Breaking Down: The Torah
“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:32)
Breaking down the Bible requires us to go to the very beginning. That entails that we must examine and elaborate upon the first five books of the Bible. It has had many names throughout the centuries, but it has mainly called the Torah, which means “law”. These are the laws and stories that YHWH, the Father, told Moses to write and to give the children of Israel. But what does it entail and include?
The Torah, to be brief, is from the book of Genesis to the book of Numbers. These are the direct teachings of YHWH to the children fIsrael. The book of genesis, while it explains the beginnings of the world, we must also understand that it is the beginning of the relationship between the FAther and Israel. That’s seen through the genealogical lines, and the connections between figures such as Adam, Seth, Noah and Abraham, who are all in a direct line to the nation of Israel.
Once they go to Egypt and eventually leave slavery, the children of Israel are given these laws to live by. The Lord God of Israel did this with no other people: He set them apart (Psalm 147:19 - 20; Deuteronomy 6:7). The way that they lived was in accordance with those Laws; while they faltered due to their human nature, they knew that YHWH was their answer and salvation and that within the Torah, there is life (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
To understand the Torah, for us modern believers who’ve lived after the arrival of Yeshua, it’s quite simple. The doctrine that tells us that Yeshua abolished the law is false. The Torah is still in vigor. In fact, He says it himself in Matthew 5:17 - 20:
"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. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:17 - 20
Yeshua says that this law will not pass away. He adds to this concept in Luke 24:44, saying that everything about Him in what we call the Old Testament must be fulfilled. The key concept, one that He is explicit about, is the Law of Moses. This spans from the middle of Exodus to well into the book of Deuteronomy. He fulfills it through His death and resurrection (Matthew 5:17 - 20) for He is the Law personified, as presented by a plethora of verses, which include Revelations 19:13. He cannot abolish the Law as many would speculate, for it would be abolishing the authority given to Him by the Father.
To add, if anyone says that Paul abolished the law in any way, you can ask them: who is your Lord, Paul or Yeshua?
Forget not that the Lord told Joshua to practice and to meditate these laws day and night (Joshua 1:8) and was able to accomplish great things, such as taking the Promised Land for YHWH and His people. The Torah could never be abolished, for without that Law, there is no grace through Yeshua.