Proverbs chapter 28
We are walking in today: The Wise Virgins Are Obedient To The Torah!!!!
Witness virgin throughout the Bible: H1330 bĕthuwlah--virgin, maid, maiden, sometimes (by continuation) a bride; also (figuratively) a city or state:—pure and unspotted, so called separated and secluded--chaste
Esther 2:2 - Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins H1330 sought for the king:
The Torah.................…
Genesis 24:16 - And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, H1330 neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
The prophets...............…
Isaiah 62:5 - For as a young man marrieth a virgin, H1330 so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
The writings.............
Psalm 45:14 - She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins H1330 her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
This is the final study in this series on characteristics of wisdom that set the Wise Virgins apart from the Foolish Virgins.
Let us look once again, at the words Yahushua Messiah spoke in Matthew 25:
“They that were ready went in with Him [the Bridegroom] to the marriage” (Matthew 25:10)
In speaking this parable, Yahushua taught His disciples the importance of being ready for a marriage. The marriage referred to in this passage, as we see in Revelation 19:7-9, is Yahushua’s own marriage — “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
In the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25, we are given the vital key for being ready for marriage to the Bridegroom: the Wise Virgins had wisdom, but the Foolish Virgins lacked wisdom!
It was the Wise Virgins in the parable who were ready to go in with the Bridegroom. It is the same with us today. If we desire to be ready, if we desire to be among ‘the Wise Virgins,’ then we too, as born again believers in Yahushua Messiah, must have the same wisdom!
In previous parts of this series, we saw that those who are wise, learn to hear and obey the counsel and instruction of Scripture. They humble themselves to obey Scripture, and learn to choose the Fear of THE MOST HIGH [the Fear of the LORD] as a way of life.
We saw also that those who are wise, begin to willingly change their lifestyle to be in obedience to the Scriptures, and thus exhibit the one characteristic that sets the Wise Virgins apart from the Foolish Virgins!
Finally, our goal in learning about the Biblical characteristics of wisdom is that we may become wise unto obedience, and in this way become ready — so that we might be found among the company of the Wise Virgins, who go in to the marriage with the Bridegroom!
Now we will begin the final post [Part 5] of this series. The final wisdom characteristic we will look at is: the one who is wise will be obedient to Torah.
Obedient to Torah
This characteristic of the Wise Virgins is seen in Proverbs 28:
“Whoso keepeth the law is a wise child” (Proverbs 28:7a).
The English word ‘law’ is the very important Hebrew word torah, Strong’s number 08451, meaning “THE MOST HIGH’s set of teachings, instructions, and guidelines.” The Torah is commonly known as the first five books of the Bible. But also, according to the Scriptures, the Torah includes all the Scriptures.
It is the Torah that defines Father’s boundaries and principles for His children, the ‘house rules’ for daily living guidelines, for His children to follow.
In other words, we could read this verse as saying:
“Whoever keeps the instructions, teachings, and guidelines of THE MOST HIGH — (the Father’s house rules) — is a wise child.”
Many times the Hebrew word ‘torah’ is translated into English as the word ‘law.’ So whenever we come across the word ‘law,’ it is usually the Hebrew word ‘torah.’ The following verses are a few good examples of inserting the meaning of ‘torah’ into the verse:
The instructions, teachings, and guidelines of THE MOST HIGH is perfect, converting the soul (Psalms 19:7a).
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O THE MOST HIGH, and teachest him out of thy instructions, teachings, and guidelines (Psalms 94:12).
O how love I thy instructions, teachings, and guidelines! it is my meditation all the day (Psalms 119:97).
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy instructions, teachings, and guidelines is the truth (Psalms 119:142).
He that keepeth the instructions, teachings, and guidelines of THE MOST HIGH, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18).
As these verses teach us, being obedient to THE MOST HIGH’s Torah [the Scriptures from the beginning], is a blessing, a delight, and is the standard for what THE MOST HIGH considers to be right, truthful, and good. It is also the standard of holiness for His people, instructing us what to choose, and what to avoid.
When we begin to sincerely follow and keep THE MOST HIGH’s instructions, teachings, and guidelines, then we begin to understand many, many aspects of THE MOST HIGH’s Word, and His plans for His people! It is obedience to the Torah that opens our understanding, helping us to mature and gain wisdom:
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalms 119:130)
The only ‘Words’ that the above verse could be referring to is the Torah! Taking in Father’s Words [the Torah], into our heart and life, through obedience to His instructions, results in having more truth and wisdom, and more understanding of the purposes of THE MOST HIGH.
The Torah is Holy
Obedience to the Torah is a characteristic of the Wise Virgins. Obedience to the Torah gives us a greater discernment of Father’s special plans for His family. Obedience to the Torah is liberating, bringing freedom on multiple levels (Psalms 119:45; James 1:25). Why is this true? It is because we begin to understand the appointed pathway that Father intended for His people from the beginning!
And obedience to the Torah is also the identifying sign that we belong to THE MOST HIGH’s family, His people, just as Moses told us:
And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of THE MOST HIGH thy THE MOST HIGH. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of THE MOST HIGH thy THE MOST HIGH, and do His commandments and His statutes, which I command thee this day.(Deuteronomy 27:9,10)
Yahushua Messiah, the Great Shepherd, was the One who was raised up, and who came forth to tend, to supervise, and to rule over THE MOST HIGH’s people, Israel (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Matthew 2:6; Hebrews 13:20,21).
It was Messiah who told us, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Therefore, as members of THE MOST HIGH’s family, we love Him by keeping His teachings, instructions, and guidelines, including those He gave to Moses.
We would do well to delight ourselves in the law [the Torah] of THE MOST HIGH.
The apostle Paul ‘delighted in the law of THE MOST HIGH,’ and so did King David! They knew that ‘the law [the Torah] is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good‘ (Romans 7:12,22a; Psalms 119:77,92).
Abraham, Samuel, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and all of THE MOST HIGH’s apostles and prophets, delighted in the Torah. They knew that Father’s teachings, instructions, and guidelines are His ‘rules of the house’ for His family, and they are true, eternal, and unchanging:
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law [Torah] is the truth. (Psalms 119:142)
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our THE MOST HIGH shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)
For I am the LORD, I change not. (Malachi 3:6a)
As Born-again Believers, some of us may need a ‘renewing of our mind’ concerning THE MOST HIGH’s Torah. Some may need to un-learn distorted teachings we have heard regarding obedience to the Torah.
Father’s Torah are His guidelines, instructions, boundaries, and principles for our good! They are relevant, up-to-date, and as eternal and unchanging as He is! And, as the Scriptures assure us, we will become wise when we keep THE MOST HIGH’s Torah!
If You Love Me
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about becoming wise, is that the keeping of Torah is essential if we want to show our love for THE MOST HIGH. Showing our love for Father begins with loving, and keeping, His Word.
THE MOST HIGH’s Son, Yahushua the Messiah, is the WORD of THE MOST HIGH seen throughout the Old Testament writings, and is the embodiment of THE MOST HIGH Himself!
So whenever Yahushua talks about ‘His’ commandments, He is referring to the commandments that He Himself, as the WORD of THE MOST HIGH, gave to His people from the beginning (Numbers 15:31; John 1:1, 14)!
Yahushua Himself emphasizes many times the connection between love and obedience to Torah:
If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide [remain] in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10)
As the above Scriptures teach us, there is a direct connection between loving THE MOST HIGH and keeping His commandments! The Bible is full of references revealing the way we are to love THE MOST HIGH: by keeping the instructions, teachings, and guidelines of THE MOST HIGH!
Notice what the apostle John said about how we are to love THE MOST HIGH:
For this is the love of THE MOST HIGH, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. (1John 5:3)
And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. (2John 1:6)
Loving THE MOST HIGH and keeping His commandments go together. You cannot have one without the other! So to show our love for THE MOST HIGH, we need to do what Yahushua Messiah did, and follow His example: “even as I have kept my Father’s commandments.” (John 15:10)
If we want to walk in the wisdom characteristics of the Wise Virgins, then we will seek to learn, and to follow, our Saviour’s example of obedience. Yahushua Messiah was obedient to the Torah. And Yahushua will always do, “those things that please Father” (John 8:29) — obeying those things found in the Torah!
The Wisdom of Walking As He Walked
The apostle John urges us to “walk, even as He [Yahushua] walked” (1John 2:6). That means we are to keep the Torah as Messiah did [and as the apostle Paul did too].
Let us begin by keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, keeping the annual Feasts of THE MOST HIGH, and keeping the instructions regarding clean foods versus unclean — all of which are included in THE MOST HIGH’s standard for being holy [‘set-apart’].
Our obedience to ‘walk as He walked’ is the way we receive more of His wisdom (Proverbs 13:20a) — the wisdom that comes from our Saviour, Yahushua Messiah: “…the One in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3).
As followers of Messiah, we can begin by diligently learning to keep the “Ten Words” found in the Torah, the very important Ten Commandments.
When we begin to keep the Torah just as Messiah did, we enter more fully into the blessings of purity and holiness. We also have a greater sense of sharing in the well-being of Messiah’s righteousness, and we receive a greater comfort and peace from walking more fully in His truth.
Thy Torah is Truth
Notice the rich treasures we find in the Torah:
The law [Torah] of THE MOST HIGH is perfect.... (Psalms 19:7)
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law [Torah] of THE MOST HIGH. (Psalms 119:1)
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law [Torah] is the truth. (Psalms 119:142)
Great peace have they which love thy law [Torah]: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalms 119:165)
These Scriptures teach us that obedience to THE MOST HIGH’s Torah is the source of many rewards: blessings, truth, peace, and integrity.
In Psalms 19:7-11, King David reveals that a ‘great reward’ comes through keeping the Torah, the testimonies, the statutes, the commandments, and the judgments of THE MOST HIGH:
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. (Psalms 19:11)
Let’s see what this great reward is.
The Greatest Reward
In Genesis, we are told of an ‘exceeding great’ reward:
After these things the word of THE MOST HIGH came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)
Here we see that our exceeding great reward is Messiah Himself, who is the WORD of THE MOST HIGH (John 1:1, 14), who is the Bridegroom.
And so the greatest reward or incentive for gaining wisdom, and for obeying Messiah’s commandments in the Torah, is that it will make us to become ready to go in to the marriage with the Bridegroom!
The way we acquire this readiness is to do what Father exhorts: ‘Get wisdom!‘
It is by the Spirit of THE MOST HIGH imparting His wisdom to us, and by His merciful grace enabling us to obey His Word, that Father helps us to be prepared and ready, that we might be among the company of the Wise Virgins.
Let us therefore stay close to our Saviour, seeking Him daily for His grace and strength, and remember this wonderful characteristic of the Wise Virgins: obedience to Father’s loving teachings found in the Torah!
Let us also remember the other wisdom characteristics that we have looked at in this series:
- Listening to, and following, the counsel found in the Scriptures
- Walking in humility
- Walking in the Fear of THE MOST HIGH
With Father’s help, if we will remember these wisdom characteristics and begin to walk in them, then we are on the road to gaining wisdom, and thus being ready for the Bridegroom!
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