January 14, 2025

In the verse above, how long is “Forever?” What does it mean to you [me too]? Do we really incorporate the substance of it into our thinking and doing today? This verse is one of my favorite and personally embraced Bible verses. Why, you may ask? Well, think about it… if it’s true, then we are in good hands. I like to think about Yahweh’s absolute authority and conviction to upholding His Word… and His faithfulness to His Word… AND in His Word, there are many faithful promises to you and me.

David declares, “I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. 2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.” ps 138:1-3 nkjv

David understood that Yahweh was bound to His Word, and that because of His faithfulness and integrity, His character and trustworthiness. And that He would never renege on it, or carelessly let anything demean it. This is why His truth is so destructive to the wicked and those who would misrepresent His person or His declared and forever settled Word. Now, that David could say, “You have magnified Your Word above all Your name,” is something we all need to take seriously. There are many Scriptures where Yahweh speaks about “His Great Name.” He even says He will not deal with the House of Israel in their wickedness, but will deal with them for His Great Name’s sake… So, then, let us consider the value and implications concerning Yahweh’s Word and His Great Name. Especially, when we understand The Torah is His declared and forever settled Word, which became flesh in the person of Yeshua…

That said, what do you think Yeshua was saying when He said:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law [Torah] or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” mat 5:17-19 nkjv

Well, those pesky little “jots and tittles” are still with us… you think? In other words, we can’t allow Christianity to chop and slice the Scriptures to suit anyone’s institutional teaching and doctrine. Neither can Judaism’s Rabbinical posturing be allowed to misconstrue the Scriptures, as they consider their Talmud scholarship to have authority over the Torah. Now I have an analogy to describe these two positions… First, What do you think the Torah means by this…?

“ But as for you [Moses], stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ 32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” deut 5:31-33 nkjv

Now for my simple analogy… Christianity has fabricated its own “left hand” [liberalized] pathway to neglect the simple message of the Torah… making its own institutional and doctrinal dogmas override the clear message of the text, which more times than not, argue that the Torah was nailed to the Cross and is no longer relative. Rabbinical Judaism has fabricated its own “right hand” [conservative] dogma adding walls around the clear meaning of the text, telling us untrue things, especially renouncing the Messiah Yeshua and His relevance to our relationship to our Creator Yahweh.

One of the main myths the Christian’s push is that, using Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Now mind you it is true that Yeshua’s sacrifice at the Cross did knock the power of sin in the head, a fatal death blow to sin’s power to intimidate us. However, most forget to see the focus of what is “ended,” is “for righteousness,” not the end of the Law [Torah itself]. If the Torah was ended, then the “Word that became flesh, Yeshua,” would have been ended as well. And, absent the Torah, there would not exist valid conformance instruction for doing what Yeshua said, “keep my commandments,” The Torah [law] is forever. However its condemning power has been lifted by Yeshua, who bore our penalty for sin in His own body… thereby setting us free from the condemnation duly owed to us as transgressors of the Law [which 1 jn 3:4 says is sin]. And, notably, if the “Torah/Law” was ended… then Yahweh could no longer be “upholding all things by the Word of His power.” heb 1:3 nkjv

While Judaism awaits their Messiah, they continues to “work” their way into good standing with Yahweh and their fellow man. In fact, it is believed that [if/when] the future Jerusalem altar is built, that animal sacrifices are expected to commence. I will not get into the various concepts of this subject. However, there is a vital issue to understand… think about this:

In the Old Covenant, Israel was give specific protocols for altar services and sacrifices of different kinds for restoration and cleansing one’s spiritual condition for repentance and reconciliation with Yahweh… Since their rejection of their Messiah, they are still falling in the ditch on the right hand side of the road. Importantly, you need to see that this Old Covenant was about men bringing “their own” sacrifices to have Yahweh accept them.

Now comes the new Covenant… since Yeshua was/is our sacrifice [once for all], we consider this…

“then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” heb 10:9-11 nkjv

Now with the New Covenant, Yahweh brought to men His Sacrifice for men to accept… just the opposite the Old Covenant… Thus the writer of Hebrews above says, “He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” I have heard many say this is taking away the Torah to give us a dispensation of grace… and I think it certainly is not that. It is, I think, that Yeshua was given for man [by Yahweh] to accept His sacrifice [or reject to their destruction]. Our acceptance of Yahweh’s sacrifice makes us right with Him. Now all the intents and purposes of the forever settled Word [Torah] is upheld and embodied in this “reversal” of sacrifice. The principles of the Torah are embodied in all the purpose of Yahweh, and the Torah is pathway guidance by Yahweh [I think] for us to accept and live by as best we can, while realizing the sacrifice of the letter of the Law, by way of the person of Yeshua, corroborates our acceptance of Yeshua as our king, savior and eternal life. So, how then can we turn our spiritual noses up and disdain the Torah/Law… we can’t.

As redeemed believers, the purpose of the Torah yet works in us, to keep us from turning aside to the right hand or to the left, convicting us of sin, which the Holy Spirit co-witnesses, and sanctifying us on a daily basis, leading us to repentance and restoration. Our fear of Yahweh and love for Him, and keeping our faith in Him, is what Yeshua called the “kingdom” within us.

Shalom, john