, peoplewe can trust, and YHVH wants to be included in your inner circle ofconfidence and be part of your family. He wants to celebrate yourvictories and support you in a time of need as a loving and caringFather.

    This Commandment is a beautiful picture of a loving Father and Hisinvolvement in our lives. If you just take the Commandment only on face value,you would have probably turned the page over thinking that this does not applyto you, but you would then have missed the heart of the Father.