A description of the design of Solomon’s palace seems more appropriate for an architecture textbook than the Scriptures. Yet the elements of the design tap frequent symbols in Scripture, pointing to the roles of “priest” and “king” in the Messianic Age.
Shmeni Atzeret (Convocation of the Eighth Day) pictures a just God beyond human understanding. His goal is that all of mankind be with Him.
The imagery of the book of Revelation can seem bizarre and unfathomable, until we realize that the book is a compilation of Day of the LORD prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. In this case, we’re examining the strange imagery of “scorpions” and “locusts” related to the fifth and sixth trumpets in Revelation 9–10.
The very first verse tells you what the entire book of Deuteronomy is about: the statues and judgments of the Lord. A statute is a pre-described task, something that God has explained and given as a task. A judgement tells us how to carry out the decision of a judge. A judgement elaborates how to to perform a particular statute. Judgements are not always negative, sometimes judgements are favorable.
In Matthew 5-7, Messiah Yeshua gave us a reality check on whether our lives are trending toward the righteousness that God seeks. In Matthew 7, Yeshua tells us how to “judge” with mercy and discernment. Matthew 12, shows us Yeshua’s practical application of this principle.By the strict definition of the Torah, the apostles were guilty of threshing grain on the Shabbat. Yet, Yeshua, rather than confirming the harsh edict of the Pharisees, comes to their defense and turns the tables in favor of mercy.
Many believers in Yeshua — and those who don’t believe in Yeshua who purposefully misappropriate His words to justify their own ends — use Matthew 7:1-5 as a blanket prohibition on using any discernment between good and evil. However the later texts of the same chapter show that Yeshua doesn’t want us to walk around without any sense of judgment or discernment. He wants us to discern and judge with mercy and compassion.
When Yeshua told the elders that the scriptures speak of Him, many of us had no idea how much Messianic foreshadowing is found in this book. The exit from Egypt after Passover and the journey to Canaan was orderly, not chaotic. The journeys to and from Egypt, for Abraham, Joseph, Jacob and the Messiah are a lesson for us.
Moses’ final words about the “statutes and judgements” have a particular significance for us during Sukkot. There are no amendments to the statutes of God. And we aren’t allowed change or alter God’s judgements. We should read them not to challenge them but to understand them, wrestle with them and apply them to our lives.