RSEA.D. Week 130

View PDF
Week 130

Read
Aloud together to hear the Word (Leviticus 23:1-3; Nehemiah 8:1-4; Luke 4:16-17)

  • Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 5:1 – 6:3
  • Prophets (P): Joshua 1:1-9
  • Apostolic (A): Matthew 5:1-32
  • Additional (ADD): Sirach 32:14-24

Summary
Context and coherence (Nehemiah 8:8)

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law” (Psalm 119:18)

  1. Continuing in our journey through the Devarim (Heb. “words”) of YHWH.
    1. “All of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous laws, which are always right, will last until the end of the ages” (Psa. 119:160)
    2. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17)
  2. The Word of God and the Mystery of Lawlessness
    1. The Word of God is the highest authority in the universe.
      1. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3).
    2. Satan seeks to reduce it all to chaos and disorder with the same question, “Has God really said?” (Gen. 3:1)
  3. “What is the Torah?” — Common understanding crosses the spectrum.
    1. It is a legal code given to Israel.
    2. It provides commandments for everyone who believes in the God of the Bible.
    3. It provides moral principles that every person should live by.

Key Question:
What is the proper framework to understand Torah?

  1. Are the Ten Words a legal code or a covenant?
    1. “YHWH our Elohim cut a covenant with us in Horeb. YHWH didn’t make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day” (Deut. 5:2-3)
    2. From Week 127:
      1. Covenant determines the rights and obligations of both the ruler and the polity.
    3. The Torah is best understood in the context of kingdom.
      1. Five Elements (Week 127):
        1. Sovereign Ruler, Land, Law, People, Viceroy
      2. The Covenant Preamble:
        1. Deut. 5:6 “I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage”.
          1. YHWH is a King who has rescued Israel from another kingdom, and through covenant, has made them His subjects.
    4. The Ten Words follow the same pattern of covenants between a Suzerain and Vassal state in the ancient near east.
      1. Characterizes the stipulations as oath-bound obligations or as a covenant order of life.
    5. Misunderstanding has fostered false doctrines about what Torah is and how we are to related to it as Believers.
        1. This has caused the people of God to departure from covenant faithfulness and diminishing of YHWH’s supreme authority in the earth.
  1. Example #1 – Were the two tablets of the Law separate tables with the first five commandments on one and numbers six through ten on the other?
    1. Common understanding based on Mat. 22:36-40 and Mark 12:29-31
      1. “Love the Lord your God” – first five commandments
      2. “Love your neighbor as yourself” – second five commandments
    2. However, each commandment applies to loving both God and man.
      1. Resting in the Sabbath is the fourth commandment (Dt. 5:12-14), so according to this doctrinal division of two tablets, this pertains to loving God.
        1. Note it also instructs behavior for “you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, nor your maid”.
        2. If we limit the first three commandments to loving God, we deny how significant covenant faithfulness with regard to rejecting idol worship and upholding God’s Name is for the health and order of my brother or sister, and by extension the entire community.
    3. With Suzerain/Vassal covenants, there were two copies made – one for the king and the other for his subjects.
      1. Bisecting a treaty for distribution over two separate documents would undermine the covenant and remove accountability.
      2. In ancient times, the king’s copy would be stored in the palace and the people’s in their place of worship.
        1. Because YHWH was both Elohim and King to Israel, both copies or “tables of the covenant” (Deut 9:9, 11, 15) or “testimony” (Exod 31:18; 32:15; 34:29) were stored in the “tabernacle of the testimony” (Ex. 38:21) – which was also the palace of the King.
        2. The written record of the covenant listed the oath-bound obligations of both parties and provided instructions on the covenant order of life.
  2. Example #2 – Torah has been understood in an ancient near east religious context with the focus on the Tabernacle as a center of worship. From this perspective:
    1. The commandments have authority in the ecclesiastical, or religious sphere, but not in a broader, governmental sphere.
    2. The primary purpose of the priesthood and the sacrificial system was to administer worship and sacrifice rather than law and justice.
    3. This view has shaped how we understand God’s Torah and our relationship to it
      1. Worship has become more important than obedience and obedience to God’s law seems unnecessary, even contradictory.
      2. The sphere of the church is largely limited to a religious context.
        1. Faith is heaven-centered and seeks to escape from the world rather fulfill God’s mandate in scripture for the Earth.
    4. The focal point of the Tabernacle/Temple was the ark of the covenant, which was covered by the mercy seat, where the presence of Elohim dwelt.
      1. Reveals that the Tabernacle was a palace for the King.
    5. The progression for the people and priests began at the altar (i.e. atonement) but the but the goal was the Holiest Place (i.e. the throne room of the King).
        1. Reveals that the ark, and the tablets within it, represented the covenantal meeting place between the King and His subjects.

Key Point:
When we limit the Torah based on man’s doctrine, we diminish God’s Word, which reflects Himself.

Exhortation
Counsel, comfort, and encouragement (Acts 13:14-15)

  1. How does the covenant of the Torah relate to us as Believers? Was it only for ancient Israel and modern ethnic Jews? Or have we limited its scope by the doctrines of men?
    1. Common understanding of Torah
      1. “Mosaic Law”. “Moral, Ceremonial and Civil Law”. “The Old Covenant”.
  2. The Hebrew word Torah means “teachings and instructions” and is not limited to the Pentateuch.
    1. The words of the prophets are called Torah.
      1. “Give ear to the instruction of our God” (Isaiah 1:10).
      2. “Now go, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll, that it may serve in the time to come as a witness forever. For this is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the LORD” (Isa. 30:8-9)
  3. God’s Word (e.g. Davar) is His Torah from Genesis to Revelation.
    1. HaDavar Elohim is a single, unified whole expressing the revelation of Melech HaOlam (e.g. the King of the Universe) and His divine authority over His entire kingdom (i.e. all mankind).
    2. Any lesser definition of the Torah sets aside the authority of the King and constitutes rebellion to His rule and reign.
  4. The Torah, or Word, of God is the law of the absolute and personal Creator for what He loves and hates.
    1. God is jealous for the requirements of His Law because the Torah is personal to Him.
    2. Common understanding — the Law applies to Israel, and not the church.
      1. “The Lord spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth…[T]he pig, for though it has a divided hoof, and so it shows a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you” (Lev. 11:1-2,7-8).
        1. “This was a restriction for Israel only. We are not under law but under grace, so all foods are clean for us”.
      2. What does it say about God and His Word if we set aside this teaching?
        1. He changes His mind (contradicts Malachi 3:6).
        2. His Laws are not absolute but relative and arbitrary.
          1. Arbitrary c. 1400 “deciding by one’s own discretion, depending on one’s judgment,” generally in reference to an authority or government, from Latin arbitrarius “of arbitration, done by means of arbitration, not regulated by fixed law,” hence “depending on the will;” also “uncertain”.
        3. The divinely inspired Word of the Old Testament is different than that of the New Testament, and by extension so is God.
  5. One immutable, eternal and unified Word — this is the key to understanding Yeshua’s words in our Apostolic Portion:
    1. “Don’t think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most certainly, I tell you, until the heavens and the land pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will in any way pass away from the Torah, until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever will break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, will be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever will do and teach them will be called great in the reign of the heavens” (Mt. 5:17-20)

Key Point:
Yeshua unequivocally affirms the unchanging, supremely authoritative, and universally binding nature of the Word of God in its entirety.

Application
Living the Word and following Yeshua (Acts 2:37; Romans 2:13)

Romans 2:13 For it isn’t the hearers of the Torah who are righteous before Elohim, but the doers of the Torah will be justified.

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

  1. What questions or comments came up during your family’s discussion of this week’s study?
  2. “What other related Scriptures did you find during your study of this week’s portion?”
  3. Have you ever experienced something from this study or something related to it?
  4. “What changes do you need to make in your life to align with what you learned during this week’s Torah Study?”
  5. If Torah can only be properly understood in the context of kingdom, what does that mean for us in terms of serving God and obeying His Word?

Key Point:
What we are talking about is the Gospel itself, not a legalistic, works-based faith that runs contrary to God’s grace.

  1. What is the Gospel and how do we define it according to scripture?
    1. “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is here; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15)
      1. The Gospel = The Arrival of YHWH’s Kingdom (i.e. Sovereign Rule, Law/Covenant, Land, People and Viceroy)
      2. The required response of all humanity is to repent and believe – i.e. obey.
        1. “Dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 1:8)
        2. “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Pet. 4:17)
  2. Obedience is the natural response to God’s Grace – “I AM YHWH who delivered you from the house of bondage; you shall therefore keep my commandments”.
    1. Obedience to the Torah is the only acceptable response to grace.
      1. To reject the Law of God is to reject His supreme rule and authority, despising His grace, and with it the cross of Christ.
      2. “For if we go on sinning (i.e. transgressing the Law per 1 John 3:4) after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but terrifying expectation of judgment” (Heb. 10:26).
  3. Holiness is defined as being set apart for a special purpose.
    1. The Torah can be thought of as a line of separation.
      1. It separates those in covenant from those outside of covenant.
      2. It separates the obedient subject of the King from the outlaw or rebel.
      3. It reveals that justice and holiness are inseparable from each other and that there is no acceptable standard for either apart from what God has spoken in His entire, unified Word.

Key Point:
Obedience (and worship) that is acceptable to God first requires that we understand His Kingdom.

  1. So now how shall we live — apply the Torah in our lives?
    1. First, we need to understand that the Torah, like any law, is based on foundational, generalized principles of ethics that reveal who God is and how he defines justice.
    2. The second aspect of the Torah/Law is case law which are specific cases to develop the implications and proper outworking of those principles.
      1. Case law reveals how to apply the King’s authority so that justice and righteousness is rewarded and evil and injustice is punished.
  2. All application of Torah is intended to restore God’s order, or government, to every sphere of His Kingdom — in the individual, the family, the community, and society as a whole.
    1. “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 16:20).
    2. OBEY!…“That you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess” (Deut. 5:16,33; 6:2-3).
  3. For each of us, the Torah provides the principles for godly governance – over ourselves, our families, our community, businesses, and civil government – such that order would be restored and God’s blessings would be realized.
    1. God created all things good, but until we repent and return to God’s teachings and instructions for life, we will experience disorder.
      1. Curses are also an expression of God’s grace as they reveal the boundaries between obedience and disobedience, life and death.
        1. They also serve as divine justice to curtail evil and protect humanity.
    2. Example: Sexual relations are a creation of a loving God for our blessing and enjoyment.
      1. Lawful sex within the boundaries of Torah – i.e. between one man and one woman in the covenant of marriage – is holy and good and restores order to the lives of husband, wife, their family, the community and society as a whole.
      2. Unlawful sex outside the bounds of Torah produces disorder in the form of disease, divorce, broken families, orphans, widows, pornography, sex trafficking and a host of other societal ills.
      3. Question: Is it lawful or unlawful for a man and woman to have sex outside of the marriage covenant? What if they’re not Christian?
        1. If you’re not sure, I would suggest that you need to consider the kingdom again.
        2. Under the rule and reign of YHWH Elohim, there is one standard.
          1. One line dividing holy and unholy, lawful and unlawful, righteous and unrighteous.
      4. Question: Should pornography be made illegal?
        1. If it is unlawful to God, should it be legal for man? If so, by whose authority?
        2. If something is unjust and unethical by God’s standard, should it be permitted in society?
        3. Don’t start by asking, “How?” would this done, but rather, “Should it?”
          1. The former is the voice of the Disgraced 10 Spies, the latter the voice of the Obedient Two.
        4. What is the role of the ekklesia – the priesthood of God – if not to implement Elohim just laws throughout His Kingdom?
  4. Remember: All authority in rebellion to God and His Law-Word will be brought into subjection before Christ returns.
    1. “…At His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:23-25).

Discussion
Questions, input, and sharpening (Proverbs 27:17; Luke 2:46)

“I [Paul] pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy ones, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:18-23)

  1. How has today’s discussion reshaped your understanding of what the Torah is?
  2. What do you think it means to have a “kingdom mindset”?
  3. Is a Christian obligated to keep the Torah? How about the unbeliever?
  4. God speaks in 1 Samuel 15:22 that “to obey is better than offering a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams”. How might this change our understanding of the relative importance of worship and obedience to our King?
  5. Is it the church’s responsibility to change society? How would the average Christian have answered this question 500 years ago?