Just to let you know, I am not going to post anything else until next year.
The Torah is more than a book of laws and regulations, it is a historical narrative of the Jewish people (not to mention how the Universe was created). Inside the Torah there is a set of business ethics as well as a penal code, it acts as both a Ketuba (marriage certificate) between God and people and as a national Constitution, and it is the ultimate spiritual guide to attaining righteousness in God’s eyes, leading to being able to spend eternity in the presence of God, forever joyful.
In other words, it is God’s User Manual for attaining salvation.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Yeshua was the only human being ever to live in perfect accord with the Torah, and he also is the only one who ever will. His resurrection proves that if we can live in perfect accord with the Torah, we will be saved, so yes- as hard as it is for Christians to accept (because of the training they have been given), the Torah IS the path to salvation; Yeshua proved that, but (again) he is the only one who can do it.
That is why God gave us the sacrificial system, of which Yeshua’s resurrection is now part, replacing the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, which was the only place any sacrifice could be accepted, according to the Torah.
The Torah is composed of the first five books of the Bible, but you really don’t need to read all five to be observant. In fact, if you read and study Deuteronomy, that is all you really have to know.
Deuteronomy 1:3 says (CJB),
“On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year,
Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, reviewing everything Adonai had ordered him to tell them.”
Moses is talking to the children of the rebellious parents who refused to enter the land the first time they came to it (Numbers 13 and 14). The people Moses is speaking to now are between the ages of 38 and 58 (except for Moses, Joshua, and Caleb).
If you are wondering how I came to those ages, during the 40 years in the desert, the first two were spent getting to the land of Cana’an. When they rebelled and refused to enter, God’s punishment was that they would be in the desert for as many years as they had been in the land: their recon mission lasted 40 days, so they would spend 40 years in the desert. They had already been in the desert for two years getting there, so they would be in the desert for another 38. And in Numbers 14:29-30, Moses explains that the ones who will die are those who were in the census of everyone over the age of 20. So, that is why the ages of the people would be between 38 (for those born at that moment) to 58, those who were 20 or younger at the first revolt.
Wow, it seems I have gotten a little sidetracked, so let’s get back to the main point…
In Deuteronomy, as we are told, Moses reviews pretty much everything that happened over the past 40 years, giving a “Reader’s Digest” version of the events, which includes the Big 10, the rules for worship and sacrifice, and the laws regarding interpersonal relationships. If you were to read only the Book of Deuteronomy, you would have enough understanding of what God wants from you in order to live a righteous life, which leads to salvation.
Yeshua’s ministry was not to change or deny the Torah (Matthew 5:17), but rather to teach us the Remes, which is the deeper, spiritual understanding of the Torah. The traditional Christian teaching that Yeshua did away with the Torah is just plain wrong, and goes against what Yeshua said.
The truth is what God said, and what Yeshua confirmed: the Torah is the only word of God, which means it is the only word from God: the only place in the entire Bible where God, himself, tells us exactly what to do in order to be righteous is in the Torah- nowhere else!
That means all the drek you have been taught regarding how the letters Shaul (Paul) wrote indicating faith in Jesus is all you need to be saved, well… that won’t do it. You need faith, sure, but your faith is demonstrated by your obedience.
Obedience to what, you ask? Obedience to Yeshua’s teachings? Yeah, that’s OK, that will work- but remember that he taught exclusively from the Torah!
I am sorry, all you Gentiles who have been told the Torah is just for Jews so you don’t need to know it, that’s not right. You need to get real! Faith and obedience to God, which means following the Torah, are two sides of the same coin; faith motivates obedience, and obedience demonstrates the strength and genuineness of your faith.
And you can’t have just one side of a coin.
So, if this makes sense to you, and you feel that you really should get better aquatinted with the Torah, but you don’t have a lot of time to read all 5 books, just read Deuteronomy.
Or, better yet, get to know the entire Bible easily and quickly by reading my latest book, “Not the Holy Bible” (just click the link on the website, or go to Amazon).
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, believer or not. After all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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