The “Law of liberty” mentioned by the Apostle Ya’akob (James 1:25; 2:12) is connected to entering into God’s “rest” (Hebrews 3-4) and “walking in liberty” (Psa. 119:45). And the symbols of Pesakh (Passover) show how God planned for this to work originally, at the time of Yeshua Mashiakh (Jesus Christ), today and at the future Day of the LORD.
The beginning of the future reign of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) on Earth (Rev. 20:4–6), memorialized in the appointed times of Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles) and Shmeni Atzeret (Convocation of the Eighth Day). Let’s consider this hypothetical situation: During the 1,000 year-reign of Yeshua, if someone walks the wrong direction, the errant person will hear a voice, “Turn neither to the left or to the right; walk straight!” (Deut. 28:14; Josh. 1:7; Prov. 4:27; cp. Zech. 8:20–23).
Right now, that voice is hard to hear, but during the Millennial reign, that voice will be very clear.
The life of Yosef (Joseph) is a shadow of the life of the Messiah in a number of ways. In the latter half of Genesis 42, we see another shadow: Yosef was hidden from his brothers yet wanted to weep when he heard their penitence over the death they thought they had set in motion for him by selling him into slavery.
That’s the repentance God seeks from Israel for the treatment of God’s Messiah. The prophets and apostles foretell that day will come.
Why do the prophets, Yeshua the Messiah and His apostles repeatedly refer to Sodom and Gomorrah when talking about judgment and mercy?
Shmeni Atzeret (Convocation of the Eighth Day) pictures a just God beyond human understanding. His goal is that all of mankind be with Him.
“You have heard it said, but I say…” was a common rabbinic phrase used when a rabbi wanted to encourage yeshiva students to dissect and discuss a particular Torah principle. A “problematic” Torah edicts is “eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” etc. Many Christians and Jews are very uncomfortable with this “barbaric” “tit-for-tat” law.
In the closing chapters of the book of Numbers, among a discussion of land grants to the tribes of Israel we read of a justice-and-mercy system for murderers that prophetically links ransom of the accidentally guilty to the death of the high priest.