Welcome to part 9 of the “Testing the 613” series, I hope you enjoy it and that it is a blessing to you.
145. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your daughter's daughter.”
“The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you do not uncover, for theirs is your own nakedness.” (Leviticus 18:10)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today and in my notes, I titled it the same.
146. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter.”
“The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you do not uncover, nor do you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are her relatives – it is wickedness.” (Leviticus 18:17)
These sexual relations commandments may seem like no-brainers but people in the world, throughout time, have done these very practices. Even today these commandments are being broken. Lust is prominent and glorified in our culture (the collective culture of the world). This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
147. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her son's daughter.”
“The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you do not uncover, nor do you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are her relatives – it is wickedness.” (Leviticus 18:17)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today and in my notes, I titled it the same.
148. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter's daughter.”
“The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you do not uncover, nor do you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are her relatives – it is wickedness.” (Leviticus 18:17)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
149. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister.”
“The nakedness of your father’s sister you do not uncover, she is your father’s flesh.” (Leviticus 18:12)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
150. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister.”
“The nakedness of your mother’s sister you do not uncover, for she is your mother’s flesh.” (Leviticus 18:13)
As I go through these commandments, I find it truly bizarre anyone would want to do away with them. They bring blessings and life, it's how we live a life according to the Father. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
151. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your father's brother's wife.”
“The nakedness of your father’s brother you do not uncover, you do not approach his wife, she is your aunt.” (Leviticus 18:14)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
152. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your son's wife.”
“The nakedness of your daughter-in-law you do not uncover, she is your son’s wife, you do not uncover her nakedness.” (Leviticus 18:15)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
153. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife.”
“The nakedness of your brother’s wife you do not uncover, it is your brother’s nakedness.” (Leviticus 18:16)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
154. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with your wife's sister.”
“And do not take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.” (Leviticus 18:18)
The ending of this verse might seem odd, but all it is simply saying is that after the wife has passed, the man is now free to marry her sister if they chose to do so. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, I titled it the same in my notes.
155. Rambam has, “A man must not have sexual relations with an animal.”
“And do not have intercourse with any beast, to defile yourself with it. And a woman does not stand before a beast to mate with it, it is a perversion.” (Leviticus 18:23)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put the same.
156. Rambam has, “A woman must not have sexual relations with an animal.”
“And do not have intercourse with any beast, to defile yourself with it. And a woman does not stand before a beast to mate with it, it is a perversion.” (Leviticus 18:23)
You can see how commandments 155 and 156 could be made one with simply stating “Do not have sexual relations with animals.” In my notes, I’ll have both written down but highlighted yellow to show that both could be made into one. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, I titled it the same in my notes.
157. Rambam has, “Do not have homosexual sexual relations.”
“And do not lie with a male as with a woman, it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22)
This is a big one in the world and for Christianity right now and has been. The world eagerly pushes for this sin, among many others, in the light of freedom to live life as some see fit. I personally do not elevate this sin any higher than the rest, and if someone wants to be in the covenant and they struggle with this sin, then I believe we must help them in love. Not the love shown by the Christian Church where they are slowly just accepting it, but we all knew this was coming since they teach the commandments have been done away with. In love, I mean as someone willing and able to mentor them, someone who is understanding but is diligently trying to help them out of this sin. The stipulation here is that the person struggling with this sin truly wants to teshuva (return to the master in obedience). This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
158. Rambam has, “Do not have homosexual sexual relations with your father.”
“The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you do not uncover. She is your mother, you do not uncover her nakedness.” (Leviticus 18:7)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I titled it “Do not have sexual relations with your father.”
159. Rambam has, “Do not have homosexual sexual relations with your father's brother.”
“The nakedness of your father’s brother you do not uncover, you do not approach his wife, she is your aunt.” (Leviticus 18:14)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I titled it “Do not have sexual relations with your uncle.”
160. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with someone else's wife.”
“And do not have intercourse with the wife of your neighbor, to defile yourself with her.” (Leviticus 18:20)
Sadly, this sort of thing happens all the time, both adultery being committed and someone single having relations with someone married. However, a lot of the sexual commandments we have gone over get broken all the time, some more than others obviously. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
161. Rambam has, “Do not have sexual relations with a menstrually impure woman.”
“And do not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness in her monthly separation of uncleanness.” (Leviticus 18:19)
I hear this a lot, “So when your wife is on her period do you make her sleep outside the house?” No, why would I? Is she unclean during that time? Yes. Is it a sin to be unclean? No. But when someone is unclean it is a sin to enter the temple, and since we have no temple right now, there is no need for my wife to be separated during this time. This does not take away from the fact that having sexual relations with your wife when she is menstruating is a sin, as the Father said do not do this. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her menstruation.”
162. Rambam has, “Do not marry those who are not members of the Covenant.”
“When יהוה your Elohim brings you into the land which you go to possess, He shall also clear away many nations before you: the Ḥittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Kena‛anites and the Perizzites and the Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you. “And when יהוה your Elohim gives them over to you, you shall strike them and put them under the ban, completely. Make no covenant with them, and show them no favor. And do not intermarry with them – you do not give your daughter to his son, and you do not take his daughter for your son,” (Deuteronomy 7:1-3)
The literal commandment here is that we should not marry people from one of the nations mentioned above, however, it is easy to rationalize and extend that to all other nations. For someone who is covenanted to marry a Muslim or a Buddhist, would only invite problems as there are major religious lifestyle differences between the two.
“Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness? And what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and I titled it the same in my notes.
163. Rambam has, “Do not let Moabite and Ammonite males marry into the Covenant people.”
“An Ammonite or Mo’aḇite shall not enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth generation of them shall not ever enter the assembly of יהוה, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim (Egypt), and because they hired against you Bil‛am son of Be‛or from Pethor of Aram Naharayim, to curse you.” (Deuteronomy 23:3-4)
The literal command here is that an Ammonite or Mo’abite (i.e., someone of the nations) is not to enter the assembly of Yah. This is a foreigner, someone who has not entered into covenant with Elohim. Does this mean people who are interested in visiting a sacred assembly should not be allowed? Absolutely not, those who are curious, who are hungry to learn what it means to be in the covenant should be fed. What this commandment is conveying is that the people (those who believe in Yeshua and keep the commands) should not be intermarrying with those who do not, this keeps us a Set- Apart people. Now, if someone comes into covenant with Elohim, they are no longer strangers, no longer of the nations, but citizens to Elohim’s kingdom. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Someone of the nations is not to enter the assembly of Yah (intermarrying of covenanted and un-covenanted).”
164. Rambam has, “Do not prevent a third-generation Egyptian convert from marrying into the Covenant people.”
“Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrian (Egyptian) because you were a stranger in his land. “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה.” (Deuteronomy 23:7-8)
The literal command is we are not to loathe an Egyptian or prevent a third generation from entering into the assembly of Yah. This goes hand in hand with the last commandment, someone who enters into covenant with Elohim is no longer a stranger and should be allowed in. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not loathe an Egyptian or prevent a third generation from entering into the assembly of Elohim (Do not prevent a third-generation Egyptian convert from marrying into the Covenant people).”
165. Rambam has, “Do not refrain from marrying a third generation Edomite convert.”
“Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrian (Egyptian), because you were a stranger in his land. “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה.” (Deuteronomy 23:7-8)
Similar to 163 and 164. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not loathe an Edomite or prevent a third generation from entering into the assembly of Elohim (Do not refrain from marrying a third generation Edomite convert).”
166. Rambam has, “Do not let a child born due to an illegal relationship marry into the Covenant people.”
“Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrian (Egyptian), because you were a stranger in his land. “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה.” (Deuteronomy 23:7-8)
The implication of allowing the third generation to enter means to prevent the 1st and 2nd generation from entering into the assembly. For example, the father or mother is not an Israelite, did not convert and thus the marriage already breaks Torah. To negate the effect of multiplying un-covenanted, the offspring of this relationship should be barred from marrying Israelites. Of course, if they convert and become part of the covenant, then they are no longer strangers and free to marry other Hebrews. This is all about keeping Yah’s people set apart. This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “The third-generation children from an Edomite or Egyptian are allowed to enter the assembly of Yah (implication, the first two generations are not unless they are a convert).”
167. Rambam has, “Do not let a eunuch marry into the Covenant people.”
“He who is wounded by crushing of testicles or whose penis is cut off, shall not enter into the community of יהוה” (Deuteronomy 23:1)
One of the things that I pondered when reading this command is, does it have to do with the ability to bear children? Which would then mean that if you are married you should have kids or at the very least the possibility. Is that why a eunuch is not allowed to marry an Israelite? There so much we don’t get context on, whether because something is missing in the text or an entire book is missing, or maybe it is not for us to understand right now. There could be a process for the eunuch to be allowed to marry, just as there is for the gentile or stranger who converts, I’m not sure but “It is the esteem of Elohim to hide a matter, And the esteem of sovereigns to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2) This falls under love others, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “A eunuch does not enter into the community of Yah (Do not let a eunuch marry into the Covenant people).”
This is as far as we go for part 9, and I hope you all have been enjoying the series and learning a lot. It’s critical for us to learn the commands and do our absolute best to walk them out. May the Ruach Hakodesh lead you into all truth and continue to test everything.
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