Every one of the Almighty's commandments is faultless and is never in need of update no matter how many centuries roll by. Like their divine Author, they change not, because they are already absolutely faultless.
| Psalm 19: | 7: The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. |
By this I mean, the essence, the kernel, the high level spiritual requirement and objective of every divine commandment is everlasting and will apply throughout eternity. In other words, at its heart every divine commandment, moral and ceremonial, contains a sacred truth, which can never become obsolete! By way of definition, we may say, ceremonial or symbolic commandments are those, which employ ceremonies or symbols to point out their inner truths. The symbol or ceremony may in time become unnecessary, but the moral requirement of every divine law is everlasting and will apply for all time. More about this fact later.
| Psalm 111: |
7: The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his
commandments are sure. 8: They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
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| Psalm 119: | 44: So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. |
Divine Objectives:
These are laws, which simply define Yahweh’s objectives. They tell us what we should be, rather than what we should do or not do. They include directives such as:
Moral Requirements:
These are moral commandments, which explain how - with Yahweh's help - those divine objectives may be reached. Moral commandments include the Ten Commandments and those listed below:
Ceremonial or Symbolic Commandments:
A ceremonial command is one, which employs a ceremony or symbolic token to demonstrate or call to mind some high-level moral lesson or objective. Unlike plain moral commands, (e.g. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal etc.) which quite plainly spell out a moral requirement, ceremonial commandments also contain symbolic activities or tokens, which dramatize the inner moral lesson being taught. This article has been produced to explain a few (not all) of these ceremonial commands. They include commands concerning:
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In these commandments, you will notice, symbolic tokens or ceremonies are
employed. This is in order to demonstrate or explain deep moral lessons
contained in the command; lessons, which would otherwise be missed.
4. Animal Sacrifices
Prior to the Messiah's death on Calvary, if a sinner wanted mercy he/she was
obliged to sacrifice an animal and offer its blood to the Most High before
forgiveness could be obtained. In short, no faith in the blood - no
mercy. As the scripture says:
| Hebrews 9: | 22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. |
Yahweh called for animal sacrifices, in order to demonstrate to the repentant sinner, the enormous price the innocent victim had to pay, before pardon was possible. Every animal sacrifice was, in fact, a practical lesson, pointing to Messiah’s death on Calvary! Since the Savior's sacrifice, we sinners no longer need to kill literal animals. Faith in Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah, is all that we now need to obtain mercy. In effect, the ceremonial aspect of this law, that is, the slaying of an innocent animal, is obsolete. It is no longer necessary to sacrifice bulls, lambs or kids. Here is a fact many Christians miss. The main lesson of this ceremonial command (that is, the spiritual requirement, which calls for faith in the Savior's blood before forgiveness is possible), still stands! Even now, roughly 2000 years after the Messiah’s death on Calvary, we still need to approach Yahweh’s Mercy Seat with blood; though now, it is with faith in the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God.
In other words, though the dramatized, instructional, ceremonial
element, involving the shedding of a farm animal's blood has ceased. The
spiritual requirement, to approach the Most High with faith in the
Lamb’s blood, still stands. That part of the commandment is
eternal. It will never cease to apply. Yes, throughout the ceaseless ages of
eternity, the redeemed will approach Yahweh's throne through the merits of
His Son's shed blood. Sure, we will not be everlastingly in need of
forgiveness, for we will then be sinless; but, we will, nonetheless, always
be in need of the Almighty's favor and blessing, which were won for us, by His
Son's blood. That fact, the inner core of the command, will never
become obsolete. Time and space can never cancel our dependence on
the Savior's blood. We can now see how, the essence of the
sacrificial commands, the great moral truths they prefigure, are eternal.
Even though, in ages past, they needed a ceremonial drama (the slaughter of
innocent animals), to explain their high-level objectives and deep spiritual
meanings. For more details, see our online booklet on
Animal Sacrifices.
5. Circumcision
Circumcision is another ceremonial commandment with deep spiritual meaning.
It is a physical token, a symbolic sign in the flesh, of total
commitment and obedience to the God of Israel. It signifies the absolute
degree of holiness the Most High requires of His people. Yahweh said to
Abraham:
| Genesis 17: | 11: And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. |
The ceremonial aspect of circumcision was raised by the early church, not many years after the Savior's resurrection. The Apostles and elders met to discuss the matter, guided by the Holy Spirit, they directed, Gentile believers need not be physically circumcised. Read about their meeting in Acts 15. The apostle Paul confirmed the decision taken at that meeting by writing:
| 1 Corinthians 7: |
18: Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised.
Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. 19: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. |
See A Voice In The Wilderness' sermon concerning circumcision. It further explains that decision and how, even though the ceremonial aspect of the circumcision command was suspended for Gentile believers, its moral objective (holiness) for all believers - abides forever!
This leads us to the opinion, if the ceremonial law concerning physical
circumcision, which is by far one of the most powerful in Scripture, was
suspended for Gentile believers, then the ceremonial laws, concerning
‘the wearing of phylacteries,’ ‘mixing wool with
linen,’ ‘wearing fringed garments’ etc., which are all
far less permanent than being physically circumcised, are also
temporarily suspended for Gentile believers - during this age at any rate.
6. The Wearing of Phylacteries
Phylacteries are prayer bands containing short extracts from Yahweh's law.
They were worn on the forehead and forearm.
| Deuteronomy 6: |
4: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9: And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. |
This ceremonial law symbolizes the need to keep the Almighty's commandments in thought, word and deed. Phylacteries also informed an onlooker; the wearer was a believer in Israel's God. This law also prefigures the time when Yahweh will personally inscribe his law on our minds and actions.
| Hebrews 8: |
8: ... Behold, the days come, saith the lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. |
| Leviticus 19: | 19: Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. |
The Scriptures tell us, linen was used in the following instances:
| Ezekiel 44: | 18: They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. |
| Numbers 15: |
38: Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them
fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and
that they put upon the fringe of the borders aribband of blue: 39: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring. |
| Leviticus 21: |
16: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17: Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their
generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread
of his God. 18: For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19: Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20: Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; 21: No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22: He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23: Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. |
| Leviticus 15: |
16: And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall
wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. 17: And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even. 18: The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even. 19: And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20: And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21: And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 22: And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 23: And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
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| Numbers 19: | 16: And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. |
In ancient days, all such physical contacts resulted in a person becoming ceremonially unclean. But, what of today? Do the ceremonial aspects of these laws still apply? To be sure, physical uncleanness should be washed away with soap and water as soon as possible (or some disinfectant used if a contagious disease is involved); but what of the spiritual uncleanness those physical conditions symbolized in those commandments?
How can the human race be purified from spiritual uncleanness? We echo the words of the prophet Isaiah who, after a brief glimpse at Yahweh’s holiness, cried out:
| Isaiah 6: | 5: Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. |
Is there escape from the frightening variety of sin and its resulting spiritual uncleanness? We are happy to report, there is. It is found in the Savior. Sure, we could and should wash with soap and water and be physically clean, but how can we wash away the filth of unbelief and sin? The answer is: we need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin. Nothing else will cleanse us.
| 1 John 1: |
7: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin.
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| Titus 2: |
14: Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works.
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| James 4: | 8: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. |
Yes, cleansing from sin is only possible by faith in the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
Our answer, which is based on the spirit-directed decision of the Apostles concerning circumcision in Acts 15, is as follows. The moral directives and objectives of ceremonial commandments stand forever, they are eternal. But, the symbolic tokens or instructional ceremonies given to teach those moral lessons are not required of Gentile followers of the Most High; not in this age at any rate. That is why we at A Voice In The Wilderness, do not ‘sacrifice animals,’ ‘circumcise our sons,’ ‘wear phylacteries’ or‘treat doctors, nurses and undertakers as ceremonially unclean.’ Nor would we refuse to listen to a preacher who was ‘physically blemished’ in some way.
Having said that, we are ever conscious of the moral lessons the ceremonial commands contain; and since most of them aim at forgiveness, holiness, obedience and purity we are happy to study them in depth and live up to their moral requirements.
| Psalm 111: |
7: ...All his commandments are sure. 8: They stand fast for ever and ever... |
We have also seen, the ceremonial aspect of certain commands is no longer called for, though the moral core of every command abides forever. This translates as follows:
