Exodus 34:28 – And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Deuteronomy 4:13 – And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Matthew 5:19 – Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The Ten Commandments are the basis of all human interaction with God and men. This was first exemplified through the nation of Israel, and then brought ultimately to the rest of the world through the seed of Abraham, the Messiah. If we believe Yeshua to be anointed of God to teach the way of God truly, then his words cannot be cast aside in favor of our own ideology.
Many teach today that Messiah fulfilled the law or commandments of God perfectly, and therefore we no longer need to. The foolishness of this logic is apparent in the very commands themselves. Which ones no longer need to be obeyed? Honoring God above all else? Murder? Adultery? Bearing false witness?
These commandments are the very foundation of the kingdom that Messiah was bringing the good news about to his people. These are the commands that set God’s people apart from every other culture in the world; they are the very root and source of the integrity of his people.
Jeremiah 31:33 – “But this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
In the establishment of this kingdom, first with Israel and then with the rest of the nations, all of these commands would not only remain, they would be fulfilled in all who claimed to believe in him. This would be accomplished by the spirit of God living and dwelling among his people, placing these commands within their very hearts so they would all fulfill them perfectly within their lives, for endless generations to come.
This is what the kingdom of God is: it thrives wherever and whenever God’s commands are followed whole-heartedly and completely.
1 John 2:3-4 – Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 3:22, 24 – And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. … Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 John 5:2-3 – By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
As children of the kingdom, let us continually honor him in the simplicity of keeping his commandments.
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