Everything is a Commandment

And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they.

Numbers 1:54 (KJV)

Commanded – This word in Hebrew is tsavah ( צִוָּה ) which is the primitive root of mitzvah (commandment). It is used about 500 times in the Old Testament. Commands are given from a father to a son (1 Samuel 17:20), a farmer to his laborers (Ruth 2:9), a king to his subjects (2 Samuel 21:14). YHVH commands His people by issuing kingship and instructing obedience to His rules.

God commanded the world into existence (Psalm 33:9, Isaiah 45:12). All creatures obey His command (1 Kings 17:4, Job 37:12, Psalm 78:23). We read that God commanded Moses and instructed Israel with laws – the Torah. It has all been commanded.

And the children of Israel did…

Israel submitted to the commandments of YHVH. Despite what is taught as of late, there were definitely times when the people lived in obedience and kept the commandments in full. When people teach that the law is impossible to keep, it is a lie and requires a qualifier to become true. The laws are impossible to keep from birth to death. But at times throughout one’s life, a person can keep all the laws perfectly.

What God commands to be done, he provides the means to accomplish…

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, p 757

This is echoed in God’s commands to make objects for the tabernacle, and then he details the plan and raises up gifted individuals with the ability to accomplish the command (Exodus 25-30, 36-39; Leviticus 8; Exodus 39:5, 7, 32, 42).

The following of YHVH’s commands results in long life and peace (Deuteronomy 5:33). And obedience to His commandments becomes that person’s righteousness (Deuteronomy 6:25).

Recalling a previous post, one cannot separate out a few commandments from the entirety of the law and obey only those. YHVH’s commandments extend beyond the law, but encapsulate it fully.