All IsraelAlia Scriptures
The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.
[And Moses said to Jethro] .. "The people come to me to inquire of Elohim (God). When they have a matter, they come to me and I judge between a man and another and make known the statutes of Elohim and His laws". And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, "The thing which you are doing [is] not good; 18 you surely wear away, both you and this people which [is] with you, for the thing is too burdensome for you .. 19 Now listen to my voice, I will counsel you and God is with you .. 21 You shall see from all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain. Place [these] over them [for] heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties and heads of tens. 22 And they will judge the people at all times. And it will be, every great matter they shall bring to you and every small matter they shall judge. And it will be easier for you and they will bear [the burden] with you".
And you shall be for Me a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation.
And to Moses He (Yehova) said, "Come up to Yehova; you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of Israel's elders and you are to worship at a distance. And Moses alone shall come near Yehova but the others shall not come near. Nor shall the people go up with him.
Moses took the tent and pitched it at the outskirt of the camp, away from the camp. He called it the Tent (Tabernacle) of Meeting and it came to pass that anyone inquiring of Yehova would go to the Tent of Meeting .. As Moses entered the Tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance and Yehova would speak with Moses.
One law shall you have for the stranger and the native. Because I am Yehova your God.
1 And the people began to complain about their hardship (in the wilderness) .. and it displeased Yehova .. 4 [the multitude had only been eating manna] and the Israelites wept and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?" .. 11 And Moses said to Yehova, "Why have You afflicted Your servant? .. that You have laid the burden of all these people upon me? 12 Did I conceive all these people .. that You should tell me to carry them?" 16 So Yehova said to Moses, "Gather to me seventy of the elders of Israel who you know are elders of the people and officers over them. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them. They shall bear with you the burden of the people, so you will not have to bear it alone" .. 33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of Yehova was kindled against the people and He struck them with a very severe plague. 34 So he called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
Moses .. said to Korach, "Now listen, you sons of Levi - is it not enough for you that the Elohei of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the Tent of Yehova and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites but you are seeking the priesthood as well. Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against Yehova. As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?"
At that time [Moses said to the people] "I cannot carry the burden for you alone. Yehova Eloheichem has multiplied you .. May Yehova Elohei of your fathers increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised. But how can I bear your troubles, burdens and disputes all by myself? Choose for yourselves wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes and I will appoint them as your leaders". And you answered me and said, "What you propose to do is good." So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you .. At that time I charged your judges, saying, 'Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to Elohim. And bring to me any case too difficult for you and I will hear it'. And at that time I commanded you all the things you were to do".
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it.
Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
Judges and Officers shall you appoint for yourselves in all your gates, which Yehova gives to you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
If there is a matter too difficult for you to judge, between blood and blood, judgement and judgement and affliction to affliction, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall go to the place which Yehova your Elohei chooses. You shall come to the Priests the Levites and to the Judge that shall be in those days and inquire. They shall declare to you the words of judgment .. According to the tenor of the law (Torah) which they teach you and according to the judgment which they say, you shall do.
And it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom that he [the appointed king] shall write for himself a copy of the Torah in a book before the Levites the Priests.
And shall come near the Priests, the sons of Levi, for Yehova has chosen them to minister and to bless in the name of Yehova and by their word every controversy and every stroke.
If you are not careful to follow all the laws written in this Book, Yehova will bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law.
For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven that you should need to ask, "Who will ascend into heavend to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?". And it is not beyond the sea that you should need to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?" But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it.
Concerning Levi, Moses said, "He will teach Your judgements to Jacob and Your law to Israel".
Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yehova at Jerusalem .. they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah". After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, "Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods who brought you up out of the land of Egypt" .. Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people Priests who were not Levites. And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month [a month of his own choosing], like the feast that was in Judah and he offered sacrifices on the altar. He made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up and he installed Priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! Do you not know that Yehova, Elohei of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced and unable to resist them. And now you think you can resist the kingdom of Yehova, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. But did you not drive out the Priests of Yehova, the sons of Aaron and the Levites? And did you not make Priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a Priest of things that are not gods. But as for us, Yehova Eloheinu (is our God). We have not forsaken Him. The Priests who minister to Yehova are sons of Aaron and the Levites attend to their duties. Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to Yehova. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of Yehova Eloheinu while you have forsaken Him. Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head and His Priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O Children of Israel, do not fight against Yehova Eloheinu of your fathers, for you will not succeed".
Jehoshaphat .. appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. Then he said to the judges, "Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man but for Yehova who is with you when you render judgment. And now, may the fear of Yehova be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with Yehova Eloheinu there is no injustice, partiality or bribes". Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, Priests and Heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of Yehova and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. He commanded them, saying, "You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of Yehova. For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances, you are to warn them so that they will not incur guilt before Yehova and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this and you will not incur guilt. Take notice that Amariah, the Chief Priest, will be over you in all that pertains to Yehova and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. And the Levites will serve as officers before you. Act resolutely. May Yehova be with the upright!"
Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which Yehova Elohei Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the Yehova Elohav was upon him. So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including Priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants .. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law (Torah) of Yehova, to practice it and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah and the Levites helped the people to understand the Law and the people stood in their place. And they read from the Book of the Law (Torah) of Elohim, in clarity and they gave sense and helped them to understand the reading.
And I shall restore your Judges as at the first and your counsellors as at the beginning.
'And I shall select some as Priests and Levites', says Yehova
And in a controversy, they (the Priests) shall stand to judge; according to My ordinances shall they judge it.
For the lips of a Priest should keep knowledge because he is the messenger of Yehova Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.
This is what Yehova of Hosts says: "Ask the Priests the law (Torah). If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?" "No" replied the Priests. Haggai asked, "If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?" "Yes, it becomes defiled" the Priests answered.
Meat that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for clean meat, anyone who is ritually clean may eat it.
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. Then some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?" Jesus answered, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate". "Why then," they asked, "did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning. Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality and marries another woman, commits adultery". His disciples said to him, "If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry". "Not everyone can accept this word," he replied, "but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it".
[New Testament dispute on keeping the Law of Moses]
But there rose up a certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, "the Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses".
In Him you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"? These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
