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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Helena Wilkinson and are based on Matthew 5:33-42 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Psalm 15
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Sunday January 12 - A second Moses
“... it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.’” Matthew 5:33
The book of Matthew draws on the Hebrew scriptures and Jewish customs. It portrays Yeshua (Jesus) as the Second Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) and presents him as the fulfilment of the messianic hope rooted in the Torah and the Prophets. Matthew’s gospel is divided into five sections, each ending with ‘When Jesus had finished speaking...’ (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). These mirror the first five books of the Bible (the Torah), also known as the ‘Law of Moses’. Both Moses and Jesus ‘lived out’ the Torah (meaning ‘instructions for life’) and showed others how to do so. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” What is proclaimed in the Torah still stands.
This week we will go through the keeping of vows and oaths. A vow is a promise made directly to God; an oath is a promise made in God’s presence to another person. Breaking either is expressly forbidden. ‘Moses said to the head of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the Lord commands: when a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said”’ (Numbers 30:1-2). Vows and oaths are significant matters in Jewish thought.
Father, open my eyes to see all that you want to teach me this week. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY