I have continued to study the Word of God from a Hebraic viewpoint. This means that I come across a lot of people who call themselves Torah Observant. However, I have found that there is a variety of opinions on what Torah obervance looks like. Let me share more of what I have learned since the previous posts on the subject.
The word Torah means instruction. It comes from the root word yara, which means direction; as an arrow being aimed and shot toward its target. In this sense, the whole counsel of scripture from Genesis to Revelation is the Lord's instruction, or Torah, that leads us to the final goal. The first place that the word Torah shows up in scripture is in Genesis 26:5, where the Lord says that Abraham kept His laws. At this point, the Sinai covenant had not yet been given to Moses.
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So am I Torah observant? Yes! Torah - The Instruction of God, from Genesis to Revelation.
Understanding the covenants is key. There are seven covenants between God and man. It is not just a matter of Old Covenant/New Covenant. If you want more information on them, I have written on the seven covenants here. Sorry for the rabbit trails today, but it is worth your time.
We must know what covenant we are under and then discover what is required of us under that covenant.
The fourth of the seven, given to Moses on Mount Sinai, was centered on the tabernacle, and later on the temple. Of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Sinai covenant, only 207 of them can be observed apart from the temple. This is why there are Orthodox Jews in Israel that yearn for the temple to be rebuilt - so they can properly keep Torah!
What does that mean for us as New Covenant believers, under the blood of Yeshua? James 2:10 tells us that if we stumble on even one precept of the law (Sinai covenant), we have broken the whole thing. Do you see how impossible it is?
Hebrews 7:12, speaking of Yeshua our High Priest, tells us, For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
Yeshua fulfilled the entire Sinai Covenant perfectly, for us, putting to death the laws of the flesh once for all. It is finished, He said as He hung on the tree, taking on the curse for us with His dying breath. Having fulfilled every precept of the Sinai Covenant, He is now our living Torah.
The Sinai Covenant dealt with the flesh. The New Covenant deals with the spirit. The Holy Spirit is our living Torah.
Yeshua gives us a major hint in the gospels. When He sent out the 12 (a very Jewish number) disciples prior to feeding the 5000, He sent them to a Jewish crowd. There was no need to give them any dietary warnings - they were kosher. Then in Luke 10, we see Him sending out 70 (number of completeness) to a very Gentile area, prior to feeding the 4000. What did He tell them? Eat such things as are set before you. There was a good chance that some of these Gentiles were going to give them pork BBQ.
Yeshua was preparing his disciples to carry the gospel to many cultures - cultures who were never given the Sinai Covenant. Can you imagine witnessing to someone, and they invite you to dinner, and you have to refuse them because they are serving bacon-wrapped shrimp? The highest form of fellowship in scripture is to dine with someone. What an insult that would be, and a stumbling block to the gospel!
Yeshua said that if we loved Him, we would obey His commandments. What were His new covenant commandments? Love God, and then love people. The external precepts (flesh) were completed and the internal precepts (spirit) were magnified. Romans 8 tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law. This is our directive in this age of Messiah, until He comes again.
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