The True Meaning Of Following Torah

hen people hear the word Torah or Law, they jump to a perception that you are legalistic and are in bondage and what you are doing is a “bad thing”. It is taught that the Law was given to man to show them that they were not able to keep it and that they need Grace. Well, this much I can say, it is a wrong perception and a misunderstanding that we don’t need Torah, and it forms a basis for a lot of funny doctrines out there. To rectify this perception, let’s look at what the Scripture say regarding this issue? Why did YHVH give the Commandments at mount Sinai when He led Israel out of Egypt? We get the answer when we read this passage in 1 Kings where YHVH states that He chose a people and not a place to dwell in.

&

! " # ! " #

! $ ! $

!

1

"

%$ HVH CHOSE His people and BROUGHT them out of BONDAGE (Egypt), so that they could become a CITY and His HOUSE where He will live with them. He did this by sending His “Beloved” (Y’shua) to put it in His heart to build a House (the body of Messiah – His people), for the Name of YHVH where He can dwell in. The word CITY is explained to be a place guarded by a WALL or to be WATCHFUL. The word HOUSE means; a house as in a FAMILY or an OFFSPRING. YHVH did not choose a City to proclaim His Name in, but chose a people to become part of His Family, to live within, and later He will come to His City, the New Jerusalem. This was in YHVH’s mind when He called His people out of Egypt. YHVH did not have an evil thought of giving His chosen people something they could not do, to try and test them to show them how useless they were. Reading this we see that YHVH desired a FAMILY and people He could dwell with. Later on in Scripture we see that this relationship He desires is one of a Bridegroom with His Bride (Israel), living together in His House and wall of protection.

he marriage between Elohim (the groom) and Israel (the bride) took place at the Mountain where He gave His Commandments to them. We know this is true if you read the Prophets where YHVH said that He was a Husband to them [Jer 31:32], and they got married at Sinai. A Hebrew Marriage is one of the most beautiful prophetic pictures revealing YHVH’s Plan to His people. The marriage consisted of two parts; 1) the First part is where the Covenant that is drawn up between the Groom and the Bride, called the betrothal, 2) and the Second stage is when He comes to fetch His Bride to live with him, after He has prepared a house for them [John 14:2]. You enter this first stage of marriage as soon as a betrothal contract (a shitre erusin) is made between the two parties. The written contract is called a ketubah. During betrothal, you are legally married, but do not physically dwell with your mate. Betrothal is so legally binding that you cannot get out of it without a divorce. Marriage is associated with a Contract or Covenant between a man and a woman and has conditions to protect this relationship and to spell out how this relationship will be expressed successfully. In our modern times we know this as Marriage vows, and in the time of Moses it was the Ten Words or Ten Commandments. The Contract was set up, and Israel committed to it at Mount Sinai where they agree to the Ten Conditions of their oath to YHVH. The Second Stage will come into being when David (Beloved – prophetic for Y’shua) will rule as King in the New Jerusalem. This marriage Covenant cycle was repeated when Yeshua came to the earth as a Prophet like Moses [Act 7:37] and He re-established the Marriage Contract in Blood with His Bride and cleansed it from the perversions of the Pharisees. He gave us His Spirit as the Engagement Ring and Seal (Sign) that we are promised to Him, that we belong to Him and that we are Married to Him on the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) where they celebrated the receiving of the Torah.. [2 Cor 1:22] The Second Stage will happen at His Second Coming where He will come and fetch us (His Bride) to live with Him forever in the House He prepared for us, The New Jerusalem. [John 14:2, 1 John 3:2]

2

srael is legally married to YHVH and She whored after other lovers (idols) and YHVH scattered Her into the nations. He will take Her back if She repents and will come to fetch Her to live with Him forever. Repentance is associated with the re-establishment of this Marriage Covenant in the Blood of Yeshua and everybody that takes part in this Blood Covenant can be part of the Bride of YHVH.

To understand the true motive and Plan of YHVH, we need to look at three parallels found in Scripture regarding YHVH and His Bride. 1. The first of the three parallels is where YHVH saved His people He had chosen, and He led them out of bondage and brought them to a ”higher place” (mount Sinai) where He established His Covenant (Commandments) with them (Bride). 2. The second parallel we draw is by looking at a normal marriage ceremony and married life between two ordinary people. The man is the hunter, he chooses a girl who he likes and then he “rescues” her and he provides for her and lives with her. She cannot stay with her parents forever and she needs to be “rescued” and be provided for by her new provider in her new home. The two lovebirds then go through the Marriage Ceremony where they sign a “covenant” between them, to promise to live together under the guidelines of their agreement. The Marriage Ceremony is wonderful and everybody enjoys it, but the reality of married life starts after the festivities when the honeymoon is over. This is where they must live out their married life together as husband and wife according to what they intended and promised to each other. In the beginning of the married life, a lot of changes have to take place and a lot of “bad habits” have to go. They have to undergo this process so that they can live in peace and stay together. Marriages normally fail when one of the two parties, or both, are not willing to let go of their “old ways” that cause conflict between them, refusing to change for the benefit of the marriage. You who are married, you will know.

3. The third parallel we look at is where you as believer, were rescued from the dark world

through His Grace. You went through the waters of baptism (Red Sea) and go to the “High place” (Mount of Transfiguration), where you receive is Spirit and instruction of His Covenant. With His Law engraved on your hearts, you start your new journey through the Wilderness (stripping off bad habits) and walk your life in relationship with YHVH under the promises of His Covenant. The “Good news of Salvation” part is great, but you cannot stay there, you need to move on and get equipped with His “Living Instructions”, through His Spirit. He will remind you of His Instructions as you walk through the Wilderness, on your way to the Promise Land (New Jerusalem - Salvation).

3

As I said earlier, the Marriage Ceremony is easy and the fun part,. But living the reality of marriage is the challenge and the difficult part. If you have decided to take on the Wilderness without His Spirit and His Instructions, you are out there on your own without “Water” and you will reap the consequences of your “bad” decisions you will make outside the protection of His 1) He led His people out of Egypt Instructions (Torah). These consequences are to a higher place and “married” designed by YHVH to bring you back to His place of Israel. safety. The only problem is, if you go astray, you will 2) A Normal marriage between a be pruned back to where you belong, and that man and a woman involves pain. You make the choice; you either Spiritual pattern of Salvation follow the safety of His instructions or do your own for a Believer. thing out of “grace” and “freedom”, but expect to be pruned. '

( ) ! +,

-

&

.%

*

!

+

,

The Wilderness is where the Bride lives out her new “saved” or married life. She can have a successful wedding, but a failed marriage. The wedding is where you have made the choice to follow Y’shua and decide to live your life with Him. Marriage is living out that promise you have made in an environment where you will be challenged. I want to make it clear, you are not saved by the Law (Torah), but through Grace, but after “the choice to be saved” (wedding) comes the instructions and living out “good works” that will bring you closer and not “bad works” which will drive you apart. * /

( 0 & / &" 1 $

0 &

) 3 & ,

&

-

,

! 2

#

+

& !

-

!"

* &

-

$ 45 + & -

&

-

Married life with Y’shua is defined as “good works” To live a married life with Y’shua is that will glorify the Father and that will make you defined as “good works” that will ”shine” in this dark world. The “good works” are surely glorify the Father and that will not part of the “coming out of Egypt – Salvation” issue, make you ”shine” in this dark but is part of the “living in the Wilderness” on your way world. to the Promise Land. These good works are rewarded at the end when Y’shua comes again, where He will reward you according to what you have done (with His Instructions). 6 ! )) ) % & $ &

' - (

* & & )!*+", )-+.

4

*

!

hese instructions, also known as Torah, are given to the Bride to increase intimacy in the relationship with Him. Can you be intimate with Him when you are in pain all the time being pruned by Him? The Torah is not a set of laws that you MUST live by; it is a GIFT that helps us to live a higher quality (Chai Olam) Life in peace and intimacy with Him.

! Abraham (The Father) send his servant (Holy Spirit) to go and find a bride (People) for his son Isaac (Y’shua). Isaac’s name means “laughter” and in Heb_1:9, it states that Y’shua is anointed with the oil of joy, linking the two. After she passed the test (choosing Y’shua- salvation), giving the camels and the man water, the man gave her a ring and two bracelets. He did not choose her at random, he looked for specific attributes and qualities and that made him choose her. In the same way the Holy Spirit looks for attributes in man to call them so that they could become part of YHVH’s family. What are the attributes He is looking for? A humble servant’s heart. You will never have accepted Y’shua with a heart that is boastful and full of pride.

7 &

)8)) ''

/ $ - " 9 $&

0

0

&

&

These gifts he gave her was to show her that she was the chosen Bride for His Master’s Son. If she accepted she would become the wife of the Son. The meaning of these gifts was to: •

Show His adornment

•

Make her beautiful

•

Show that she is set apart and already taken

Nothing in Scripture is there by chance and everything has a specific meaning, and so does the gifts. Why are these gifts specified by weight? It must mean something. The ring had a weight of half a shekel. The word for shekel is “beqa” and is found only one other place in Scripture. : ; ) -

!

+ #

'/

1

-

9

/

/

#

5

YHVH numbered His people, not by counting their heads, but by counting their obedience through what they had to bring. If someone did not bring his part, he was not numbered. In the time of David, he counted the people’s heads and YHVH hit them with a plague. Why is this? Think about it. YHVH is not interested in quantity, but in quality. hese “Bequa’s” were used to make the bottom parts of the supporting structure of the Tabernacle. The people’s “contributions” formed the foundation of the House of YHVH where His presence dwelled. You might say, so what! The word “beqa” links up in Hebrew poetry within the Ten Commandments. Here is how it works. Each letter of the Aleph Bet is also a numeral and the word “beqa” counts up to 172. There are exactly 172 words in the Ten Commandments. Pretty amazing isn’t it! What further confirm this is the other gifts that were given to her; the two bracelets, weighing ten shekels. These represents the two tablets with Ten Commandments. The number two always means “Restoration of Relationships” and the Ten Commandments, five on each tablet, gives detail regarding the guidelines on how to have a perfect relationship with YHVH and with your neighbor. The one bracelet is placed on the right hand, the spiritual side, showing us the guidelines for our relationship with YHVH. The other bracelet is placed on the left hand, physical side, showing your relationship with other people. They are placed on the hands, symbolizing our spiritual and physical actions that must be guided to ensure quality relationships. These form two witnesses that confirms one another, to show that these “gifts” are representing the Torah that we need to guide our walk through the Wilderness. () ) &

&

+!2 # !.+ 34. "$ ! & -

& ,

<

!

+

+ .

If she had not accepted the gifts, she would not become the bride of Isaac, in the same way, if we do not accept the gifts of YHVH, His Commandments, we are not accepting His marriage proposal.

As the future Bride of Y' shua, we accept and follow Torah as His gift to us, used to beautify us and prepare us to be perfect when He comes again. You can call it Legalism, but I know following His Instructions are an expression of my relationship with Him, as I open up His Gifts of perfection and purification in my life. This will help me to know Him and have a better relationship with Him. It is an expression of my love towards Him to show that I fell short, but is willing to die to the old and put on the new to reinforce our relationship and make it stronger.

6