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Seven Laws
The Ancient Western Code: the Seven Noahide Laws, moral touchstones for all humanity
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not.
Jeremiah 50:2
One Father created us all. He Who lovingly grants us life and free will also blesses us with the gift of guidance. Every person of every nation lives connected to the First Covenant.
What is moral? What is righteousness? Not just refraining from committing crimes but doing the opposite of what the Noahide laws forbid.
Here are the stripped-down Seven Noahide prohibitions, below, with their moral opposites:
- Not just avoiding murder; saving human life
- Not just avoiding stealing; giving charitably
- Not just avoiding oppression and injustice; striving for freedom and justice
- Not just avoiding sexual immorality; creating an exemplary personal and family life
- Not just refraining from inflicting unnecessary pain on the animals that people eat but ensuring their decent treatment
- Not just avoiding sacrilege but positively sanctifying God in others' eyes
- Not just avoiding repulsive idolatry (in Hebrew, gilulim, "abominable idolatry") or oppressive, cruel acts that would shame any "god" worth worshipping, but positively vindicating the holiness of God
In the Bible, the People of Israel (Israel, means literally,"to struggle with God") are called to live by the Covenant of Sinai, including the Ten Commandments and the entire Law of Sinai, the Torah (Torah, the "Guidance" or "Teaching").
See Israel, Not the Point, Just the Instrument
The vast majority of humankind, Noahides or non-Jews, are blessed with an older covenant, older even than Abraham and Moses, which applies to everybody, including Israel.
Do you remember the Bible's Noah and the Flood? Remember that the Flood ends, and then there's a rainbow after the Flood? That's where the Bible first refers to "covenant."
The rainbow, Genesis teaches, is the eternal symbol of the Universal Covenant.
The Rainbow Covenant consists of seven holy commandments: "connections" with God.
Commandment, in Hebrew, comes from the root "connection." By fulfilling a commandment, human beings connect with our Maker
For deeper insight, explore the website, and please consider getting what some call "by far the best book on the subject. Learn more about this all-important cause - and how you can help
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And God spoke unto Noah, and to Noah's children
with him, saying, 'And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you.'
Genesis 9 : 8-9
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