UNDERSTANDING THE TORAH – GOD’S ETERNAL ROYAL LAW

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5.17-20

The next few blogs will center on YHVH’s law, the Torah. Many Christian’s like to say, “We are not under the law” but do not understand what that really means.

First, here are some scriptural examples of how this term is used:

“They should collect all the food of the good years that are coming and store up the grain under (tachath) the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food” (Genesis 41:35).

“Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and shall say to her, “If no man had aid with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness, being under (tachath) the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that carries a curse” (Numbers 5:19).

To be “under” something means to derive authority from it. So, if we were “under the Torah/Law” that would mean we derive authority from Torah. This is never taught in the Bible. All the requirements in the Torah are YHVH’s requirements, they are from YHVH—not the Torah.

We are not justified by Torah standards. Look what Jeremiah says:

“The days are coming,” declares YHWH, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh. Egypt, Judah, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart” (Jeremiah 9:25-26).

Clearly circumcision never justified those people. Jeremiah’s insight is the same as Acts 15. It is not the physical act of circumcision that justifies—it is the spiritual condition of the heart!

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the acknowledgment of Elohim rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).

Abraham was justified because he believed YHVH. He heard and understood the Word/Law of YHVH and he showed that understanding by following the instructions. Works without faith shows a lack of understanding the Torah and faith without works is DEAD.

Y’shua rebuked the Pharisees on this issue. He did not want the Pharisees to boast or glory in their practice of RITUALS or genealogy/lineage. He wanted them to truly turn their hearts towards YHVH and admit their sins. They thought they were justified by being under the ritual of the law. The Torah, in fact, points our sinful nature.

 “For all who have sinned without the Torah will also perish without the Torah, and all who have sinned under (tachyt) the Torah, will be judged by the Torah” (Romans 2:12).

There it is! The Torah points out our SINFUL nature. It sets a standard of proper conduct for those who are disciples of Y'shua. Do a study on the fruits of the spirit. They are the result of loving YHVH and following His commands/Torah!

"Do we then nullify the Torah through faith? Not at all! Rather, we establish the Torah" Romans 3.31

Paul then shows us his zeal to preach the Gospel to all:

“To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under (tachyt) the Torah, as under the Torah though not being myself under (tachyt) the Torah, so that I might win those who are under (tachyt) the Torah, to those who are without Torah, as without Torah, though not being without the Torah of Elohim, but in the instruction of Mashiyach, so that I might win those who are without the Torah” (1 Corinthians 9:20-21).

So we see that we obey YHVH’s commandments because we love Him—not as a ritualistic exercise. We are not “under” the ritual performance of the law. Ritual does not clear sin.  We obey because we love Him:

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments/Torah: and his commandments are not grievous.  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5.3-5

The Torah, the law of YHVH, is our code of conduct. We conduct ourselves as emissarys of the King! It is not ritual. It is how we conduct ourselves.

So Paul is saying, “Do you want to be under the ritual of the Torah or do you want to listen to it and conduct yourselves as YHVH’s set apart people?” We have this verse proving once again that the Torah itself is not the problem:

“Tell me, you who want to be under the Torah, do you listen to the Torah?” (Galatians 4:21)

What Paul is saying is: Do you want to be under the ritual of Torah? Are you really listening to Torah? If you listen to Torah you will conduct yourself as a true servant of YHVH—are you listening?

To help you out below is a list of the categories of the 613 commands of Torah:

List of the categories 613 Commandments:

G-d Torah Signs & Symbols Prayer & Blessings Love & Brotherhood The Poor Gentiles Family Forbidden Sex Times Dietary Laws Business Practices Employees Vows Sabbatical & Jubilee Court Injuries & Damages Property Criminal Laws Punishment & Restitution Prophecy Idolatry Agriculture Clothing The Firstborn Priests & Levites Tithes & Taxes The Temple Sacrifices & Offerings Ritual Purity Leprosy The King Nazarites Wars http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

Please note how they are all very common sense commands of CONDUCT. Every work place, home, game, household has rules of conduct. That is what the Torah is. You don’t want to be under ritual.

The Pharisee’s of Y’shua’s time ADDED rules to the Torah—they tried to build a fence around Torah so that it would be harder to break it. It became ritualistic.

Even today Hasidic Jewish people are very ritualistic in their attempts to be righteous “under” the law. It isn’t designed to be that way but over time this is how it became. Y’shua called it, “The traditions of men”. That was the fence Pharisee’s had put around it. This is what Y'shua was railing about. The Pharisee's were putting heavy burdens on the people that even they weren't following.

Below are some categories and number of laws that Y'shua fulfills because there is no temple anymore. We do not need a temple because YHVH is bigger than any temple and He does not dwell in a temple. Y’shua is our temple and master.

Kohanim and Levites – 29

The Temple, the Sanctuary and Sacred Objects – 32

Sacrifices and Offerings – 101

Ritual Purity and Impurity – 15

Lepers and Leprosy – 4

Nazarites – 10

Read the epistles of Paul carefully. Because the church became a “Gentile Church” after the death of the Apostles anything “Jewish” was expunged. We are not justified by keeping Torah. We are justified by our faith in the completed work of Y’shua on the cross.

BUT…we had better learn how to conduct ourselves as His representatives. Because of lack of knowledge we are destroyed (Hosea 4.6). If you do not understand your code of conduct (Torah) how do you know how to conduct yourself? We do not have license to sin!