“Treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matt. 7:12 NASB) is the Golden Rule of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). But in the Torah reading כִּי־תֵצֵא Ki Tetze (“when you go forth,” Deut. 21:10–25:19) we’re reminded that Heaven sent this instruction much earlier. In this study, we explore the big role the Golden Rule plays in helping today’s society answer today’s vexing questions about gender and parent roles.
Yeshua (Jesus) said, “(E)veryone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28 NASB). That heart-encompassing explanation of Heaven’s instructions about adultery, murder, theft, honesty and lust for stuff is what’s behind the seemingly disconnected topics covered in the Torah passage כִּי־תֵצֵא Ki Tetze (“when you go forth,” Deut. 21:10-25:19). It helps explain what’s under the hood of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth commandments.
We may think that faith and belief are wishy-washing things that can change with our mood or socio-economic situation. But the way the Bible uses those concepts, the clearer translation may be “trust” or “dependable.” We trust in God’s words, find the promises of Heaven dependable.
But the flip side of that is, are we trustworthy? Are we dependable? Are our desires, lives and resources following after Heaven’s instructions? Or are they wandering back and forth between God’s rules and the Zeitgeist, the Spirit of the Age, what’s trendy and popular.
Those questions are behind the instructions about marriage and adultery in the Torah passage כי תצא Ki Tetze (“when you go forth,” Deut. 21:10-25:19).
Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) revealed the heart of God in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-36). Why does the venue matter? Both teach us important sides of the Messiah.
Join us for the first in-depth look in this series on these two important messages from the Messiah.
Deuteronomy documents the thoughts of Elohim, illustrated by how often Messiah Yeshua and the apostles quote from it. By studying these commandments, statutes and judgments — at times difficult to understand — we can see a small glimpse of how God thinks, not in the past tense but in the present tense.
Why the LORD hates cross-dressing so much? There’s more to this seeming grab bag of anachronistic rules than is apparent on the surface.