Parasha Yitro

This Torah teaching on the Parasha “Yitro” is a little different. This is not the usual weekly commentary on the portion aimed at like-minded believers. On the flip side, this Emet Insights is meant to be a tool for you to use in sharing the truth with your community.

Provided below is a short “Letter to the Editor” about the Ten Commandments and their importance. Please fill in your own personal information at the bottom, print this letter out, and send it to your local newspaper. It is ok to claim this letter as your own when you submit it to the media. Feel free to email Emet Ministries back with the outcome of your own “Letter to the Editor” about this Parasha. You may be surprised at what may come of this simple way of witnessing the truth.

Dear Editor,

Most people are familiar with the “Ten Commandments Judge,” Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama and his crusade to post the 10 Commandments in public places. On February 1, Judge Moore appealed his removal from office last November for his refusal to obey a federal order to take his 5,280 pound Ten Commandments monument out of the state courthouse. “The freedom to worship God is being taken from us by federal courts who misuse the First Amendment as a sword to take away our rights, instead of a shield to preserve them for us," Moore recently said. The Judge’s quest is a noble effort, yet I must sincerely and openly question Judge Moore and anyone who believes as he does. Do you believe the 10 Commandments apply to life today? Should they be placed in public view for all to see?

Whether or not you agree with the idea of posting the 10 Commandments is NOT the real issue of this whole ordeal. The actual issue at stake is should we say one thing and do another. A recent CNN poll shows that the majority of the population agrees that the Ten Commandments should be followed for moral and ethical reasons. However, most people simply do not keep them, nor can name all ten commands. Should leaders – judges, pastors, and politicians - ask people to obey the commands that they themselves ignore? I’m not judging Judge Moore or anyone who agrees with him. What I am doing is simply questioning his and our nation’s integrity.

Too many people say we should post the Ten Commandments in courthouses, schools, and libraries while those very same people do not even obey them. Posting any Bible verse or inspirational saying does not negate the effects of people disobeying it. Let’s face the truth. It is much easier to support the symbolism of hanging the Ten Words than it is to actually obey the substance of what they teach. Take for example the fourth commandment to remember and honor the Sabbath day.

The majority of the world’s Protestants and Catholics, including Judge Moore, do not keep the fourth command. This verse from the King James Bible makes it abundantly clear that the Almighty is very specific about this rule. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath,” Exodus 20:9-10. Just take a look at your calendar and remind yourself that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath. Sunday is NOT the Biblical Sabbath. According to this verse honoring any other day as the Sabbath is breaking the Ten Commandments. Is it not then hypocritical that Judge Moore and most of his supporters teach the Ten Commandments yet don’t even obey the simplest of them? “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify," Cardinal James Gibbons wrote in The Faith of our Fathers.

Another example of hypocrisy that so many people are involved in concerns the Third Commandment. Churches everywhere teach that people should not “take the name of the Lord in vain.” Churches say that this commandment means to use curse phrases with the Almighty’s name. This simply cannot be the meaning of this verse. The Ten Commandments were spoken and written in Hebrew to a Hebrew nation. The phrase “god d-mn” did not and does not exist in that language. To assume that the Third Commandment means to not cuss or talk slang about “God” or “Lord” is unfounded in the Bible.

Surprising, to not use His Divine Name is one real way people take the “take the name of the Lord in vain.” Again, the Almighty spoke these commands in Hebrew to a Hebrew nation. The English language did not exist then so His Name simply cannot be “Lord” or “God.” Yet His Name is found hidden within these English terms in your Bible. Whenever you find the English word “Lord” in capital letters the translators are letting you know that the sacred name of Yahweh is being used. Yahweh is His Name. But, Yahweh says emphatically in Exodus 3 that Yahweh “is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” This name was not intended to be hidden by scribes and translators; rather Yahweh Himself gave it to man as a sign of His existence and as a means of personal relationship.

This is similar to how you introduce yourself on a first name basis when you want to get to know someone – Yahweh gave us His personal name so we could approach Him with intimacy. It’s very important to note that “Yahweh” is used almost 7,000 times throughout the Bible as the only and unique name of the Mighty One of Israel. The KJV sometimes even uses the poetic form of “Jah” to reference the mighty name of Yahweh, see Psalm 68:4. And the prefaces of many Bibles explain this very clearly. Sorry Judge Moore, but according to the Scriptures when you don’t use the name of Yahweh, then you are guilty of breaking the Third Commandment.

Much more could be written about idolatry, adultery, and the remaining Ten Commands but the point has been made sufficiently. The point is that the teachings of the Bible weren’t meant to only be plastered on walls. Nor were they given to be glossed over by preachers and seminaries that teach exact obedience to the Word is not important. On the contrary, the Scriptures were given as specific loving instructions for man to experience life through. True, abundant life comes in literally obeying the words of the Bible through faith. Those found in the Ten Commandments are very simple to understand and simple to obey. The Savior said, “If you love me, then obey my, commands.” What were His commands? What did He teach? Luke 24:27 KJV, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures.” The Savior taught that people should obey all the words of Moses, including the Ten Commandments. He did not teach that they had “passed away” or were not important. Surely the Ten Commandments are bearing upon Bible believers today?

Judge Moore may be sincere, noble, and brave but he and those who support him are still clearly in the wrong if they continue in disobedience. What do you think the Almighty Yahweh wants from His people? Does He want His word to be virtually ignored yet posted for all to see? Or does He want His word obeyed as an example for all to see? What is a bigger witness to the message of the Bible - to walk out the commandments or just talk about them? The case is set before you now. You be the judge.

Sincerely,

________________

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