Who cares about an ancient Book containing ancient rules that don’t apply to us … right?

THE CLOSER WE GET TO THE END OF ANOTHER YEARLY TORAH CYCLE, the clearer it becomes (through much repetitiveness of YHWH’s Divine Instructions) that ELOHIM is VERY adamant about the Rules that show mankind how to be holy/set apart from “the world.”

Unfortunately, our world is anything BUT holy/set apart. That is, in part, due to the fact that some of His Rules are difficult to understand with our “modern” mindsets; and therefore, many simply choose to ignore them. After all, who cares about an ancient Book containing ancient rules that don’t apply to us, right?

Truth is, "the modern world" – as everyone can surely see – is out of control, with sin running rampant. Societies around the world reflect hardly anything that YHWH commanded, or what Yeshua taught.

Here’s just one small example:

In reading Torah Portion 49 (Deuteronomy 21:10 through 25:19) we see YHWH giving His people thorough rules for sex and marriage (among many other things) and even remarriage; yet modern man is completely oblivious! Sex ranks among THE most powerful drives in humans, and these days, it is treated as if it’s no big deal.

Case in point, even today's young people are allowed to watch movies that show explicit sex of all kinds (including homosexual sex), as if these things were completely normal. Instead of being taught the sanctity of “sex” and practicing abstinence until they are married, many parents encourage their children to “experiment” and allow them to "date" completely unsupervised, while suggesting they "practice safe sex" in case they can't control themselves. Responsibility and self-control is no longer part of the equation.

After all, this IS the 21^st Century, and the growing trend is that actual dating relationships seem to be a thing of the past. Many don't even bother "dating" anymore, preferring to employ the contemporary "buzz words" of "hooking up" and having "friends with benefits." (Ironically, some of those same people run to church to warm the pews on Sunday....)

…Folks, times may have changed but the rules for maintaining our purity in every aspect of our lives NEVER changed, regardless of what Hollywood says! Psalm 102:26-28 tells us God lives forever and never changes. Psalm 90 shows us that He IS God Almighty is eternal and all powerful:

Psalm 90: Adonai, you have been our dwelling place in every generation. ² Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, from eternity past to eternity future you are God. ³ You bring frail mortals to the point of being crushed, then say, “People, repent!” ⁴ For from your viewpoint a thousand years are merely like yesterday or a night watch. ⁵ When you sweep them away, they become like sleep; by morning they are like growing grass, ⁶ growing and flowering in the morning,but by evening cut down and dried up. (CJB)

The Torah contains many rules that seem outdated or don't make sense to us today, but when viewed in context, we can certainly see why YHWH put them in place. The death of Yeshua didn't change the context of those rules; it merely freed us from our PAST sins and the "stuff" we used to do before we found our way to God.

Once we accept the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Divine Messiah who died to remove our past sins, we are expected to be "set apart" for Him, just as our forefathers were; putting off our old ways and living a clean, decent and HOLY life for God, so that we won't be considered "lukewarm" on Judgment Day.

Alas! – as mentioned earlier - many (if not most) have chosen to ignore the awesome commands of our Creator; and, consequently, our world is anything BUT holy/set apart.

What a sad commentary on mankind…

Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.

26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless. 32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same. (CJB)