I Have A Question VI

Q. In Genesis it says that Cain dwelt in the “land of Nod.” What or where is that?

A. The word “Nod” means to “move to and fro” and “to wander.” It simply describes what happened to Cain as he wandered and went east of Eden.

Q. The Bible says that the Law was given to Israel at Mount Sinai. Does that include non-Jews?

A. Yes it does. Among the children of Israelites that day at Sinai was a “mixed multitude” who were included in the camp of Israel, which was made up of three camps called Israel, Judah, and the nations (Isa 11.11-12). He didn’t tell the non-Jews to stay at their tents and only the Israelites were to come to the mountain. All were included. The Torah was given to the native, the alien, and the sojourner among them. Each group was to obey the Torah as it applied to them (1 Cor 7.17-19). The redemption from Egypt is called the First Redemption and it was not only for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but for anyone who chose to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Second Redemption is described in Num 11.11-12 and it will include the same three groups. Moses said in the book of Deuteronomy that the Torah was not only for those standing there, but for those not standing there (future descendants, future non-Jews-Deut 29.14-15). Paul states in 1 Cor 10.1-4 “that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.” He is saying “our” because non-Jewish believers like the Corinthians have the same heritage as the Jewish people (Eph 2.11-22). Num 15.14-16 says that if a non-Jew chose to follow the God of Israel, there was to be one law for both Jew and non-Jew. Each group was to follow the Torah as it applied to them.

Q. Didn’t Yeshua fulfill the Law and now it has passed away?

A. Yeshua said “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets; but to fulfill it (Matt 5.17-18). People not only think he came to do away with the law, they even teach it to others! To “fulfill” means to “give meaning to it, to have it realized.” When someone keeps the Sabbath, he has fulfilled the Law. But that doesn’t mean he never has to keep the sabbath again. When somone doesn’t steal, lie when they had a chance doesn’t mean he can now steal and lie! He also said heaven and earth will pass away before the Torah ever did. Well, heaven and earth are still here and so is the Torah. If you look at his statement here, he included the prophets. If the Law has been done away with, then so have the prophets, so we need to stop studying the prophets and bible prophecy because they have also been fulfilled. Anyone with any common sense knows that there is a lot of unfulfilled prophecy, so by reason we know that the Law has not been done away with either. You can’t do away with one part of his statement, and then keep the other part. Either both are still active, or they are not. One of the reason the Jews do not accept Yeshua is that they say he didn’t fulfill all the prophecies. Therefore, the Torah cannot pass away until all the prophecies are fulfilled, and heaven and earth pass away.

Q. Isn’t it impossible to keep the Torah?

A. No, Yeshua kept it and commanded his followers to do the same. He would not have told us to do something if it is impossible. So, let’s define what “keep” means. To “keep and observe” means “to incorporate all the things of God into our lives, and to stay true to the pattern or blueprint, or “tavnit” (Exo 25.9) God has shown for a specific thing to be done, at a specific time, at a specific place, by specific people.” We have grace and forgiveness because we follow our old spouse (old nature) instead of our new spouse (new nature with Yeshua). We have the power of the Ruach Ha Kodesh also. A question is usually asked, “But how can I keep all the commandments that apply to me?” And the answer is, “One at a time.” Yeshua has invited us to walk with him and “take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt 11.29-30; 1 John 5.3).” The Torah tells us that sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3.4), and by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3.20). But by grace we have been saved through faith (Eph 2.8), and do we make void the Law through faith. God forbid: yes, we establish the Law (Rom 3.31). If a person believes the Law has been done away with, how do they know what sin is, and if you have sinned? Many go to the Torah to get a sinner to “repent”, and then they tell him they don’t need to follow the Law anymore, causing them to go and sin even more! The Torah does not contradict faith, it establishes it. If one says he has faith, he then demonstrates that faith by keeping the Torah (Jam 2.14-26). On the other hand, if you do not keep the Law, your faith is dead (not established according to Rom 3.31). The Lord then calls you “lawless” or as another version puts it, a “worker of iniquity (as defined by the Torah).” Lawless means “without Torah, Torah-less” and in Greek the word is “Anomos” (“a” as a prefix before “nomos” in Greek means “no law or lawless.” Nomos is the Greek word used for Torah).

Q. Hasn’t the New Testament replaced the Old Testament, and the Law has no authority over a believer today except as history?

A. This is a common misconception, but a misconception nevertheless. This concept is taught in many churches, and the synagogues do not see any validity to the New Testament either. The covenants of God cannot “replace” other covenants and cause the previous ones to “disappear.” In truth, the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David are still valid. Christianity only tries to make the one with Moses go away because they don’t like it or keep it. The Tanak (old testament) reveals these covenants. It is the one with Moses that Christian teachers have an issue with, and want to dispute it. The New Testament writers got in on this question when it comes to written Scripture. Paul said, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (the Torah defines righteous behavior); that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (the term “good work” is “mitzvah” and a word for the commandments-2 Tim 3.16-17). The only scripture available at the time that Paul could have been talking about here is the Tanak. The term “new” as in New Testament does not mean what many teachers say it means. They use it to convey the false teaching that the new testament replaces the “old” testament. However, the term “new” is the Hebrew “chadash” and it means “refreshing, renewed, restored.” A related word from the same root is “chodesh” and is used for the term “new moon.” Another way of saying this is “born again”, which is also a Jewish term relating to the new moon every month. Now, everyone knows that there is not a brand new moon every month, but it is renewed, refreshed, restored every month so time can be marked (Gen 1.14). In the same way, the “renewed, restored, refreshed” covenant is referred to in Jer 31.31-34 and it is a renewal of the one previously given at Sinai with Moses. An “amended” covenant is another way to look at it. Jeremiah says that the covenant was made with Judah and Israel because the first covenant at Sinai was made with Judah and Israel, and they disobeyed it. You can’t “renew, restore, or refresh” a covenant with people who did not have the covenant to begin with (for example, Christianity teaches that the “new covenant” belongs to the “church”). You can only renew, restore, refresh a covenant with people who had it to begin with (Judah and Israel). Heb 8.9 quotes Jer 31 and says the problem wasn’t the Torah, it was the people (‘for finding fault with them”). So God is going to renew, restore, refresh the covenant with Israel and Judah, but it is going to be better because he is going to write the Torah on the hearts of the people, meaning he is going to give them a desire and intention to keep the Torah. What is going to be different about the restored covenant is not the laws/commandments, but where those laws are written. That is why the word “new” was used. It is renewed, refreshed, restored in the hearts, desires, intentions of the people. They will want to keep the commandments. If you don’t have a desire to keep the commandments, it might be because they are not written on your heart and you have no genuine born again experience with the Lord, and he does not know you in a redemptive way. Matt 7.21-23 and 1 John 2.3-4 describes those in this situation.

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, Questions, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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