Chapter 23: God's Law: Part 1

Gods’ Law + New Blood Covenant = Fulfillment

7 The Torah of ADONAI is perfect, converting the inner soul. The instruction of ADONAI is sure, making wise the thoughtless.  Psalm 19:7

Torah/Law:

1) Rules and regulations given to God’s people to maintain an order to society; a foundation of government to abide by to establish civil order, mandated by men, established by God.

2) The perfect divine rule or commandments; the collective body of precepts received from God; The first five books of God’s word, the Bible, the foundation of Law for mankind, is known as the Mosaic Law.

Soon after leaving Egypt, the Israelites were incorporated.  God was the first lawgiver. God chose the place - Mount Sinai, covered in smoke for the Lord descended on it in fire.  Mount Sinai was the highest in the range of mountains and surrounding the mountain was a wasted and barren desert.  There were no magnificent structures or palaces.  God wrote the first law on stone tablets, the Ten Commandments.  He gave the Law to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the Israelites, to read to this newly formed nation, called Israel.

The Ten Commandments

6 "'I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves.  7 “You are to have no other gods before me. 8 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline - 9 you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. 11 "'You are not to misuse the name of ADONAI your God, because ADONAI will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name. 12 "'Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as ADONAI your God ordered you to do. 13 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work - not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property - so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. 15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and ADONAI your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore ADONAI your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat. 16 "'Honor your father and mother, as ADONAI your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land ADONAI your God is giving you. 17 "'Do not murder. 18 "'Do not commit adultery. 19 "'Do not steal. 20 "'Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. 21 "'Do not covet your neighbor's wife; do not covet your neighbor's house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 5

Moses put a veil over his radiant face because he had spoken with the Lord. God’s glory directed His chosen by day as a cloud pillar.  The cloud remained over the tabernacle to direct the Children of Israel how long to stay in a location.  The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the tabernacle by a veil. The veils and the clouds separated the people from God’s Shekinah glory.

10 As Aharon spoke to the whole community of the people of Isra'el, they looked toward the desert; and there before them the glory of ADONAI appeared in the cloud. Exodus 16

29 When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he didn't realize that the skin of his face was sending out rays of light as a result of his talking with [ADONAI]. Exodus 34

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of ADONAI filled the tabernacle. 35 Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of ADONAI filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40

3 Behind the second parokhet was a tent called the Holiest Place, 4 which had the golden altar for burning incense and the Ark of the Covenant, entirely covered with gold. In the Ark were the gold jar containing the man, Aharon's rod that sprouted and the stone Tablets of the Covenant; 5 and above it were the k'ruvim representing the Sh'khinah, casting their shadow on the lid of the Ark - but now is not the time to discuss these things in detail. Hebrews 9

God began a relationship with His chosen and elect people. They had been set free from the bondage of slavery and given the Ten Commandments and decrees from God to live by.

2 “Because you are a people set apart as holy for ADONAI your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14

4 "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; 5 and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. 6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; 7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6

The Israelites lost their focus on the way to the Promised Land. After leaving Egypt, God provided a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide their direction. After they left Egypt, the Children of Israel saw the Egyptian army approaching and they were terrified and cried out to the Lord and said to Moses, “What have you done?” “In Egypt we said, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians, better to serve them than to die in this desert!’”

This was just the beginning of the grumblings.  God delivered them again by opening the Red Sea and allowing then to walk through on dry ground. While on their journey, the Lord fed them manna and quail and provided water from the rock, yet their grumblings continued. Upon reaching the Promised Land, God directed Moses to send 12 men, one from each tribe, to explore the land.  After forty days the scouts returned and ten of them reported that the inhabitants were powerful and the cities were very large and fortified!  “We can’t attack, for they are stronger than us.” Only two scouts, Joshua and Caleb, tore their clothes and told the entire Israelite assembly, “The land is exceedingly good.  If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.  Only do not rebel against the Lord.”

This was the straw that broke the camels’ back.  Beware, for when there is disobedience - judgment follows!

26 ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, 27 "How long am I to put up with this evil community who keep grumbling about me? I have heard the complaints of the people of Isra'el, which they continue to raise against me. 28 Tell them this: 'As surely as I live, ADONAI swears, as surely as you have spoken in my ears, I will do this to you: 29 your carcasses will fall in this desert! Every single one of you who were included in the census over the age of twenty, you who have complained against me, 30 will certainly not enter the land about which I raised my hand to swear that I would have you live in it - except for Kalev the son of Y'funeh and Y'hoshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would be taken as booty - them I will bring in. They will know the land you have rejected. 32 But you, your carcasses will fall in this desert; 33 and your children will wander about in the desert for forty years bearing the consequences of your prostitutions until the desert eats up your carcasses. 34 It will be a year for every day you spent reconnoitering the land that you will bear the consequences of your offenses - forty days, forty years. Then you will know what it means to oppose me! 35 I, ADONAI, have spoken.' I will certainly do this to this whole evil community who have assembled together against me - they will be destroyed in this desert and die there." 36 The men whom Moshe had sent to reconnoiter the land and who, when they returned, made the entire community complain against him by giving an unfavorable report about the land – 37 those men who gave the unfavorable report about the land died by the plague in the presence of ADONAI. 38 Of the men who went to reconnoiter the land, only Y'hoshua the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Y'funeh remained alive. Numbers 14

God’s Promised Land awaited the Israelites.  God said, “Go!” and ten said “No!” Looking back, we can see the people focused on their circumstances without exercising trust or faith in the One Jehovah God who brought them out of Egypt and provided for their needs.  Now, before them is a beautiful land flowing with milk and honey, a description of food and drink unlike anything they had ever seen. There were houses they did not have to build, vineyards they did not have to plant, wells they did not have to dig; everything in place for the taking!

Now it was God who said No – Go back to the wilderness for 40 years. God is a just God and justice against disobedience will be served.  Do you suppose the idol of the golden calf came to minds of the Israelites?

God’s word is the final authority on all the issues of life - for all time and eternity.

The first account of a recorded sin against God by man is in Genesis, the first book in the Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. On Day 6, God created man in His own image, both male, whose name was Adam, and female, whose name was Eve. Everything was perfect. God gave one command to them in Genesis 2:

15 ADONAI, God, took the man and put him in the garden of 'Eden to cultivate and care for it. 16 ADONAI, God, gave the man this order: "You may freely eat from every tree in the garden 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die."  

The nature of sin is in all humans, for all are born of Adam.

12 Here is how it works: it was through one individual that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as everyone sinned. 13 Sin was indeed present in the world before Torah was given, but sin is not counted as such when there is no Torah. 14 Nevertheless death ruled from Adam until Moshe, even over those whose sinning was not exactly like Adam's violation of a direct command. In this, Adam prefigured the One, Yeshua, who was to come. Romans 5

The Jews and the Law:

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on Torah and boast about God 18 and know his will and give your approval to what is right, because you have been instructed from the Torah; 19 and if you have persuaded yourself that you are a guide to the blind, a light in the darkness, 20 an instructor for the spiritually unaware and a teacher of children, since in the Torah you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth; 21 then, you who teach others, don't you teach yourself? Preaching, "Thou shalt not steal, do you steal?  22 Saying, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? Detesting idols, do you commit idolatrous acts? 23 You who take such pride in Torah, do you, by disobeying the Torah, dishonor God? - 24 as it says in the Tanakh, "For it is because of you that God's name is blasphemed by the Goyim.” 25 For circumcision is indeed of value if you do what Torah says. But if you are a transgressor of Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision! 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the Torah, won't his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 Indeed, the man who is physically uncircumcised but obeys the Torah will stand as a judgment on you who have had a b'rit-milah and have Torah written out but violate it! 28 For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. 29 On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code of Torah, so that his praise comes not from other people, but from God. Romans 2

19 What then, was the purpose of the Torah? It was added in order to create transgressions, until the coming of the Seed about whom the promise had been made. Moreover, it was handed down through angels and a mediator. 20 Now a mediator implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Does this mean that the legal part of the Torah stands in opposition to God's promises? Heaven forbid! For if the legal part of the Torah, which God gave, had had in itself the power to give life, then righteousness really would have come by legalistically following such a Torah. 22 But instead, the Tanakh declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin; so that what had been promised being given through faith, in Yeshua the Messiah, might be given to  those who believe.  23 Now before the time for this One trusting faithfulness came, we were imprisoned in subjection to the law which results from perverting the Torah into legalism, kept locked up until this yet-to-come trusting faithfulness would be revealed. 24 Accordingly, the Torah functioned as a custodian until the Messiah came, so that we might be declared righteous on the ground of trusting and being faithful. 25 But now that Messiah the trusting faithfulness has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the Torah. Galatians 3

4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah - indeed, sin is violation of Torah.  Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Law; for sin is the transgression of the Law. 1 John 3

19 Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God's adverse judgment. 20 For in

His sight no one alive will be considered righteous on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are. Romans 3

The Law of Jehovah God cannot take away sin.  The Law only makes one conscious of their sinful condition. How does one become conscious of sin?  God’s Holy Spirit convicts one of their condition, for within one’s heart the guilt of sin against God is revealed.  Each one either chooses to listen or ignore their guilt of conscience. The heart of those who refuse to know and follow His truth, becomes calloused and hardened, causing blindness and deafness, no longer hearing the plea of God’s Holy Spirit saying through Yeshua, “Repent, Come follow Me for My yoke is easy and My burden is light, in Me you will find everlasting life.”  God’s Holy Spirit is shown to man through the life of His Son, Yeshua, bringing love, mercy, grace and life to the Law. The following account shows the Law alone:

17 As Yeshua was starting on His way, a man ran up, kneeled down in front of Him and asked, "Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?" 18 Yeshua said to him, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good except God!

19 You know the mitzvot -- `Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony, don't defraud, honor your father and mother, . .'" 20 "Rabbi," he said, "I have kept all these since I was a boy." 21 Yeshua, looking at him, felt love for him and said to him, "You're missing one thing. Go, sell whatever you own, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!" 22 Shocked by this word, he went away sad because he was a wealthy man. 23 Yeshua looked around and said to his talmidim, "How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!" 24 The talmidim were astounded at these words; but Yeshua said to them again, "My friends, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It's easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." 26 They were utterly amazed and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Yeshua looked at them and said, "Humanly, it is impossible, but not with God; with God, every thing is possible." Mark 10

What was the problem? All Law and no love!  It is not the money, but the LOVE of money, as recorded in 1 Timothy 6:

6 Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world; and we can take nothing out of it; 8 so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these. 9 Furthermore, those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all the evils; because of this craving, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves to the heart with many pains.

So, now we know you can’t have one without the other! The following account is vital in knowing the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the complete truth. 

Law + Love = Fulfillment

  

34 but when the P'rushim learned that Yeshua had silenced the Tz'dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh'eilah to trap Him: 36 "Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?" 37 He told him, "`You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, `You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot." Matthew 22

To understand the application of God’s Law, we must know:

1.  God is Holy, righteous, and perfect in all things.

2.  God gave the first Law to the new nation, Israel.

3.  God is truth and cannot lie.

4.  Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden.

5.  We are all born of Adam and inherited the sin nature.

6.  Mankind could never, nor will ever be able to keep the Law of God.

7.  Through God’s Law, each one becomes conscious of sin.

8.  God has the perfect solution – fulfillment through His New Blood Covenant. 

"I Lift My Hands"

performed by Chris Tomlin