A unique document is the Hebrew Bible. To the Jewish people it is our life and our hope. The Revelation Of YHVH. The WORD of YHVH to change our lives and our world. Many millions have given their lives just to keep one commandment and not break this covenant with YHVH.
Many Christians have asked us to believe that Yeshua (Jesus) has made a better covenant and done away with His eternal WORD to His bride and the Kahal of Israel. I would like to share with you again from the eyes of a Messianic Jew why I believe that the Torah is eternal and binding for everyone who joins their self to the covenant of Israel and the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua.
First of all.... Torah does NOT mean law.
This is a Western mindset of Roman and Grecian origins. It was changed by them to reflect that something old was replaced with something newer.
In the Hebrew, Torah means "YHVH's Teachings".
The root of this word means "to throw" or even "to shoot and arro". Therefore the word Torah more correctly means the teachings of YVVH hitting the mark of man's needs.
Torah is a document that teaches man about YHVH and His character and His ways and His virtures. His righteousness and mercies. The torah teaches man about theological concepts that are later taught or expanded on in the rest of the bible. The Torah teaches us about sin, sacrifies, sanctification, salvation, and even about the Saviour Himself, Yeshua!
The Torah is also a covenant.A legal and binding agreement between Israel and YHVH and all who agree to accept the covenant. There is so much evidence in the B ible to back up this statement.
The Torah is called a covenant (Brit) many times in the Bible. One of the places where we see this is in Shemot (Exodus) 24:7, "And he took the bood of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that YHVH hath said will we do, and be obedient."
The second of many instances YHVH makes a covenant with Israel is in D'Varim (Deuteronomy) 29:12, "That thou shouldest enter into covenant with YHVH they G-d, and into his oathe, which YHVH thy G-d maketh with thee this day."
The Torah is a covenant that has legal obligations to both parties involved in the covenant. YHVH has an obligation to Israel that He has declared and promises to keep forever. and at the same time Israel has an obligation to YHVH and is bound to keep His Torah.
One way in which you might understand this agreement is... this is the national constitution of Israel. Our country and many others throughout the history of the world can prove this to be true. We will look and see how this plays out in our country.
Many ancient treaties were written in the format of the Torah and used many of the guide lines of the Torah to declare to declare to the people the binding agreement between Kings and kingdoms. Our country is no exception to this historical fact and our constitution proves to be one of the greatest documents ever written in history, barring the Torah itself. Our forefather's took Torah seriously......
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Dvarim-Words to Live By
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To illustrate how the Torah was used in history let us compare the United States Constitution to the Book of d'varim (Deuteronomy). The outline of the Torah goes back as far as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries BCE. The US constitution follows this outline.
- Preamble - A basic introductory paragraph of the covenant
- Historical Prologue - the acts of the kings or governing body. What they have done for the people or nation.
- Stipulations - the main bulk of the treaty/covenant, the expectation of the peoples or nations involved.
- Blessings and Curses -those things that will happen to the nations or peoples if they comply and those that will happen if they do not comply.
- Means of Succession - provision in the covenant for whomever assumes leadership after a king or government.
Now let us look at how this compares to D'Varim (Deutoronomy) "Words".
- Preamble - D'varim chapter 1:1-5 gives us the basic introductory remarks about the book of D'varim
- Historical Prologue - D'varim Chapter 1:6 - Chapter 4:49 tells comes of the great things that YHVH, the King of Israel had done for Israel and his people.
- Stipulations - D'varim 5:1- chaptrer 26:19, the bulk of D'varim known to Christians and laymen as the "law"; but more accurately, the teachings and instructions of YHVH. The Torah was given to Israel and all that join Israel to teach and instruct them how to maintain the covenant.
- The Blessing and Curses - D'varim Chapter 27 - Chapter 30, the things which YHVH promised w2ould happen to Israel if they would stay faithful to the Torah, hearing and doing so they would be blessed. And if they were unfaithful to the Torah (covenant) they would be cursed. Life or death are the choices before all of Israel.
- Witnesses - D'varim Chapter 30:19, YHVH called heaven and earth to witness this covenant. Yeshua also called heaven and earth as His witness. There have always been two witnesses. Yeshua said that these two witnesses would stand forever to witness if you will choose life or death. Torah or your own way. Lawlessness without Torah.
- Succession - D'varim 31:-8, YHVH provides for Yehoshua to follow Moshe when he dies. This also the Hebrew name of Jesus; Yeshua. This should be a hint for those in the future that Yehoshua would never teach anything that Moseh did not instruct him to teach Israel. This also holds true for our Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua can only teach what the Father has told Him from the very beginning. The Holy Spirit cannot testify against the written Word. The Renewed Covenant is the Torah written on the heart of Y'huday and Israel. The same Torah, not a new Torah or New Covenant, but a Renewed Covenant.
- Deposit/Reading - D'varim 31:9 -13 , Provision made to store the covenant in the ark, and to read it to all the people at a certain time. Every Shabbat the Torah is read to all of Israel and we are to read one hour a day from the Torah and to say the "Shema", D'varim 6:4-9, D'varim 11:14-21, B/midbar 14:37-41 twice a day.
Torah the Covenant
What does the Torah come to tell us? One of the things it shows us from a historical perspective is the clear parallels between Israel's Constitution (Torah) and the constitution of the United States or treaties made by other nation. It shows that the Torah served to buttress the evangelical contention that the Torah is as it presents itself a coherent document wirtten by Moshe in the middle to late second millennium BCE.
No other document has stood the test of time. Many Jews have died to protect every word of the Torah because it is our Constitution and YHVH is the sole enfordcer of it's violations. There will be no Judge, Pastor, King or Church rewriting this Constitution. This Constitution is forever. No one can make an amendment to this Torah because YHVH made no mistakes or over looked something that would be different in the future.
YHVH saw and knew everything that man would attempt and do throughout the history of mankind. Everthing He wrote in the Torah (Law) to us on Mount Sinai covered every aspect of life. It is not a living document subject for one to say,"well that was then and this is now".
I can say to that: observe what happens when you change a constitution. Lawlessness and the rewriting of history become a way a life for the people, redefing what the original authors meant, to fit their own philosophy or theology.
Our country is an example of this disregard for truth for we are a country in which Gradce is the Constitution of the Church. YHVH says there must be grace and truth, because only with grace will one give in to loved ones, or other's wishes. Even in cases in which it is wrong.
Chesed in the Torah is "kindness" and is translated in the English Bible as "grace". Do you know that the word Chessed "grace" appears more times in the Torah than in the Renewed Covenant?
But there is a problem: the translators have redefined the translators have redefined the words to fit their interpretation for the intention of the original authors..
One good example is the term, separation of Church and State. What the writers meant has been changed to take away the Truth.
"Chesed" - the Hebrew meaning for "unmerited favour"
"Chan" - the Hebrew meaning for "favour".
"Eleeo"/"Eleos" - the Greek meaning for "unmerited favour".
"Charis" - the Greek meaning for "favour".
Strong's Concordance defines them the same way but they have different meanings.
In the Torah "chesed" is used 250 times
In the Renewed Covenant it is used 50 times.
"Chan" is used 70 times in the Torah and "Charis" is used 233 in the Renewed Covenant.
Why is this mis-translated by the Scribes? Jeremiah 8:8
Is there more "Grace" in the Tanach (Old Testament)?
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Ketubah, The Marriage Contract
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The Torah is also a marriage contract or Ketuba in the Hebrew. A Ketuba is a formal, wirtten document, which spells out the terms of the marriage covenant between bride and groom. The Torah is a ketubah between Israel and YHVH that we received on Mount Sinai and the first hint is in Sh/mot (Exodus) 6:6-7. YHVH tells Isra3el through Moshe what He intends to do with Israel, His bride.
YHVH says He will "set them apart", He "will deliver" them from bondage, fee them from the yoke of bondage, He will "redeem" them and "take" them to be His people. During Pesach (Passover) we take four cups of wine that remind us of the promises YHVH has made to His "segulla" (treasured possession). YHVH says He "will take"; in other words, this describes that when a man takes a woman to be his wife and we see this played out in Shemot 6 where YHVH is betrothing Israel to be His bride. But when is the weddding?
Well according to traditional Jewish thinking, the wedding took place at Mount Sinai. In all Jewish weddings there is a "Chuppah" that the bride and groom are married under and in Shemot 19:9 we see that there is a chuppah provided by YHVH in this wedding to Israel, the Church in the wilderness" spokien of by Stephen in Acts. There are two chuppah taught by our sages. One is the thick cloud that the nation of Israel was under, and the other is my favourite teaching; when Hashem lifted up the mountain and put Israel underneath the mountain the "Chuppah", Tehellim 68:7-8, "even Sinai itself was moved".
Now you understand why the Renewed Covenant is always referring to "moving the mountain", because this is where YHVH gave us the Words of the Brit and Ketubah that forms our faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of YHVH. Romans 10:17
One of the main ingredients of the wedding is the ketubah itself. The Torah was our ketubah that shows the marriage is legal and also is a reminder of the vows we both took and the responsibilities to make the marriage work well.
YHVH gave us two copies of our ketubah in shemot 31:18, "When He finished speaing with him on Moujnt Sinai, He gae Moshe the two tablets of the pct (covenant), stone tablets inscribed with the finger of YHVH."
Now what is a wedding without a ring?
The ring serves as an outward symbol of the marriage covenant between the two parties, Israel and YHVH. Where is the ring in this marriage? It is found in Shemot 31:12-17, where we are told that YHVH gave the Shabbaqt (Sabbath) as a sign.
In Hebrew it (Shabbot) is and "ot" (sign) between Himself and the children of Israel and all that join themselves to her throughout the ages "forever".
And when Yeshua comes will you be wearing your ring?
You see, YHVH tells us twice just how important this is to Him in verse 13 and 17 of shemot. Shabbat is the outward "ot" sign of this marriage covenant. The Torah is more than just a list of "Laws" that are imposible to keep. The torah is our marriage vow to to our goom YHVH. They are promises to each other; YHVHto Israel and Israel to YHFH. We are the "segullah" (treasured possession) of YHVH and all his possessions are valuable but we are different thatn all His other posessionsk, b ecause only a certain few treasures of a King were especially cared for, protected and honoured.
The Bride
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