Behold a Law of love that Moses the prophet of the Almighty taught. These slides Explore the law of Love from the Torah and the prophets - Love towards enemies, strangers and poor. In all of the bible two commands stand out. 1 Love God 2 Love your neighbour. Once these concepts are understood, it is then easy for one to see how Jesus derived his teaching from the law and the prophets and interpreted it in the context of the Roman oppression of his times. Moses gave these laws in the context of being redeemed out of Egypt during the wilderness journey as they were being prepared to enter the promised land. "What is written in the LAW? HOW READEST THOU? "- Jesus "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." - Paul

1. What is written in the
LAW? HOW READEST
THOU? - Jesus
A STUDY OF LOVE FROM THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS

2. Behold a Law of love
that Moses the
prophet of the
Almighty taught
Deu 7:9 Know therefore
that Yahweh your God
himself is God, the faithful
God, who keeps covenant
and loving kindness with
them who love him and
keep his commandments to
a thousand generations
A Love Driven Law
G O D
L A W
LOVE
Deu 23:5 the
LORD thy God
loved thee.
Deu 11:22 to love the LORD your
God, to walk in all his ways, and to
cleave unto him;
Deu 10:19 Love ye therefore the
stranger: for ye were strangers in the
land of Egypt
Deu 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the
LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the
LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to
love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with
all thy heart and with all thy soul
Deu 5:10 And shewing mercy
unto thousands of them that
love me and keep my
commandments.

3. A law that
taught to love by
action and
examples
Deu 22:4 You shall not see your
brother's donkey or his ox fallen down
by the way and ignore them. You shall
help him to lift them up again.
The Blessed Man does this:
But his delight is in
the law of the
LORD; and in his
law doth he
MEDITATE day and
night. [Psa 1:2]

4. A law that
taught to Love
one’s enemies
Exo 23:4 "If you meet your
enemy's ox or his donkey
going astray, you shall
bring it back to him.
• A flat tire?
Exo 23:5 If you see the
donkey of one who hates
you lying down under its
burden, you shall refrain
from leaving him with it;
you shall rescue it with
him.
◦ Our attitude
◦ he ‘deserves it’
◦ Ha! God is punishing him?
Not just to do good to your ‘good’
neighbor who may have done
good to you earlier but the law
instructed its followers to do good
to the very one who hates you.
If thine enemy be
hungry, give him bread
to eat; and if he be
thirsty, give him water
to drink
Proverbs 25:21-22

5. The example of
Elisha – Love your
enemy
2 Kings 6:18-23 (KJV)
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed
unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee,
with blindness. And he smote them with blindness
according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way,
neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to
the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were come into
Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these
men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their
eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst
of Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw
them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them:
wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken
captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and
water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go
to their master.
23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when
they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they
went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more
into the land of Israel.
shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

6. Job’s example
and his attitude
towards his
enemies
Job 31:29 "If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or
exulted when evil overtook him
Job 31:30 (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with
a curse),
Rejoice not when
thine enemy falleth,
and let not thine heart
be glad when he
stumbleth:
Pro 24:17

7. Joseph’s
example
Gen 50:15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father
was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and
pay us back for all the evil that we did to him."
Rejoice not when
thine enemy falleth,
and let not thine heart
be glad when he
stumbleth:
Pro 24:17

8. Do not hate your
brother
"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall
reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin
because of him. (Leviticus 19:17 ESV)
Do not devise evil in
your hearts against
one another,
Zec 8:17

9. Do not even
think of doing
evil to others
Zec 7:9 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true
judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
Zec 7:10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the
sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil
against another in your heart."
Don’t devise evil
against your neighbor,
since he dwells
securely by you.
Pro 3:29

10. The law taught
us to be
generous
Deuteronomy 15:9,10 (WEBA)
Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart,
saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand;”
and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you
give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it
be sin to you. You shall surely give, and your heart shall not
be grieved when you give to him; because that for this
thing Yahweh your God will bless you
Don’t eat the food of
him who has a stingy
eye, and don’t crave
his delicacies:
Proverbs 23:6

11. The law taught
us to be
generous
Lev 19:10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall
you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall
leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am
Yahweh your God.
If a poor man, one of
your brothers, is with
you within any of your
gates in your land which
Yahweh your God gives
you, you shall not
harden your heart, nor
shut your hand from
your poor brother;
Deu 15:7

12. What about
strangers and
foreigners? –
Exempted?
Exodus 22:21-24
21 "You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for
you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
"You shall not oppress
a hired worker who is
poor and needy,
whether he is one of
your brothers or one of
the sojourners who are
in your land within your
towns.
Deu 24:14
Deu 10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt

13. The setting for
receiving the
Law
1. God fed the people
2. Spoke to the people
3. In a setting of a
dessert he was their
tower and refuge
and green pasture
4. He wanted to get
intimate with the
people

14. But, Eye for Eye?
Lev 24:19 If anyone injures his neighbor; as
he has done, so shall it be done to him:
Lev 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye,
tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone,
so shall it be done to him.
Lev 24:21 He who kills an animal shall make it
good; and he who kills a man shall be put to
death.

15. Forgiveness was
taught in the law
◦ Dealing with revenge – Revenge forbidden
◦ Lev 19:18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor
bear any grudge against the children of your
people; but you shall love your neighbor as
yourself. I am Yahweh.
◦ Exo 23:4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his
donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to
him.
◦Forgiveness Possible – As God
Forgave
◦ Num 14:19 Please pardon the iniquity of this
people according to the greatness of your
loving kindness, and just as you have forgiven
this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Eye for Eye –> Justice
But Practice Forgiveness

16. Literal or
principle?
◦ Dealing with revenge – ‘indemnity’
◦ Exo 21:18 “If men quarrel and one strikes the
other with a stone, or with his fist, and he
doesn’t die, but is confined to bed;
◦ Exo 21:19 if he rises again and walks around
with his staff, then he who struck him shall be
cleared: only he shall pay for the loss of his
time, and shall provide for his healing until he is
thoroughly healed.
Eye for Eye –> Justice
[The Law was to put fright
in people]
Principle:
Punishment must match
the crime, but not exceed
the damage done
(Hell is not a proportional
punishment)
As offender: Offer indemnity
As offended: Forgive

17. Literal or
principle?
◦ Rabbi Jesus did not go for a literal
interpretation of the Torah:
You have heard that it was said, “Eye for
eye, and tooth for tooth.” 39 But I tell you,
“Do not resist an evil person. If someone
strikes you on the right check, turn to him
the other also.” (Matt. 5:38-39; cf. Luke
6:29)
Interpretation is Key
The discretion of a
man makes him slow
to anger. It is his
glory to overlook an
offense.
Pro 19:11

19. The LAW taught
us to Love one
another
What is written in the
LAW? HOW READEST
THOU?
And he answering said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy
mind; and thy neighbour as
thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou
hast answered right: this
do, and thou shalt live. (Luk
10:26-28)
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the
royal LAW according to
the scripture, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself, ye do well:
(James)
Luk 10:26 What is written
in the LAW? how readest
thou? (Jesus)
Gal 5:14 For all the LAW
is fulfilled in one word,
even in this; Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as
thyself. (Paul)
Rom 13:10 Love worketh
no ill to his neighbour:
therefore love is the
fulfilling of the LAW (Paul)
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear
any grudge against the children of thy
people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself: I am the LORD.(Moses)
Deu 24:20 When thou beatest thine
olive tree, thou shalt not go over the
boughs again: it shall be for the
stranger, for the fatherless, and for
the widow. (Moses’ example)
Rom 13:8 Owe no man
any thing, but to love one
another: for he that
loveth another hath
fulfilled the LAW. (Paul)
The Law is NOT obsolete

20. Is the Law against
Faith?
1. No
2. The law was
designed to be
followed by loving
God hence by faith
Act 24:14 so worship I the God
of my fathers, believing all
things which are written in the
law and in the prophets (Paul)
Rom 2:13 (For not the
hearers of the law are just
before God, but the doers of
the law shall be justified.
(Paul)
Rom 3:31 Do we
then make void the
law through faith?
God forbid: yea,
we establish the
law. (Paul)