Tefilah, Teshuva, Tsedaqa

 

Yeshua said: "If you love Me, keep my commandments." - John 14:15.

    Starting with the greatest commandment, the Sh'ma, and the second-greatest, which is like it, loving your neighbour as yourself. - Matthew 22:37-39. Then moving on to the 10 Commandments from the book of Exodus, then completing the list with the rest of the 613.

    People have written books about how to know the love language of your loved one. So here is Yeshua, giving us His love language. Shouldn't we pay attention and act accordingly?

    Jeremiah 7:23 says: "But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey my voice and I will be your God, and you will be my people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you'."

    So, not only is our obedience to God his love language, it is also the key that opens the channels for us to receive His manifold blessings in our lives.

  

    Yeshua told a parable about a king who invited his friends to a wedding feast, but they all made excuses and said they could not attend, so the king sent his servants out to find anyone they could to be his guests. - Matthew 22:1-14.

    Parables are a distinctly Jewish approach to teaching, especially in the 1st Century. The Talmud is full of parables, indicating that, yes, Yeshua read the Talmud!

    Still in Matthew 22, after the servants of the king had gathered all and sundry and seated them in the venue, in verse 11, the king saw that one of the guests did not have wedding garments on.

    In Jewish understanding, garments symbolise righteousness or righteous acts - Isaiah 61:10: "I greatly rejoice in ADONAI, my whole being exults in my God, who has clothed me in robes of deliverance, covered me with a robe of righteousness, like a bridegroom, to serve as a priest (Cohen) adorned with a turban, and like a bride with her adornments."

    The lack of wedding garments is a lack of good deeds. This is borne out in a couple of places: Zohar Vayikra 106a: "When a man comes before the King, he must wear proper garments", which are our good deeds, as it clearly states in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19:7-8: "Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give him the glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his Bride has prepared herself - fine linen, bright and clean has been given to her to wear. (Fine linen means the righteous deeds of God's people)."

    We can't be clothed with garments of righteousness unless we do acts of righteousness; We can only do righteous acts if we live in obedience to God and do His commandments. These will be our clothing in the Messianic age.

    Yes, Yeshua saved us. Yes, He is the Door. But we can't stop there. We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, as per Philippians 2:12.

    How do we do that? 2 Peter 3:11 gives us a clue: "Since everything is going to be destroyed like this, what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives."

    Kefa continues in verse 12: "As you wait for the day of God and work to hasten its coming. That day will bring on the destruction of he heavens by fire, and the elements will melt from the heat; but we, following along with His promise, wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will be at home."

    What a wonderful hope we have!

Layla Tov!