From the top of Mount Sinai, YAHWEH began speaking
to the Children of Israel by introducing
Himself and then declaring The Ten *Commandments (properly
called “The Ten Words.”). The Ten
Commandments are the ten subject matters or the ten things upon which the First Covenant was based.)
*H1697 dabar, daw-bawr'; from H1696; a word; by implying a matter
(as spoken of) or thing; adv. a
cause:-- …
Exodus 20 (I) And Elohim spake all these words, saying, (2) I am YAHWEH thy Elohim, which have brought
thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (3) Thou shalt have no other elohim
before ME. (4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I YAHWEH thy Elohim am a jealous El, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation of them that
hate ME; (6) And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love ME, and keep MY Commandments. (7) Thou shalt not take the name of YAHWEH thy Elohim in vain; for YAHWEH will not hold him guiltless that taketh HIS name in vain. (8) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: (10) But the seventh
day is the Sabbath of YAHWEH thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days YAHWEH made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YAHWEH blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. (12) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which YAHWEH thy Elohim giveth thee. (13) Thou shalt not kill. (14) Thou shalt not
commit adultery. (15) Thou shalt not
steal. (16) Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbour. (17) Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his
manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour's.
When YAHWEH finished
declaring the Ten Commandments, the Children of Israel moved back and stood afar off in fear of
dying from hearing YAHWEH's voice. They
told Moses that they wanted YAHWEH to speak to
Moses and Moses to speak to them.
Exodus 20 (18) And all the people saw the thunderings, and the
lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people
saw it, they removed, and stood afar
off. (19) And
they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not Elohim speak
with us, lest we die. (20) And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for Elohim is come to prove you, and that HIS fear may be before your faces, that
ye sin not. (21) And the people
stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where Elohim was.
(22) And YAHWEH
said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the Children of Israel, Ye have seen that I
have talked with you from Heaven.
YAHWEH, knowing that the Children of Israel would transgress the Ten
Commandments which He had just declared unto them from the top of the mount,
gave to Moses words (i.e. matters or things) of general and practical instructions, rules, regulations,
laws and judgments to teach them. (All these words of instructions and judgments that were given at
that time are found in Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33.)
YAHWEH speaks all those words through the mouth of Moses to the Children of Israel.
Exodus
24 (3) And
Moses came and told the people all the words of YAHWEH, and all the judgments: and all the people
answered with one voice, and said, All the words which YAHWEH hath said will we
do. (4) And Moses wrote all
the words of YAHWEH and rose up early in the morning, and
builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes
of Israel.
The Covenant was ratified or sealed with the blood
of sacrifices after the Book of the
Covenant was read to the Children of
Israel and they again accepted
the Covenant.
Exodus
24 (5) And
he sent young men of the Children of Israel, which offered burnt
offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto YAHWEH. (6) And
Moses took half of the blood, and put it in
basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. (7) And
he took the Book
of the Covenant, and read
in the audience of the people: and they said, All that
YAHWEH hath said
will we do, and be obedient.
(8) And
Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on
the people,
and said, Behold the Blood of the Covenant, which YAHWEH hath made with you
concerning *all these words.
*“All these words” referred to all the words found in Exodus
20:22 to 23:33 that YAHWEH gave to Moses
to write down and to read to the people.
The Book of the
Covenant: The Book of the Covenant is only mentioned two more times in the scriptures. It is
also called the Book of the Torah & The Book of the Covenant in II Kings 22:8-23:2 & in II Chronicles
34:14-30.
II Chronicles 34 (14) And when they brought out the money that was brought
into the House of YAHWEH, Hilkiah the priest found a Book of the Torah of YAHWEH given by Moses … (30) And
the king went up into the House of YAHWEH, and all the men of Judah, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people,
great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the Book of the
Covenant that was found in the House of YAHWEH.
The
term “Book of
the Torah is mentioned eighteen times in the Old Testament.
Every time the Hebrew word” Torah” has been
translated as “Law” by the KJV which
followed the lead of the LXX using the Greek word “nomos:G355.” However, most
of the time I will use the Hebrew word “Torah.”
this Book
of the Torah (Deu 29:21 KJV); (Deu 30:10 KJV); (Deu 31:26 KJV); (Josh 1:8
KJV)
the Book
of the Torah (Josh 8:34 KJV); (2 Ki 22:11 KJV); (2 Ki
22:8 KJV);
the Book
of the Torah (2 Chr 34:15 KJV); (Neh 8:3 KJV); and one
time in the N.T. (Gal 3:10 KJV)
the Book
of the Torah of Moses (Josh 8:31 KJV); (Josh 23:6
KJV); (2 Ki 14:6 KJV); (Neh 8:1 KJV)
the Book
of the Torah of Elohim
(Josh 24:26 KJV); (Neh
8:18 KJV)
the Book
of the Torah of YAHWEH (2 Chr 17:9 KJV); (2 Chr 34:14 KJV)
the Book
of the Torah of YAHWEH
their Elohim
(Neh 9:3 KJV)
At this point in time, The Ten Words (i.e. The Ten Commandments) have been declared to the Children of
Israel by YAHWEH, the Book of the Covenant, also called the Book of the
Torah containing all the words found in Exodus 20:22 to 23:33
have
been read to them and the Covenant has been ratified or sealed
with the blood of their sacrifices.
Let us take a brief look at The Ten Commandments and a closer
look at the two Tables of Stone that they were written on by the finger of Elohim.
YAHWEH's Ten
Commandments or His Ten Words implying ten matters or things were the only
words that YAHWEH spoke to Israel from the mountain. In Deuteronomy
5:4-22, when Moses was recounting the incident he even states that when YAHWEH declared The Ten
Commandments He added no more.
Deuteronomy 5 ((4) YAHWEH
talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (5) (I
stood between YAHWEH
and you at that time, to show you The
Word of YAHWEH: for ye were afraid by
reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, … (22) These
words
[i.e. the Ten Commandments (the ten words in verses 5 to
21)] YAHWEH spake unto all your assembly
in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness,
with a great voice: and He
added no more. And HE [YAHWEH] wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me [Moses].
The words just spoken of above were called the “Words of the
Covenant.” Also,
those two tables of stone were not only called the two Tables of the Covenant, but
they were also called the two Tables
of Testimony.
Exodus 34 (28) And
he was there with YAHWEH forty days and forty nights; he did
neither eat bread, nor drink water. And
He [YAHWEH] wrote upon the tables the Words of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments.
(29) And
it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two Tables of Testimony
in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the
skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Exodus 31 (18) And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an
end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two Tables
of Testimony, Tables of Stone, written with
the finger of Elohim.
Deuteronomy
9 (8) Also
in Horeb ye provoked YAHWEH to wrath, so that YAHWEH was angry with you
to have destroyed you. (9) When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone,
even [even has been added] the Tables of the Covenant which
YAHWEH
made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither
did eat bread nor drink water: (10) And YAHWEH delivered unto me two Tables of Stone written with
the finger of Elohim; and on them was written according
to all the words, which YAHWEH spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the
day of the assembly. (11) And it came to pass at the end of forty days and
forty nights, that YAHWEH
gave me the
two Tables of Stone, even
[even has been added] the Tables of the Covenant. … (15) So I turned and came down from the mount, and
the mount burned with fire: and the two Tables of the Covenant were
in my two hands. (16) And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against YAHWEH
your Elohim,
and had made you a molten calf: ye
had turned aside quickly out of the way which YAHWEH had commanded you [Exodus 20:22-23]. (17) And I took the two tables,
and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your
eyes.
On
the other hand, in the words found in Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33 that the Children of Israel
agreed to, we find something that is very different. In addition to
sacrificing to approach YAHWEH, (interestingly
enough, so did Abraham) we find that there were added prohibitions penalized
by death for transgressing many of the Ten Commandments in various forms and situations.
In
Exodus 20:26, Offering a Burnt offering and/or Peace
offerings on a properly built altar was the prescribed way to draw
near or approach YAHWEH to worship Him.
In
Exodus 21:15, we find a ban against smiting a parent penalized
by death.
In
Exodus 21:16, we find a ban against stealing and selling a man penalized
by death.
In
Exodus 21:17, we find a ban against cursing a parent penalized
by death.
In
Exodus 21:23-25, we find a ban against causing
a miscarriage penalized by
death.
In
Exodus 21:29, Owning a known
violent ox that killed a person is penalized
by death.
In
Exodus 22:18, we find a ban against letting a
witch live penalized by
death.
In
Exodus 22:19, we find a ban against bestiality, penalized by death.
In
Exodus 22:18:20, we find a ban against idolatry penalized by death.
Why
were there NO ceremonies, NO rituals, NO sacrifices, and NO death penalties
even mentioned by YAHWEH when He declared the Ten Commandments at the mount or when He wrote them on the Two Tables of Stone? Why were those things mentioned above added in the Torah given to Moses at that time as well many other things in
subsequent times? The Apostle Shaul says it
was because of transgressions.
Galatians
3 (16) Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. HE saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to
thy seed, which is Messiah.
(17) And
this I say, that the covenant, that
was confirmed before of YAHWEH in Messiah, the Torah [of Moses], which
was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should
make the promise of none effect. (18) For if the inheritance be of the Torah, it is no
more of promise: but YAHWEH gave it
to Abraham by promise. (19) Wherefore then serveth
[serveth has been added] the Torah? It was
added because of *transgressions, till the
seed [Messiah] should come to Whom the promise
was made; and it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a Mediator.
* What does the
word Transgression mean? And what Law or Torah was already being transgressed that the Torah
of Moses was added to at that time?
Trans·gres·sion (tr²ns-grµsh…n, tr²nz-)
n. 1. A violation of a law, command, or duty: … A. H.
D.- third addition
I
John 3 (4)
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah:
Romans
6 (23) For
the wages of
sin is death; but the Gift of
YAHWEH
is Eternal Life through YAHshua
Messiah
our Sovereign.
Before
determining what Torah that the Torah of Moses was added to, we need a little word
study on the Hebrew word “Torah” and
a deeper understanding of the Ten Words i.e. the Ten Commandments.
Much confusion has been caused because of the KJV following the
lead of the LXX in translating the Hebrew word “Torah” (H8451) into the Greek word “nomos”
(G355) and then translating it as “law.” Obviously,
“law” is a meaning of the Hebrew
word “Torah,” but by no means
limited to it. Technically, Torah
can also be used to mean precept, statute, teaching, instruction, direction or different combinations of them. It is often used of the Decalogue (the Ten
Commandments) or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible).
Below
are definitions from two different sources of the word “Torah” and its root word “yarah”
from which it came. The first definitions are from Strongs; the second definitions are from Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew Definitions.
H8451. towrah, to-raw'; or torah, to-raw'; *from H3384; a precept or statute,
especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch:--law.
*H3384. yarah,
yaw-raw'; or (H2 Chr. 26 : 15) yara',
yaw-raw'; a prim. root; prop. to flow as water (i.e. to rain); trans. to lay or
throw (espec. an arrow. i.e. to shoot); fig. to point out (as if by
aiming the finger), to teach:--
(+) archer, cast, direct, inform, instruct, lay, shew,
shoot, teach (-er, -ing), through.
תּרה
/ תּורה
tôrâh BDB
Definition: H8451
(1) law, direction, instruction
(1a) instruction, direction (human or divine)
(1a1)
body of prophetic teaching
(1a2)
instruction in Messianic age
(1a3)
body of priestly direction or instruction
(1a4)
body of legal directives
(1b)
law
1b1) law of the burnt offering
1b2)
of special law, codes of law
(1c)
custom, manner
(1d)
the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law
Part of Speech: noun
feminine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s
Number:
from
H3384
ירא / ירה yârâh / yârâ' BDB Definition: H3384
(1)
to throw, shoot, cast, pour
(1a)
(Qal)
(1a1)
to throw, cast
(1a2)
to cast, lay, set
(1a3)
to shoot arrows
(1a4)
to throw water, rain
(1b)
(Niphal) to be shot
(1c)
(Hiphil)
(1c1)
to throw, cast
(1c2)
to shoot
(1c3)
to point out, show
(1c4)
to direct, teach, instruct
(1c5)
to throw water, rain
Part of Speech:
verb A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
From
the time of Adam until the ratifying and sealing of the Covenant with the Children
of Israel YAHWEH has always had His
Torah even if it was not recorded for
us. YAHWEH's Torah of the Spirit of Life (Torah-i.e. Law, Teaching, Direction, or Instruction for righteousness) was for all mankind. If that Torah had not been transgressed there would have been no need for the Torah of Moses to have been added to it. Undoubtedly, YAHWEH's Torah of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2&7) is not only the foundation of, but was
represented by The Ten
Commandment Torah that was written with the finger of Elohim on The Two Tables of the Covenant, (also called Two Tables
of Testimony) placed in the Ark of the Covenant (also called the Ark of the Testimony) and well protected in the Most Holy Place. Oh, how very special YAHWEH's Ten Commandment Torah must be to
Him!!!
The
first four of YAHWEH's
Ten Commandments
reveal His desire for mankind to love and worship Him
by having no other Elohim before Him, by not making any images
(and/or not bowing down to worship them), by not taking His Holy name
in vain, and by not polluting His Hallowed Sabbath.
In short, to LOVE YAHWEH our Elohim with all our heart, and with all our soul,
and with all our mind and to LOVE our neighbour as ourselves can be summed up
in two Great Commandments.
Matthew 22 (35) Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him,
and saying, (36) Instructor,
which is the great commandment in the Torah (37) YAHshua
said unto him, Thou shalt love YAHWEH thy Elohim with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. [Deut. 6:5] (38) This
is the first and great commandment.
(39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself [Lev 19:18]. (40) On these two Commandments hang all the Torah [of Moses] and the prophets.
YAHWEH's Torah of the Spirit
of Life (Ro. 8:2) is
represented by His Ten
Commandment Torah which the Two Commandment Torah sum up and
represent. Therefore, the Torah of Moses and the Prophets were added to YAHWEH's
Ten Commandment
Torah which all mankind had been transgressing beginning with Adam
& Eve.
Honoring YAHWEH's Ten Commandment Torah (i.e. Law, Teaching, Direction, or
Instruction for righteousness) would have aimed
at, pointed to and directed all mankind to the Tree of Life. However, let us look at what happened instead. (Only the
shorter version of the narrative is given below.)
Genesis
2 (8) And YAHWEH Elohim
planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there he put the man whom he had formed. (9) And out of the ground made YAHWEH Elohim
to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
… (15) And YAHWEH Elohim
took the man, and put him into the Garden
of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (16) And YAHWEH Elohim commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely
eat: (17) But
of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the
day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.
Genesis 3 (I) Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the
field which YAHWEH
Elohim
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath Elohim
said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? … (6) And
when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was pleasant to
the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat. … (12) And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat. (13) And YAHWEH Elohim
said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said,
The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat. … (17) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt
not eat of it: cursed is the ground
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of
it all the days of thy life; (18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; (19) In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast
thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. …(23) Therefore YAHWEH Elohim sent him forth from the Garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken. (24) So He drove out the man; and
he placed at the east of the Garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the Way of the Tree
of Life.
Adam and Eve had transgressed the
Ten Commandment Torah. They were tricked by the evil one into coveting the forbidden fruit and putting their trust in
themselves and that Old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan instead of trusting in YAHWEH Elohim their Heavenly Father. (They transgressed at least these three commandments: (Thou shalt not covet.) (Thou shalt have no other elohim before ME.)
& (Thou shalt honor thy Father and thy
Mother.)
Adam and Eve, representing mankind, chose to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil undoubtedly represents the Torah of Sin and Death for the temporal, unrighteous and carnal adversarial nature of man. (Some of the fruits will be listed shortly in Gal. 5:16-23.)
However, its ultimate fruit leads to DEATH because the wages
of sin is DEATH; but the Gift of
YAHWEH
is ETERNAL LIFE through YAHshua Messiah
our Sovereign.
(Romans 6:23)
Because
of their transgressions, mankind was temporarily banned from the
fruit of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life undoubtedly represents the Torah of the Spirit of Life (Ro.8-2&7) for the Eternal, Heavenly, Righteous, Spirit Nature of YAHWEH for His Spirit filled Believers in and through YAHshua
Messiah. Some of its fruits are listed below,
but its ultimate fruit leads to Eternal Life!!!
Galatians 5 (16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would. (18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the Torah [of sin and death (Romans 8:2)]. (19) Now the works of the
flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (21) Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit
the Kingdom
of YAHWEH. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no Torah.
In
the scripture below, the Apostle Shaul relates to the two natures (Spiritual & Carnal) just mentioned above.
Romans 8 (I) There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Messiah YAHshua, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
(2) For
the Torah of
the Spirit of Life in Messiah
YAHshua
hath made me free from the Torah of sin
and death. (3) For
what the Torah
[of sin and death] could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh, YAHWEH sending HIS SON
in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and [for the sacrifice] for sin,
condemned sin
in the flesh:
(4) That
the righteousness
of the Torah
[of the Spirit of Life in Messiah YAHshua -
(from verse 2)] might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (5) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (6) For
to be carnally
minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7)
Because the carnal
mind is enmity against YAHWEH:
for it is not subject to the Torah of YAHWEH [the very same Torah of the Spirit of Life that is in His
Son (verse 2)], neither indeed can be. (8) So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please YAHWEH. (9) But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF so be that the Spirit
of YAHWEH dwell in you. Now if any man have
not the Spirit
of Messiah,
he is none of His. (10) And
if Messiah
be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit
is Life because of righteousness.
(11) But
if the Spirit
of HIM that raised up YAHshua
from the dead
dwell in you, HE that raised up Messiah
from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit
that dwelleth in you.
Because
mankind kept transgressing YAHWEH's
Torah of the Spirit of Life represented by the Ten Commandment Torah, He added the Torah of Moses to it and gave it to Israel “till the seed
[Messiah] should come.”
The Torah of Moses appears to consist of three
parts.
Part #1: The Ten Commandment
Torah: After YAHWEH spoke
The Ten Commandments to
the Children of Israel from the top of Mount Sinai He wrote them down as a testimony (i.e. a witness) to them. It was probably the first time that they had ever
been written down and it was also for a precursor foretelling YAHWEH
writing them in the hearts of New Covenant Believers. The Ten Commandment Torah was written with the finger of Elohim on the Two Tables of the Covenant, (also called the Two Tables
of Testimony) placed in the Ark of the Covenant (also called the Ark of the Testimony) and was well protected in the Most Holy Place.
Part
#2: Magnification and Clarification of the Ten Commandment
Torah: This was done through the teachings, laws,
and statutes that exposed sin while at the same time spiritually revealing
YAHWEH's
desires for righteous
moral principles of behavior toward Him and all His creation, including
all living creatures and to the land itself.
Part #3: The tabernacle,
the
Levitical Priesthood and all their Services: The System of the tabernacle, the Levitical Priesthood and everything about them including the rituals and the ceremonial and sacrificial laws was
set up for the purpose to only temporarily
deal with
Sin and Death “till the Seed, [Messiah] should
come.” It could not and did not permanently deal with Sin and Death (see Romans 8:2-4 above). It only foreshadowed
the redemptive work of the Messiah YAHshua, Who was YAHWEH's ultimate sacrifice for sin!
Hebrews 8 (4) For
if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests
that offer
gifts according to the Torah: (5) Who serve unto the example and shadow
of heavenly
things, as Moses was admonished of YAHWEH when he was about to make
the tabernacle: for, See, saith HE, that thou make all things according to
the pattern showed to thee in the mount.
Hebrews 9 (11) But Messiah
being come a High Priest of good things to come,
by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this building; (12)
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His Own blood He entered in once into the Holy Place,
having obtained Eternal
Redemption for us. (13) For
if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the
unclean, *sanctifieth [to
make holy i.e. ceremonially purify or consecrate] to the
**purifying [ceremonially cleansing] of the flesh: (14) How much more shall the blood of Messiah,
Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to YAHWEH,
***purge [literally cleanse (not
ceremonially)] your conscience from dead works to serve the Living Elohim?
(15) And for this cause He is the Mediator of the New Covenant
that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the
First Covenant, they
which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritance.
*G37. hagiazo, hag-ee-ad'-zo; from G40; to make holy i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate;
(mentally) to venerate:--hallow, be holy, sanctify.
**G2514. katharotes, kath-ar-ot'-ace; from G2513; cleanness (ceremonially):--purification.
***G2511. katharizo, kath-ar-id'-zo; from G2513; to cleanse (literally or figuratively):--(make) clean
(-se), purge, purify.
According
to the above scripture, the New Covenant Believers in Messiah have their consciences
literally purged
(not just
ceremonially)
from the same transgressions
(sins) that
those under the First
Covenant were only ceremonially cleansed. Those transgressions
were from transgressing
Part 1 (i.e. the Ten
Commandments,) & Part 2
(i.e. the magnification
and clarification
of them and for spiritual instruction for righteous moral principles of behavior toward
YAHWEH
and all His
creation, including all living creatures and even to the land
itself.) The transgressing
of those spiritual things was sin
under the First
Covenant and it is still sin
under the New
Covenant.
Undoubtedly, YAHWEH's Torah of the Spirit of Life was present in the Garden of Eden, in Part 1 & Part 2 of the Torah of Moses and it is also present in the
New Covenant
even though we are no longer under the Torah of Moses.
Galatians
3 (16) Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. HE saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to
thy seed, which is Messiah. (17) And this I say, that
the Covenant, that was confirmed
before of YAHWEH
in Messiah,
the Torah which
was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make
the promise of none effect. (18) For if the inheritance be of the Torah, it is no
more of promise: but YAHWEH gave it
to Abraham by promise. (19) Wherefore then serveth
[serveth has been added] the Torah? It [the Torah of Moses] was added because of transgressions, till the seed
[Messiah] should come to Whom the promise
was made; and it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a Mediator. (20) Now a Mediator is not a Mediator
of one, but YAHWEH
is one. (21) Is the Torah, then against the promises of
YAHWEH?
YAHWEH
forbid: for if there had been a Torah given
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the Torah. (22) But
the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of YAHshua Messiah might be given to them that
believe.
(23) But
before faith
came, we were kept under the Torah, shut
up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed. (24) Wherefore the
Torah was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified
by faith.
(25) But
after that faith
is come, *we
are no longer under a schoolmaster. (26) For
ye are all the Children
of YAHWEH
by faith
in Messiah
YAHshua.
(27) For
as many of you as have been baptized into Messiah have put on Messiah. (28) There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Messiah YAHshua. (29) And if ye be
Messiah's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.
*Why is
it true that we are not under the schoolmaster i.e. the Torah of Moses? As the scripture
below indicates, Messiah the Seed has come
and He has the Torah of the Spirit of
Life in Him
and He is in us because we put on Messiah (verse 27 above). Therefore, we
are under the Torah of the Spirit of Life through Him. The Torah of the Spirit of
Life is written in our
hearts under the New Covenant.
Romans 8 (2) For
the Torah of the
Spirit of
Life in Messiah YAHshua hath made me free from the Torah of sin and death. (3) For
what the Torah [of sin and death] could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh, YAHWEH sending HIS SON
in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and [for the sacrifice] for sin,
condemned sin
in the flesh:
(4) That
the righteousness
of the Torah [of the Spirit of Life in Messiah
YAHshua - (from verse 2)] might
be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
Considering
all the above, does that mean that the Torah of Moses has become void (i.e. rendered entirely
idle or useless as some claim?) Absolutely
not! While identifying sin for us it
still magnifies and clarifies the Ten Commandment Torah. It still
reveals YAHWEH's
desires for a holy standard of moral behavior toward Him, and all His creation,
including every living creature and even to the land itself. The Torah of Moses still teaches its
prophetic values such as in YAHWEH's annual Holy Days etc.
The Torah of the Spirit of Life in YAHshua, writes those things in our
heart. It teaches us even more fully
how to LOVE YAHWEH our Elohim with all our heart, and with all our soul,
and with all our mind and to LOVE our neighbour [i.e. all mankind] as ourselves. For instance, YAHshua
Who has the Torah
of the Spirit of Life
(Romans 8:2,) gave us three perfect
examples. Let me comment on the first example. All sexual sins undoubtedly come under the
heading of adultery
in one way or another. How? If one is married and commits a sexual sin
with a man, woman, or beast, one pollutes oneself and whoever or whatever one
commits it with. That dishonors YAHWEH, YAHshua and one's own spouse and the spouse of
the other if married. One that is not married and commits a sexual sin
pollutes one self and the second party and dishonors even their future spouses.
One can identify in the Torah of Moses all the ways that sexual sins
can occur and the Torah of the Spirit of Life writes it in our hearts and teaches us not to lust or even think
about committing any of those sexual sins identified.
Matthew
5 (27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt
not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matthew
5 (21) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt
not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment: (22) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the
council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
fire.
Matthew
5 (43) Ye have heard that it hath
been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. (44) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
Many thanks to YAHWEH and YAHshua for freeing us of the expensive and burdensome Tabernacle with all of its services which only foreshadowed the redemptive work of the Messiah YAHshua
who was YAHWEH's
ultimate sacrifice for sin!
Many thanks to YAHWEH and YAHshua for our Redemption and Eternal Life through YAHshua Messiah!!!
T.A.H
(Updated as of 7-7-2019)