Sunday, February 15, 2009

TorahBytes: God's Rules (Mishpatim)

Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. (Shemot / Exodus 21:1; ESV)

This week's Torah portion includes rules regarding personal property liability, the penalties for causing bodily harm, parent-child relationships, behavior towards handicapped persons, equity of the law with regard to non-citizens, the consequences for engaging in certain kinds of illegitimate religious activities, and so on. The wisdom in many of these rules is self evident and can be found in the law codes of many societies throughout the world today.

Those desiring to take the Scriptures seriously typically ask the question, "How do we know which rules still apply in our day?" Traditional Judaism asserts that everything in the Torah (five books of Moses) that was directed to the people of Israel still applies to the people of Israel. The exception would be the elements of the sacrificial system. Some traditionalists look forward to the day when a new Temple will be built and the sacrificial system will be reinstated.

There are some New Covenant believers who have a similar understanding of Torah precepts. They see that the Torah as given at Mt. Sinai is eternal. They may or may not look forward to the reestablishment of the sacrificial system due to their understanding of Yeshua's role in fulfilling that particular aspect of the Torah. They tend to see that one of the purposes (if not the prime purpose) of the Gospel is to bring the Torah to the nations.

This view of the Torah doesn't jive with the teaching of the New Covenant Scriptures, however. In fact, it doesn't jive with the anticipation of the Old Covenant Scriptures either. The Torah as given to the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai was more than a law code. It was a covenant, something similar to a national constitution. It governed more than behavior; it established the relationship between Israel and God. When Israel broke the covenant, God determined to establish a new covenant, not like the old one (see Jeremiah 31:31-34).

This New Covenant was established by the Messiah Yeshua. The New Covenant's foundational difference from the Old Covenant was the basis through which right relationship with God was established and maintained. Under the Old Covenant this was founded on the Levitical priesthood and the Temple and was fundamentally for the people of Israel during the years of preparation until the Messiah's coming. Under the New Covenant right relationship with God is founded upon the person and work of Yeshua and is freely open to the full participation of all people regardless of nationality.

While there is wonderful continuity between the Old and New Covenants, the Old Covenant as a system of regulations is incompatible with the New. Since the basis of relationship with God has been transformed because of what the Messiah has done, the Old Covenant system is obsolete.

This understanding of Torah is actually similar to that of traditional Judaism. The absence of a temple with its priesthood and sacrifices along with the rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah forced a complete overhaul of Judaism. Some may think that Judaism upholds the Torah when the fact is it cannot without its Levitical foundation in place. Attempts by some messianics to make Yeshua the new foundation of the old system is misguided and uninformed.

This leaves us with the question of what do we do with Torah regulations such as many of the ones listed in this week's portion? Just because the system within which these regulations were communicated is transformed doesn't mean that every detail is irrelevant. Certainly when God communicated his ways to Israel of old, while there were elements unique to that covenant, there were also a great many things that apply to all people of all times. Determining which ones those are require humility, spiritual sensitivity, and much study. The New Covenant emphasis of love of God and neighbor should drive us to delve into the Scriptures to discover God's heart for the specifics on how we should live our lives.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I usually love your commentaries but in this drash there appears a confusion between the Torah (God's ways/instructions for us) and a brit (covenant/agreement with terms and conditions, put into effect after a sacrifice has been made).

The Torah was not a brit, it was a part, and included in the Mosaic Brit but it was not in and of itself the brit.

Why do you refer to the Tenach as "the old covenant" when there were many old covenants in the Tenach.

The new brit as prophecied by Yirmayahu includes ADONAI writing His Torah upon the hearts of His chosen people (Judah and Israel). Therefore in the new brit (covenant) the Torah still exemplifies His ways (His instructions for us.

Was something wrong with the "old covenant" or with Torah? Did God decide His ways were no longer correct? Rabbi Shaul (Paul) said "God forbid"!

The problem with the old agreement was that it was broken. The problem was with us.

It is true that Y'shua fulfilled the requirement for animal sacrifices. Although a reading of the prophets shows us that there will be a new temple where sacrifices will again be made. Why? While the old sacrifices covered sin for a season and were a shadow of what was to come, we can only assume will be for thanksgiving and in celebration of what He has done. Then after the millenial reign it indicates that there will no longer be a temple once the enemies of HaShem have been dealt with for the last time.

Y'shua said that He did not come to destroy Torah, and that the smallest letter and yes even the smallest part of the smallest letter would not be taken from Torah until heaven and earth disappear. Now the last time I checked ... well you get the point.

Now in Torah there are also laws for Israel as a nation that pertain to them specifically when they live in the land. There are special laws of seperation for the levites and for cohanim. Every part of Torah is not for every person (except to learn from).

There are laws concerning health and sanitation which only make sense to follow as they lead to a more abundant life.

Finally we come to the moral laws. Which one(s) do you suppose are no longer applicable and why?

There are actually MORE commandments in the Brit Chadasha than there are in the Tenach, and I think you would be hard pressed to find any of the moral laws that are not reiterated in the Brit Chadashah, and with good reason. The Torah is being written on our hearts as The LORD said would happen through Jeremiah.

This is the same new covenant as evidenced by the writer of the letter to the Messianc community commonly called "Hebrews." In "Hebrews" 8 (and again in chapter 12) it reiterates the terms/conditions of the new (or renewed) covenant as follows:

"This is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: Giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for people. And they shall not teach each his fellow-citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; because all shall know me in themselves, from the little one among them unto the great among them. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more."

Now right after that it says:  "In that he says New, he has made the first old; but that which grows old and aged is near disappearing."

Look closely. What is it that is disappearing? It is not Torah. It is an old covenant. Torah is being written on someones hearts.

Now that begs the question "What does it mean to have something written on your heart?"

It goes very nicely with the idea of making teshuvah (repenting if you prefer) which is turning from sin, and turning to HaShem (GOD if you prefer). And what is sin? John tells us very straightforwardly in 1 John 3:4 that sin is lawlessness.

In Matthew 13:41 Y'shua says that at the "completion of the age.  The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and those that practise lawlessness; and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth."

Rabbi Shaul (Paul) describes the anti-Messiah (anti-Christ if you prefer) while giving us a warning in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2: "Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.
For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom."

So the "AntiChrist" is a man who seperates himself far from Torah.

Now the goyim (gentiles) who are grafted in to the Brit Chadashah are not required to become Jewish by way of circumcision, that is certain.

As for the rest I remember that the Jerusalem council ruled that there were certain laws they were to follow commonly referred to as the Noahic laws. These were laws given by HaShem to all mankind.

Let me ask you, do they follow these laws as instructed by the Jerusalem council? Do they preach about them? Are they included in any of their creeds? Why not?

The rest of the decision from that council stated that they would not at that time place any additional burden on the goyim (why?) because Moses (the Torah) was already being preached every week in all the world. What do you suppose that means?

This last part is something that I find very difficult to be dogmatic about. But then as I said before, just exactly which of God's moral laws are so distasteful that men should not have them on their hearts?

We are not saved by works but we are saved "unto" good works. What are "good works" other than obeying God and His instructions given to us for our benefit?

I will end with this quote from Y'shua in Matthew chapter 5: "... whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P˒rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!"

I hope and pray that you will read this and it may help you in some way, but even if not I still love you and your work, and you are my brother.

Chayn v'Shalom

Alan Gilman said...

John,

From reading your comments, I have the impression that we agree that keeping Torah under the New Covenant is not a form of rabbinic Judaism, plus Yeshua. I think we both understand that the system has changed. I agree with you that as followers of the Messiah we are called to live righteous lives based on the Scriptures. One definition of the word "torah" simply means "direction" or "teaching". In that sense of the word, we are called to abide by "torah". The point I was trying to make was that "torah" is found within the Five Books of Moses. It is also found within the rest of the Hebrew and New Covenant Scriptures. Discerning exactly which principles are relevant for today and how to apply them correctly takes work.

Anonymous said...

brothers listen 3 things were made better in the new covenent better or new, the high priest is now yeshua the blood of animals is the blood now of yeshua the lamb of god and the law written on mans hearts by the holy spirit,listen its great paul states,to those who accepted yeshua that you died with him on the tree or cross ,so if you died the law cant condemn you the written law that is and sin loses its power because your dead .so if we are walking in the newness of the spirit you become the kind of person the law wanted you to be ,example written code says do not steal,its good its holy ,but like a father speaking to a son thats what the father wants to see his son obeying,so to not steal is better than do not steal,the spirit of messiah in man transforms the individual,were by nature he steals no longger,by the spirit in him ,changing him into the person torah requires, once again the torah says do not steal the spirit in the person enables the person to say i dont steal ,so finally once more idont steal is better than dont steal ,dont is a command i dont is a character, yeshua was living torah in the flesh showing us a person who walks in the spirit of torah god bless you all,shalom mark from ireland peace be upon israel.

maskatron said...

brothers listen 3 things were made better in the new covenent better or new, the high priest is now yeshua the blood of animals is the blood now of yeshua the lamb of god and the law written on mans hearts by the holy spirit,listen its great paul states,to those who accepted yeshua that you died with him on the tree or cross ,so if you died the law cant condemn you the written law that is and sin loses its power because your dead .so if we are walking in the newness of the spirit you become the kind of person the law wanted you to be ,example written code says do not steal,its good its holy ,but like a father speaking to a son thats what the father wants to see his son obeying,so to not steal is better than do not steal,the spirit of messiah in man transforms the individual,were by nature he steals no longger,by the spirit in him ,changing him into the person torah requires, once again the torah says do not steal the spirit in the person enables the person to say i dont steal ,so finally once more idont steal is better than dont steal ,dont is a command i dont is a character, yeshua was living torah in the flesh showing us a person who walks in the spirit of torah god bless you all,shalom mark from ireland peace be upon israel.

Anonymous said...

Very refreshing messianic devotion after all the other misguided messianic stuff I've been reading and hearing on the internet! Keep up your good work!

Anonymous said...

brothers its time to love yeshua and his word, read it practice it,many are following their own lusts and desires,if we submit you know all the gifts of the spirit are for today the miracles healings ,god does not give his approval to people living wordly and not resisting sin and not being a good example,he will not give his gifts and seal of approval to churches not walking in his obedience,many of you and your brothers are recieving different spirits different gospels and differend yeshua today the false teachers are teaching the grace of god is a licence to not submit to gods word and take sin lightly,i believe their are real brothers born again in slavery to church traditions and mens opinion rather than yeshuas authority,unbelievers and believers need rescuing,their are many korahs,rebbels in the body of yeshua ,they resist yeshuas authority the torah and preach their own opinions,2 or 3 submitted believers leading holy lives can be an army for the lord,we need to come together like the first believers,meeting together ,devoted to the lords teaching,of one mind and heart, sharing and caring for each other,even selling possessions if need be,breaking of bread and prayer,then will you see the power of god at work the sick will be healed demons will be cast out and even dead risen,its up to us ,the blue print is in the book of acts,build another way and it will not work,god bless you all in yeshua,pray for me... mark sheekey