TORAH: HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING PART 1

Genesis chapter 1










Today we are walking in: Torah: Historical Understanding







Job 21:14




Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge H1847 of thy ways.










KNOWLEDGE







Today we look to the word-KNOWLEDGE- H847 da'ath--knowledge, perception, skill, discernment













The Torah testifies.....................




Exodus 31:3




And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom,and in understanding, and in knowledge, H1847 andin all manner of workmanship,










The prophets proclaim..................




Isaiah 33:6




And wisdom and knowledge H1847 shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.















The writings bear witness.............



Job 34:2




Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.









Torah: The Historical Understanding




As we begin, ask yourself this question: Did Jesus have a King James Version of the Bible? Did He have a Catholic Bible? What Scriptures did Jesus use? He had the Torah!




So just what is Torah? Traditionally, the word Torah refers to the first five Books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (also known by the Greek word, Pentateuch). The Torah was given to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai after Yah had delivered them from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. In other words, the Torah was given to a redeemed people to teach them how to live a redeemed lifestyle.




The Hebrew word "Torah" is derived from two other Hebrew words: "or" (Strong's #216) meaning "light" and "yarah" (Strong's #3384) which means to "shoot an arrow."




"In the beginning Yah created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Yah was hovering over the face of the waters. Then Yah said, "Let there be light (or):" and there was light (or)." (Genesis 1:1-3, emphasis added)




The light (or) of Creation is a fitting root word for Torah. The ancient sages have long taught that Yah created everything with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the Torah. The very first words of the Bible portray the utter nothingness into which Yah spoke and created all things. In Hebrew, the account in Genesis calls this environment "Tohu 'bohu" meaning "chaos and emptiness." It was this oppressive darkness, devoid of life, that was forever pierced by the Divine "light" of Yah. This primordial light (or) was the very first utterance of Creation, even "days" before the formation of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Yah spoke, and light was the manifestation of His Word. By His light (or), Yah drove back the darkness, and brought order to chaos.




"By the Word of the Most High the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth ... Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."

(Psalms 33:6-8)




Torah is the blueprint and its study is the soul of Creation. Yah's ineffable word took physical form. Heaven and earth and all their fullness became the clothing for the word of Yah which infuses creation, and without which the world could not continue to exist. The fire of Torah became garbed in ink and parchment, and Yah's wisdom, which is the essence of Torah, was embedded in its words and letters.




A second root word of Torah is yarah, meaning to shoot an arrow. * Picture an archer releasing an arrow from his bow. If the arrow hits the target, in other words, the arrow was properly directed and guided, and it reached the goal to which the archer had pointed it—in Hebrew, the arrow is Torah—it hit the mark. If the arrow misses, however, it is called by the Hebrew word "chatah" or "sin" in English, which simply means to miss the mark.




The Hebrew word Torah has been translated into English as "Law." Strictly speaking, Torah refers to the first five books of the Bible, including the instructions they contain. In the wider sense of the word, Torah is often used to refer to the whole of Hebrew Scriptures, what many call the Old Testament. The more proper name for the Hebrew Scriptures is the word TANAKH.




The Hebrew word Tanakh is an acronym for

the three major sections of the Scriptures:




• Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy




• Neviim: The Major and Minor Prophets




• Ketuvim: The Writings-Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.




Combined, these three sections comprise the Old Testament or Tanakh. While the Nevi'im (Prophets) and the Ketuvim (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.) are the subject of many teachings and study today, ironically, the Torah (Genesis—Deuteronomy) is one of the least studied, and therefore most misunderstood sections of the average Christian's Bible. Frequently, the familiar through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading attempt stalls out quickly after the fascinating stories in Genesis and Exodus give way to the detailed instructions for offerings, the priests, and the Sanctuary given in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Not surprisingly, this generally results in a limited understanding of these foundational Scriptures. Combined with a prevailing undercurrent of teaching which states that the Torah no longer applies to believers, most non-Jewish members of the Body of Christ have a profoundly distorted view of the Torah.




Surprising to many, the Hebrew word Torah does not mean "Law." In its simplest defin-ition, "Torah" means "Teaching" and "Instruc-tion" therefore, the Torah is Yah's Teaching and Instruction! If Jesus, our Most High and Savior, lived according to the Torah, and taught from the Torah, how did His followers come to be so distanced from these Scriptures of Jesus? How is it that many believers today even question whether or not the Torah has been done away with?




Just where did we get the idea that Judaism is a religion of law and works, while Christianity is a religion of grace and faith? When did we separate the Creator into a wrathful Yah of the Old Testament and a merciful Yah of the New Testament? How did we get to the point where we hold Synagogue services on Saturday and Church services on Sunday? How did we come to view the Torah as an oppressive "Law" of Yah, and "Grace" as freedom in Christ Jesus?




When and how were these seeds of division and confusion planted? How did our current beliefs and understandings begin, and where did all the confusion originate? By uncovering the history surrounding the Scriptures, the Jewish people, and the Church, we can understand what the Torah is and what it is not, and we'll be better positioned to answer the question:

"What is the Torah: Law or Grace?"




The Jewish Mindset of Torah




Early in the 12th century, the now famous Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam) developed a comprehensive list of the Principles found within the Five Books of Moses-the Torah. Rambam listed 613 separate Commands-248

Positive (e.g. "You shall...) and 365 Negative (e.g. "You shall not...). He further compared the 248 positive Commands to the 248 bones and organs in the human body, and the 365 negative Commands to the 365 days in a solar year. Rambam's work was so foundational that his numbering system is still widely in use today.

(For a complete list of the 613 Principles please see

Appendix A and B in the back of this book.)




When studying the 613 Principles of the Torah, it quickly becomes apparent that there are various types of Commands. Rambam and others further divide these 613 Principles into separate categories. There are Commands for men, women, kings, priests, and offerings;

Commands that can only be observed within the Land of Israel, and only within the Sanctuary or Temple in Jerusalem.




Moses recorded all of the 613 Commands or Principles given by Yah, yet the Scriptures relate that only the first ten were heard by the entire congregation of Israel gathered at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20). These "Ten Commandments" provide the best system for categorizing all of the 613 Principles of the Torah. On two tablets Yah inscribed the Ten Commandments. The first five Commandments teach us about our relationship with Yah. The last five Commandments instruct us about our relationship with one another.




Yah created the world from a plan and for a pur-pose. His plan was the Torah, which preceded the world, and His purpose was that human beings find the meaning and the goal of creation in the Torah. "He looked into the Torah and created the world," and He designed the universe to make it possible for human beings to carry out the commandments.?




When questioned by the experts in the Law of Moses, Jesus was asked which of the Commands was the greatest in all of the Torah. His response is beautiful and elegant, returning simplicity to an otherwise complex codification of Yah's Law. Jesus summarized all of the Torah and the Prophets in one word!




613 Commands of the Torah-Yah's Teaching and Instruction. 613 Principles which govern our relationship with Yah, and with each other; Instructions from Yah for men, women, kings, and priests; Teachings for Feasts and Festivals, Offerings, and the Sanctuary. 613 Commands in the five Books of Yah's Law; Ten Commandments written on two Tablets; one Great Command-Jesus' summary of the Law-one unifying Word.




"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Most High your Yah with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."8 (Matthew 22:35-40, emphasis added)