In our journey to unlearn error and to relearn truth, the best place to begin is at the beginning.

Not the beginning of the New Testament. Christians are already quite familiar with the details of the end of the book.

What they are lacking is an understanding of the details at the start of the story, which details determine the meaning of those at the end.

One can start with Genesis 1:1, and for some people they should. For others however, the best place to begin is Deuteronomy.

Why? Because Deuteronomy was given as a reiteration for a new generation. It was specifically spoken to those who did not personally experience the miracles in Mitzraim or were elsewise very young at the time and required a reminder.

Deuteronomy was written to a mixed multitude becoming a nation, and a people wandering in exile preparing to be gathered into the Promiseland.

Particularly chapters 4 through 8 prove most powerful to put to mind and memory the purpose of it all for those newly awoken to the notion they might not have known all they thought they understood within their Christian religion.

“Hearken oh Israel to the statues and judgments…”

Why do we emphasize so often the importancy of our identity as being part of Israel?

Because of this right here…

Messiah may have saved you because of who He is and because the Father sent Him to do so, but he didn’t save you because you are special. And He didn’t save everybody. He saved Israel.

And in dying and rising again, the King Messiah provided Himself as a Door for anyone who is willing to enter in and become part of Israel.

The matter is beyond personal salvation. It was Israel who was told to harken to the statutes and judgments. And that had nothing to do with being saved but everything to do with being Israel.

There was no time limit set on that instruction either. If we are Israel, we are instructed to harken to the statutes and judgments.

“… To do them that you may live…”

In our former religion, we were handed no commands, but only squishy ideas of loving our Creator and our neighbor. And in practicality that was usually merely being nice to people and not saying bad words… Yet love is in the statutes and judgments, without which we cannot know how to love our Creator and our neighbor .

In Christendom, we were commanded to leave these statutes and judgments behind because they were said to be accursed and would making us cursed. It was determined by deceptive preachers that the demands here in Deuteronomy were done away with because they damned us.

Yet herein we are told in no uncertain terms that if we are Israel, we will harken to these statutes and judgments to do them and that in doing them we will live. We are not cursed for doing them, but we damn sure are cursed if we don’t.

In reading on what do we find? A warning, not to add to these commands or take away from them, which every religious authority seems to have done telling us to disregard them in favor of other vaguer virtues, in teaching they are done away with, and in supplanting the statutes and judgments of YHWH with their own private notions.

“ that you may keep the commands of YHWH your Elohim…”

The goal is to keep these commandments.

Not to do them for your salvation. Not to do them to gain a reward. Not to do them so you don’t get punished. Not to do them until you can find something better.

The statutes and judgments of YHWH spoken by Moses and exemplified by Messiah and meant for our daily exercise therein are the goal itself. These commands are life itself, and how we may maintain that life and live it to the fullest.

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