THE TORAH IS NOT LAW
Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA
Teaching Elder of Adot Adonai
Attorney and Counselor at Law
(Part 2 of 2)
That imaginary scenario precisely illustrates the situation in which we find ourselves today. As Messianic believers who want to be faithful and true to the First Covenant Scriptures as originally revealed and as written in the original Hebrew language, we are in a battle for the minds of believers.
In this battle we must not use terminology that is erroneous and incorrectly portrays the very nature and character of Abba our loving heavenly Father and which also perverts the truth of what he would have us do in obedience to him.
We must not use the erroneous term "law" but should use Torah or instructions whenever possible. That is why I carefully and consistently avoid the use of the erroneous term "law" in my teachings and writings. Torah is not the "law!" So please don't call Torah what it is not! Try to faithfully talk about the instructions of Abba. He lovingly asks and reasonably expects his children to be obedient to the things that he asks them to do which he called Torah -- instructions.
Yeshua and Rav Sha'ul on TorahIt is difficult for the average Christian to project themselves back some two thousand years in history into a cultural condition and mentality totally foreign to that of the Western world today. That is exactly, however, what we must do to gain proper perspective on the Torah.
The context is Jewish. The language is Hebrew. Yeshua and Rav Sha'ul were both Jewish, spoke Hebrew, and their perspective on Torah is deeply rooted in the Hebrew thought of their day which recognized two Torahs, the written and the oral. The Hebrew mind was realistic but simple. Their's was a God not thought out. They took him for what he said he was and neither tried to explain nor understand. That much was a mystery posed no problems. Questions could remain unanswered, things unknown. They only needed to know one thing: God is and he is one; great, wonderful, powerful, all-encompassing producing wonder and awe.
The Greek mind had to reason everything out. The Greek mind was idealistic. They saw the world as it was, then tried to fashion it into what they thought it ought to be. Western thought today is derived from the Greek mind and the Hebrew mind has effectively been eliminated from our thought processes. To understand Torah we must return to the Hebrew mind and Hebrew thought.
Speaking to the household of Israel, Yeshua said,
"Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah." (Mattityahu 5:17-18 JNT)The word Torah was not understood in a negative sense by Yeshua. In his view, the Torah revealed God's will. It was good and holy. It was eternal and would not change so long as heaven and earth existed. The Hebrew Bible taught Abba's love for all people, and provided a guide for daily life. Hence, the major issue Y'shua and his talmidim (students/disciples) faced was the proper understanding of Torah, which would lead to the right conduct in everyday living.
How does one abolish the Torah? By misinterpreting it. How does one complete the Torah? By correctly interpreting it and being obedient to its instructions. From the Hebrew, the passage could be translated, "Think not that I am come to misinterpret, or to misapply, the Torah. Rather, I have come to correctly interpret and, thereby, cause the Torah to stand upright on a firm foundation."
Abba's divine revelation can be interpreted in different ways. Proper interpretation breathes life and power into words divinely spoken. If properly understood and obeyed, divine revelation, Torah, provides a guide for daily living. Thus the Torah is fulfilled. Wrong interpretation cancels the words communicated by Abba. Torah aids one's understanding of his nature and his love for his people. Torah is a magnificent demonstration of Abba's grace.
Rav Sha'ul is well qualified to speak about the Torah. In Acts 22:3 JNT he spoke in Hebrew to the mob at the Temple Mount that was rioting and demanding his arrest.
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli el in every detail of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for God, as all of you are today."The purpose of his letter to the Romans was to foster "the obedience that comes from trusting" in Yeshua. So he taught that such trusting does not abolish Torah but confirms it (Romans 3:31 JNT) "Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, we confirm Torah."
In chapters seven and eight of Romans, Rav Sha'ul makes several significant declarations in support of Torah. "The Torah is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good." (7:12) "For we know that the Torah is of the Spirit." (7:10) "I am agreeing that the Torah is good."(7:16) "For in my inner self I completely agree with God's Torah." (7:22) "The Torah of the Spirit, which produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me free from the Torah of sin and death."(8:2) "The just requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who do not run our lives according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Spirit wants." (8:4) "For the mind controlled by the old nature is hostile to God, because it does not submit itself to God's Torah -- indeed, it cannot. Thus, those who identify with their old nature cannot please God."(8:7-8 JNT)
These statements prove that Rav Sha'ul neither had an un- Jewish view of the Torah nor desired to abrogate it. These verses witness to Rav Sha'ul's lifelong high regard for the Torah, which corresponds to his lifelong observance of it. This attitude would have been with him from his youth, since his parents were Pharisees (Acts 23:6); it would have been strengthened by his studies with Rabban Gamli'el (Acts 22:3); and there is no reason to suppose that his coming to faith in Yeshua -- who did not "come to abolish the Torah" - - would have changed it.
Yeshua came to accurately interpret the Torah so that God who gave us his Torah will be revered and obeyed through our proper action called obedience. Yeshua came to fulfill the Torah, showing its higher meaning by his interpretation. He demonstrated how Torah is to be fulfilled by the life he led in total obedience to Abba. Rav Sha'ul desired to place the Torah on a firmer footing by his teaching of faith and his living of Torah. The followers of Yeshua, like Rav Sha'ul, must seek, discover and unveil their new nature in a higher level of righteousness and obedience. In doing so, they must be led by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who will reveal the source of their life and his divine power in Yeshua's message of the restoration of the Kingdom of God.
The bottom line for Yeshua and Rav Sha'ul was this. Abba lovingly gave Torah. He is to be revered. Each human being stands in awe and wonder before Abba. Hence, the task of learning Torah is a sacred undertaking. Study leads to reverence. Reverence leads to obedience. Obedience demonstrates love of Abba who first loved us.
The Education Model and its TerminologyAll of us have been children so all of us had parents or guardians who lovingly gave us instructions to guide our development and growth. They expected us, motivated by our love for them, to be obedient and carry out their instructions. The instructions were on various levels of importance and had varying degrees of consequences for failing to obey. The system of parental instructions probably recognized negligent failure to obey as different from willful failure to obey. On the one hand, negligent failure might have been from an oversight, forgetting what was asked because we were busy with something else. On the other hand, willful failure likely resulted from a decision not to obey, perhaps prompted by a rebellious spirit.
I believe the loving instructions of Abba are designed in a similar way. The Torah describes various aspects of the conduct Abba desires from his children. There are some instructions that we may consider relatively insignificant in comparison to others such as not eating unclean animals in comparison to murder. And Abba distinguishes between negligent failure to obey and willful failure. His sacrificial system was designed to provide atonement for negligent sin but not for willful sin. Only the blood of Yeshua atoned for all sin.
Education is the purpose for which the Torah was given by Abba. By Torah he educates his children about his will for them for their own good, for the renewing of their mind into his mind, the perfect thought and action of Abba our Father, and the transformation of our nature into his nature.
Because Yeshua and Rav Sha'ul understood that Torah means "direction, instruction, teaching" and the purpose of education, should we not look to the language of education to find words that would more appropriately fit the Hebrew words designed to convey the various aspects that we might discern in the Torah instructions of our Father? That is why I propose this Education Model of Torah for your consideration.
God chose specific Hebrew words to describe his Torah and the various aspects that comprise the unity of his Torah: mitzvot, mishpatim, chukim, d'rachim, edot, and shelot. As the rabbis adopted the Greek system of law for their understanding of Torah, they adopted legal terms to translate these Hebrew words. Over time the original meanings and intent were lost. Even modern Hebrew dictionaries now contain only these adopted legal terms rather than the original meanings.
Churchmen and their translators adopted the Jewish legal terms -- not only in their translations but also in the Hebrew-English Biblical dictionaries and lexicons they wrote to support their translations. So one cannot consult any of these for the original meanings. Only people who know the Hebrew language so well that they can see the roots of words and the derivative words can reveal the original meanings as Yehovah intended.
I have compiled a number of English words from the language of education and their definitions adapted from the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary of 1993. With the invaluable assistance of a Sabra, a native Israeli who was also educated in England, Rimona Frank, and a Hebrew scholar, my Timothy in the faith, Bob Sass, I have matched these educational terms with the Hebrew words above taken from the Hebrew scriptures.
INSTRUCTIONS -- TORAH (pl. TOROT) -- The actual, or acts of, instructing; teaching, education; knowledge etc. taught; instructive rules; precepts; directions; orders to a person.
Instructions are what our Heavenly Father has given to us so this word constitutes an umbrella term encompassing all of his Torah.
PRINCIPLES -- TOROT -- That which is taught, doctrines, instructions, precepts; fundamental truths or propositions forming the basis of a system of belief etc. General rules adopted or professed as a guide to action; fundamental motives or reasons for action.
PRECEPTS -- MITZVOT -- Orders to do particular acts; commands; general instructions or rules for action; maxims; injunctions, frequently divine commands regarding moral conduct.
Included in the instructions of Torah are certain mitzvah (pl. Mitzvot). This Hebrew word is usually translated as command or commandment. Mitzvah is from the root tzaveh that means to lay charge upon, or to give a charge to someone. Thus a mitzvah is a direct order from our Father to do a particular thing.
As examples of precepts we would consider the Ten Words (Devarim) Abba gave in Sh'mot (Exodus) 20 as precepts. But we need to recognize that most of the instructions of Abba do not constitute precepts or commands but rather some other form of instruction.
DELIVERANCES, UTTERANCES -- MISHPATIM -- The deliverance of words, utterances, enunciations; declarations; narrations.
The instructions of Abba were words delivered to his people, uttered by him directly at Har Sinai, or enunciated and declared by Moshe as he heard them from Abba. Just because they were uttered and declared did not make them judgments, regulations or rules, as the word mishpatim has been generally translated. There were no legal connotations to mishpatim unless the reader added them from his own bias in translation.
IMPRINTS, IMAGES -- CHUKIM -- Marks produced by pressure; lasting impressions or signs of some emotion, experience, action; influences; affects; representation of the form of a person or thing. A person or thing in which the appearance of another is reproduced.
We are created in the image and likeness of God. He desires for his characteristics to be imprinted upon us. His Torah makes that impression when we willingly submit and obey to his loving instructions.
DIRECTIONS, WAYS -- D'RACHIM -- The actions or functions of directing; guidance; management; instructions on what to do, how to proceed, or where to go.
Some of the instructions that our Father has given to us fall into the category of directions. For example, many of the instructions regarding the building and operation of the Mishkan and the functions of the priests fall into this category of directions. God instructed Moshe who then directed the skilled craftsmen who built the Mishkan.
POINTERS -- EDOT -- Hints, clues; pieces of information; testimonies - all of these relating to how things can be done. This Hebrew word is usually translated as testimonies.
Sometimes Abba wants us to walk in his ways but allows us to use the mind and abilities he has graciously and generously given us. So he provides us with pointers that will not rise to the level of direction or precepts but which will point us along our path or will help us to better do what he requests. As we walk, grow and mature, our own experiences and testimonies will aid us, and others, building us up in faith and in our walk with Abba in obedience.
REQUESTS -- SHELOT -- Actions asking or calling for something; petitions, especially written ones; expressed wishes or desires.
Within the Torah instructions are requests, things that our Father has asked us to do, expressions of his desire for our obedience.
For example, Micah 6:8 is a classic example of the request of our Father and the anti-Torah bias of the churchmen/translators that turns it into a command. "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" The Hebrew word is "darash" and means "seek with care." In the King James version it is variously translated as seek, enquire (inquire, ask) or request. Darash occurs 164 times and in the King James version it is translated "seek" or "enquire" in 127 times. Only 12 times is it translated "require" and this is one of those cases.
The bias toward the Law Model of the translators is amply evidenced in this verse. If we substitute "seek with care" "request" or "ask" here, we get a far better sense of the meaning intended in Hebrew. Substituting these words eliminates this anti-Torah bias and the bias in favor of the Law Model. The corrected language fits our loving Abba and his desire to teach us his ways.
SUGGESTIONS -- Actions proposing a theory, course of action, etc. plan, proposal.
Suggestion is probably not a word that is very appropriate in the context of the Torah. It does not appear in the most accepted modern translations nor in the King James version of the Torah. Unfortunately, some churchmen imply that the Ten Words of Abba in Sh'mot (Exodus) 20 are really just nine instructions and a suggestion. The suggestion is to observe the Shabbat.
Our Response to Abba's TorahThe problem with Torah is not that it is not good, or spiritual, or holy. The problem is that we have problems with keeping Torah. The Torah is not weak; the Torah is not imperfect. We are weak; we are imperfect. But, thanks be to God, we are declared to be righteous in a right relationship with God, based not upon what we are but upon whom he is.
Although the Torah is spiritual and holy, righteousness does not come by the Torah. Righteousness comes through faithfulness. Faithfulness justifies righteousness. Righteousness justifies reward. The reward is not salvation which comes by faith in God and the sacrifice of Y'shua and the grace, the unmerited favor, of Abba. The reward is the blessings promised in Torah for trusting, faithful obedience to the instructions of Abba.
If we will step back from our indoctrination that Torah is the law of the stern lawgiver and judge and honestly reexamine our thinking about the God revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, I believe we will find Yehovah to be our loving Abba, the Creator of us all, who wants to redeem us because of his loving kindness that endures forever. That is precisely the picture painted by churchmen regarding the God of the New Testament, a God of love and mercy and grace. Recognizing that he has not changed, we can understand he was the same throughout time, from creation through the death of Yeshua, and he is the same today.
Abba always desired Bnei Yisrael to walk humbly and obediently before him in all of his instructions out of their love for the one who first loved them. Abba called them to be his chosen people and a model nation for all the world. Abba gave them his Torah so that his loving instructions would become an integral part of their new nature.
Likewise our unchanging Abba sent Yeshua to call his people back to him and to trusting, faithful obedience to his Torah. He also wants us to recognize that his Torah, his loving instructions, are an integral part of our new nature. Abba declared through the prophet Yirmeyahu,
"I will put my Torah within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Yirmeyahu (Jer.) 31:33)That is the call Abba is issuing today to all who would believe and call upon his name. And that is the very essence of the New Covenant, the Brit Chadashah.
Knowing now that the instructions of our Father are not "laws" but our new nature removes a great burden from us. We are liberated, free.
"If the Son frees you, you will really be free!" (Yochanan (John) 8:36 JNT)
"If a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does." (Ya'akov (James) 1:25 JNT)
There is no need for legalistic observance. No longer will anyone who is a child of Abba be frustrated that they are unable to fulfill all of the "laws." No longer will there be a sense of required performance that might be measured by others. No longer will there be a need for any of us to look over the shoulder of another or to judge their performance. No longer will the gloom of failure to completely observe and perform the "laws" hang over the lives of the people of God who walk faithfully, trustingly obediently to his instructions, recognizing that Torah is now their new nature.
To the unregenerate man who does not recognize or honor Abba as his father, the Torah will always be the law. This disobedient son will perceive as law what are truly the loving instructions of his father. The obedient son will recognize them for what they are; the expression by his loving Abba of his principles, precepts, directions, corrections and guidance, intended to imprint upon his offspring his divine nature and character as they grow and mature.
Relieved of the burden of the churchmen's "law," liberated in the loving instructions of Abba, we can live joyful, abundant and fulfilled lives if we will seek the guidance and assistance of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who will lead us into all truth. We will tap into the source of living water, Yeshua, who is already waiting for us to drink of his life-giving water. In the process of seeking the truth, if we allow our spirits to be led into the truth by the Ruach HaKodesh, we will become aware of the deficiencies, the shortcomings and the power of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) in our lives.
With the guidance and encouragement of the Ruach HaKodesh, we will become even more trusting and faithful in our obedience. The legalism of the past will be replaced by the wonderful, boundless education of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of the Holy One, Blessed is he! Our mourning will be turned into dancing and rejoicing in the joy our Father brings us as well as in the blessings that he will pour out upon those who are faithful unto him as he asks.
In Christianity, faith in God is elevated to a belief system that is above tangible action. The word for "faith"in Hebrew does not exclude tangible action, and it is not to be understood as intangible belief alone. Faith without corresponding action is dead; it has no life and is not pleasing to God. Faith is better understood as faithfulness to God and his word, doing that which is right in his sight. It is faithfulness to God evidenced by obedience. (See James 2:14-26) To preach faith and not practice it within the framework of Torah, which is Abba's will, is hypocrisy.
The concept is best summed up in the words of Yeshua when he said;
"By their fruits you will know them . . . every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruits . . . Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will be those over whom God (or Heaven) rules, but the ones who DO the will of my father in heaven." (Mattityahu 7:16-21)
Good fruits" are good works. The Scriptures emphasized works above creeds or dogma. God considers actions to be of more importance than beliefs. In Christianity beliefs became the central demand. Deeds became less important than creeds. Though belief became the priority and essence of Christianity, this idea was not practiced by Yeshua or his disciples. Yeshua's emphasis always lay in doing the will of the Father.
Through the centuries churchmen proclaimed that Yeshua replaced the Torah with two commandments: to love God and love your neighbor. But Yochanan (John) reported that Yeshua called for obedience to Torah to demonstrate our love for him.
"If you love me, you will keep my commands." (14:15)
"If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love just as I have kept my Abba's commands and stay in his love." (15:10)
"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Abba, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." (14:21) "You are my friends, if you do what I command you." (15:14 JNT)
Yochanan later wrote to believers,
" The way we can be sure we know him [Yeshua] is if we are obeying his commands. Anyone who says, "I know him," but doesn't obey his commands is a liar the truth is not in him. But if someone does what he says, then truly love for God has been brought to its goal in him. This is how we are sure that we are united with him. A person who claims to be continuing in union with him ought to conduct his life the way he did." (I Yochanan (John) 2:3-6 JNT)
How did Yeshua conduct his life? He lived and taught the Torah of Abba.
Recall what Yeshua said,
"So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Will we demonstrate that we know Yeshua and love him by obeying and teaching his Torah, just as he demonstrated his love for his father by obeying and teaching Torah?
So will we believe and act or just believe?
Will we believe the instructions of Abba, written and preserved for 3500 years in the Torah, are still his instructions for those who believe in him today?
Will we believe the unchanging God has not changed his intentions toward us?
Will we believe Abba has not changed his desire for us to walk in trusting, faithful obedience to his instructions?
Will we believe and act as Abba has asked us to in his Torah?
Will we believe and act based upon what we know now?
Will we believe and act to diligently learn more of Abba's Torah led by the Ruach HaKodesh?
Will we believe and act motivated by our love for the one who first loved us and gave himself for us?
Will I? Will you? Will we?
May Abba bless you as you prayerfully consider this study and diligently study the Torah of Abba being led by the Ruach HaKodesh into all truth. His word is truth.
I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of my wife, Joy Ensign, my dear friends, Ephraim and Rimona Frank, Bob Sass, and Stafford and Sharon Simmonds in the preparation and review of this study. I also gratefully acknowledge the education I received from Dr. Roy Blizzard as well as his writings and those of Dr. Brad Young plus their books and publications from which my ideas were enhanced and confirmed. The works of David H. Stern, The Complete Jewish Bible and The Jewish New Testament (abbreviated JNT herein) and The Jewish New Testament Commentary, have been invaluable resources and are recommended for all students of Torah.This study is a work in progress so your constructive criticism, comments, suggestions, and encouragements are welcome. You may address them to the author via e-mail at mrensign@arn.net or by mail to P. O. Box 3220, Amarillo, Texas 79116-3220. Your communications will be received with appreciation but may or may not be acknowledged in the discretion of the author who does not intend to become involved in protracted debates about this study.
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