Parashat HaShavua Va'Etchanan / And I Begged
This Week's Reading List:
Devarim / Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Yeshayahu / Isaiah 40:1-26
Mordechai / Mark 12:28-34
Devarim {5:17} "You shall not murder.
Mattityahu (Matthew) {5:17} "Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete. {5:18} "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or kotz (stroke) shall pass away from Torah, until all is accomplished. {5:19} "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these mitzvoth (commandments), and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. {5:20} "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. {5:21} "You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the Sanhedrin.” {5:22} “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the Sanhedrin; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'You good for nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Did you notice things changed slightly with the coming of Yeshua. Instead of the Torah being eliminated it became even stricter! Why, because through the acceptance of Yeshua as our Messiah we became new creations and the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34 took place in us. The Torah of G-d, through Yeshua, has been internalized in us and as a result Yeshua redefines it for us.
In the Scriptures we just read Yeshua explains that murder is simply the progression down the path of anger. The first stage of murder, Yeshua says, is committed in a person’s heart. It is anger, anger that is directed at anyone. This is where the sin of murder first begins. The second stage of murder, Yeshua goes on to say, is when we say “Raca” to someone. The word “Raca” is to consider someone a good for nothing, a jerk. So the second stage of murder is achieved when our anger becomes contempt. The third stage of murder, Yeshua tells us, is when we call someone a fool. Here we are not only insulting their character, but we are also making a statement about their beliefs and attitude towards G-d. If you want to know why calling someone a fool is such a terrible thing, then check to see what the Book of Mishlei (Proverbs) has to say about a fool. The fourth stage of murder is when we actually take a person’s life.
Now, HaShem declared the physical punishment for the fourth stage of murder to be the physical death of the murderer. While man waits till the physical stage to administer punishment, G-d, in the spiritual realm, has already started administering His punishment right from the first stage -- right at the stage of anger! He doesn't wait for the actual physical manifestation of murder. As far as God is concerned there is no greater punishment than the punishment for murder that has taken place in our hearts.
Do you now understand that God sees anger and physical murder as just varying degrees of the same sin? All the three degrees of anger that I have just explained are considered murder by G-d. This means that all of us are guilty of murder when we are guilty of un-confessed, unrepentant anger in our hearts!
Did you ever get angry at someone because they made a mistake? Then you've committed murder! Husbands, if you were ever angry at your wife because you came home and your dinner wasn't ready, then you committed murder over a meal of spaghetti and meat balls! How about those of you who got angry at a waitress or a taxi driver? How many times have you insulted the integrity of a police officer or a customs officer? Have you made an insulting comment about someone's driving? If you have, then you committed murder! How about you guys who walk around so spiritual at Shul, but when you get home you throw temper tantrums? You have committed murder! How about you who would not talk to your spouse for a week because they forgot your birthday or anniversary? You are a murder! How about those of us who act so pious and then go scream at our children instead of disciplining them according to Scripture? By the way, if you done this last one, then you have also given your children a distorted picture of G-d, so you are worse than a murder! How many of us have murdered the waitress that took too long with our order; or the mechanic who didn't fix our car right; or the person on the other end of the phone; or the doctor who didn't seem to care; or the nurse who didn't do what we wanted the moment we asked? How many of us have murdered our bosses, or our employees? How many of us have murdered our entire family with anger when we come home tired and discouraged after a hard day's work? How many of us have murdered G-d? This is pretty sobering information, is it not?
Do you want to go through life being angry? I am sure you do not! If this is the case, then I am going to offer you a solution. Every time you start getting angry, pray; pray especially for the person you are angry with. Pour your heart and your life into them. Instead of being known as an angry person be known as a prayerful person.
Before we close there is something that I want to point out, so hold on a minute! Even though we are all guilty of the first three stages of murder we all have the opportunity to be pardoned. We do not have to go to the electric chair or spend a day in prison or live eternally in hell. If you are a believer in Yeshua HaMashiach as your L-rd and Saviour, then you only need to confess your sin and ask for forgiveness and the blood shed for you on the tree will set you free. However, if you have never accepted Yeshua as your Messiah and you are guilty of murder, then you have two choices. 1) You can continue suffering the consequences for what you have done, which are already at work in your life or 2) You can accept Yeshua as your Mashiach (Messiah) now and ask for His forgiveness and all of your past sin will be washed away by His atoning blood.
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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber
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