Ahhhh…. Life

Enjoy (i am only doing what my Master did … please realize that). for some of you, you enjoy confirming your walk with these studies, but for many, this is a pill that i pray will change your life to be like the Master. know that my love is deep - brother kyle

08 / 06 / 11

(Comments in parentheses and emphasis within Scriptures are mine.)

FIRST THOUGHTS:

A common perception of life is: Ahhhh … there is some money in the bank, my house is ample, I have a nice network of friends, and my family is healthy and beautiful … therefore, God is happy with me and my spiritual life, and my salvation is secure.

Throughout history, there have been in each generation, people who hold to a similar such notion. However, God’s Word does NOT back up this perception. Take the following passage, for example. The nation had NOT been righteous or obedient to YHVH, yet they were seeking Him as if they had been. They were deceiving themselves, just as countless generations of people have been deceiving themselves:

“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.” (Isaiah 58:2)

People today say, “Yes, we are sinners, but God sees only Jesus and His righteousness when He sees me. Anyway, Jesus did away with those Old Testament Laws.” Now, read the above passage again, which is addressed to people who disobey Him, and yet call out to Him as if He were pleased with their disobedient lifestyles.

Go ahead, I will wait.

“Yet they seek Me day by day (well, at least for an hour a week) and delight to know My ways (They buy book after book about ‘how to’, yet they do not study the Laws and the Prophets as Yeshua taught us to do), As a nation that has done righteousness (”Look at me, I am righteous through the blood of the Messiah’” Note: then why are they still sinning by repeatedly breaking the same Laws?) And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God (”We obey God … we love everyone-so we have obeyed all God wants us to”). They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God (”We have such a good time at church with all the functions and we feel so close to God”).” (Isaiah 58:2)

Yet, God is silent in their lives. Oh, they pray, but how does He answer them? “Sometimes what I ask comes to pass … sometimes it does not” (What, is prayer like Russian roulette?) God is clear about those who ‘act’ like and ’say’ they love Him, but do not because they do not obey His Laws:

“16 But to the wicked God says, ‘What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. 21 These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. 22 Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.”" (Psalm 50:16-17, 21-22)

He is also clear about those who pray to Him while ignoring His Laws:

“He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9)

Many people claim that they are part of the New Covenant, but claim though they may, their lives do not show that they are part of it. They tell of the stories of old, yet ignore His wrath, “Oh, that is not for me” they assume, as they continue to ignore His Laws … they have forgotten that YHVH said that “they are your life“. Instead, they say, “Oh, our loving Master simply would not tell me to ‘go away’ and send me to damnation for not practicing His Father’s Laws. He must be talking to someone else.” Then, they continue to disobey and ignore His Sabbath, feasts, and eat what HE says is detestable. They are wrong; it is VERY clear (they just need to desire to know the truth at all cost). The Son (who could say NOTHING on His own, but only what His Father told Him to say) is talking to those who are claiming His covenant promises, yet are living without His Laws (Law-LESS-ness):

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS (a life without the Law).‘” (Matthew 7:22-23)

Then the Master continues in vs 24 about those who hear His Words and practices them, thus are wise.

I WILL GIVE YOU JUST A FEW PASSAGES TO MEDIATE ON (Many people throughout history thought the same thing, “As long as we are worshiping and sacrificing to Him, our obedience to His laws doesn’t really matter”.)

“It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart’.” (Deuteronomy 29:19)

“But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me.” (Jeremiah 16:12)

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5)

Being repentant means to be sorry and to turn from that sin and set up your life to be in obedience, instead. Have you come to the place where you are truly repentant for transgressing His Laws?

“YHVH (The Lord) says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.‘ (Isaiah 29:13)

I write because I love each of you (NOT to boast, nor to mock, but to pull people from the raging fire who think their salvation is secure despite their lack of obedience). Unfortunately, many people honor YHVH by celebrating and worshiping Him on Sunday (a rule taught by man ; not in Scripture), yet disregard His command to honor the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath. They also worship Him on different man-made feast days (celebrations taught by man, but are not in Scripture) and they praise Him, yet do not celebrate and honor Him on the days He commands us to. They don’t even know His name OR the name of His Son (LORD and Jesus are NOT the names of the Father and Son;… they are names given by man- … NOT in the original Scriptures). All the while, they are also eating what HE calls detestable (but man teaches that it is clean and good to eat) … yet they come near with their mouths to honor Him, HE says.

Many people justify their disregard for His laws by saying, “Oh, He knows my heart and that I love Him“. This is half right… He DOES know each of our hearts, but as far as loving Him, He has been clear in the Torah, as well as the Apostolic writings about what loving Him looks like:

In the Torah:

“I command you today to love YHVH your God, (’what does loving YHVH look like?‘) to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that YHVH your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish (Never enter the Kingdom that is coming).” (Deuteronomy 30:16-18)

I would list more, but many feel that the Old Testament is done away with and not for us Gentiles. This is sad and could not be farther away from the truth. So, let us look at the New Testament and what it says loving God looks like (Remember: the NT must line up with the OT, or else it would be a false teaching)!

In the New Testament:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

We know that Yeshua (Jesus) NEVER taught that the Law was done away with or not to be obeyed (Many use Paul’s misunderstood and hard to understand writings OVER those of the Master). We know that Yeshua could ONLY speak what the Father told Him to speak. We know that whatever is the Father’s is the Son’s … It is obvious that the Son commanded obedience to the Father.

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” (2 John 1:6)

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,” (1 John 5:2-3)

This was not something new… “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you,” (Deuteronomy 30:11)

IS YOUR DESIRE TO BE A PRIEST IN THE KINGDOM (GOVERNMENT) OF GOD?
(Then which priest do YOU think He will be coming for?):

“Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.” (Ezekiel 22:26)

This is referring to Israel’s priests of old, yet many of the pastors and priests of today would fit this description very easily.

OR

“Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts and sanctify My sabbaths.” (Ezekiel 44:23-24)

This is referring to those who have the Spirit of Truth and are rising up and acknowledging the Laws and practicing them … getting ready for His return! These devotions are teaching the difference between the holy and the profane.

It all has to do with our flesh. I am doing nothing more than what my Savior did, “Repent, less you perish in your sins” (Yeshua: “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5))

Not many listened to His warning, either (back then, or even today). Satan convinced Adam to sin, he convinced Israel to sin, he convinced the priests of Israel to sin, he did the same to the multitudes today … did he convince YOU too? Oh, they all were still worshiping YHVH, yet it is all in vain.

Shalom Shalom!

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Study on Tassels (Question – Women too?)

STUDY ON TASSELS

Yep … we all hate sticking out like a sore thumb … “You want me to do what? Wear white and blue strings around my waist?” Talk about standing out! BUT, if it’s a command of God … there is no question, “Yes sir”.

(I am using NIV below)

The command: Numbers 15:38-40 … “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.”

The command … again: Deuteronomy 22:11-13 … “Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together. Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear. If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her …”

• The passage found in Numbers 15:38-40 is right after the recording of the Sabbath-breaker being stoned. As if, DO THIS (wear these tassels) so that this does not happen again (as verse 40 states … “By wearing them … THEN you will remember to obey”. Remember the “tying a string around your finger to remember what you are to remember?” God uses tassels!)
• Also found are the words “throughout the generations” and the verb “TO MAKE”.
• Let me ask you, are these following commands still valid today?:
- Putting a parapet around your roof so that no one gets injured by falling?
- Not planting two kinds of seed in your vineyard?
- Not plowing with and ox and donkey yoked together?
- Leaving part of your field (the corners) for the poor and hungry?
- Rising up when the “gray-haired” enters a room (the elderly)?
- If we find our neighbor’s ox (animal) we are to take it in and care for it until they return?
- Not wearing clothes of wool and linen woven together?

• If yes … then the verse on the tassels is the very next statement of some of the above … not skipping a beat … “Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.” … (It then continues on marriage violations) as well as mixed in with the others above.

People may use excuses for not obeying certain commands, such as:

1.) It doesn’t say “forever” or “for all generations”, so it’s not for us today (Can’t use this excuse, it does say throughout the generations!) Did you know that the Ten Commandments do not say “forever” yet we know that it is to be. Hmmm …
2.) They (the Jews) had the tassels to remind them of God’s Law … we have the Spirit now (We are never to negate a command because we know the spiritual meaning … “You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23) and “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.” (1 John 2:7) This is how we KNOW that the Spirit is within a child of God … their flesh obeys the Law (For it is through the Spirit that it is done)!
3.) I have even heard that it was used as a similie … you know, describing something else. Let us examine that one for a moment:

Two similes come to mind … Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and another similar one in Exodus 13:7-9. A Simile is comparing two items using the words like or as. Below, in blue, are descriptive words or action words. The underlined are the similes. Note: wearing tassels is not used as NEVER used as a descriptive word for an action. Simply, by wearing them, you are reminded.

(I am using NASB below)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 … “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you get up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Exodus 13:7-9 … “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. You shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.” (BY observing this feast, and by doing so, it will be “as if” it were written on our hands and displayed on our foreheads.)

Can you see in the above passages that there is a difference between actually being asked to do something (in blue) VERSUS being told that doing something was “as if” it was like doing something else (a simile … see the underlined items)

For example:

1.) You just finished a beautiful vacation that was absolutely breathtaking. You come back to explain it to your friends … “It was as if I was in paradise” (Were you actually in paradise, or was it like you were?).
2.) Again, many people living out in the farm lands of the country often say, “Living in the country is as if you are living in heaven.” (Are you actually living in heaven, or is it “LIKE” living in heaven, “as if” you were?)

The same with the above passages … by doing one thing, it is “as if” you were doing another. As you can see, wearing tassels is never mentioned as a similie. It even explains what they will do when worn.

Let me ask you:

How do you exactly live out “Keeping the Sabbath”? I often look and see what my forefathers have done … I often institute my own precautions, as well. What if our Master (Yeshua / Jesus Himself) did or did not do something on the Sabbath … would that be a good enough test on what to do? Well … He wore His tassels! Matthew 9:20 … “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak.” (Edge is strong’s # G2899 … specifically a fringe or tassel) Are we not to be imitating what HE does? (1 John 2:6).

Matthew 23:5 … “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;” (We often say that the Master had many opportunities to address an issue such as nullifying the Sabbath, but He never did (He simply corrected the interpretation of how to obey it). Same with this passage, He had the opportunity to let us know that wearing the tassels is NOT a command. Instead, He corrects the way they were being worn. The leaders were making their tassels and prayer shawls longer and wider to show others that they were superior to the “common folk”)

4.) (Regarding excuses for not wearing tassels) “I don’t have a 4 corner garment, so I don’t have to wear them.” OR “you are not wearing them right, since you are not wearing a 4 corner garment” (some attach them on their belt loops around themselves).

Here’s a thought regarding how to wear tassels:

• I have been criticized about wearing them on the belt loops of my pants. (Yet, I do not hear criticism of those who hide them by tucking them in?). What is the proper way to wear them? Let me ask you, what if someone was wearing his tassels on the bottom of His pant-legs? To him I would say, “Ah, Great!” (I would then ask him how he came up with that, but great!) What are the four corners of your garments? If you use other Scriptural references to four corners which simply refers to being “around the entire object” … the object, in this case, is me. I have nothing against those who actually wear them on a 4 corner garment (that happened to be what they were wearing at that time in history).

“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.” (Ezekiel 7:2) (Since Israel’s land is not a square … the combined meaning in Strong’s means “border”, “end”, or “uttermost part” … in word search it also describes it as “It took on the sense of the outer edges, corners, or extremities of something.”

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.” (Revelation 7:1) (Maybe this is where they got that whole “the world is flat” idea? Instead, I think that the writer meant that there was no escaping the four angels … they covered the earth, they had it surrounded!!))

“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth – ” (Revelation 20:7-8a) (Maybe this is why they believed the earth was flat?)

(I enjoyed this next one … most heads are not square, nor do they have edges / corners … except mine … it has a flat top! Get it? (Wow, tough crowd!))

(NIV) Leviticus 19:7 … “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall thou mar the corners of thy beards.” (I don’t know if anyone told Moses, but God already rounded off the corners of my head … it’s now a ball-shape)
(NASB) Leviticus 19:17 … “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
(KJV) Leviticus 19:7 … “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads, nor harm the edges of your beard.” (Question: Where would the side end and the top begin? That would be the next controversy, eh?)

Makes you think again … “Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.” (Deuteronomy 22:12) (How do I see it? You should be surrounded by God’s Word … these tassels shall be all around you. They are on the edge of my garment (the top of my pants) and my brothers can see them and remember to obey God’s Laws. What does “all around” mean to you? As long as we are practicing … that is what pleases God, I believe.

But what about woman? Are they to wear them too?

Deuteronomy 22:12 simply states to do “this”: “Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.” To answer the question about who this command is to, let me ask you, who is Deuteronomy 22:11 to? (“Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”). Obviously, this is for the woman to do, as much as for the men. I think about Adam and Eve. Adam (the man of the house) was given the command and HE was to pass it on to Eve. That is the job of the men or husband, to be spiritual heads of their household. ALL the commands were to the “Israelites” or “sons of Israel” (unless a certain command was for the woman or man, it then said “a man is not to …..” or “a woman is to do ….”) Below is the Strong’s definition of “Israelites” or “sons of Israel”:

H1121
bên
bane
From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like H1, H251, etc.):

Numbers 15:38-41 … “Speak to the Israelites (many translations have “sons of Israel”) and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of YHVH, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am YHVH your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am YHVH your God.’” Could this be to the men, like Adam, the builders of the family name, to tell the woman? Oh … you thought that I would have an answer? I don’t know. My wife has put them on her prayer shawl she covers herself with during her intimate prayer times. We are saved by faith as we try to figure out how to obey God.

New Commands?

“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
(John 13:34)

12 / 06 / 08
(Comments in parentheses and emphasis are mine – NIV used)

FIRST THOUGHTS:

• I have always wondered why so many people think that Yahshua (Jesus) gave a new commandment to us that we must “love” … as if it had not existed prior to him. I have even been told that we no longer need to follow any of the Old Testament Laws today, but only need to follow Jesus’ command to love one another. Where did they get that, I wonder?
• Okay, okay … many of you may be thinking, “Kyle, just look at the verse you chose to open with”. Ohhhhhh … that is where they get it from … it is because Yahshua (Jesus) said it is a new command. But I thought that God commanded even in the Old Testament for us to love each other.…even before the Son of God appeared to us!

- “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am YHWH.” (Leviticus 19:18)
- “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am YHWH your God. “ (Leviticus 19:34)
- “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am YHWH your God.” (Deuteronomy 10:19)

• I don’t want to be disrespectful, but what is Yahshua (Jesus) talking about? How can this be a new commandment? Did He forget that He already commanded us to love each other back in our forefather’s time in the desert?
• HINT: Look at the last two verses regarding WHO they were commanded to love. The natural born Israelites were commanded to love the “Alien” that was living among them and to treat them as an equal. What was new when Yahshua was talking was that we Gentile believers were no longer “aliens” living among them, but equal to the natural born Hebrew believers. THAT is what Yahshua has accomplished! That was one of His purposes!

- Paul explains this to the Ephesians (non-Hebrews) in Ephesians 2:19 … “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Recall from above that they were told to love the aliens among them. So, the notion of a Gentile believer being equal among them is NEW.
- “For He Himself is our peace, who made the two (Hebrew and Gentile) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (there were actual walls in the Temple built to keep the Gentiles separated), by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations (These are the dogma laws, or man-made laws that made it hard for not only the Gentiles to come near to God, but the common Hebrew, as well). His purpose was to create in Himself ONE new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14-16) Did you catch that? “HIS PURPOSE” was to create in Himself ONE man out of the two (Jew and Gentile). THAT is the part that was new, and therefore we both are told … LOVE one another.
- “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) (The body is Israel … made up of many parts of which our Messiah is the head!)
- “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, THEN you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28-29)
- “For there is NO difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.” (Romans 10:12)
- Yet to ALL who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born NOT of natural descent, NOR of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:11-13)

THE ONLY THING THAT IS NEW IS “WHO OUR BROTHERS ARE”:

• Now, when we read passages about “loving your brother” we must not think about it being a new command, but that our thought of “who” our brother is to include the Hebrew believers, as well as the Hebrew believer must include us, Gentile believers as their thought of family. Together, we make up Israel.
• “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) I am to carry not only the Gentile believer’s burden, but the Hebrew believer’s, as well. You know what? We should probably STOP referring to each other according to our physical identification, as well … such as being a Jew, Greek, or Italian believer. Once someone is part of the family of Israel, there is no longer a PHYSICAL identification … but a Spiritual one. I am no longer a Gentile and a Hebrew is no longer a Hebrew. These things are of the world and not of God. For it is written about the children of God:

- “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
- “I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)

VERSES RELATED TO THOUGHT:

• “This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17) NOW we know that this is not replacing God’s Laws (as many think), but it is revealing that He (Yahshua / Jesus) commands both Jews and Gentiles within Israel to love each other as brothers (It is like a twin brother being taken at birth by mistake and being raised by someone else for 20 years. Then, one day, they meet and realize that they have been brothers all along. Now the brother who had been raised by their true parents has to share them with his new-found brother … who had been a brother all along.)
• “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10) Notice that we are to obey God’s Laws (do what is right … some translations say “do righteousness”) AND love our brothers.
• “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20-21) Now that it is clear what our Savior actually is speaking of, we know that this is NOT eliminating the Laws as given through Moses, but that He is bringing the Jew and Gentile together … and then commands them to love one another.
• “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) What Law? Ohhhhhh … the law that Jews and Gentiles must love each other as brothers!
• John seems to hint that it really is not new, but has sort of been hidden and spoken of before. They (The Hebrews) KNEW that they were to love the aliens that were ALWAYS welcomed into Israel. But they always thought that being an “Israelite” was their right alone (recall the twin brother example. The one brother thought that he alone was an heir.). So John is clear in 1 John 2:7-9 … it is actually not so new. Those living at the time of Yahshua (Jesus) simply had never heard it: “Dear friends, I am NOT writing you a new command but an OLD one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”
• “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
• “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9)

LAST THOUGHTS:

• So … who are our brothers? Anyone who believes in Yahshua (Jesus) as their Savior.
• Is the command to love each other replacing obedience to God’s Laws as given through Moses? Of course not.
• We are told that there is no Jew, Gentile, slave, free, male, or female within Israel. It also makes sense that the priests, who are the brothers of the High Priest, Yahshua (Jesus), are from every tribe, language, peoples and nations. These are all who hold firm to the testimony of Yahshua (Jesus) and obey the Law and teach it.

WHAT MIGHT THIS LOVE LOOK LIKE:

• Those of us who are attempting to obey God’s Laws as He gave them to His children MUST love those who have not come to that point in their walk with Him. We must show the same mercy that we received for so many years from the Lord.
• Those of us who are attempting to obey God’s Laws as He gave them to His children MUST love those who do the same, yet interpret and live out the commands differently from us, others, or the majority. (NOTE: We are all, most likely, incorrect in some points. Good thing we are not saved by our obedience!). Division comes when we do not love each other as He commanded and accuse each other for doing things differently.
• Yes … we must love one another … or it all means nothing.