Commandments

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:5

Blizzard further states, “The idea of law in Hebrew is not something that, if transgressed, is going to get you zapped. Torah is instruction that, if followed, will enrich one’s life; if ignored, will diminish it.” In the biblical text, Law is frequently viewed as that which God has commanded.

The Hebrew word translated commandment is mitzvah, which comes from the root tzava, and actually means to lay charge upon, or to give charge to. A mitzvah is a charge or a commandment.

According to Blizzard, commandments, when performed, designate the individual as moral and ethical, benefitting all involved and pleasing God.

Moseley, Ron. 1996. Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church. Ebed Publications., pg 55

Peter's List of Virtues

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2 Peter 1:5-7

Try reading 2 Peter 1:5-7 like this:

"Add to your faith the virtue of Joseph; and to virtue the knowledge of Solomon; and to knowledge the temperance of Samuel; and to temperance the patience of Job; and to patience the godliness of Daniel; and to godliness the brotherly kindness of Jonathan, and to brotherly kindness the charity of John."

(Booker, George., By The Way, ChristadelphianBooksOnline, Section I)

Education and Consecration

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. Genesis 22:6

Abraham and Isaac are called upon to tread the path of supreme sacrifice, yet Scripture records of father and son, “And they walked both of them together.” Is there similar unity of heart and soul between you and your child?

Education is the shibboleth of the hour; but in Judaism the word for “education” is the same as for “consecration’.” Is your child being consecrated for a life of beneficence for Israel and humanity?

The object of education is not merely to enable our children to gain their daily bread and to acquire pleasant means of recreation, but that they should know God and serve Him with earnestness and devotion.

(Hertz, Dr. J.H., The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, 2nd Ed., Soncino Press, London, 1992, pg )

Aposiopesis

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. Exodus 32:31-32

APOSIOPESIS: Breaking off as if unable to continue, stopping suddenly in the midst of a sentence, or leaving a statement unfinished at a dramatic moment. A striking effect is produced by breaking off a statement, and leaving it to be finished by the hearer.

We find Biblical examples of aposiopesis in the Hebrew Bible verse above, in which Moses doesn't even dare to complete his sentence when he challenges God's decision to destroy the Israelites for their sin.

Hebrews 3:11 is another powerful example: “If they shall be entering into My stopping—!” Others are found in Mark 8:12; Luke 13:9; 19:42; John 6:62; Acts 23:9.

Using the primary definition above (Breaking off as if unable to continue), think about the double power of this verse from modern scripture:

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Doctrine and Covenants 19:18-19

(http://www.peterwade.com/articles/other/knoch03.shtml)
(http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_A.html#aposiopesis_anchor)

Terrible as an Army With Banners

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? Song of Solomon 6:10

In the verse above, Solomon is making comparisons to his bride's beauty. It is interesting that this question is answered in modern scripture D&C 109:73:

That thy church [Zion] may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners; .

A cultural and Hebraic perspective on this verse adds additional insight. In Everyman's Bible Commentary, Paige Patterson tells us:

"Solomon asked, "Who is this that looks forth as the dawn or the morning?" "Looks forth" is literally "to bend forward" and hence "to look down," like the rays of the sun that look down on the earth in the early hours of the day. The reference is to her radiance. "Fair as the moon" (beautiful) and as "clear" or pure "as the sun." "Terrible" (Hebrew: 'ayom) also means "formidable"- an influence that must be exercised with responsibility."(pgs.95-96,99)

In terms of Zion being the Lord's Church and therefore his Bride, I love the consistency of this verse:

And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand. D&C 45:70

From these three verses combined, we learn that the Lord's Church (Zion) is not only radiant, beautiful, and pure, but that she has a formidable power that causes the wicked to flee. It is the shining power of goodness and purity.

Depressing Story Corrected by Joseph Smith

Thankfully, this depressing (and distressing!) story in the Bible was corrected by Joseph Smith:

KJV Genesis 19:5-10

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

http://scriptures.lds.org/gen/19/5-10#5

JOSEPH SMITH TRANSLATION GENESIS 19: 9-15

9 And they said unto him, Stand back. And they were angry with him.
10 And they said among themselves, This one man came in to sojourn among us, and he will needs now make himself to be a judge; now we will deal worse with him than with them. 11 Wherefore they said unto the man, We will have the men, and thy daughters also; and we will do with them as seemeth us good.
12 Now this was after the wickedness of Sodom.
13 And Lot said, Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, plead with my brethren that I may not bring them out unto you; and ye shall not do unto them as seemeth good in your eyes;
14 For God will not justify his servant in this thing; wherefore, let me plead with my brethren, this once only, that unto these men ye do nothing, that they may have peace in my house; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
15 And they were angry with Lot and came near to break the door, but the angels of God, which were holy men, put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house unto them, and shut the door.

The Body of This Death

Warning: This post is not for the squeamish. I think the word picture contained in this verse is one of the grimmest portrayals regarding the effects of sin in all of Holy Writ. This perspective greatly increased my appreciation for the Atonement

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24

“O wretched man that I am,...” This affecting account is finished more impressively by the groans of the wounded captive. Having long maintained a useless conflict against innumerable hosts and irresistible might, he is at last wounded and taken prisoner; and to render his state more miserable, is not only encompassed by the slaughtered, but chained to a dead body; for there seems to be here an allusion to an ancient custom of certain tyrants, who bound a dead body to a living man, and obliged him to carry it about, till the contagion from the putrid mass took away his life!

Virgil paints this in all its horrors, in the account he gives of the tyrant Mezentius. AEneid, lib. viii. ver. 485.

What tongue can such barbarities record, Or count the slaughters of his ruthless sword? 'Twas not enough the good, the guiltless bled, Still worse, he bound the living to the dead: These, limb to limb, and face to face, he joined; O! monstrous crime, of unexampled kind! Till choked with stench, the lingering wretches lay, And, in the loathed embraces, died away!

Roasting, burning, racking, crucifying, etc., were nothing when compared to this diabolically invented punishment. We may naturally suppose that the cry of such a person would be, “Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this dead body?”

And how well does this apply to the case of the person to whom the apostle refers! A body—a whole mass of sin and corruption, was bound to his soul with chains which he could not break; and the mortal contagion, transfused through his whole nature, was pressing him down to the bitter pains of an eternal death.

He now finds that the law can afford him no deliverance; and he despairs of help from any human being; but while he is emitting his last, or almost expiring groan, the redemption by Christ Jesus is proclaimed to him; and, if the apostle refers to his own case, Ananias unexpectedly accosts him with–“Brother Saul! the Lord Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way, hath sent me unto thee, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” He sees then an open door of hope, and he immediately, though but in the prospect of this deliverance, returns God thanks for the well-grounded hope which he has of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkerom7.htm)