I have engaged many a people within the church on the topic of Torah and it’s relevance, and for the most part, was not surprised at the views of nine out of ten who stand firm on the argument that it was allegedly ended at the cross. Out of the ten, one, would go so far as to say that it was solely for the Jews alone and not the Christian. What I have found is that in talking to many people within the church community, a majority of them are completely unaware of what Torah really is, let alone the purpose it was given. As I stated earlier, many of them are quick to point out that it was given for the Jews alone, and to a degree, they are right, it actually was given to the Jews alone, however the reason it was given to them alone is totally oblivious to them. So, before we go any further, allow to clear this up. When speaking of Torah, the feast days, dietary laws and Sabbaths, the Tanakh (Old Testament) makes it blatantly clear that all of the above are YHVH’s (The LORD’s), and NOT the Jews. We simply must get this erroneous theology out of our minds.
Before we can even address this, we need to first understand just why YHVH felt the need to give this “Torah” to the Children of Israel. As we have discussed in other blog’s, prior to the fall of man, there was no sin. Man was perfect, and as such, was able to dwell with YHVH in perfect union. Genesis describes how the Spirit of YHVH walked in the Garden in the cool of the day. The very presence of YHVH dwelt in the Garden with Adam and Eve, and it was not until the fall of man that this relationship changed. Within a few hundred years, man was absolutley corrupted, in every sense of the word. According to Genesis 6, mankind had gotten so bad, that YHVH regretted that he ever created them. The Scripture further states that in the midst of everyone from that generation, that only Noah and his immediate family were even worth saving. And from these eight people, YHVH would allow creation to begin again. However, the issue of sin was still unchecked, thereby making it impossible for YHVH to dwell with His creation the way He desired. Something needed to be done. The problem of sin got progressively worse, even with those who came through Noah and his sons. There was no nation on earth fit for YHVH to use to redeem His creation. All seemed lost. But, was it really?
YHVH found a man named Abram, a man in whom He would choose to create a nation from. The first step was to remove him from his family, and into a place where all he had to rely on was YHVH. Abram found favor with YHVH, and this resulted in a covenant being cut between them. YHVH told Abram that He would make him a father of many nations. At this time, Abram had no kids, but YHVH assured him that a great nation would be birthed from his loins. Although Abram never saw this promise come to fruition, he yet trusted YHVH, that He would do what He had promised. It took four hundred years to fulfill, but just as sure as YHVH is God, He kept His promise. At the appointed time, YHVH raised up Moses, and used him to deliver His people out of the house of bondage. Israel had been in Egypt for four hundred years. During this time, there were no prophets, or anyone for that matter who brought the word of God to the people. They were aware of Abram, and no doubt the promises that YHVH had made to him, yet, none knew Him as God. With this in mind, it would safe to assume that Israel would most likely have been influence by the pagan gods of Egypt. If this indeed be the case, then in which way would Israel be any different from the other nations of the world? Outside of being a descendant of Abraham, the one whom YHVH made the covenant with, what else about them would make a distinction between them and the nations?
If the nation that YHVH created through Abraham acted the same as the other nations, then what purpose would it serve to create a whole new nation, and then they have the same issue as the others? Looking at it from this perspective, does this make sense? Something needed to be done. Furthermore, to this point, the only one who even had an idea who YHVH was, was Moses. The rest of the people were oblivious. The first thing that YHVH did was to make in introduction to them. At this point, He obviously had their undivided attention, seeing as He had done so many miracles in Egypt, thereby proving that there was no other God other than He. He then made it clear to them, what exactly He expected from them, if indeed they were to be His people. He made a covenant with them, one in which they gladly accepted. As He gave them His Torah (teachings or instructions), commands and laws, He let them know that in doing so, they would ultimately be a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These teachings, instructions, laws, and statutes were unlike any that any other nation had, It was these statutes that set them apart from the rest of the nations. These teachings, when closely examined were two-fold. They focused on how we relate to YHVH, as God, and to our fellow man. In Deuteronomy 4:5-8, it reads “See, I have taught you Laws and Right Rulings, as YHVH my God commanded me, to do thus in the land which you to go possess. And you shall guard and do them, for this is your wisdom and understanding before the eyes of the peoples who hear all these Laws, and they shall say, Only a wise and understanding people is this great nation! For what great nation is there which has God so near to it, as YHVH our God is to us, whenever we call on Him? And what great nation is there that has such Laws and righteous Right Rulings like all this Torah which I put before you this day?”
This passage is mind blowing. Read it one more time, and let it sink in. These teachings were to set Israel apart from the nations, and to cause the nations to take note of this perfect system of justice that they walked in. How many nations are there that can say their system of govenrment was “God-established”? Yet we as the church look down on them as if they were as flawed as our own man made laws. By misunderstanding the writings of Paul, it becomes easy to see how we have come to this conclusion, when in reality, Paul, as a Jew, never, on any level considered the Torah of YHVH as flawed, misdirected, cruel or tyrannical. When studying the writings of Paul, we simply must learn to understand who he was, his passions, and his background. According to his own description of himself, he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, (when he spoke on being a Pharisee, he spoke it in the present tense, not the past tense), and he continued to believe in the teachings of his fathers. What were the teachings of his father’s? Torah! Again, what exactly was Torah? Torah, in it’s entirety was YHVH’s perfect system of justice, encompassing how we relate to our God and our fellow man. According to Yeshua, when asked about the greatest of “commands”, His reply was simple, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. He further stated that on these two commands hang ALL the Law and ALL the Prophets. We need to re-evaluate how we see this Torah.
We also need to understand the strength of Torah. The Torah, (first five books of the Bible) is an “authoritative” writing. Within this Torah, we find the will of YHVH for His people, and His expectations for anyone who will serve Him. Do we have to keep Torah? Absolutely not! Wait, what? No? No, we don’t. For that matter, Israel didn’t have to either. YHVH never forced Torah on anyone. But it’s the application of Torah, that connects us to this Holy God, in that it outlines for us what it takes to walk in perfect harmony with Him. When speaking to Moses, He told him, tell the people, “IF”, they would guard my covenant, and keep my words, they will be a kingdom of priest and a holy nation to Him. By implication, failure to keep Torah denies us from being a holy, (set apart) nation to Him. They had a choice. However, after seeing the works of YHVH in Egypt, how could they but accept His covenant? There has never in history, been a God who has done the things that He has done. Needless to say, they accepted the covenant, thereby becoming the chosen people of YHVH. It was this same Torah that set them apart from the nations. No other nation had a system in place as perfect and just as this. It was this Torah that gave the people of Israel their identity, not just a “religion”. This identity made Israel a light to the nations. And what does a light do? It shows the way for those who cannot see. It draws people close. Ultimately, we find in Torah, that if it is our desire to please YHVH, or if one desires to know His will, it is found in the keeping of Torah. A good example of this would be Yeshua, at the Jordan. John had baptized Him, and upon completion, the voice of God was heard saying, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am WELL pleased”. And just why was it that YHVH was pleased? Was just because He was His Son? Partially. He was pleased because Yeshua always did those things that pleased Him. And what pleases Him? Doing His will. Numerous times, Yeshua stated that He ALWAYS did those things that pleased Him. So, if Yeshua’s keeping Torah pleased the Father, and He was our example, then if we also kept Torah, we would please the Father as well. So, keeping Torah pleases the Father, but it does NOT save us.
But I thought Torah ended at the cross? The problem with this teaching is that number one, Yeshua, when accused of violating Torah, firmly denied this. He went on to say that He came to fulfill Torah. This is where the disconnect comes in. In our western way of understanding this word, rather than looking into how this phrase might have been understood then, we look at it as how we would understand it today. For us today, fulfill could be taken as the completion of an expectation, however, in the Jewish mindset, it is more like walking something out, or to demonstrate something in its completeness. Yeshua came to show us what walking in Torah looked like. He was our example, and everything He did, we were to emulate. He went on to say that heaven and earth will pass away before one jot or tittle would pass from the Torah. Secondly, Moses made it clear that anyone who taught contrary to Torah, or taught people to depart from it were to be considered false prophets. Had Yeshua taught contrary to Torah, He would have never been accepted by anyone. Again, bare in mind, Torah is authoritative, and nothing over rides it. Also, in John 10:34-36, Yeshua, while speaking to the people, pointed out that the Torah CANNOT be broken. If indeed it cannot be broken, and Yeshua, and the Apostles both walked in Torah throughout there lives, how can we assert that it is done away with, or only applies to the Jews?
For that matter, for those who still insist that Torah no longer applies, or applies ONLY to the Jews, I would like to direct your attention to Acts 15, also known as the Jerusalem Council. Without getting into the whole story, plus, you can read it for yourselves, while discussing the gentile believers, and what they should be required to do, the Apostle James stated four things in which they should abstain from. These four things were things common to gentiles, and would keep them from being accepted in the synagogues. In order to get them into the synagogue, they would need to give these four things up. Upon giving them up, they would be allowed to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath, along with both the believing and non believing Jews. James goes on to state how in every city, there is a synagogue where Moses is taught on Sabbath. This last verse, often omitted when churches speak on this topic, implies two things, that they would be in synagogue on the Sabbath with the other Jews, both believing and non-believing, and that they would be taught Torah alongside the others. If indeed they are in the synagogue with the Jews weekly, then they would learn Torah, since this is what was being taught weekly, and even begin to apply it, as they observe the others doing the same. So, if Torah were done away with, or not for Gentiles, why then is the Apostle James trying to get them fit for going to synagogue on Sabbath, to learn about something that is irrelevant to them as non-Jews? These are the questions that need to be asked, but aren’t.
Another interesting point can be found in the writings of the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah addresses the “new covenant”, and how YHVH said that He would “put His Torah within them, and write it on their hearts. He would be their God, and they would be His people”. What’s interesting about this is that first of all, just as the first covenant was exclusive to the Jews, so is the second. The first time around, He wrote His Torah on tablets of stone, whereas in the latter times, it would be written on their hearts, and put within them. From this, we see that YHVH is now helping them, making it possible to keep His Torah, despite the fact that we as the church are so sure that it was done away with at the cross. What sense would it make to impose Torah on them, only to end it later, and then again impose it again? Apparently, we are the only ones that got this memo, because YHVH, Yeshua, the Apostles and the people of Israel sure didn’t get it. So, what’s my point? Torah simply cannot be broken, any more than His covenant can be. If we assert that His covenant can be broken, we should fear, because what assurance do we have that He would not break the next covenant? So what of us as Gentiles? What does this mean? Well, as I stated before, we are NOT obligated to keep Torah, however, what we find in Torah is what it is to please YHVH. Again, we are NOT obligated, but this does not give us reason to take it light either. W must understand that Yeshua gave us the Comforter, to help us. Help us what? Go to heaven? Um, no! Help us to walk in His word, with the assurance that if we fall short, we can get up and try again. Torah observance is the fruit of our salvation. And the Holy Spirit within us, allows YHVH to see His Son in us, while we walk this out. In this way, we too, can please the Father. It is through walking in Torah, that we to, like the Jews, are set apart from the world. It is also what connects us to God, as He told Israel, guard My words and keep My covenants and you will be a Holy Nation and a Kingdom of Priests to Me.
Many of the Messianic prophecies allude to the continuance of Torah as well. Isaiah mentions the coming together of ALL flesh to worship before YHVH on the “New Moon” and “The Sabbath”, both of which or commanded in Torah. So despite the fact that we as the church are hell bent on Sunday being the new sabbath, we see YHVH is still referring to the seventh day Sabbath. and then there is the fact that Torah cannot be broken, according to Yeshua. Sukkot, another one of the Holy Days, (of YHVH, not the Jews), is also referenced in the Messianic Kingdom. The Prophet Zechariah (14:16-17), states that of those remaining, from the nations that attacked Jerusalem, will, (WILL, not should), go up yearly to worship the KING, and keep the festival of Sukkot. This does NOT sound like an option, and for those who would dare say it is, if you continue reading, you will see the attitude of Yeshua towards those who would refuse to come. Well, on the other hand, maybe it is an option. You can choose to not come observe this Holy Day, BUT, refusal to comply comes with stiff punishment. It appears that Sukkot, one of YHVH’s Holy Days, has always been relevant, however, those who did not present themselves did so out of ignorance, not blatant disobedience. Another interesting thing to note is this, this Holy Day is the third of three known as pilgrimage feasts. According to Leviticus 23, there are three annual feasts in which all males are required to come to the Temple, which is in Jerusalem. People from all over the world traveled to make these feasts, in accordance to the word. I could go on and on, but at this point, if you still are in dount, nothing more I could say would change it. To sum it all up, you do have a choice, as with all things, however, having a choice does not justify making the wrong choice. Clearly, the will of God is found in His Torah. No, it does NOT save you, but it does align you with His will.
