We have now reached our 40th installment of the Precepts and Principles of the Torah series.

Most of Deuteronomy is simply review, or filling in some details on how to keep the various commandments that have already been given in the other books.

My intention is to hopefully make this a DVD set, so that anyone wanting to keep the Torah will have a resource and video series to help them do just that.

And speaking of that, Yahweh says:

Moshe had just finished repeating the Ten Commandments, and recalling the narrative that was associated with Him giving those commandments. His desire is that they would have a fear of Yahweh, so that they would keep His commandments and dwell in the land Yahweh had given them forever. We all know how that turned out. There were moments of great glory as the nation turned to righteousness, but by and large much of the time they were walking in disobedience.

It was still a problem in the first century, as Yahushua had to rebuke those who by all appearances seemed to have a desire to walk in righteousness and had obtained great respect in Judah, the scribes and Pharisees. It wasn’t the ones who knew they were wicked that gave Yahushua a hard time, it was the ones who claimed to follow Yahweh that put Him on the tree.

I can say the same has been true for me personally. I don’t get much flak from unbelievers in my area, usually all of the problems come from people who claim to follow Him. So just because people may appear to be a sheep, they may actually be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

So what is the fruit?

The ones doing the will of our Father in Heaven are those who are bearing the good fruit.

And what is the will of our Father in Heaven? The Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines “lawlessness” as:

458 ἀνομία anomia {an-om-ee’-ah}
Meaning: 1) the condition of without law 1a) because ignorant of it 1b) because of violating it 2) contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness
Origin: from 459; TDNT – 4:1085,646; n f
Usage: AV – iniquity 12, unrighteousness 1, transgress the law + 4060 1, transgression of the law 1; 15

Notice it is “from 459.” Greek word #459 says:

459 ἄνομος anomos {an’-om-os}
Meaning: 1) destitute of (the Mosaic) law 1a) of the Gentiles 2) departing from the law, a violator of the law, lawless, wicked
Origin: from 1 (as a negative particle) and 3551; TDNT – 4:1086,646; adj
Usage: AV – without law 4, transgressor 2, wicked 2, lawless 1, unlawful 1; 10

If there is any doubt as to which law Yahushua is talking about, I hope that this gives some clarity. “Nomos” is the Greek word used to describe the law of Moses all throughout the New Testament.

So Yahushua is essentially saying the same thing that Moshe was saying. Keep the law of Yahweh. That is the key. No casting out of devils or miracles performed by men are going to be enough for one to be accepted.

And if you are going to keep the law of Yahweh, you must remember that it’s not just some list of do’s and don’ts. If we don’t understand the purpose of the law, we will not understand anything:

This was the problem with the religionists of the first century. They didn’t really love Yahweh, they loved themselves:

This was the problem, and it continues to be the problem today. People are more loyal to men than they are to Yahweh. And so it says in our next verse of Deuteronomy:

Lost in the theological interpretations of the verse proclaiming “Yahweh is one,” is the fact that He is trying to get us to see that there is only ONE who is deserving of our 100% complete loyalty. He must be first in our lives and our love for Him must never be replaced by a love for ourselves, or a love for another person.

This is why Yahushua said:

I have experienced this “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” many times. It is always a test of loyalty, as to whether we will be loyal to Yahweh and His word, or loyal to men who are unwilling to love Him with all of their heart, soul, and strength.

Every one of us will face this test as believers. Whether we will be loyal to Yahweh or to men. King Saul failed this test, whereas King David passed it. The scribes and Pharisees failed this test, but Yahushua’s disciples passed it.

This unwillingness to love Yahweh with all of ones heart, soul and strength is the root issue of why Israel fell away time and time again. Yahweh would judge them and let them know what it’s like to serve the devil, but then – out of self-interest sometimes – they would call out to Yahweh and ask Him to deliver them. He would, hoping that they would see that there is no other Elohim but Him, and He loves us enough to forgive us when we turn our hearts back to Him.

But giving someone grace doesn’t always result in someone choosing to love Yahweh.

For us, I hope it does cause us to want to love Yahweh in return. As the scripture says:

So if one wants to say that they love Yahweh, they must also love their brother. It is not possible to love Yahweh unless you do love your fellow man. Also, it is not possible to love your fellow man unless you do love Yahweh

And so there are three evidences that we have the love of Yahweh in us.

• When faced with a decision to be loyal to Yahweh or men, we choose Yahweh
• We love our brother, our neighbor, and even our enemy
• We keep His commandments

Now I have a full teaching on the importance of loving Yahweh at: http://www.eliyah.com/loveyahweh

And a I have a full teaching on the oneness of Yahweh and whether or not the Trinity and Oneness doctrines are biblical at: http://www.eliyah.com/shema http://www.eliyah.com/shema2

Continuing in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 6:

The word translated “diligently” in this verse is a very interesting word:

08150 שָׁנַן shanan {shaw-nan’}
Meaning: 1) to sharpen, whet 1a) (Qal) to whet, sharpen 1b) (Piel) to sharpen, teach (incisively) 1c) (Hithpolel) to be pierced
Origin: a primitive root; TWOT – 2422; v
Usage: AV – sharp 4, whet 2, sharpen 1, prick 1, teach diligently 1; 9

[TWOT]
“The verb sh¹nâ is used of the repetition of an action”

Other related Hebrew words

Now if someone has a knife and they want to sharpen it, they will get out the sharpening stone, and run the blade across the sharpening stone. How many times do they run that blade across the stone? Once? Certainly not. MANY times.

It takes a willingness to repeat Yahweh’s commands to our children again and again. Don’t fret. Parents often say, “How many times must I tell you…?”

Scripture says many times. Like sharpening a stone or sharpening an arrow or sword. We are forming our children into arrows:

Children are like arrows in our hands, and a quiver full of children results in a home that can ultimately become a powerhouse of faith against the enemy. But the children do need to be trained, and that takes time, that takes energy, that takes patience, kindness, longsuffering, a forgiving heart, a willingness to bear their burdens, and many other fruits of the spirit.

If we do not have fruits of the spirit, we will not be successful and training them to bear those fruits. More is caught than taught. You can’t fool your children into thinking you are more righteous than you really are. They may not notice until they’re teenagers, but eventually they will catch on to your game.

Today, there are so many things to distract us from being the kind of parents we need to be. Today, the question must be asked, “How can we talk of them to our children when sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up” if we rarely even talk to them at all?

Or, “How can we talk of them to our children when sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up” if we are rarely ever home and we send them away to the government schools every day?

Surely we wouldn’t let a little child play in the street because we know about the risk of their physical death. Why then would we send them into the dangerous playground of this unbelieving generation where there is such a great risk of spiritual destruction? No! We must protect the children within our walled city and train their hands and minds for war until they are ready to do battle. YES, absolutely yes, this means that the children are schooled and taught at home. I do not believe that children of Yahweh should be raised in government schools. It is not the responsibility of the government to teach our children. It is not even the responsibility of the congregation to teach our children. The Torah says it is our own responsibility to teach our children. 

If we really want to raise up a righteous generation in the midst of a crooked and perverse one, then we need to be together. I believe the best arrangement is usually that Mom, Dad and the children are normally all together in the same house throughout the course of a day. If we want to fulfill the vision, and heed the call, then men NEED to be with their families as much as possible. This practice of going off to work every day and children going off to school every day is so very often terribly destructive to homes and relationships! Fathers are strongly encouraged to do what it takes to work from home, even if it means having to lower your standard of living. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn’t send their children out of the home to be with transgressors while they went out and worked for transgressors. I believe this is a good example for us. Because it is such an evil time, we must be very much on guard and watching over our nest.

Too often, the adults at various assemblies and meetings engage in high level conversations with one another about the scriptures while the children just sit there bored, squirming in their seats and getting into trouble because they have no clue what is going on or what anyone is even talking about.

While some conversations may be above the capabilities of a child, too often it is because they don’t know the scriptures.

Too often, the adults at various assemblies and meetings engage in high level conversations with one another about the scriptures while the children just sit there bored, squirming in their seats and getting into trouble because they have no clue what is going on or what anyone is even talking about. While some conversations may be above the capabilities of a child, too often it is because they don’t know the scriptures. By the time they reach teen-age years, it is often too late because the prime age of influence and impressionability is long gone.

So then as they get older and want to socialize with other of their own age group, other teens have already learned to goof off instead of caring about anything Yahweh has to say. So then they learn the ways of other teens rather than learning the ways of Yahweh from their parents. Fathers need to wake up!

Notice that Yahweh wants us to teach them to our children and He also wants them to be taught to our grandchildren! This means that He wants us to leave a heritage of righteousness that extends beyond our own generation. He desires that we make such a positive impression in our children’s hearts, that they will pass it on to their children.

Also notice in verse 10 that one of the intentions Yahweh had when giving His commandments in Horeb was that Israel teach them to their children. 

With this, other scriptures agree:

And again:

So Yahweh’s expectation is that our children are diligently taught His ways. Consider also one of the purposes of the observances He commands:

Can we see again the expectation of Yahweh here?

One of the reasons Yahweh has these feasts is so that our children will know and remember His law and His mighty works.

Parents should not expect others to do their job of teaching their children during the feasts while they find other things to do. Teaching children should therefore be a major focus of any feast we have. The children should not be ignored and sent off to play during the feasts.

Now I say this with one caveat… some of us have children that almost never get any interaction from other children who are genuine believers. So in that case, I have no issue with your children spending lots of time with other children their age at the feasts, as long as it is with people that you trust.

I have noticed that often the world is successful in keeping their children tied to pagan holidays by appealing to their carnality via gifts & candies. It seems to me that we ought to find ways to tie the strings of our children’s hearts to Yahweh by truly fulfilling their spiritual needs when we observe the true holy-days of Yahweh. 

Of Abraham it was said:

We can also be known by Yahweh as that kind of parents! Yahweh would have never been the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, if Abraham didn’t do his job as a father.

And withing the Torah alone, there were at least 11 times where Yahweh gave a command, admonition or spoke about the need to teach our children His ways. This concept is repeated in the book of Psalms:

The generation of Israelites who came out of the wilderness and into the land of Canaan failed in this area. Scripture says:

This is not what we want to happen to our children. We want our children to “know Yahweh” and the “work which He has done” for us, Israel.

It is clearly Yahweh’s expectation that we teach His ways to the next generation. Yahweh wants a righteous generation to be brought forth from our homes. Indeed, He has indicated that this is one of the purposes for marriage:

Many translations mistranslate “seed of Elohim” as “godly seed.” This is one of the purposes for marriage. He is wanting parents to raise their children in such a way that they will come to know Him and be one of His children.

What was happening in the book of Malachi was that men were divorcing the righteous women and marrying pagan women, as indicated by the context here:

Malachi lived during the time period when Israel was being ruled over by Persia. And we see that in this same time period Ezra and Nehemiah were also dealing with this same issue:

So Ezra, being a mediating priest, set the tone by pulling out his own hair.

And this bring us to

Yahweh has a holy institution that Yahweh loves…marriage. And marrying the “daughter of a foreign elohim” was a way of profaning Yahweh’s holy institution. These kinds of marriages are considered to be “an abomination” in Yahweh’s eyes that can result in Yahweh cutting a person off. 

Consider the example of Solomon, who loved foreign women. Or Ahab who married Jezebel, or Jehosophat, who made the mistake of making a marriage alliance with Ahab, and had his son marry a daughter of Jezebel:

So in all of this, it is important that we recognize the damage that can be done if we are married to an unbeliever.

You could be teaching your children the word of Yahweh day and night, when you rise up and lie down, when you walk by the way, but if your marriage partner is a heathen… all your efforts is far more likely to end up in a disaster.

When Yahweh created man and woman, it was not His intent that they “be fruitful and multiply” children of the devil, but “be fruitful and multiply” children of Yahweh.

As we see in the various examples given, marriages between believers and unbelievers produce bad fruit. For this reason, it is very important that parents and their children are extremely careful about who they choose to marry, and that they are sure Yahweh is the one making the decision. I hope that these things drive home this point in the minds of all who read this, especially the minds of young people. To marry an unbeliever is an abomination in the eyes of Yahweh.

You need to let Yahweh write the love story between you and whomever you choose to marry. And fathers, you have a responsibility to protect your children by refusing to approve of your children marrying anyone who would not be a genuine believer. If you want to have any influence over your grandchildren, you need to be sure that your son or daughter marries someone who is a spiritually safe person. They need more than physical protection.

It was because Israel was so hard-hearted that Moshe allowed for divorce.

I don’t believe for a second that Moshe allowed for divorce because he believed that it was hopeless to even try and make marriages between to believers in Israel to work.

Not everyone who was Israel physically was actually Israel spiritually:

And in fact, the Greek word translated “hardness of heart” is referencing unbelievers, the Greek word translated “Hardness of your hearts” is #4641″sklerokardia.” This word is also used in the Septuagint, an ancient translation of the “old testament” Hebrew scriptures into Greek which was completed 200-300 years before Yahushua was born. Examining the Septuagint’s use of Greek words can shed light on their meaning.

Notice the 2 verses where this word is used in the Septuagint, compared with the King James Version:

So the “hardness of heart” then is understood to be the “foreskins of” their hearts. Their hearts were not circumcised. Throughout all of scripture, a person with an uncircumcised heart is an unrepentant person. Thus, the presence of unbelievers among Israel was why divorce was permitted. If there weren’t any unbelievers among the nation of Israel, divorce would have been banned. That’s because “in the beginning” Yahweh made them male and female and they were both believers. And He joined them together in an inseparable bond.

So Yahushua says anyone who divorces his wives, except for “porneia” (A word that does refer to unbelievers [spiritual harlots] in Revelation 14:8, 17:2, 18:3 and 19:2).

The word “Porneia” also traces back to the Hebrew word Zenuth, which refers to spiritual harlots/unbelievers in Num. 14:33; Jer. 3:2, Jer. 3:9; Jer. 13:27; Ezek. 23:27; Ezek. 43:7, Ezek 43:9; and Hos. 4:11; 6:10So Yahushua’s words are in perfect agreement with the Torah, the book of Ezra, Nehemiah and Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7.

And this lines up with

The matter of “uncleanness” relates back to the Hebrew word for “nakedness.” In other words, if she is spiritually naked, not having the robe of righteousness upon her, in such a case, he says men write certificates of divorce.

This is in agreement with Deuteronomy 21:

With foreign women, it’s hit and miss. You might have one the converts and believes, and it’s actually in the context of a marriage that it’s most likely to happen. But if they aren’t coming around, he says you can “set her free,” just as Paul says:

He permitted captive women to be divorced… again they were potentially women who did not join themselves to the Elohim of Israel. It all lines up as one sweet, unified word of truth. There is no difference between the Old Testament and New Testament. Yahushua even appealed to the old testament when He referenced the book of Genesis where Yahweh joined together two believers, a union that cannot be separated, which is why if one were to be divorced from a believer Paul said:

This understanding of the divorce and remarriage issue is, to my knowledge, the only understanding that causes all of the teachings in scripture to come together as speaking one message. It also deals with the issue of people appearing as a believer on the outside, but being abusive at home. For scripture says:

Therefore “put away from yourselves that evil person” is a direct quote from several verses in Deuteronomy:

This is also found in Deuteronomy 19:19, 22:21, and 24:7.

So, this is how capital punishment was dealt with in the 1st century. For the unrepentant ones, they would be “put away” from the congregation. Basically, consider them to be divorced from the Heavenly Bridegroom. And if one can be divorced from the Heavenly Bridegroom, they can also be divorced from their earthly spouse. In fact, they aren’t even to eat with the person.

A child observing hypocrisy among their parents is probably the single biggest stumbling block a child can experience.

A full teaching on the topic of family along with 7 videos on Divorce and Remarriage, can be found at:

And this takes us back to Deuteronomy 6:

With rare exception, you aren’t going to be able to correctly fulfill this commandment to “teach them diligently to your children” when you have someone else in the home teaching them diligently, by their example, to live a life in rebellion to Yahweh.

Now, I say these things with one caveat. Just as Paul said, when someone is an unbeliever and now becomes a believer they are now married to an unbeliever. It is permissible to give the other person time to change and be converted. You never know.

And there are some unbelievers who are not oppositional or defiant, and it may even do the children more harm if you were to split the family up. All of these things take prayer and seeking the counsel of elders who will really explore your situation and pray with you about what ought to be done.

But I notice that Yahweh wants His word to go from point A: His mouth, to point B: our hearts.

He wants our environment to be an environment where His words are everywhere. On our doorposts, in our homes, wherever we are.

It is His word that’s going to do the work. As parents, we need to have a home that places Yahweh’s word in ultimate authority.

Studies on Fatherhood, motherhood, Husbands, Wives & Children, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage: https://eliyah.com/category/family/

Now some have taken verse 8 to be literal, so they will tie their tefillin, small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, on their head and on their arms. And they have this thought that the words are going to somehow supernaturally enter their minds and have some kind of supernatural effect on their works.

But I’m not convinced of this. It seems that they are to be “as a sign” and “as frontlets.” For instance, scripture says that:

All of the sabbaths are a sign between us and Yahweh:

So, by practicing the Sabbaths, and letting our hands rest on this day, we are binding Yahweh’s Torah as a sign on our hands. And by remembering the things that Yahweh told us to remember on these days, we are binding them “as frontlets” between our eyes, that is, in our minds.

Now in the case of writing them on the door posts, I do think that is something we should do. He didn’t say write them “as doorposts” or “as gates.” He said specifically to:

Our next precept:

This event took place in:

Putting Yahweh to the test, as if.

The testing had to do with complaining in their circumstances and doubting whether Yahweh was going to allow them to perish in the wilderness rather than take them to the promised land. It had to do with doubting Yahweh. These things we covered at length in our 38th segment. This can also apply in other areas. Such as:

We don’t need to test Yahweh to see if His word is true. We need to believe Yahweh’s word is true, and then operate in that faith.

This is speaking of idols, but it might apply to other things such as bringing unclean meats, or other abominable things into our home.

This is very important. Yahweh is holy, and does not want His people to worship Him in the way that pagan worship their mighty ones. Those who practice Christmas and Easter are guilty of violating these commandments. I have written extensive studies on these matters at: https://eliyah.com/category/baggage-and-traditions/

Moving now into Deuteronomy 18

This is actually the place in scripture which commands us to obey the words of the true prophets of Yahweh, and that would include Yahushua the Messiah who is the ultimate Prophet like Moshe.

If anyone ever claims that believing in Yahushua is optional, they are greatly mistaken. The Torah requires you to believe in Yahushua.

This is how we are supposed to operate as a body of believers. We must not accept the testimony of any single witness concerning the wrong of any other person. They need to go to that person privately and deal with it.

If they won’t hear us, bring other witnesses against them.

Very few people practice this, but it’s a commandment in the Torah and it’s a commandment coming from Yahushua.

This is a scripture for today’s generation, without a doubt. I have a full study on Modesty & Dress, including five videos at: http://www.eliyah.com/modesty

The next verse:

This scripture has to do with birds out in the wild, so the bird has the opportunity to continue to reproduce and entire species of animals going extinct. It seems to me it also speaks to the need to care for the lives of animals.

Yahweh does want us to care for the lives of animals.

This is a pretty high standard of animal care, but it also applies to making sure those in ministry have their needs met:

Continuing in Deuteronomy:

I have a full study on this topic at:

Tassels (Tzitzit) for Today

A video will be added to that page soon which also goes into much more detail.

Someone being a virgin doesn’t seem to have much to do with a young girl’s reputation these days, but in Israelite culture it was a huge thing. And Yahweh cared enough about a woman’s reputation in this area that the evidence of woman’s virginity, namely a cloth that was used evidencing the breaking of her hymen, was preserved by the family and used to guard her reputation.

What I get out of this is that Yahweh does care about our wives feelings, and He cares about her reputation. By principle, we can apply this more broadly:

So, we see that even a man’s prayers can be hindered if he does not give proper honor and respect to his wife, dwelling with her with understanding.

So, the message is simple, ladies: Yahweh cares about you.

This precept is another one showing Yahweh’s love for women. He wants her to be secure in her husband’s love for her. Very few people practice this, but it is commanded.

Yahweh’s will is that a man be “free at home one year” during that first year of marriage. This would require him to save up enough income for him to do just that, or find some kind of “work at home” opportunity, whether it be farming or nowadays through the internet. Whatever it takes for him to be free at home and not require him to leave the house every day without her.

I think parents can also be instrumental in helping to provide the financial means for this to be a possibility.

Basically, don’t be in such a hurry to get what is pledged to you. Be patient and not overbearing when someone borrows something from you. Show him some dignity.

Much is said about children not being put to death for the sins of the fathers, but if a person’s children don’t choose the way of righteousness and choose to become a believer, we should not immediately charge the parents with guilt. Yahweh created Adam and Eve and was the perfect Father in perfect world, yet they still sinned.

Tithing is something that I believe we should be practicing today, yet among Torah observant believers it doesn’t seem particularly prevalent.

I have a full study on Giving and Tithing, consisting of 4 parts at: http://www.eliyah.com/tithing

So, we have come to the end of our study series on the Precepts and Principles of the Torah. And I will end with the Moshe’s final charge to Israel before pronouncing the blessings and the cursings:

And then His final words to Israel are: