What is the Torah?

So now that I have shared with you that I am a Torah Observant Follower of Yeshua, you are probably thinking "What in the world is the Torah?". Please allow me to answer that as best as I can.

The Torah is the Law of Moses. Specifically, it is the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is the "law" that Paul often spoke of in his epistles. Paul used the Greek word 'nomos' to translate the Hebrew word 'torah'. Torah comes from a Hebrew root word that is used as an archery term meaning "to take aim, to shoot", such as shooting an arrow in order to hit a target. Is is derived from the Hebrew verb 'yarah' - to cast,throw, shoot. The essence of this word then is "to hit the mark". The Torah is God's aim for us. Do you see the picture? The Torah is the target for which we aim our arrow. When our shot misses and falls short of the target, we have sinned. Sin is missing the mark of the Torah. Torah is God's standard for righteousness. Sin is our failure to hit that mark. (Rom 3:23, 1 John 1:3, Psalm 19:7) There is a point at which the Torah aims. The bull's-eye of Torah, the careful aim of Torah is the perfect Messiah. This is why Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans, "Messiah is the end of the law (Torah)" Rom 10:4. Unfortunately, traditional Christian interpretation misunderstood Paul's words to mean that Messiah is the cancellation of the Torah. The Greek of Romans 10:4 is best understood to mean that the Messiah is the "goal" of the Torah. The Greek word 'telos', which is translated as "end", is the same word we use in English words like telephone, television and telescope. Telos implies arrival at a goal. The sound of one's voice on the telephone arrives at the goal of the telephone on the other end. That reading fits the context of Romans 10:4 as well. Messiah is the destination at which the journey of Torah arrives. Torah does not just mean law, it also means
"teaching".

Oftentimes, believers avoid Torah because they are afraid of falling into legalism. But obedience is not legalism. If keeping the Torah were necessary for salvation, we would all fail because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", Rom 3:23. The Torah was never meant to be the means by which a person could earn his salvation. Legalism says, "I must obey God in order to be saved." Grace says, "I must obey because I am saved."

The Torah can be likened to the foundation of a house because it is the initial revelation of God. Books like Proverbs continually exhort us to turn to the Torah. The Psalms praise God's Torah and urge us to keep His laws.The Epistles are an extension of Yeshua's teaching, but they rest on the foundation of Torah. Even the book of Revelation is Torah-based. It contains seemingly endless allusions to the Torah and speaks of the triumphant over-comers as those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua". Consistency with the Torah is the litmus test of scriptural authenticity. To fully understand God's word, we must read the Gospels and Epistles through the lens of Torah. Only when we start with the beginning of the book will we fully understand the middle and the ending. When the house rests on a solid foundation, it is unshakable.

Torah is more than just legal formulations; it is the revealed person of God dressed in laws and commandments. It is His spoken word written down, His self-disclosure to the world. When one realizes that Torah is God's self-disclosure to the world, one must also recognize the enormous gravity of declaring parts of that same Torah null or void. As soon as we begin to discard commandments, we have begun editing God. We have started reshaping God into an image we deem more appropriate. When we try to change the Torah or do away with a commandment, it is actually God we are trying to change or do away with. Outside observers should be able to look at the Torah-observant life and discern in it several truths of godliness. Deut 4:5-8 says that when Israel lives out the Torah, the world will see God.

Jeremiah's prophecy of God's Torah being written on the hearts and minds of men and women has not yet been fully realized. Redemption is a process. The Torah is being written on our hearts, but none of us have arrived yet. For this reason, we are still very much in need of Yeshua. Consequently, we are still very much in need of the written Torah. It remains the only standard we have to measure our errant hearts against. A living copy of the Torah is being written on our hearts. This inner Torah does not negate the written Torah. Instead God's Law is suppose to become a moral reflex for us, a new Natural Law. which enables us to walk in genuine obedience. To the extent that we do so, we are living lives like Messiah. This is what is means to be transformed by Messiah.

James calls the Torah the "perfect law". (James 1:22-25) Remember, the Torah is a soul mirror. For believers, the Torah is not a sterile list of rules. It is a written version of our inner identity - Messiah.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?..." 2 Cor 13:5 (ESV)

There is a Torah-Observant, Jewish guy dwelling in you!!!