Understanding the Most High

The Importance of the Torah

This is the greatest story never told, but I know most people don't care about it. Sadly, most folks just don't want to know. But, ever since Genesis 1:1, Yehovah's plan was for a man to choose righteousness and to live with Him forever. Unfortunately, most people who attend church these days don’t really care enough about that to find out the truth. They just want to drop a few coins in the offering box, sing a hymn or two, read a couple verses and have someone tell them what they think it means and then when the clock strikes 12, they’re out of there like a rocket trying to beat the rush to the local Sunday “all you can eat” buffet at the Golden Corral!

Perhaps that’s all because the greatest story never told starts getting a little too real with the giving of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. That’s where the almighty entered into a blood Covenant with his people Israel. It was a covenant they immediately broke and thus incurred the death penalty upon themselves. Thankfully, for them and all of us, Moses intervened. Instead of wiping them out and starting from scratch, the almighty came up with another plan.

He gave Moses the details of how from now on, the Brazen altar was going to be used for sacrifices where the blood of bulls and goats and lambs and rams would be shed week after week, feast after feast, year after year, decade after decade, Jubilee after Jubilee, century after century and millennium after millennium. These blood sacrifices would be a constant never-ending reminder that the wages of sin is death that can't be fully satisfied by the blood of bulls, goats, lambs, rams or any other thing.

To guide us all from that point onward, Yehovah provided us with His Law or Torah. Now in spite of what you may have heard, there is absolutely nothing wrong with God’s Torah. If you think so, that’s probably because it was presented to you by people who either don’t know it and/or never studied it. However, when you actually read the Torah in order to understand God better, you will develop a deeper love and reverence for Him. This is to be a relationship where we become more aligned to His will, not the other way around. God is not a cosmic vending machine offering all of us our best life now.

So, in this essay, I want to introduce you to the Most High through the lens of His Torah. He desires that His children get to know Him and how they should regard Him. This is something that people who disregard His Torah fail to understand. They don't understand that by learning Torah, all of us can come to know more Him better and develop a more fruitful relationship. I want to make sure that those of you who say you love Him, know how to do so in truth, according to what He desires, according to what He has declared and in a way He deserves.

So, let’s start with the basics. Yehovah is The Name of The God of Israel. That is His name. It is not “the Lord,” “the LORD” or just “God!” The “Big G” God is his title. Knowingly or not, most people call him “the Lord” or “God” because they practice the ineffable name Doctrine. That’s the belief here is that God’s real name is so holy that human beings ought dare not to say it aloud. That’s simply not so! The name Yehovah was written by the writers of the Old Testament almost 6,000 times as the “Tetragrammaton” (YHWH) before the translators replaced it with “the Lord” with a capital L or “The LORD” in all caps. I would argue that by using His actual name, we honor his third commandment.

“This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.”

~ Exodus 3:15

“I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Yehovah.”

~ Psalm 116:17

Furthermore, if we are going to understand Yehovah, one thing that should be understood and remembered is that when his law was given to Israel, it was not just a bunch of restrictions on the things that they couldn’t do that he placed on them so he could burden their lives. It's unfortunate that this is how His Torah has been viewed by the masses. Today they speak so heavily against the Torah because it has been taught to them from a mindset of burdens and legalistic restrictions, but this is simply not true.

His law was about teaching His people how he wanted them to stay holy. That word “Holy” is also grossly misunderstood. Many think of it again under the mindset of the things they cannot do or how to be a “goody-two-shoes.” Many of our modern churches and whole denominations teach this to their congregations in legalistic ways, much like the extra-biblical traditions of the Pharisees that “Yeshua” (Jesus real Hebrew name) railed against. It reminds me of an oft used “favorite” line the pastor at a church I used to attend early on used to love to say, “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls that do!”

But the word “Holy,” or “Kodesh” in the Hebrew language, simply means to be set apart, in this case, to be set apart only him. Think of it like how your toothbrush is set apart only to be used by you in your mouth by you and no one else. Granted, There are times when aspects of moral righteousness or Godly devotion are connected to the meaning of the word “holy.” However, on its own, the term holiness does not refer to piety or perfection. If you’ll only take the time to look, you’ll see that it simply means that Yehovah didn’t want his people to worship Him the same way that the pagans worshipped their gods. His way was going to be different and set apart from all the others

As a side (but definitely related) point, I think one of the major reasons why many people today do not understand the problem with the many pagan traditions that have bee added to our “supposedly” Christian holidays, and other things, over the last two millennia is because they don’t understand the simple fact that our “big G” God didn’t want us to worship him in the same way that the pagans worshipped their “little g” gods. He said so in Deuteronomy 12:4 as we’ll see later in this essay!

So, getting back to Torah, here are six basic things from the Torah that every believer should know and understand about Yahweh our Elohim:

The First Thing we should understand is that the Lord our God Yahweh is One! He is not just one of many gods like the Pagan nation’s worshiped. Yahweh is THE ONE and only TRUE GOD and it is him only that we should worship and serve:

“Hear o Yasharel, Yehovah our Elohim, Yehovah is one.”

~ Deuteronomy 6:4

“To you it was shown that you might know that Yehovah himself is Elohim there is none other besides him.”

~ Deuteronomy 4:35

“Now see that I even I am he and there is no Elohim besides me I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal nor is there any who can deliver from my hand.”

~ Deuteronomy 32:39

This is so important to understand because Yehovah does not share worship. Yehovah is one! Now please don’t misunderstand me here, I am NOT denying that Yehovah is a triune God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Rather, I am affirming the well established fact that the three are one! Now how that all works is a mystery that would make our heads explode and has perplexed theologians for centuries so don’t ask me to go there. For now, We’ll just play it safe and accept that as it is. There is but one God and His name is Yehovah!

The Second thing to understand is love. He desires that we love Him. He created us and He created this world we live on that provides for our every need specifically for us. For that alone He deserves that we love him. The problem is that in this world, that word “love” is too easily thrown around, but not always understood. In regards to our father, He says:

“You shall love Yehovah your Elohim with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength.”

~ Deuteronomy 6:5

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;”

~ Deuteronomy 7:9

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”

~ Deuteronomy 10:12

So, if you worship him and say you love him, this is what he's looking for. He doesn't want that “sometime” love where you only love him when things are going good for you. He doesn't want that half love that you might give your boyfriend or your girlfriend. He wants you to love him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and that He promised that He will keep His Covenant with those who keep His Commandments. This is our relationship with Him. Even better still, He keeps His covenant even if or when His people don’t. Yes, He chastises those He loves when they disobey just like any good Father would. Remember, He also promised to eventually restore Israel to the land He promised them and to save them. Don't ever forget this!

Thirdly, the love we have for Him should be done with reverence. To revere someone is to feel deep respect or admiration for them. Therefore, we should never profane, blaspheme, or swear falsely by His name. He commands:

“You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,”

Leviticus 22:32

“And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

~ Leviticus 18:21.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

~ Exodus 20:7

Now this is something to think about. If we do take His name in vain, that whole “not being held guiltless” thingy written there sounds like some pretty serious stuff. I mean, reading the Ten Commandments we see that even murder and adultery can be forgiven but, if you abuse the name of God, you could end up in deep kimchee! Taking this topic a bit further, in reference to “swearing falsely by his name” he commands:

“And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

~ Leviticus 19:12

See here's the reason why I don’t get all bent out of shape when people swear to “god” or they take some oath to god or whatnot, it's because they’re NOT invoking His Holy Name. His name is NOT God, even when it’s with a capital “G.” That’s who He is so please know that taking His name in vain refers more to those who do things in the name of God far more than it has anything to do with saying the word “god” in conjunction with some other ill chosen words spoken in anger or haste. So, word to the wise, if you claim to be someone who represent’s God, you darn well better be sure that you do it correctly!

Fourthly, we must guard His commands. Something very important that we must do that people seem to not understand is that we must guard, or better stated, “Keep” his commands.

“You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers,”

~ Deuteronomy 6:17-18

As you read the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, you will see that this requirement is continuously stressed and I should note that following him is not a one-sided deal. There is some give and take as it also comes with blessings. listen as he commands.

“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

~ Exodus 15:26

“You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”

~ Leviticus 18:4-5

“You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you”

~ Leviticus 18:

“and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.”

~ Numbers 15:40

I can keep going on and on. This command is repeated over and over. You see it's highly important to Him. You can see how much He emphasized this. If He chastised Israel for disobedience, who are we to think we’ll get to walk away scot-free? So, now that you know this, if you were one of those folks who was influenced by those teachers who told you that you no longer needed to care about his commandments and you actually followed and believed that doctrine, maybe now you can see the need for some serious repentance.

We are to “guard” (keep) his commands. This is what He requires of those who claim to love and respect His word. Now while we also guard and keep His commands we are also required to respect His word by not adding to or taking away from it. I alluded to this before when I talked about what got the Pharisees in trouble with Yeshua.

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

~ Deuteronomy 4:2

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

~ Deuteronomy 12:32

You see, if we really had this understanding of His Torah, then people would likely never try to add all these different traditions and doctrines to His word or play with pagan traditions like they do adding them with holidays like Christmas or Easter. They shouldn’t be added in because He didn't command it! It is important to understand our relationship with him and that we cannot just add or subtract practices to our worship.

Fifthly, it’s important to understand is we are not to tempt Yehovah!

“You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.”

~ Deuteronomy 6:16

That passage comes from when the children of Israel complained to Moses when they had no water and claimed that He brought them out of Egypt to kill them in Exodus 17:1-7. Simply put, temping Yahweh shows a lack of love, a lack of reverence and a lack of faith and trust! Unfortunately, this is how many people act with Yahweh. Like I said, to be His, you must be holy or set apart to Him.

“For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

~ Leviticus 11:45

“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.”

~ Leviticus 20:7

“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”

~ Leviticus

Yehovah is holy, He is set apart or “kodesh” (in Hebrew) and therefore He requires those who follow Him to be holy as well. This means that we cannot just do what we want to do. We can't just worship Him any old way way we want to because we’ve seen other people worship like that. We cannot deal with Him any which way that we want to just because we've seen others do it another way. Yehovah is holy, set apart and therefore those who love Him and are in Covenant with Him must be exactly the same. He is Holy so we must be as well!

And for those who would say that this only applies to the Jews, let me just say that’s simply NOT true. While it is true that they are physical Israel, the whole concept of being holy or set apart is universally applied to anyone who follows “The Way” as the earliest Christians called their practice of the faith. This includes those who call themselves Christians today who are spiritual Israel! This is very important to remember, we have not replaced the Jews, we have been grafted in to them.

“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.”

~ Romans 11:1-2

“You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?”

~ Romans 11:19-24

In short, do not despise or hate the Jews because it was through them that salvation came to all! If anything, we should bless them and be praying for them to see their error and that they be grafted back in and that we become one with them. Further, in his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul wrote this regarding the New Testament Saints being spiritual Israel:

“And those who will walk by his rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of Yehovah.”

~ Galatians 6:15

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

~ Romans 8:13-14

“Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”

~ Romans 9:24

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

~ Galatians 3:26-29

The Sixth and final thing I will mention in this essay in regards to Yehovah is that we must obey the messenger he sent!

“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries..”

~ Exodus 23: 20-22

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their Brethren and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him and it shall be that whoever will not hear my words which he speaks in my name I will require it of him.”

~ Deuteronomy chapter 18:18-19

Of course, the “angel or prophet” being spoken of here is Yeshua! Therefore, as we have Messiah, Yeshua, we must obey his voice and follow him too. We must obey and follow the “angel” (messenger) Yehovah sends us because Yehovah Is One and He does not share his glory or worship with anyone. Yehovah sent Himself to us in the form of Yeshua so therefore we must love and revere Him with all our heart soul and strength. We must not profane blaspheme or falsely swear by His name. We must guard His commands. We must not add or take away anything from His word and we must not tempt Him. We must be holy because he is Holy!

I think that it can be argued that one can not “properly” understand the Most High without knowing his Torah. When you really think about it, sadly, it becomes abundantly clear why there are so many people out there that do not truly know Him. They do not know Him because they don't know His Torah. They disregard it, they avoid it, but it's very clear that if you read it that you will know Him and understand Him and that is why His Torah is so amazing.

The beginning of understanding both Yehovah and Yeshua is through the Torah. If you want to understand Him or teach your children about Him, or teach anyone you may be discipling about Him, this is the beginning foundational understanding. This is according to His Torah and this is wonderful. As you go through it, you’ll discover that it really isn’t legalistic, it’s not harmful, nor is it a burden. His Torah is a message of love and understanding. He has communicated who he is to His children and they recorded it so that the generations that followed after them would know Him and love Him too. The only question that remains is, will we be good children and obey?