I have chosen the following scriptures in order to address all faiths, because we have all tampered with the original Laws of Moses, whether in word or in deed. We have either added to the laws; thereby, increasing the burdens of humanity, much more than the Lord ever intended, or we have abolished the laws altogether.
“ ... Thus says the LORD: Israel is My first-born son.
Exodus 4:22 (Torah)
The Lord chose the children of Israel, like a first-born son; to be used as an example for the rest of humanity to follow, as children of the Lord.
Please note that the law applies towards all of humanity and not simply to the children of Israel:
My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws: I the LORD am your God. You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 18:4-5 (Torah)
Do not defile yourselves in any of those ways, for it is by such that the nations which I am casting out before you defiled themselves. Thus the land became defiled; and I called it to account for its iniquity, and the land spewed out its inhabitants. But you must keep My laws and My rules, and you must not do any of those abhorrent things, neither the citizen nor the stranger who resides among you;
Leviticus 18:24-26 (Torah)
You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen alike: for I the LORD am your God.
Leviticus 24:22 (Torah)
In Leviticus 26:14-38 we are warned of what will become of us if we are disobedient. The children of Israel have been taught that they have been singled out and that they alone are expected to obey the laws. The Christians have been taught that they are under a new covenant and they are not required to observe the law. Yet, look at all of the curses we have been afflicted with, whether we are Jewish or Gentile. We are all afflicted because we have all gone astray, following our own inclinations, and forsaking the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.
For the citizen among the Israelites and for the stranger who resides among them—you shall have one ritual for anyone who acts in error. But the person, be he citizen or stranger, who acts defiantly reviles the LORD; that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has spurned the word of the LORD and violated His commandment, that person shall be cut off―he bears his guilt.
Numbers 15:29-31 (Torah)
Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you: Neither add to it nor take away from it.
Deuteronomy 13:1 (Torah)
But you must be very strong and resolute to observe faithfully all the Teaching that My servant Moses enjoined upon you. Do not deviate from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Let not this Book of the Teaching cease from your lips, but recite it day and night, so that you may observe faithfully all that is written in it. Only then will you prosper in your undertakings and only then will you be successful.
Joshua 1:7-8 (Tanakh)
For if any man of the House of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, breaks away from Me and turns his thoughts upon his *fetishes and sets his mind upon the sins through which he stumbled, and then goes to the prophet to inquire of Me through him, I the LORD will respond to him directly, I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a byword, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 14:7-8 (Tanakh)
When I was younger, I did not understand what it meant to be cut off. Then one night I asked the Lord, and later that same evening, I had the following vision: I saw a man sitting on a chair, bent over. He reached for his foot and cut off the top portion of his large toe nail, with a toe nail clipper, and cast it aside. Afterward, I thought about the multitude of times I have trimmed my nails and threw the clippings away and never thought about them again.
*A fetish is an object which one believes has the power to protect or to grant one's self good fortune. It is also a material object which is used with reverence or obsessive devotion. For example: Amulets or talismans; such as the hamsa or khamsa, which is also referred to as the hand of Fatima or the evil eye by Muslims or the hand of Miriam by Jews; the Crucifix, the St. Christopher medallion, and other small figurines; rosaries and prayer beads; dream catchers, hex signs, magic squares, and good luck charms such as chicken bones, coins, four leaf clovers, horse shoes, rabbits feet, stones, wishing wells, etc…
But the LORD’s steadfast love is for all eternity toward those who fear Him, and His beneficence is for the children’s children of those who keep His covenant and remember to observe his precepts.
Psalm 103:17-18 (Tanakh)
The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (Tanakh)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
Who is an evildoer? One who lives outside of the law, as an outlaw, and does not seek to observe the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, in the Word of God.
... Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
Matthew 15:6-9 (NIV)
“ ... if you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Matthew 19:17 (NIV)
Whether you may be Jewish or Gentile: Please read the book of Matthew, chapter twenty-three. If we wish to please the Lord and walk according to his way; then, we need to question all of that which we have learned, and study the Word of God for ourselves.
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 14:23-24 (NIV)
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)
... I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
Acts 26:20 (NIV)
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
Romans 2:13 (NIV)
Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25 (NIV)
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
James 2:10-11 (NIV)
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1 John 2:3-6 (NIV)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 5:1-5 (NIV)
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
Revelation 12:17 (NIV)
I have chosen the previous scriptures, because it is my hope in doing so that no matter whom you are; you might understand the relevance of obedience to the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, in the Word of God; before their instructions became tainted by the teachings of this world. I stress the prophets in the Word of God, because throughout history and even in our present generation; some people lord over others, and use their position of authority in order to dictate their own ideologies, which are often inconsistent with the Word of God. They have used the argument that what they say is from God, but they are deceived and they have deceived us as well. If their teachings are inconsistent with the Word of God or if they would lead us away from studying the Word of God; then their teachings are inspired by the imaginations of their mind, and they are under the influence of another spirit, even Satan himself. Unless you devote a considerable amount of time studying the Word of God, for yourself; you will never be able to distinguish between the chaff of mankind or the false teachings and the wheat and the true teachings of the Lord. If the teachings of our spiritual leaders, their behavior, and ours does not emulate the behavior of Abraham, according to the Laws of Moses and the prophets, who were the true servants of the Lord, and Jesus and his disciples; than we are not children of God, but we are children of the devil. We must all repent of that which we have done in the past, by conforming ourselves to the light of God, and seeking to extinguish the darkness that has so easily and persuasively enveloped us in this world. We must be honest with ourselves, our children, and each other. We need to show compassion for one another and help each other, to lift up humanity in a manner that will truly please the Lord. We need to deny the teachings of this world and those of mankind that are destroying us and removing us from the grace of God.
If you would be interested: I have included a chapter at the end of this book called “Words To Live By,” which has a partial list of the laws that may easily be applied today. (I have omitted the laws that apply to the holy temple and the priesthood because they are inactive at this time.) Or you may visit: http://www.TheLawsOfMoses.com, for a simple and concise list of these laws.
We all need to seek Almighty God through his Word together.
