Understanding Torah

To Keep or Not To Keep Torah

One thing that you should notice as you read the Bible is that God always pleaded with His children to come back to His laws, His statutes and commandments and serve Him. The whole reason for Israel's chastisement was because of their rebellion and disobedience. They ignored Yahweh's ways to follow the other nations. They forsook Him and His ways. They rejected Him and His Covenant. They tried to be like the other nations and they lived lawlessly! And they paid a heavy price for this.

Today as we review our modern world and modern religion, and suffice it to say that modern Christianity, as it is taught and practiced today is a religion that teaches those that follow it to be exactly like what Israel was chastised for! Many modern Christians are taught what is arguably a lawless faith where they can still be saved while living exactly how they want to. As long as you took a tearful trip down the sawdust trail at a revival meeting and recited a sinners prayer, forget that you didn’t really repent of your wicked ways, you got a “Get Out of Hell Free” card redeemable at the Pearly Gates.

But, if you read His word, He never said such a thing. He always pleaded with Israel to come back to Him. He pleaded with them to turn back to His Torah and to serve Him. The simple undeniable fact of the matter is this, our Messiah said that if you love Him, you will keep His commandments (John 14:15-31).

So if that’s true, and it is, I think that means His Torah needs more understanding! Why? Because in modern Christianity, many are taught to abhor His law and to disregard it. We are told that we can't keep it so don't focus on it. We are told that it's a burden. We're told many different things about it but it should be understood that the last thing Satan wants is for people to align themselves with Yahweh's Torah and His ways. Satan promotes a lawless Faith!

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

~ Aleister Crowley (Satanist)

It’s important here to note that the Pharisees were not rejected by Yehovah, as some claim, because they trusted in His Torah for salvation. They were rejected by Yehovah because they followed the manmade traditions that they added to the Torah and then made the children of Israel to do the same. They elevated their traditions to the status of commandments. That’s a violation of Deuteronomy 4:2 that says no one can add or subtract from any of His commands. They only followed the Torah to show anyone who saw them how righteous they wanted everyone to believe they were. Their actions were all superficial and for show. It had nothing to do with their love for God. It was because of their love for themselves!

True worship is really all about a love relationship with God and the more you understand His Torah, the more you understand Him and His love for us. For example, when it comes to Torah, there’s the great debate over clean versus unclean foods. People love to debate that fact and say they can eat whatever they want. But, what’s missing from this debate is why he gave us these laws and commands in the first place. The simple answer is yes, you can eat what you want! But, that doesn't mean that all food is good for you. Because the Father loves us, he want’s to protect us.

For example, bottom feeders and scavengers are an important element in ecosystems. They’re like natures garbage men. They consume all the waste and dispose of the dead. Pigs eat their own filth and are used to dispose of human waste in many cultures. But the waste they consume also contains many toxic bacterial and chemical residues that get into their meat that aren’t healthy for us. Put simply, Hostess Twinkies are very tasty, but a diet consisting of only Hostess snacks isn’t very healthy. The fact is, following the law protects you. You will live a more healthy life if you at least attempt to follow Torah!

Now before anyone starts putting words in my mouth, please let me be very clear about this too, following the Torah does not bring Salvation! Further, following the law to the letter, or even to the best of your ability, doesn’t keep you out of sin or away from danger. The reason why he commanded His children to live certain ways is so we can understand Him and understand how to better align ourselves to His will. There is nothing wrong with His law and in a time where lawlessness and evil abound, His law is probably one of the safest things one can cling to as we transact with this world.

Now according to Jewish tradition, there are 613 Mitzvot, or laws, in the Torah that were written and these must be strictly kept in the same way one would keep the Ten Commandments. That high number is used by some in an attempt to prove that we cannot keep all the laws as well as highlight the need for forgiveness through Messiah. Some go further and claim that these laws are a burden. Please know that the people that use this defense have probably never actually read these laws themselves let alone studied them.

While it’s true that we need redemption through Yeshua “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), the simple truth is that even Yeshua kept the Torah. But, it’s a safe bet that he did not keep all 613 laws. Why I say that is because many of these commands given in the Torah are specific as to whom they pertain as well as the specific circumstances to which they are applied. For example, a large number of the laws are specifically for the priests alone. Some are just for men, some are for women, some are for animals or the owners of animals, etc., and the 40% or so that remains actually apply to everyone who, listen to this carefully, considers themselves part of Israel or live in the land.

Remember, Yeshua said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” that's Matthew chapter 5:17-18. Now one can probably make a good argument that Yeshua fulfilled the law at His first coming. But, has heaven and earth passed away? No! So, simple logic tells us that His law has not gone away, at least not yet. At a minimum, if you’re not sure, don’t take any chances.

If this is confusing to you, I understand that. So, to eliminate any unnecessary confusion, I think it’s important for us to consider how the early church dealt with the new Greek converts. We read about this in Acts chapter 15. Here, there were certain men who came in to the gentile believers and told them that unless they were circumcised according to the custom of Moses, they weren’t saved. Now Paul and Barnabas disputed that and so they decided to take this matter up with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. After much prayer and debate and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit they answered this back to them in a letter that is included in our scriptures:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,

To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Greetings.

Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Farewell.

So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

This section of scripture teaches us that the Torah was not about placing any untoward burdens upon gentiles or anyone for that matter. Rather, it was to help them understand Yahweh better and understand why he has commanded His people, Israel, in certain ways.

And notice this, including the restriction on blood and things strangled, the only restrictions that the apostles and elders placed on the gentile converts are very basic and one could argue are related to the most basic of the commandments, the two Greatest Commandments, that we should first and foremost: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

~ Matthew 22:37-40.

So, as for the matter of blood and things strangled, let me clarify. The consumption of blood is strictly forbidden according to Leviticus 17:13-14 and strangulated meat would likely contain coagulated blood. Even today, some butchers will kill birds by wringing their necks, a practice that some say goes back to ancient times. Some commentaries say that these restrictions were concessions to maintain unity among the gentile and Jewish believers so that Jewish Christians who still follow the Torah can fellowship with and feel comfortable around their gentile brothers and sisters.

For the Gentile believers wanting to have fellowship with their Jewish brethren, the act of not serving your Jewish guests blood or meat that was strangled is, loving your neighbor as yourself! It’s the same thing as one should do when inviting a Messianic Jewish family to your home for dinner in modern times. Here’s a hint, serve them something other than blood sausage or pork chops and maybe out of courtesy you should go and get something that’s Kosher.

Related, is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are a clarification on the Two Greatest Commandments. For example, Commandments 1 through 4 teach us how to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Then, in Commandments 5 through 10, they teach us how to love our neighbor as ourself. Here they are in full as dictated by Yahweh himself to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai.

Ten Commandments

Amplified Bible Classic Edition (Exodus 20:2-17)

I.

Exodus 20:1-3

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

II

Exodus 20:V 4-6

You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

III

Exodus 20:V 7

You shall not use or repeat the name of the “Lord your God” (Yahweh your Elohim) in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for “the Lord” (YHWH, Yahweh or Yehovah) will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

IV

Exodus 20:V8-11

[Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes].

V

Exodus 20:12

Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.

VI

Exodus 20:13

You shall not commit murder.

VII

Exodus 20:14

You shall not commit adultery.

VIII

Exodus 20:15

You shall not steal.

IX

Exodus 20:16

You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor.

X

Exodus 20:17

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

So why did God give the children of Israel 613 Mitzvot in addition to the two Greatest Commandments and the original Ten Commandments? Well, first of all, He knew from experience that we couldn’t even keep the one commandment he gave us in the garden not to eat of the forbidden fruit. He also knew that sick, depraved and twisted fallen man would come up with at least 613 excuses or “what if’s” to try and circumvent them. Yeah, we’re kinda messed up that way.

The sad thing about that is many, if not most, of the Mitzvot are no brainers. They include commands like, not to bear a grudge, not to take revenge, not to afflict an orphan or widow, etc! Granted, some of them are even a little weird but, remember that they were probably given for some specific person, place, time or event and don’t apply to everyone, everywhere all the time. Now if you want to examine each of them further, here’s a site that categorizes them and provides links to the appropriate scripture references for further study from Judaism 101 (LINK).

So with that knowledge in our tool box, what should we as gentile followers of “The Way,” what early Christianity was called, be doing about it? Well, first and foremost, you ought to understand that these “laws” are NOT really all that burdensome. Next, you ought to study them. Right away, you’ll notice some of those Mitzvot no longer apply so they can be eliminated from your to do list. For example, there are no more Amalekites to worry about anymore. People like the Amalekites? Well, that’s another story and something you probably ought to take to Yehovah in prayer but, keep in mind, they aren’t Amalekites, okay!

Next, I think it would be a good idea to look at the Mitzvot in regards to our own daily walk and see if there is anything that maybe we could be doing a little differently, or better, in regards to our personal “walk” or “witness!” For example, we all know that there’s an awful lot of legalism today regarding personal behavior today in our modern Christian “institutional” churches that is not at all unlike the extra-biblical laws the Pharisees burdened their Jewish brethren with back at Yeshua’s first coming. So, if it ain’t Torah, stop fretting over it.

Another area that I think that Christians really ought to take a very serious look at is in regards to Torah is the Feast’s of the Lord and compare them to our modern “Christian” holiday traditions. For instance, it can be argued that many of our Easter and Christmas traditions are pagan in their origin. Do we really want to worship the Most High the way the pagans worshiped their false gods? Why is that even important you might ask? Well, in light of the Commandment in Deuteronomy 12:4 not to worship Yahweh the way the heathen worshiped their gods, I think we may want to reconsider.

Remember, if you love Him, keep His commandments (John 14:15-31).

Just saying. . .

Happy studies.