God’s Constitution For Mankind

The Preamble

To The Reader

Understanding The Bible

The Introduction

The Lord Jesus Christ, Speaks On God’s Laws And Commandments

The First Ten Commandments From The Second Book Of Moses

The Principle Of The Ten Commandments Questioned

The Possible Origins Of The Principle Of The

The Lord Our God Speaks On His Commandments,

Other Laws And Commandments Continued

God’s Commandments On Slavery

Laws Concerning Violence

Laws Concerning Restitution

Laws From The Second Book Of Moses Continued

Laws On Offerings Of Harvest, First-Born Sons And Of Herd Or Flock

Laws From The Second Book Of Moses Continued

Laws On Offerings: From The Third Book Of Moses

Laws For Priests On Offerings

Laws On Priests’ Conduct

Laws On Priests’ Portions

Laws On The Clean And Unclean Animals, Birds, Fish, Insects And Others

Laws On Circumcision And Purification Of Women

Laws For A Leprous Disease

Laws Pertaining To Human Uncleanness

Laws From The Third Book Of Moses Continued

Law Prohibiting The Eating Of Blood

Laws On Incest – The Forbidden Relationships

Laws From The Third Book Of Moses Continued

Law Of The Jubilee Year And Laws Of Redemption

Laws From The Fourth Book Of Moses

Laws From The Fifth Book Of Moses

Moses Speaks On The Laws And Commandments

About The Author

The Preamble

The Lord our God does not tolerate sin. What constitutes a sin? Anything that is in breach of the laws and commandments of God is disobedience, it is a sin. I have sinned and God has punished me severely for my own sins. I have asked for forgiveness from God for my sins and He has forgiven me and has withheld some of His punishment. He is a God of mercy. All one has to do is to genuinely ask for forgiveness of sins, repentance. Without repentance He will punish us again and again.

When a flock of sheep is lost, who is to blame? It is the shepherd and not the sheep or the flock who is to blame. The shepherds’ responsibility is to look after the flock, to guide them and prevent them from going astray. Therefore the Church is the shepherd and the Followers are the flock. If the Followers are lost, the blame should be placed on to the Church. The Flock is guided by the instructions and teachings of its Shepherd. When the ethics of the Church are lost, the Followers get lost too. The fault is squarely on the Church’s shoulders. The Church or the Christian Church is one. All the thousands of splinter groups of Christian churches doted across the globe are of one Church, that of the one God and of Jesus Christ.

I am just a messenger of the Lord our God. I have sinned but I always repent of my sins. God forgives. The Church also makes mistakes. In my country, Zimbabwe, the Church publicly admitted that it has failed the nation and its people. That admission was laid bare in the Church’s 2006 publication entitled, The Zimbabwe We Want. The document was jointly written by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (representing all denominations of the Church in the country).

In the document, the Church asked: How could the (socio-economic) situation (in Zimbabwe) degenerate to this extent when more than 80 percent of the population is Christian? What happened to our Christian values of love, peace, justice, forgiveness, honesty and truthfulness? Where was the voice of the Church which is called upon to the conscience of the nation? The Church went on to admit that, Clearly, we did not do enough as churches to defend those values. As churches, we confess we have failed the nation . . . we have often not been the salt that the Gospel calls us to be, we, therefore, confess our failure.

This was a sincere admission by the Church (encompassing all the hundreds of Christian Churches) that it failed not only the nation, but its people. This is true with most Christian churches across the planet earth. To me the Church has deteriorated further. I then ask: Surely how can we let 80 percent of the population be misled or be failed by the Church? Where is the remnant of the population?

The Church must not continue to fail the people by giving out and subscribing to wrong ethics. Anyone can quote the Bible, but it does not mean they can interpret it well. What worries me is the ever increasing promotion of the pseudo doctrines that are being implanted into the minds of congregants by some of the so-called men of God who over-enthusiastically manipulate the prosperity gospels, the tithe gospels, the healing gospels and many more. Where have the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ on love, faith and the commandments gone? I believe the Church should go back to those foundations of the teachings of Christ. Love, faith and the commandments of the Lord our God are the cornerstones of that foundation. God has sent me to teach on one of these cornerstones, on His laws and commandments.

My country of Zimbabwe is in its current problems because of failure by the Church or failure by the churches. The problem is not because of politicians or the people but the problem is with the Church. Political violence, intolerance of one another is the order of the day yet it is the Church which is supposed to teach and preach about the law of the love for one another, the one law of Jesus Christ which he asked us all to practice. The Lord our God has commanded every one of us to love one another as we each love ourselves.

Where is the Church when people kill each other for the sake of a political party? What is the Church preaching to its followers? Where is the focus of the Church? Why is the Church silent on issues of homosexuality, prostitution, the death penalty, the tithe and many others? Why is there a deafening silence by the Church on other issues encompassing human life that the Lord our God commanded not to be done or directed mankind to do? Why is there such a large number of break-away churches splitting the Church into pieces? I tell you God is angered by the Church. Jesus Christ is angered by the Church. The Church is leading its Followers into damnation.

God does not tolerate disobedience. He punishes people severely for indiscipline, for sin. Using Zimbabwe as an example, look what is happening to its people. The suffering of the people is a direct punishment from God. Though they have been misled by the Church, the Lord our God is inflicting pain and suffering as punishment on the people for disobedience. He says so through His servant Moses: But if you do not obey the voice of the Lord our God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in and cursed shall you be when you go out, (Deuteronomy 28:15-19).

The above curses have been applied to my nation and my people of Zimbabwe by the Lord our God to the full. Unemployment in the cities is very high and there is poverty in the countryside. There are persistent droughts. Most people plough their fields but do not reap sufficient food. Cattle and flocks perish because there is no grass to eat due to lack of adequate rainfall. Most of the population has fled to other countries world-wide because of poverty and many other social reasons. Those fleeing to other countries are being forced to return because those countries no longer want them. They are treated as if they are the scum of the earth and deported back home in shame. Word for word God’s curses are being inflicted upon the nation and its people.

The Church, which is the shepherd, is continuing unabated to mislead the people, the flock. The Lord our God is so angered by the upward level of total disobedience that He is bringing wrath across the whole planet Earth. Just look at the alarming changing weather patterns, the senseless wars, the refugee crisis, the record heat, the record cold, the record drought and record rainfall. All this is in fulfillment of His words, quote "The Lord will smite you with consumption, and with fever, inflammation, and fiery heat and with drought, and with blasting and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be brass, and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed", (Deuteronomy 28:22-24).

It is never too late to repent. He is a merciful God. He will withdraw His anger and will withdraw His curses for disobedience. He says so, quote, But if they confess their iniquity (sins) and the iniquity (sins) of their fathers in their treachery which they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity; then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land, (Leviticus 26:40-42).

Mankind needs a resurrection. We need to rise from the dead. We have lost the love, we have lost the faith, we have thrown away the laws and commandments of God. Not only that, but we have lost and thrown away the one and only God, the God of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is barely anymore mention of Him in the Church except the mention of Jesus Christ, His Son. Have we in our overzealousness put His Son, Jesus Christ, in His place? If so, where have we placed Him and where then is He? We have liquidated Him and He is angry. He is there. Why have we thrown away His laws and commandments? Mankind has misinterpreted the Bible to suit their own practices and traditions.

We need the resuscitation of the Church. We need the resuscitation of mankind. We need the resuscitation of faith, love and the commandments of God. We need the resuscitation of the one and only God in our lives. We need deliverance. We need repentance. We need forgiveness. We need to be saved from the curses and punishments for our disobedience and for all our sins. We need to do it now. It’s never too late.

To The Reader

The purpose of this book is to encourage people to read the scriptures on their own, of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The focus is on the laws and commandments of the Lord our God as contained in the scriptures and relate them to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. To avoid misrepresentations of the actual spoken words of the Lord our God and those of our Lord Jesus Christ, quotations are extracted word for word in full, highlighting the corresponding chapters and verses of those quotes. Some people might find this repetitive or just a reprint of the scriptures but a fact of life is that interpretations of any given words or topic vary from person to person. Each individual has his or her own line of thinking different from the other. Based on this, all quotations were left intact without attempting to summarize or cut short those that are too long.

Most importantly, the intention is to bring knowledge of most of the laws and commandments of the Lord our God as spoken directly by Himself, and bring an awareness of those laws and commandments to the people. Here and there the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ are used as a reference to the laws. However, misinterpretations of the scriptures have led to many Christian followers discarding almost all the laws and commandments of the Lord our God as contained in the scriptures. There is a generally accepted misguided notion that our Lord Jesus Christ abolished all the laws and commandments of the Lord our God and replaced them with his own. This is a gross misrepresentation of the words of Christ our Lord. If one is to critically analyse his words, it comes to light that his words were taken out of context. This book seeks to bring out the true meaning of his spoken words. It is most obvious that the majority of us Christians fell prey to the teachings of man at the expense of the actual teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, to suit our own practices and traditions.

People should be cautious in taking certain interpretations of the gospels of the New Testament in particular and other sections of the scriptures in general. There is a world of difference between faith based on unquestioned beliefs and that based on knowledge. Unquestioned believing is for those who are blind followers in divine matters, thereby accepting things on the surface without enquiry, verification, examination and scrutiny.

If a close examination and scrutiny is made on the laws and commandments of the Lord our God spoken out before, at, and after Mt. Sinai, a question arises as to the validity of the doctrine of the ten commandments when it is evident that many other laws and commandments were also spoken out. An enquiry is necessary on this issue. This book touches on the topic. Religion covers a wide range of subjects like faith, love and other topics which have been covered in many other books by various authors. Very little is known or written on the subject of the laws and commandments of the Lord our God with the majority of us Christians abandoning them altogether. It is the intention of this book to highlight, extract word for word and wherever possible explain the meanings of those laws and commandments; also referred to as statutes and ordinances by the Lord our God.

To avoid variations of the English content and language, most of the quotations were extracted from one source, The Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Reference is also taken out from the preface section of the same Bible which outlines some historical facts on the translations of the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures into the English language. Of particular note is the first English version of the scriptures to be printed, which was the work of William Tyndale. His translations were vehemently opposed and labelled as untrue translations. He was accused of willfully perverting the meaning of the scriptures, and his New Testaments were ordered to be burned. Surprisingly it is a historical fact that William Tyndale’s works, though condemned to the extreme, became the foundation of the subsequent English versions. He was finally handed over to his religious enemies and in October 1536, and was publicly executed and burned at the stake as a religious traitor. His death ignited a massive demand of the condemned translations such that his translations became transformed into a ‘best seller book’ of all time, then. Greedy people took advantage of this huge demand to transform the first English version of the scriptures from that of a religious significance to commercial money-making enterprises. This commercial mentality outweighed the religiosity of Tyndale’s works so much that subsequent versions of the English versions of the scriptures retained most of the condemned contents for commercial purposes, to maintain high sales and high profits.

Last but not least this book also extracts some verses, word for word, the spoken words of the Lord our God on the rewards for obeying His commandments and the consequences for neglecting them. It also quotes spoken words of Jesus our Lord the Christ in his teachings and his applications of the laws and commandments, which he often refers to as the laws of Moses. In addition, the spoken words of the Lord our God on repentance are also quoted in full.

Again the main purpose of this book is to bring knowledge of most of the laws to the people and knowledge of the rewards and consequences for obedience or disobedience, and of repentance.

In today’s courts of laws, they always proclaim that lack of knowledge of any given law is no grounds for a defence. Having no knowledge of any particular law will not make anyone innocent. Likewise the Lord our God will not forgive any individual who is in breach of his law for the simple reason of ignorance to that law. He says so in the scriptures.

It is also a very sad fact of life that any topic or words could have different meanings or different interpretations to different people. Consequently, even God’s laws and commandments could also be interpreted differently. In some instances and for that reason, an in-depth analysis of some of the laws has deliberately been avoided in this book to prevent confrontations with other people’s views or interpretations. What is important is to highlight any given text of each quoted law. The decision to follow or ignore any of the laws and commandments for any reason is left to each individual. Some people would argue that the majority of the laws no longer apply in today’s world. The question to ask is; Who has the authority to decide for the Lord our God whether these laws still apply or not?

Understanding The Bible

The Bible is a collection of sixty six sacred books. The contents of the Bible include history, laws, prophecy, poetry, proverbs, songs and letters. The writing began in 1513 B.C.E. (B.C.) and completed in 98C.E. (A.D.), a period of over one thousand and six hundred years. It is said that some forty men wrote the Bible under inspiration from God.

The original text of the Bible was written on perishable materials, such as leather and papyrus. To pass on the message, those writings had to be carefully copied and recopied by hand. Such copies were expensive and few people could afford them. With the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press over five hundred and fifty years ago, circulation of the Bible greatly accelerated. According to one estimate, more than five billion copies of the Bible, in whole or in part have been printed and distributed. No other religious text can compare with the Bible in these respects. Clearly, the Bible is a book to be understood. However understanding it, and let alone interpreting it, can be a big challenge. If a book is to be a helpful and beneficial guide to people, it must be understandable and relevant to them. The Bible is just such a book, it offers satisfying answers to life’s most important questions.

For example, the Bible has God’s answers to most debated issues like homosexuality, divorce, the death sentence and many more. All the answers are carried in God’s own spoken words covering every aspect of human life. Most of His guidelines are contained in the first books of Moses from Genesis to Deuteronomy and beyond. These constitute the laws and commandments, also known as the statutes and ordinances of the Lord our God. They are in fact the constitution of God for mankind.

Many people around the world hold the Bible in high esteem, yet they know very little, if anything, about its contents. The Bible has profoundly affected the lives of millions of people. Unlocking the meaning of this sacred book can assist in helping people come up with answers to various issues in life. It is important if each individual could examine it to see how it can be of benefit to each individual’s life. The Bible gives practical counsel to help us solve everyday problems.

From the time the sacred writings were first penned in the 16th Century B.C.E. (B.C.), help has been provided to understand the text. For instance, Moses, the first leader of the nation of Israel, undertook to explain what was written (Deuteronomy 1:5). Jesus Christ was involved in a similar educational work. In fact, he was primarily known among the people as a teacher (John 13:13). He taught large crowds as well as individuals. On one occasion, He spoke to a great multitude, giving the famous Sermon on the Mount, and the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching. (Mathew 8 verse 28-29).

Disciples of Jesus Christ were also instructors of God’s word. On one occasion, an official from Ethiopia was reading a certain passage of the scriptures. A disciple named Phillip approached him and asked: Do you actually know what you are reading? The Ethiopian replied Really, how could I ever do so unless someone guided me? Phillip then explained the meaning of the passage to him (Acts 8:27-35).

Regrettably, hypocrisy found its way into those tasked with the preaching and interpretation of the Bible. According to the Bible, hypocrisy got its start, not among humans, but with an unseen spirit creature. Early in human history, Satan the Devil used a serpent as a mask and portrayed himself as a benefactor in order to mislead the first woman Eve (Genesis 3:1-5). Since then, many humans have similarly made themselves out to be something they were not, and they have done this to deceive others and to achieve selfish aims.

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord our God declared: "This people approaches me with their mouth and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far removed from me" (Isaiah 29:13). When the nation failed to turn around, God allowed foreign powers to destroy Israel’s religious centre, Jerusalem and its temple. It was first destroyed by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. (B.C.) and ultimately by the Roman armies in 70 C.E. (A.D.). Clearly therefore, God does not tolerate hypocrisy indefinitely.

God and His Son, Jesus, greatly value humans who are honest and sincere. For example, early in Jesus’ ministry, a man named Nathaniel approached him and upon seeing him, Jesus exclaimed, See, truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit (John 1:47). Nathaniel, also known as Bartholomew, became one of Jesus’ twelve apostles (Luke 6:13-16).

It is for these reasons that every individual should make an effort to read through the Bible so that one can get first hand knowledge of the words of the Lord our God, of all the prophets contained in the old scriptures, the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his disciples. However, it should be noted that not all contents of the Bible are accurate. Through years of numerous translations, copying and recopying some texts of scriptures have been distorted with time to give totally different meanings to the original contents, with grave consequences.

The Introduction

In the book of Judges, Chapter 2 verse 10, it says: There arose a new generation that did not know the God that delivered Israel. So they were operating in a different way than the way that the Lord our God was operating. In verse 17, it proceeds to say, They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.

So in this time we are living in, we have challenges. How do we convince our children that God is still the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the same Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? How do we explain to our children to go back to the foundation? Now in our time, we have a new generation that is different from the old.

The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth had a big impact on the direct relationship between God and the people, especially of the Christian Faith. Different viewpoints came up as to the role of our Lord Jesus Christ. Due to the differences, different interpretations have given different views on His mission and role on earth. Some say He came to change the laws of the Lord our God. Others say He came to give them a new meaning. Yet others say He became the new law. Some even go further to say that because He was born of God, so as the Son of the Lord our God, He became God himself. Others say He came to redeem mankind of all their sins. Above all He also came to teach on the true meaning of faith and to fulfill the commandments of the Lord our God, and also show the true meaning of love. However the foundations of faith cannot operate outside the laws and commandments of the Lord our God and outside the love for one another.

In the book of Mathew, Chapter 5 verses 17-20, Jesus Christ speaks of His main mission, saying, Think not that I have come to abolish the laws and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplish. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. The laws and commandments of the Lord our God, which are the same commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, are the pillars of faith. Where there is faith there is also love. At the conclusion of His works on earth in the book of John, Chapter 15 verses 9-14; Jesus Christ gives a farewell speech, saying, As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, and that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, ‘that you love one another’, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. Jesus Christ thus links mankind with God. He links the commandments of the Lord our God to His own. They are a chain that cannot be broken, a chain that pulls the wheels of the love and faith. Therefore the cornerstones of Jesus’ teachings were based on three things: The first; the Commandments of the Father, the Lord our God and His interpretations of the Commandments. Secondly; He taught, by example, on the true value of faith. Last but not least; He taught and showed us the true meaning of love by sacrificing His own life for our sins. The commandments, faith and love were the pillars of the Lord Jesus Christ’s mission on our planet.

Our new generation of today has little understanding of the value of love and faith and very little or no knowledge at all of the commandments of the Lord our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This book seeks to bring knowledge to this new generation, knowledge on the subject of the commandments of the Lord our God, which are the foundation for life.

Whenever a group of people, animals or any other warm-blooded species come together to form a community sharing one environment, there always arises a need to maintain discipline and survival by creating an authority within each community. Furthermore, there has to be some guiding principles within each group to create