TEACHING NOTES Introduction In order for us to fully understand the Old Testament we must understand the purpose of the Torah. The Torah is the foundation of the Old Testament and the Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament. Therefore, if we can get at least a basic grasp of the Torah, our understanding of the entire Bible will be greatly increased. Why is the Torah important? ​ Psalm 1:1–3 ESV 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The law of the LORD = Literally, the Torah of Yahweh. The author of Psalm 1 declares that a blessed person is one who “delights” and “meditates” on the Torah day and night. To modern readers it seems odd to delight or meditate on the Torah because we think of it as only a book of laws. But when we read the Torah as a story we can see why the author of Psalm 1 was so awe struck. He is like a tree, planted by water, yielding fruit = This is the author’s way of describing the tree of life. Those who avoid evil, delight in the Torah, and meditate on it day and night will be like a tree of life that yields eternal fruit. *For more on this idea read Psalm 119 where the author goes on for 176 verses about how much he loves and needs the Torah! What is the Torah? Torah = Heb. תּוֹרָה (tô·rāh) - instruction The fact that the Hebrew term means instruction, and NOT law, helps us to understand the purpose of the Torah. The Torah instructs or teaches us who God is, who we are, and how God is interacting with His creation. The Torah is the story of how God created the world to be ruled and protected by humans made in His image. The beginning of the story (Gen. 1-11) tells us that humans ruled the world into ruin repeatedly. The result was 70 nations of humanity being ruled by rebellious spiritual powers. Therefore, God chose two humans (Abram & Sarai) to create a nation (Israel) that would draw all nations back to God. In order for Israel to fulfill their mission, they will need guidelines of how to live that will set them apart from the rest of humanity. So God makes a covenant with Israel that contains the instructions (laws) for the mission. Misconceptions about the Torah 1. The Torah laws tell us which sins offend God. False. The Torah laws are the terms of a covenant between God and Israel. Those laws were intended to make Israel unique among its neighbors. It has nothing to do with what sins offend God. It has everything to do with what harms Israel and its mission. 2. The Torah laws were for all people. False. The Torah laws were only given to Israel. Gentile nations were not commanded to obey the Torah laws because Gentiles were not in covenant with God. Israel was in covenant with God and the laws were the terms of the covenant. Gentiles could become part of Israel and obey the laws if they so desired, but they were not commanded to do so. 3. The Torah laws determined individual salvation. False. Many of the Torah laws have nothing to do with morality but are about ritual purity. Salvation has always been by grace through faith. Those who worship Yahweh as their God are covered by His grace. In fact, failure to keep the laws was factored in by God through sacrifices and the Day of Atonement. Failure was expected and God covered failure by forgiving disobedience. Before the laws were given we’re told that faith is credited to humans as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Salvation has never been attained by works and has always been given as a reward for faith. As Paul said in Gal. 3:11 “11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”” 4. The Torah is a book of laws. False. While it’s common to view the Torah as books of laws, the Torah is primarily a story that also includes laws. The story of the Torah is the foundation of how God created the world to be ruled by humans, how humans fail to rule properly, and what God is doing to fix human failure. That story mentions no laws for the first 69 chapters of the story, which is at least 2,500 years after Adam. 5. The Torah laws were God’s original desire. False. The Torah laws were God’s way of guarding and protecting Israel from complete failure. As we read the Torah we will notice a developing pattern: laws given - failure - more laws given - more failure - more laws given. Many of the Torah laws were not God’s original desire but rather God’s reaction to failure. The law was a means to an end, not the end itself. The Torah laws functioned as a “guardian” for Israel until the Messiah came in Gal. 3:24-26 “24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” Should Christians obey the laws of the Torah? There is some debate around this question that began in the early church years. From the beginning of Christianity, Jewish and Gentile believers have struggled with whether or not Christians have to obey the laws of the Torah. This debate began in Acts 15 when certain Jewish believers had been teaching that Gentiles must be circumcised and obey the Torah laws in order to be saved. The apostles and elders responded to this controversy by declaring that no one can, nor ever could, keep the laws of Torah and that the Gentiles should not be forced to do so. The apostles and elders declared that “we (Jews) will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they (Gentiles) will” (Acts 15:11). The debate should have been over. However, this problem continued between Jewish and Gentile believers. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is the clearest example of how some Jewish believers continued to require Gentiles to adhere to the Torah laws. Paul called this idea a false gospel. Paul argues to the Galatians that we are saved by faith and not by works of the law. The age of the law had ended and the age of being saved by grace through faith had come. The debate should have been over. However, there is a modern movement that seeks to require obedience to the Torah laws for salvation. These groups are called Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Roots. This is the same old problem of whether or not Christians should be Torah observant. All we need to do is present that problem to Acts 15 and Galatians to find that the answer is simple. The age of law is over and we are now in the age of grace through faith. If a person wants to obey the Torah laws, they may do so but they cannot claim that as a requirement for salvation. Jesus on the Torah ​ Matthew 5:17–18 ESV 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. The Law = Referring to the Torah The Prophets = Referring to the Nevi’im which includes what we call the “historical books” and the books of the prophets (see Chart: TaNaK). *Note: When Jesus says, “the Law and the Prophets” it’s His way of referring to the entire Old Testament message. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them = Jesus is clearly stating that His purpose is not to abolish the writings of the Old Testament. Jesus’ purpose is to fulfill Israel’s scriptures. The Torah revealed that humanity could not fully obey God because of sin. Jesus has come to solve that problem by being the one human who will obey God perfectly and give His life to enable all people to obey. Until heaven and earth pass away = Some read this as referring to the end of the world. However, there is another way to understand this phrase. Jesus could be referring to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was intended to be the connection between heaven and earth. As long as the temple was standing, the Israelites dependent on it for worship, teaching, and obedience to the Law. Jesus prophesied in Matt. 24 that the temple would be totally destroyed within 40 years. And 38 years later Jesus’ prophesy came true. In 70 AD, Roman armies destroyed the temple leaving no way to obey the Laws on worship and sacrifice. The age of the Law and God’s presence in a temple had ended. Until all is accomplished = Referring to Jesus’ mission to reveal Himself as Messiah, die for sins of humanity, raise to life as the firstborn of the resurrection of humanity, and bring the Old Covenant to an end by destroying the temple. *Note: Without a temple in Jerusalem, the Torah laws cannot be entirely followed. Many of the laws in the Torah are directly related to the temple and the sacrificial system. Since the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, no one has been able to follow the Torah entirely for almost 2,000 years. This shows that the age of the law has ended. ​ Matthew 5:19 ESV 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. These commandments = The early Christian writers understood that “these commandments” does not refer to the Torah but rather the commands that Jesus was about to teach in the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, we should understand that followers of Jesus should apply the commands given in Matt. 5-7 as the “new law” of the kingdom. Pattern: Jesus is the New Moses The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as a new Moses. Just as Moses came out of Egypt through the sea (waters) and went up a mountain to deliver God’s Law to Israel, Jesus also comes out of Egypt (Matt. 1:13-15), baptized in water (Matt. 3:13-17), and sat down on a mountain to deliver God’s new law (Matt. 5-7). Matthew 5:20 ESV 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Unless your righteousness exceeds the scribes and Pharisees = In the Gospels we find that the Jewish leaders were hyper focused on the traditions of men and neglected the laws of the Torah. They honored God publicly but their hearts did not love God. Jesus is declaring that His followers must focus on God and love Him. Torah Overview *see Chart: The Story of the Torah below This chart gives us a visual representation of the storyline. This will help us as we read the Torah to see where we are in the story. In this series we will do an overview of each book of the Torah. We will cover one book per week along with the main themes of each book. Each week you will also receive an outline of each book to help you as you read them. The Main Message of the Torah God created humanity to rule the world. Humanity continuously fails to rule the earth for good. Humanity needs a new kind of human that will rule the way God intended and give us a new heart and spirit.