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James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. In his exhortation to the children of the Children of Israel, Moses makes a point about the benefits of keeping the commandment. He says, "The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that Adonai swore to give to your fathers (Deuteronomy 8:1). It is a simple concept. I rent the downstairs part of my house. When a potential renter shows interest in the apartment, I give him a rental agreement which is basically paper telling him that he can only live there as long as he follows certain rules, i.e., "no smoking, no big pets, and pay the rent on time". In the same manner, Israel being God's land, He reminds the potential future tenants of the 'rental agreement' (Genesis 20:15). The word 'commandment' in this sentence is used as a collective word referring to the Torah commandments as a whole. It also points to the whole exhortation Moses was giving to the Children of Israel in his "Deuteronomy' teaching. This verse is often used to motivate people in that if they live more in sync' with God's commandments, He will bring blessing upon their land. Whereas living by the Torah certainly brings blessing upon our land and our lives, this verse was location driven for the Land of Israel. The same collective form of the word 'commandment referring to the Torah as a whole is used in Proverbs 6:23 and 13.13. Paul also uses it in his exhortation to Timothy, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Adon, Yeshua HaMashiach (1 Timothy 6:14). Timothy was the son of Jewish woman and a Roman man. He was raised by his Jewish grandmother in the ways of the Torah (2 Timothy 1:5). In his leadership training epistle, Paul asks timothy not to just keep the commandment, but to keep it "unstained and free from reproach." May those of us whom the Father has placed in positions of responsibility, also serve keeping the commandment "unstained and free from reproach"; untainted by the reproach caused by the rationalization of our evil inclination to selfishness, pride, and deceit. It is a tall order, but whereas those of us in positions of responsibility and teaching receive double honor, we are also liable to greater condemnation (1 Timothy 5:17; James 3:1). Remember the warning of the Master towards those who through their 'staining' of the commandments cause His little ones; to stumble: whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6). Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso www.thelumbrosos.com www.yedideiadonai.weebly.com
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Torah, commandments, the Law of Moses, Timothy,
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