Another Look at the Law
Here are some thoughts about the question of whether Christians today are supposed to "keep the law", which is written in the Pentateuch.
It occurred to me that, first of all, the law is good. It came from God. It expresses God's will. Many Gentile Christians today hold a view that the law is a bad thing. It can be confusing to us, with all its many details and fine points. Also, in the New Testament, it is written that Yeshua "came to fulfill the law", which seems to many that since He fulfilled it, we no longer need to pay any attention to it whatsoever. It has been "replaced" with a new commandment - simply, the law of love. Also, it seems that many Christians hold the view that since the nation of Israel as a whole could not meet the requirements of the law, the law is something that holds impossible standards and is beyond our understanding too. Perhaps even the perceived "strictness" of the law is responsible for causing the nation of Israel to stumble - it was just too difficult to keep. We need something more "simple" and "vague", like "love your neighbor".
The funny thing about the perceived vagueness of the "new commandment" of love, is that most Christians are no better at keeping that commandment than Israel was at keeping all the 613 commandments found in the Torah. But that does not mean the the commandment to "love God and love your neighbor as yourself" is a bad commandment, no more than the nation of Israel's failure to live up to the righteous standards of the Torah makes the law a bad thing. I suppose it is all a part of the "blame game" we humans have been playing since it began in the garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve (and God) for his sin. It is like when we are walking down a sidewalk and trip on something and we look in disgust at whatever it was that caused us to stumble - like it was not our fault, but the fault lies with whatever inanimate object we tripped over. Also, the law always seemed to me to be too much, too foreign, and too difficult. But I must say that the problem was with me, not the Torah of God.
Lately, when I have reread parts of it, I have been struck with an understanding of the goodness of God revealed in the Torah - not legalism, but love. I understand that before when I read it, and thought it was too difficult and foreign, the shortcoming was with me - not the Torah.
However, I do understand that believers in Yeshua today have been given a "new commandment" (yet it is not really "new"). It was necessary for this new commandment to be given because now the invitation of God to come into His family is extended to every tribe and nation and people in the earth. There are parts of the Torah which would be impossible to follow because we live in nations and countries that are not governed by monotheism. Our societies are not built around a specific revelation from God in the same way that the nation of Israel was. In the Torah, the land itself played a special role - and it still does today. The land of Israel is a special land. God says that He loves that land in particular. The tithes of the produce of the land were holy. It is a treasure that He has given to the children of Abraham as an inheritance forever. But God also is to be served and worshipped by all people everywhere - not just in Israel alone. He is the God the whole of creation. The new commandment of love is something that all of God's people in every nation of the world can hold. For instance, the Torah says that it is unlawful to work on the Sabbath. Since the entire nation of Israel was founded upon the Torah, the Sabbath was nationally observed. But when living under foreign governments that do not recognize the Torah, it can be impossible to observe the Sabbath. A person might find it necessary to work on the Sabbath. However, with the new commandment of love, and with a recognition of the meaning behind the Sabbath rest, there is no circumstance under which a person might find himself that can stop him from keeping the "spirit" of the law of Sabbath rest. Our rest is found in trusting Yeshua our savior. Parts of the Torah deal with the treatment of foreigners when they came into the land of Israel. If a foreigner came into the land, they lived under a system that was specifically centered around the Word of God. This is not the case in countries today. However, the Torah teaches us that God cares about foreigners who come into our lands. Therefore, a believer in Yeshua can still keep the "spirit of the law" which is love, no matter what government they live under, by witnessing to the foreigners who come to our lands and telling them about Yeshua and living in a way that witnesses to the love of God.
So it is that the new commandment of love fulfills the spirit of the Torah, and can be kept by all members of God's family (because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit), no matter what country they live in, and no matter what government they live under. It is just as Yehsua said, "The Kingdom of God is within you."
It occurred to me that, first of all, the law is good. It came from God. It expresses God's will. Many Gentile Christians today hold a view that the law is a bad thing. It can be confusing to us, with all its many details and fine points. Also, in the New Testament, it is written that Yeshua "came to fulfill the law", which seems to many that since He fulfilled it, we no longer need to pay any attention to it whatsoever. It has been "replaced" with a new commandment - simply, the law of love. Also, it seems that many Christians hold the view that since the nation of Israel as a whole could not meet the requirements of the law, the law is something that holds impossible standards and is beyond our understanding too. Perhaps even the perceived "strictness" of the law is responsible for causing the nation of Israel to stumble - it was just too difficult to keep. We need something more "simple" and "vague", like "love your neighbor".
The funny thing about the perceived vagueness of the "new commandment" of love, is that most Christians are no better at keeping that commandment than Israel was at keeping all the 613 commandments found in the Torah. But that does not mean the the commandment to "love God and love your neighbor as yourself" is a bad commandment, no more than the nation of Israel's failure to live up to the righteous standards of the Torah makes the law a bad thing. I suppose it is all a part of the "blame game" we humans have been playing since it began in the garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve (and God) for his sin. It is like when we are walking down a sidewalk and trip on something and we look in disgust at whatever it was that caused us to stumble - like it was not our fault, but the fault lies with whatever inanimate object we tripped over. Also, the law always seemed to me to be too much, too foreign, and too difficult. But I must say that the problem was with me, not the Torah of God.
Lately, when I have reread parts of it, I have been struck with an understanding of the goodness of God revealed in the Torah - not legalism, but love. I understand that before when I read it, and thought it was too difficult and foreign, the shortcoming was with me - not the Torah.
However, I do understand that believers in Yeshua today have been given a "new commandment" (yet it is not really "new"). It was necessary for this new commandment to be given because now the invitation of God to come into His family is extended to every tribe and nation and people in the earth. There are parts of the Torah which would be impossible to follow because we live in nations and countries that are not governed by monotheism. Our societies are not built around a specific revelation from God in the same way that the nation of Israel was. In the Torah, the land itself played a special role - and it still does today. The land of Israel is a special land. God says that He loves that land in particular. The tithes of the produce of the land were holy. It is a treasure that He has given to the children of Abraham as an inheritance forever. But God also is to be served and worshipped by all people everywhere - not just in Israel alone. He is the God the whole of creation. The new commandment of love is something that all of God's people in every nation of the world can hold. For instance, the Torah says that it is unlawful to work on the Sabbath. Since the entire nation of Israel was founded upon the Torah, the Sabbath was nationally observed. But when living under foreign governments that do not recognize the Torah, it can be impossible to observe the Sabbath. A person might find it necessary to work on the Sabbath. However, with the new commandment of love, and with a recognition of the meaning behind the Sabbath rest, there is no circumstance under which a person might find himself that can stop him from keeping the "spirit" of the law of Sabbath rest. Our rest is found in trusting Yeshua our savior. Parts of the Torah deal with the treatment of foreigners when they came into the land of Israel. If a foreigner came into the land, they lived under a system that was specifically centered around the Word of God. This is not the case in countries today. However, the Torah teaches us that God cares about foreigners who come into our lands. Therefore, a believer in Yeshua can still keep the "spirit of the law" which is love, no matter what government they live under, by witnessing to the foreigners who come to our lands and telling them about Yeshua and living in a way that witnesses to the love of God.
So it is that the new commandment of love fulfills the spirit of the Torah, and can be kept by all members of God's family (because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit), no matter what country they live in, and no matter what government they live under. It is just as Yehsua said, "The Kingdom of God is within you."
posted by Laurie T at
5:20 AM
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