So, there’s a chapter in my book where I spoke about obedience and my journey. In that chapter, I said (and I quote), “I realize how overwhelming it may feel to keep all of the commandments; there are 613 in the Old Testament alone and scores of instructions within the New Testament -most of which reinforces the statutes of the Old Testament.’ I go on to say where I came from then go into detail about my obedience journey, starting with three specific stipulations. That part was all well and good, but I realize I misspoke.
Reviewing this portion of my book made me realize that it seems like I’m saying that I tried to follow all of these and that you may have considered following all of these (or try to). I also realize that I never clarified that not all of the 613 commandments applied to the general population. Some of the laws were specifically for Levities, some for women, and some for men. Rereading the section also made me realize that I never mentioned studying the laws for yourself for kicks and giggles (because why not)! I intended to slip in a cool fact about how many statutes were in the Torah and to show that trying to uphold the laws of the Torah was close to impossible (why do you think the Israelites had to make so many sacrifices!?). Despite that, many laws are applicable for this day and age (such as not slandering people or not oppressing others).
In conclusion, I didn’t try to follow all 613 commandments; I struggled with the 10 in Exodus. No, The Most High doesn’t expect you to follow them all either (especially since not all of them apply to you). But yes, study them because it’s interesting and it will help increase your knowledge. Also, I apologize for any confusion or “what the duck” moments I caused you while reading this section. The rest of the book is pretty good if I say so myself; you should check it out!
References
Sowell, E. (2021). Ingredients Of Singleness. Elizabeth Sowell.
Resources
http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/exploring-bible-the-law-and-you.htm
https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=The+Law&t=NET#s=s_primary_0_1
