“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.
Shadows of the prophet status and crucifixion of the Messiah appear in the Torah passage שֹׁפְטִים Shoftim (“judges,” Deut. 16:18-21:9). In a section of the Bible focused on codes of justice still used in modern society, there also is hope for the greatest mercy the world has ever seen, in Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).
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).
There are shadows of Messiah in the Torah passage שֹׁפְטִים Shoftim (“judges,” Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9), even down to the ceremony when a community is unable to bring a murderer to justice. There are levels of investigation and a careful pursuit of justice and a balance between the rights of the “avenger” and the rights of the accused.
In Shoftim, Moshe (Moses) elaborates on practical application of the Fifth and Sixth commandments. One lesson is that if you do not have respect for your parents, you lose respect for all kinds of authority, from the babysitters to teachers, employers, police officers, judges, prophets and priests. That disrespect will go all the way up the chain of authority to God Himself.
Shadows of the prophet status and crucifixion of the Messiah appear in the Torah passage שֹׁפְטִים Shoftim (“judges”), covering Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9. In a section of the Bible focused on codes of justice still used in modern society, there also is hope for the greatest mercy the world has ever seen, in Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).
Many believers in Yeshua dismiss this chapter and similar ones as “just a list of rules” and assume they have no relevance to the modern times. Yet there is foreshadowing of the Messiah in the laws for cities to atone for the “stain” of unsolved murder, inheritance for the firstborn of “unloved” wives and capital punishment for “rebellious” sons.