Torah has become a passion of mine. I have become greatly saddened as more and more leaders of the Christian faith tell us that the First Covenant is outdated and no longer useful for us. Our faith originates from the Jewish faith. Centuries of political maneuverings, Church fallacies, and misunderstanding of scripture have created this environment.
Think just for a moment... what scripture did Yeshua and the disciples use in the first century? From what work did they preach? The gospels would not be written for years. The epistles of the disciples were not even imagined. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states that "All scripture is G-d-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults, and training in right living; thus anyone who belongs to G-d may be fully equipped for every good work." (Complete Jewish Bible) What scripture are they referencing? Not a jot or tittle existed of the New Testament at the time. The scripture they are speaking about is the First Covenant.
Yeshua, when asked what was the greatest commandment, said, "You are to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5 CJB). He then went on to add, "And the second is similar to it, 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matt. 22:39; Lev. 19:18 CJB) And how did He end this? "All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot (commandments)." Matt. 22:40 CJB) He didn't tell them they were in the age when they were no longer going to be bound to Torah or the whole of the Covenant. He did not say He was there to do away with the instructions of G-d. Commonsense would lead us to the question that if we are to love G-d and our neighbor, then how are we to go about doing that? Where do we find these instructions? Where are our guidelines?
The answer is Torah and the Covenant given at Sinai. All the gospels, the epistles, and Revelations point back to there. They get their authority from there. Without Torah and the Sinai Covenant, there is no Messiah and no reason for the atoning salvation that Messiah brings.
My goal is to bring nuggets of truth from the Torah, items that point to our Messiah Yeshua, guidelines for living fully and in fellowship with G-d, and pearls of wisdom that show the immutable grace and love of G-d, not just from 33 CE, but from the very beginning in a Garden where man and woman committed the first transgression and where Adonai laid the foundation for the salvation of the world.
Hanne