In the midst of everything I have ever blogged about, this seems to be one I would like to consider myself very passionate about. If you were to Google the words “Mosaic Law”, and then browse through the various articles, what you will find is that as with anything, there are some positives and some negatives. But for those of you that follow either my blogs or my “Torah Awakenings” podcast, if you hadn’t already known, you know now that using “Law” to describe what God had given to the Israelites is extremely bland. The word “Law” alone gives off a negative connotation. The Hebrew word translated to “law” in English, is תוֹרָה (Torah)”, which can mean either “teachings” or “instructions”. Although there are some “laws” mixed in with the Torah, it is still better translated as teachings or laws. Contrary to popular belief, there actually is another word used for “laws” but would better be translated as “commands”. The word מִצְווֹת (mitzvot), which is actually the plural form of the word מִצְוָה (mitzvah), is used several time in the O.T., in conjunction with the word Torah, thereby making a distinction between the two words. The Hebrew word מִצְוָה, is translated as “commands”. So you have the word “commands” and “laws” used side by side quite often. An example of this can be found in Genesis 26:5, Deuteronomy 30:10, Joshua 22:5. There are yet two other words found in the Hebrew that also run in conjunction with these two words, but assuming you get the picture, I will not dive into those at this time.
With this is mind, I would like to think that my point has been made clear concerning the usage of words translated from the Hebrew. Whereas in English we generalize these words into one of two words, the Hebrew actually uses a minimum of four different words. In any case, when reading the Bible in the English alone, we get a very misguided picture of what the text is really getting at, and for this reason, we sum it all up to mean “law”, so that when reading the new testament with this same understanding, we totally misunderstand what Paul is getting at. I have said it before and I will say it again, I find it very interesting that those who believe and teach that the “law” is dead, get their teachings from the writings of only one Apostle, out of roughly six other writers of the N.T. It is also interesting that the Apostle Peter, when referring to the Apostle Paul and his teachings, wrote in 2 Peter 3:15-16 that he is difficult to understand, and how those who are “untaught” twist them to their own destruction. So who is Peter referring to when he speaks of the “untaught”? I assure it is not to the Jews, but rather to the Gentiles. And just what exactly does he mean by “untaught”? Untaught in what? Well, by the context of the letter the only thing that Gentiles would be untaught in is Torah. Yes, they have been taught about Messiah, but unless you really understand Torah, your picture of Messiah is seriously limited. Paul was the most educated of the disciples. Paul had learned Torah at the feet of the most profound teachers of his day. Needless to say, it really isn’t hard to imagine him teaching things to people lacking a Torah based foundation and most of it going right over their heads. This had to be the case if Peter felt it necessary to express a concern about it.
In any case, when we read Paul’s letters today, apart from having a Torah based understanding, as well as a degree of understanding of the Hebrew language, it is not a stretch to believe that we can also inadvertently twist his words to our own destruction. Another thing to consider is this, the teachings of the Apostles did not contradict. what do I mean by this? There was no divisions in what they taught, to the extent that one said one thing while another said something completely different. This can be found in Acts 15, when Paul had run into an issue concerning doctrinal teachings. rather than making a decision on his own, he took it to the brethren, who, after a lengthy discussion all came to an agreement, and the result was a letter being sent to the church, showing that they Apostles all were in agreement concerning the outcome of the meeting. If Paul took a doctrinal issue to the Apostles in that case, there is no evidence to indicate that he would not do that a second time if indeed another issue had arisen. My point is this, if the teachings of the Apostles were all of one mind, than how can we assume that Paul would be the only one teaching that Torah is indeed done away with? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1 that we are to follow his as he follows Yeshua. So wait, Yeshua taught all the disciples to follow Torah, and even before ascending, He directed them to teach men all that He taught them, then how can we believe that this same “law” is dead, if indeed they were all instructed to teach it to ALL men? Never mind the fact that Paul denied ALL accusations that he was teaching other to not keep Torah, or even the fact that he defended himself constantly as one to keep the Torah his entire life. Yet we still seem to run with the idea that Torah is done away with. We have a serious contradiction here.
The first thing we have to address is the fact that many of us have no idea what Torah is. To answer this, we need to go back to Egypt, right about the time that God had called Moses. Up until this point, the only thing that Israel knew about their God was that He had made a promise to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would make them into a nation. Apart from that, there is no written record of God speaking to any of them after Jacob had died. Needless to say, the only thing they really connected them to God was the covenant of circumcision. After being in Egypt so long, it really isn’t hard to see them being greatly influenced by the god’s of Egypt. I could even see the customs of the people even being an influence to them as well. A good example of this would be the making of the golden calf at Mt Sinai. Egypt had several gods considered to be “cow gods”, or even having a cow’s head. So the idea that when they wanted an image made, that Aaron had chose a cow, is not far fetched seeing that this was something they would obviously relate to. In any case, they had no idea who their God was nor did they really have their own identity at that time. After the plagues, they were finally released, seeing the strong hand of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Upon settling at Sinai, God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people who He was, and that it was Him who led them out of Egypt. Since they had no idea how to act, or even what God expected from them, He told them that if they would keep His covenant and obey his voice, they would be to Him a treasure, a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. They agreed to the covenant, and even though they broke before even hearing it, God went on and gave it to Moses anyway.
What everyone seems to misunderstand is this, Torah was NOT given to be something that would save you. Instead, it was a code of conduct that God had given that would first and foremost set them apart from the real of the nations. Call them “kingdom principles”, because what we find in them is a kingdom mindset. Speaking of this Torah, David, the king stated that this Torah was perfect, and that it converted the should, and made wise the simple. Within this Torah, we also find discernment, according to King Solomon. Most people think that the Torah stops at the Ten Commandments, but there are actually about 613 “commands” if you wanted to be technical. Now lets address the term “ten commandments”, the Hebrew definition would better be translated as “the ten matters”. Allow me to reiterate one more time, these were given one, because prior to this point, the Israelites had no idea how to act or what God expected out of them since up until this point all they knew were the gods of Egypt, and two, so that they would be “set apart” from the other nations. This Torah would become the identity of Israel, thereby making them a light to the nations. And what does a light do? It draws people. This Torah, when summarized, focuses on two points, according to Yeshua. When asked about the greatest commands, Yeshua replied in Matthew 22, you shall love the lord with all your heart soul and strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So if indeed these two “commands” sum up Torah (which comprises of His teachings, laws, commands and right rulings), can we really assume that “the Law” was abolished? Again, speaking of the “Law”, Yeshua also stated in Matthew 5:18 that until heaven and earth passed away, not one jot or tittle would pass from the Law.
Bottom line, Torah was never intended to save us, else Yeshua would have died in vain. Torah was just a Code of Conduct for how God expected us to act towards Him, and towards one another. The only thing that can save us is Yeshua, and Him alone. Keeping Torah is not to save us, but rather a thing we do because we are saved. We understand that it is a code of conduct, and it is this same code of conduct that we will be judged from. Just like when taking a course of study in school, a teacher gives you the subject matter needed for you to understand before giving you the test as opposed to just testing you without having taught you anything first. To assume that Torah has been done away suggests that we are expecting to pass a test on a subject that we have not been given study material to study from. Would you really want to take a test on a subject you have no knowledge about? And for those who still suggest that Torah, and all things connected to it, has been done away with, without even quoting Yeshua’s last words to the disciples at the end of Matthew, I would instead, go to a messianic prophecy given by the Prophet Micah, (4:1-2), which speaks of “many nations”, (which applies to all nations other than Israel), will come and to the mountain of God, which obviously is Jerusalem, to seek Yah, so that He can teach them “His” ways, so that they can walk in His paths. It concludes with them further acknowledging that Torah (His teachings / instructions), will go forth of Zion (Israel), and from Jerusalem. Again, this is in the future context, and in it, the non Jewish nations are seeking God to learn this Torah that we are so very persuaded is done away with. For those who seriously question Torah, I would seriously suggest that you do an in depth study on all 613 commands. What you will notice is that not all of it is for everyone. In fact, it can be broken into segments. Some refer to the Levitical Priest, some for women, some for men, some for Israel as a nation, some for sacrificial purposes, some for farmers etc. What we need to do is focus on those things that pertain to us, such as how we deal with one another, looking out for the poor, etc. If you were to look at the “Ten Commandments” as a whole that would most certainly apply to all of us, both Jew and Gentile alike because as a whole, it embodies what Yeshua said about loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.
So, as I wrap this up, can keeping Torah save you? No! But then again, that was never the intent from the start. Torah was just a code of conduct that separates us from those who do not know God. When God had given Torah to the Children of Israel, it was the one thing that connected them with God. Keeping Torah is what made them a treasure to Him. It is what identified them as His people. It was and is the bond that connects them in covenant relationship together. So if indeed Torah is all of the above, then what would that make NOT keeping Torah? If indeed Torah was given and accepted to establish a relationship, then can we realistically assume that the abolishing of this same Torah, that was given to establish a relationship with one people, still establish a similar relationship with another people? I’ll let you be the judge of that one.
