Did you know there are 613 commandments (mitzvahs) in the Bible?
I mean specifically in the Torah or 'the Law.'
So, not just those BIG 10 we hear so much about!
There are 365 negative commandments or 'Thou shalt nots'
(said to correspond to the 365 ligaments of the human body)
AND
248 positive commands or 'Thou shalts.'
(said to correspond to the 248 organs of the human body)
Everyday I get several emails from Chabad.org, which is an an orthodox rabbinic Judaism educational organization. One of those emails is the daily mitzvah, which includes at least a negative and sometimes a positive commandment, so low & behold, in a year I get the whole schmear.
Today's particular bit was on proper weights and measures, from Leviticus 19:35-36, which is essentially the opposite sides of the same coin... a negative and a positive commandment in one - a Twofer.
"You shall do no unrighteousness in judgement; in measure, in weight or in land measure"-Lev 19:35
"Honest balance, honest weights, an honest dry measure and an honest liquid measure, you shall have"-Lev 19:36
Consider that Mosaic Law is essentially the basis of much of Western civilization and here is a prime example. The little sticker on the gas pump that says the pump pumps a gallon when the pump says it pumps a gallon (certifying it is an honest liquid measure) is essentially compliance with a law derived from Leviticus 19:36. In the final read, it just makes sense for good society, fair practice and decent treatment.
Now the reformer/empowerment manager in me says what's up with 613 rules! Not to mention the read backs and additional policy interpretations contained in the Talmudic Law where the Rabbis expound on the 613 commandments (plus 7 more later rabbinic commandments). This was done in several volumes called the Mishnah and Gemara, which make up the 'oral law' considered the completion of the commandments, by which essentially every application of a commandment is addressed. Now, just for fun let me tell you there are 6 orders of the Mishnah with 7-12 tractates each for 63 total. A full set is about a grand for the cheapies and consists of 44 large volumes. Plus there are all kinds of commentaries to explain these further rulings on the rules. The particular email I get each day from Chabad.org (except of course the Sabbath! [that would break a rule]) entitled 'Daily Mitzvah' is an expounding of the expounding by the Rabbi of Rabbis Maimonides known as 'the Rambam' or Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin Maimūn bin ʿUbaidallāh al-Qurṭubī ( ابو عمران موسى بن ميمون بن عبد الله القرطبي ) if you please! But the point is this, more rules to follow - not less.
How bout this, back it up a bit to the big ten... #8 thou shalt not steal... (Exodus 20:15 / Deuteronomy 5:19). That contains the honest weights deal doesn't it? Or even better, back it up to one of two, 'Love your neighbor, as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18/34, Luke 10:26, Mark 10:31) or said another way 'As you'd have men do you, do unto them' (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31) --- Matthew records the Christ further saying, "for this sums up the law and the prophets.'
Christ reminds us of that one great command to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your power... (Deuteronomy 30:10, Luke 10:27, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30)
See, in the end Christ understood the human heart as only its Creator could:
Genesis 6:5 "every inclination of the human heart was only evil..."
Deuteronomy 8:14 "then your heart will become proud and forget the Lord..."
Jeremiah 17:19 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Proverbs 20:9"Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?"
Matthew 15:8 "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
Mark 7:21 "For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come"
It is this corrupt heart that we make more rules for... like children, or employees, or citizens (if people of this age are called that anymore), who take a rule and bend the words and their meanings for our own aims and purposes to achieve the evil of our own hearts. So we write more rules in an attempt to maintain some semblance of order, when the problem is not the outward action - but the inward condition. The rules then become the god of our worship and adoration, perverted in the understanding of how life should be lived we blindly wander.
In Luke 11, the Christ confronts some keepers of the Law who are appalled when He fails to wash His hands before dining. He says it better than I can... " v39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness." Just in case you want to get too far down on the Pharisees or law keepers, just do this - think of the last time someone broke a rule or social norm and you judged them for it. Truth is - we are the Pharisees, we are the law keepers, the worshipers of the law - the bad guys in this story... and Christ is always the hero!
This same Lord-Creator---God made flesh in man called Yeshua (some today call Him GeezUs not to be confused with HeyZeus) is the Christ- the Messiah - the Annointed One - what's that mean- just like His name translates - "He saves!" See, because of this claim - His claim, now our claim - that He is God with us those same law keepers were so offended - so outraged - so provoked, that in worship of their god 'the law' they sacrificed the Lamb of God who fulfilled the Law of God perfectly for all who would have His heart as theirs.
At Calvary, they hung Him up on a Cross to die and God the Father laid the sins of the world (all the times mankind failed at keeping the Law) on God the Son who had kept the Law completely and then something amazing happened... that sin and the judgement due you and I for it was conquered through Christ's death and by the power of God Himself in Him His resurrection from the grave. Now here's the best part, He promises that all who believe and proclaim as such will have not just redemption from the judgement due them for that sin, but also then within their hearts the Holy Spirit of God to teach them, guide them, and direct them - even to renew and restore them to God.
The Bible says it like this...
Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
Deuteronomy 30:14 "No, the Word is very near you, it is in you mouths and in your heart so you may obey it."
Ezekiel 36:26 "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
John 1:14 "And the Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Romans 5:5 "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
Romans 6:17 "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance."
Follow the call of Joel 2:13
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
Whether, Jew, heathen, or Believer...
stop worrying over the outer displays of so called lawfulness and self-righteousness - religion will not save or sustain you. Break the inner hardness of your heart against the Father - run to Christ and live in His love for you and others - His grace is sufficient to redeem and keep us.
