That It May Go Well With You And Your Children Series

“Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with you, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.” [Deut.4: 40 KJV]

“It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” [Psalm 119: 126, 127 KJV]

We are about to embark on a teaching that will surely teach you how to read your Bible which is the Living Word of God, not with the eyes of a Gentile Jesus, not with the eyes of a Protestant Jesus or a Catholic Jesus, but with the eyes of a Jewish Jesus. You will realize that Jesus and His disciples weren’t converted Jews but rather were practicing Jews - keepers of the Law [or Torah] of God.

As you sincerely read this newsletter and the following issues and begin to learn about the Torah with an unbiased mind that is open to being taught by the Holy Spirit, on God’s Law, you will better begin to appreciate how its customs and celebrations are linked to the fulfillment of many blessings found in the believer whose life is fully immersed in Christ. You will also, learn to love and respect every Jew with the unconditional love of the Lord. I’ll explain how.

The Biblical story of Ruth is more than the beautiful love story of King David’s great grand-parents. Ruth is the symbol of every Gentile who has ever come to faith through Israel’s God. The words of this Moabitess to her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi - “Your people shall be my people and your God my God” - are still ringing in the hearts of every non-Jew who believes in Boaz and Ruth’s promised Son, Messiah, who would come down through their lineage.

Every gentile believer has come from the land of famine to the spiritual realm of abundance in that Name. Even Jesus’ reference to Himself as the Bread of Life hearkens back to this ancient love story - to say nothing of the fact that He was born in the shadow of the very fields where Ruth was gleaning, just outside Beth-Lehem [House of Bread].

But the church has not responded to her Boaz as Ruth responded to hers. The church did not leave her Moabitish ways behind when she came into the house. Although she may have taken the “Bread” of Boaz, which represents Jesus to us, she turned her back on all His relatives, the Jewish people.

As a pastor I am deeply aware of a significant change in the spirit realm. I eagerly await the Coming of the Lord just as any other spirit-filled believer, but at the same time I am increasingly growing passionate by the day about seeing my Jewish brothers and sisters are accepted as Jewish and encouraged to express their faith within a Jewish framework.

I want to see the gentile church appreciating her Jewish foundation stones. I want her to understand why Israel and the Jewish people are center stage in world history again and I want her to be grateful for a returning Jewish leadership in the Body of Messiah.

It occurred to me one day as I was rereading the Ten Commandments in the light of what I just said that there may be more than meets the eye in the fifth commandment [Deut.5: 16] “Honor your father and your mother,” the Lord commanded - “which is the first commandment with a promise,” Paul adds to his letter to the Ephesians [6:2]. Have you ever asked “Why?” “That it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth [vs.3].

Could it be, the long, fulfilling spiritual life is being withheld from the Church until she honors the origins of her faith? Could it be the history of division will cease only after we unite with God’s chosen family - the Jew? Hence this teaching, I believe is going to serve as a timely reminder to bring about a spiritual awareness of our responsibility as Christians to Israel, the Law [The Torah] and the Jew in these last days.

In Hebrew, the word for commandment is Mitzvah. In Judaism, there are 613 mitzvahs. All of these mitzvahs are encompassed by the Ten Commandments. Today, all over the world there seems to be a concerted attempt to remove all representations of the Ten Commandments from the minds of people in many subtle ways.

Let’s take a brief refresher course on the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20:

1. You shall have no other gods before Him.