Author: Aaron Rich

I’m still very early in this journey to discover the 613 laws of Torah within the New Testament. While I’m only 23 commandments in, I’ve already run across several where I found myself thinking, “I’m not sure this one is here.” Each time I find myself in prayer asking God to reveal it to me. He hasn’t denied that request yet. That’s the case for this 23^rd positive commandment as enumerated by Maimonides.

P23 – For the Levites to serve in the sanctuary, as Numbers 18:23 states: “And the Levite shall serve….”[1]

When I read this section of Torah initially, I had no clue where to even begin looking within the Apostolic Writings. Where do the Levites show up in their commanded service in the Temple?

The New Testament is a revelation showing us how Jesus lives out the instructions given by Moses. The entire message is what it looks like to live out the instructions by imitating Jesus through discipleship. Our Master ook His ministry to the heart level. He taught His disciples how to physically live out the literal commands that applied to them, but He also taught them to live it out from their spirit. He demonstrated that ideal through His sacrificial service – the Kingdom was His sole focus. He didn’t seek to make a living and He didn’t strive to grow rich. His ministry existed through the generosity of those placing their faith and allegiance in Him.

And that’s the key to P23!

I didn’t realize it until I was consulting Jewish sources to see what they were saying about this commandment in Numbers 18:23. What I found that finally triggered my understanding was in a book called “Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Eikev, Torah Ohr[1].” It’s an easy title! Go on, say it ten times fast…I’ll wait.

Tongue twister exercises over? Great!

More than just the entertaining title, the contents of the book helped me find this teaching in the New Testament. This resource talked about how this command (and other accompanying commands to the Levites) required sacrificial service. The Levites don’t have easy lives! Their appointment to serve in the Temple required a great deal of faith. The Levites received no inheritance within the land and thus found themselves highly dependent on their people for regular gifts as commanded by the Torah.

The commentary above says it like this:

“The members of the tribe of Levi were the principal teachers of Torah amongst the people. The gifts the Torah sets aside for the Levites are designed to free the Levites from the burden of having to earn a living. They then can devote themselves to their principal task of disseminating Torah knowledge.”

If Yeshua was spending His ministry showing how to live out His Torah from the heart, this idea would seem to take a central role in that. Of course, I realize this is not a literal quote of P23 in the New Testament, but this is the heart of it. He wasn’t here to recreate what Moses already gave, He was here to live it out and show the world what it looks like.

Throughout His ministry, He subsisted on the gifts of others and ministered to others regarding the Torah. His cousin John did the same, sustaining himself on honey and locusts in the desert while he taught the masses to return to Torah and to prepare the way for the Messiah. When Yeshua sent out His disciples on their first mission, He required the same faith from them as He sent them out among the Jewish people with zero resources.

Mark 6:8 (ESV)
⁸He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—

This sacrificial service didn’t end at the cross either. The message continues through the rest of the New Testament. Paul said it this way in Galatians:

Galatians 6:6 (ESV)
⁶ Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

If that’s not good enough, Paul makes it more clear with a direct correlation to this idea of the sacrificial service of the Levites and Priests in 1^st Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 9:9–14 (ESV)
⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (emphasis mine)

Those that serve the Kingdom sacrificially “shall serve” the King who is our High Priest. The Levites serve the earthly Temple on Mount Moriah, but just as our Master is the High Priest of the Heavenly Temple, it seems that those within the Body of Messiah, who serve sacrificially, are performing the Levitical role within that Heavenly Temple context. They step into the role as the primary teachers of Scripture to the Body of Messiah.

Ultimately, when looking for P23, we don’t need to look any further than the first pages of Matthew or any page within that Apostolic Writing. Sacrificial service for the Kingdom of Heaven is the central message communicated to us by the Apostles from Matthew to Revelation. From the ministry of John the Immerser that opened the New Testament era to the Lamb standing as though slain in Revelation.  

Numbers 18:23 (NKJV)
²³ But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Colossians 3:23–24 (NKJV)
²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

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We are in a stretch of commands that are focused on the Temple. P20 was the command to build the Temple, P21 was the command to revere the Temple and now with the 22^nd positive commandment, as enumerated by Maimonides, we have the instruction to keep watch or to guard (שמר, shamar) the House.

P22 – To keep watch over this house continuously, as Number 18:2, 4 states: “And you and- your descendants before the Tent of Testimony…. [And they shall keep the watch….]”

In the days of Yeshua, this command had a very literal exercise. There was an entire “Temple Guard” that performed this commanded duty. It’s often understood that some of them even took part in the arrest of Yeshua alongside the Roman guards. Those guards are the most literal example I can find in the New Testament regarding this command.

Yeshua and His disciples didn’t leave this topic completely void of attention, however. I managed to find two specific allusions to this command that are pretty straightforward without having to even dig into other Jewish writings. Given the themes present in the fuller context of the command, I’m sure there are additional allusions to this instruction that we could locate.

Consider the discussion taking place in Luke 11 where Yeshua says this:

Luke 11:21 (TLV)
²¹ “When a strong one, fully-armed, protects his own estate, his possessions are safe.

The previous two commands of P20 and P21 were demonstrated to go beyond the physical. Yeshua and the Apostles regularly expound and extend the understanding into the ethereal and intangible spiritual realm. This was a very Pharisaic practice. The Sadducees were overly literal to the exclusion of the spiritual and mystical side of God’s word. Literal isn’t a bad thing, as I myself often stand in the literalist category for Scripture. However, Yeshua and the writers of the New Testament didn’t stop at the literal (Peshat) level. For them, Torah is both literal and spiritual and they continually extend their interpretations into the domain of more spiritual Jewish understandings. For things regarding the Temple, they allude to God’s laws in a spiritual sense using the Body of Messiah and individual believers as the living stones. It’s not a replacement but rather it expounds on Moses and explains much of what the Prophets had to say.

In the previous commands and Apostolic illustrations, we are the Temple, in this one, we are the guards. The afore verse can be elaborated on with the next two verses:

Luke 11:22–23 (ESV)
²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

As long as we are “fully-armed” we’re safe, but the moment we give up our protection the enemy’s strength overcomes us and defeats the armor we are trusting in. As long as we are a faithful guard, we maintain that “full armor”, but when we begin depending on our own strength and wander into disobedience, we let our guard down and our own strength isn’t sufficient to keep the enemy at bay.

The proof text for this is the famous “full armor of God”:

Ephesians 6:10–16 (TLV)
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist when the times are evil, and after you have done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm then! Buckle the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵ Strap up your feet in readiness with the Good News of shalom. ¹⁶ Above all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

If you are guarding the House, as the command is telling you to, you will be prepared for what may come during your watch. The armor of God is the only true protection against the evil one and it is the only true armor against your own evil inclination. We are commanded to guard, but without God on our side, any hope to repel an attack is a ruse. While you may be the one called to stand guard, only God can truly guard the city which brings more meaning to Luke 11:23 above.

Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)
¹ Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

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The Testimony

The second place I found a curious correlation was in the epistles to Timothy. To make the connection, one must consider the full context of the command, specifically, its wording.

Numbers 18:2–4 (ESV)

² And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³ They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. ⁴ They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.

During my search for this command, I made an intriguing observation. Rather than using the term “Tabernacle” to describe the Sanctuary, God specifically referred to it as the “Tent of Testimony.” This distinction captured my attention, highlighting the importance of safeguarding the Testimony itself.

I’m no Greek scholar, but during my research, I discovered that there is a grammatical connection between the Numbers verses and a couple of references in 1st Timothy and 2^nd Timothy.

First Paul tells Timothy: 

1 Timothy 6:20 (TLV)
²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from pointless chatter and the contradictions of so-called knowledge—

What had been entrusted to Timothy? Was it not the testimony of the Kingdom? If I’m reading this correctly, we are to guard the testimony that has been entrusted to us. The true testimony and the whole testimony – not piecemeal according to our personal comforts.  

2 Timothy 1:13–14 (TLV)
¹³ Keep the standard of sound words you have heard from me, in the faithfulness and love that are in Messiah Yeshua. ¹⁴ Guard the good that has been entrusted to you, through the [Holy Spirit] who dwells in us.

We are to guard what was entrusted to us. The testimony of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The command to guard is focused on keeping the Ohel HaEdut or the Tent of the Testimony. We are guarding the tent of the testimony in that we are guarding the testimony of Yeshua and perpetuating the faith. 

2 Timothy 1:8 (TLV)
⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the Good News according to the power of God.

Proverbs 22:18 (TLV)
¹⁸ For it is delightful if you keep (שמר) them within you, ready on your lips.

Reverence for the house of God is something we are severely lacking in the modern age. This is applicable to the modern church buildings that are more entertainment centers rather than places of worship, but also to the true House of God that will one day sit on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. In spite of our irreverent society, God calls you to revere His place in the 21^st positive commandment.

P21 – To revere this house, as Leviticus 19:30 states: “And revere My sanctuary.[1]“

The literal view

There are two directions to reveal this command in the writings of the New Testament. The first is in regard to the Temple in Jerusalem. I talked about this in the previous post – the Jewish people are actively working toward building the third Temple; a topic that will continue to come up as I journey through the commandments of God. Within Christianity, there is often tremendous misunderstanding and misapplication of Scripture regarding this topic. For that reason, I too often hear Christians bemoan the efforts to rebuild the Temple. While our hearts may be in the right place, we are unfortunately falling captive to the enemy’s lies. Satan has successfully convinced much of the Body to abandon their reverence for the House of God, His Holy Mountain, and His Holy City, Jerusalem.

In their effort, the Jewish people are doing as God commanded. No stretch of imagination can successfully construe their work as sin or against the wishes of Jesus. Only the lies of Satan suggest such things. The Jewish people are keeping to their covenantal promises. Returning to covenant faithfulness was precisely what the entire ministry of Jesus was about. Yes, they may not yet know their Messiah by name, but the Temple is going to play a role in His return and in His Kingdom. Ultimately, the Temple will be the house of prayer for all nations, so in spite of any discomfort or confusion it may illicit, the Temple still has incredible purpose.

In Revelation we see a parallel with Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple when John is commanded to measure the House, but not the outside which is left for the nations to trample.

Revelation 11:1–2 (ESV)
¹ Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ² but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

When I read this idea of the nations trampling the holy city, I see an allusion to a *lack* of reverence for what God deems holy. In my eyes, this is one of several views in the writings of the Apostles where we see the reverence toward the Temple. Those who love the Temple revere it. Those who don’t will trample the places God holds dear.

The Revelation verse isn’t the only reference toward revering God’s Temple in the New Testament. Reverence of the sanctuary is prevalent in these writings if you’re watching for it. Paul made haste to return to Jerusalem for a High Holiday and it wasn’t just for good fellowship. (Acts 20:16) Another event that demonstrates the reverence Yeshua has for His Father’s house is that of the cleansing of the Temple.

Mark 11:15–19 (ESV)
¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. ¹⁹ And when evening came they went out of the city.

Just as it is today, reverence for the House of God was waning during the ministry of Yeshua. In the story recounted in the Gospels, vendors had moved into the Holy Precinct of the Temple and to say it frustrated Yeshua would be an understatement.

Comparing that story with our modern Christian culture, it brings to my mind the few times I’ve visited mega churches. I can’t speak to all of them, but those that I have visited all seem to have multiple shops in the lobby making a profit for the ministry as people flow in. It breaks my heart to see the children’s “ministry” in these buildings. Rather than truly immersing the next generation in the faith and teachings of our Master, children are enrolled in something more akin to a theme park for an hour while the parents “do church”. I suspect if Yeshua were walking among us today, He would again be cleansing a few sanctuaries.

Where has our reverence gone?  

The mystical and spiritual aspects

Paul once again extends the meaning of a commandment into the intangible Spiritual domain when he presents a more mystical level to revering the Sanctuary of God. He makes a nearly explicit reference to this command when he is speaking about sexual immorality. That topic, of course, will dovetail into other commandments later and will be discussed at length with the negative commandments, but it’s absolutely applicable to P21.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

With this mystical teaching, honoring our own body through obedience to God’s ways is part of revering the Temple. This instruction from Paul is an explicit example of the command to revere God’s house. No teacher of the faith could rightly pretend to excuse you from this command or exempt the Body from its intent. God demands you revere His house.

Psalm 26:8 (NKJV)
⁸ Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.

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[1] Rambam, Mishneh Torah Positive Mitzvot 21

We are at an interesting point in history. Since 70 CE, there’s been no Temple standing in Jerusalem and the Jewish people have been unable to pursue its rebuilding. Within the last generation, however, we have been able to see the preparations being made to rebuild the Temple. Laboring to rebuild the Temple is all in response to God’s next positive commandment.

P20 – To build [God’s] chosen house, [the Temple,] as Exodus 25:8 states: “And you shall make a sanctuary for Me.”[1]

There are a couple of organizations such as the Temple Institute who have already spent millions of dollars in the preparations for the next Temple. When Israel exerts full sovereignty over the Temple Mount, I have no doubt that construction will begin almost immediately. There are many preparations still to be made in that project before worship can commence according to God’s instructions, but historically speaking we’re on the front row of something previous generations were never allowed to see.

Finding this command in the New Testament is not quite so literal, however. It is nonetheless easy to find. This is one place where it’s easy to see the literal meaning and the more spiritual meaning of the text existing together. Both literal and not-so-literal understandings are absolutely applicable to the faith – simultaneously and equally.

The Jewish people are called to build the Temple, and they are obediently working toward that goal. The Body of Messiah is also referred to as the Temple and we are equally called to build that Temple through the instruction of our Master Yeshua. Neither is “less than” the other as both are clearly Biblical expectations of God’s instructions. As I often say in conversations, it is a “both/and” understanding rather than an “either/or” understanding.

Jewish commentators grasp the “both/and” idea very well. While contemplating this particular commandment one commentator wrote the following on the layered meanings of Torah:

It is well-known and famous among us – the people that accepted the commandments – that there are seventy faces to the Torah. And in each one of them, there are many great and numerous roots, and to each and every root, [is there] branches – each one supports a great cluster of fruits that are pleasant for hearts to ponder.[2]

If you’ve been reading along with me as I search for each of these commandments, it should be clear that the Apostles were never working to replace, update, or void any of the commandments. Instead, throughout their writings, they were expounding on the commandments of God demonstrating a broader meaning to make them directly applicable to the disciples of Jesus. Perhaps you personally aren’t literally building the Temple of God, but you are called to build up the Body of Messiah. Just as Jesus extended the commandments to encompass more than a literal understanding in places such as Matthew 5, the Apostles did the same throughout their writings.

This command is extended to you personally by Paul through the use of spiritual metaphors and examples of how we as the Body of Messiah function as the Temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Peter continues the comparison and describes us in this way:

1 Peter 2:5 (NKJV)
⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

With the above quotations in mind, I can clearly see the command of P20 within the great commission as our Master calls us to go out and build the house of God.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

So just as our Master said, go and make living stones from all the nations and build a house for God.

Ephesians 2:19–22 (TLV)
¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. ²⁰ You have been built on the foundation made up of the emissaries and prophets, with Messiah Yeshua Himself being the cornerstone. ²¹ In Him the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple for the Lord. ²² In Him, you also are being built together into God’s dwelling place in the Ruach.

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[1] Rambam, Mishneh Torah Positive Mitzvot 20

[2] Sefer HaChinukh 95.3

[3] Image from Tomer Razabi

One of the many Rabbinic traditions that Yeshua (Jesus) approved of, taught, and practiced was that of opening a meal with a blessing. Explore the Torah as you’d like, but as far as I can find, that is not a command of God. That’s not to say it wasn’t inspired by the Torah though! The practice seems to partner with the blessing that is commanded in Scripture which is that of closing our meals with a blessing.

P19 – To bless [God] after eating, as Deuteronomy 8:10 states: “[After] you eat and are satisfied, you shall bless God, your Lord.”[1]

This command is practically non-existent in the modern Christian church. Sometimes it may occur by happenstance where there is a prayer at the activity following the meal, but this command is not carried out on purpose. My impression is that it is a misunderstanding by Christians based on the few verses where Yeshua is practicing the Rabbinic pre-meal blessing and so we imitate that – as disciples should.

The first time I attended a Passover Seder and they prayed at the end of the meal, I thought it was strange. I had no understanding of why they did that. Then I read the Bible. Previously I was 100% a pulpit learner so that’s actually saying something. Growing up I was presented with memory verses, and small sections of Scripture to study, and the various pastors always quoted a couple of verses during their sermons, but in no instance was this commandment introduced, let alone discussed at length.

While we imitate Yeshua in our opening blessings when we sit down to eat, we fail at that imitation for the post-meal blessing. I’m not sure why. Finding this command demonstrated by the Apostolic Writings isn’t difficult at all. This is one of the commands I knew would be easy to demonstrate. There are a couple of instances that jump out at me without much research.

The first would be the Last Supper where Yeshua is hosting a Passover Seder for His disciples before He suffered on the cross. We are told this:

Mark 14:26 (TLV)
²⁶ After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

After the Seder, at the end of the meal, there is a tradition to sing from the book of Prayers, specifically the Psalms that make up the Hallel. After the last cup of the Seder Psalms 115-118 are traditionally sung. While this may not be a traditional prayer in your mind, these are indeed prayers that are being recited to God at the end of a meal. From my view, this is unquestionably a prayer after one is satisfied and full.

Another example is that of Yeshua feeding the 5,000. At the beginning of this episode, we witness Yeshua praying before the meal. This is an example to His future disciples of the acceptability of this practice, but it was not a rewriting of the command to pray after the meal. The Apostolic Writings are often demonstrating the faith lived out, but not making direct quotes of the commands. This wasn’t needed. The Jewish world they were writing to would have understood what was being said without the need for verse quotations and explanations. This was the “constitution” of the society. They all knew and studied Torah as part of their society’s foundation.

However, the Apostles didn’t entirely ignore the command for praying after meals. In fact, one of the rare occurrences of all four Gospels referencing the exact same thing includes a very direct allusion to the command by referencing the catalyst for carrying out the command.

Luke 9:17 (TLV)
¹⁷ Then they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of the fragments.

Mark 6:42 (TLV)
⁴² They all ate and were satisfied,

Matthew 14:20 (TLV)
²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over.

John 6:12 (TLV)
¹² When the people were full, Yeshua said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftovers, so nothing is wasted.”

The only example above that doesn’t specifically use the word satisfied in English is actually the only example that specifically used the exact same word as the Septuagint in Deuteronomy 8:10. This idea of being satisfied and thanking God afterward is a common thread throughout Scripture and is a significant key Messianic signpost. For that reason, it was a critical highlight for the disciples to show us.

There are certainly historical church documents that attest to grace after meals as well, not least of which is the Didache. At some point, we lost this practice, but it nonetheless remains part of the instructions of God. To be imitators of Yeshua would encompass this instruction.

Joel 2:26 (TLV)
²⁶ “You will surely eat and be satisfied, and praise the Name of Adonai your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. Never again will My people be shamed

Didache’s After Meal Prayer

Chapter 10

       1.    After being satisfied, give thanks in this way:

       2.    We give thanks to you, O Holy Father,

On behalf of your holy name, which you caused to dwell in our hearts

and on behalf of knowledge and faith and immortality,

which you have made known to us through Jesus, your servant.

To you be glory forever.

       3.    You, almighty Master, have created all things for your name’s sake.

You have given food and drink to all humanity to enjoy

so that they might give thanks.

But you have graced us with spiritual food and drink

And eternal life through your servant.

       4.    Above all, we give thanks to you because you are mighty.

To you be glory forever.

       5.    Remember, O Lord, your church

to deliver her from all evil

and to perfect her in your love

and gather her from the four winds, whom you have sanctified,

into your kingdom,

which you have prepared for her.

For yours is the power and the glory forever.

       6.    Let grace come and

       7.    let this earth pass away.

Hosanna to the God of David.

If some are holy, let them come.

If some are not, let them repent.

Maranatha. Amen.[2]

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[1] Rambam, Mishneh Torah Positive Mitzvot 39

^[2] Shawn J. Wilhite, The Didache: A Commentary, ed. Paul A. Hartog and Shawn J. Wilhite, vol. 1, Apostolic Fathers Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019), xxxviii–xxxix.