In a narrow sense The Law, or Torah, is defined chiefly by the Commandments, statues, and ordinances Yahweh provided to distinguish Israel from the surrounding pagan nations and their practices. As their witness to the one True God, Israel was expected to adhere to His Holiness Code. The Torah was given to preserve the fledgling nation, keeping it from being assimilated by the surrounding nations - had they persevered.In a broader sense, Torah is a narrative that shaped the history and culture of a people God preserved because of a promise He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God knew the waywardness of their hearts, understood they could not keep the Torah perfectly, and this in part is why there was a temporary remedy for the sins of the people provided not only on the Day of Atonement but twice daily through sacrifices. As a moral code, the Law provides concrete references defining sin, revealing God's standards rather than leaving morality to be defined by subjective truth and shifting cultural standards. One can point to specific examples to which moral and ethical attitudes can be compared and their consequences.Torah foreshadows events to come, pointing to the coming Messiah, whose sacrifice can be compared to the prescribed redeeming and atoning sacrifices provided in the Passover and the Day of Atonement. In fact, each of the Feast Days established by God through Torah have a direct bearing upon what God has done up to the initial Christ event until His Return.Torah shaped the world in which Jesus and Paul both emerged, albeit the religious and cultural values were unsettled as the Pharisees and Essenes struggled against the establishment, Sadducees/Priesthood, to represent true Israel and the true Priesthood. Their struggle is represented in the religious and moral standards established upon their traditions that exceeded what the Torah required but became their benchmark for righteousness. Knowing and understanding these things provide insights into Jesus thoughts, words, and actions as well as the Pharisee Paul.Understanding these issues gives us something to which we can compare. What did Jesus mean when He referred to the Pharisees' traditions as doctrines of men? To what was Paul referring when he repudiated salvation by works and those who preferred to continue living under the Law.Understanding Torah also gives us something to compare when we engage the concept of the New Covenant. Where the original was written on stone, the New is written on hearts. Paul's negative remarks regarding the Torah in Romans, especially Romans 7represent the struggle between one who could concur with the Law in the inner man yet struggle in the flesh to conform to its demands. The negativity is an expression of the struggle of the convicted soul, as it were, convicted by the Law because it defined both the nature of sin and the ultimate consequence of sin - death. Note Paul's address in Romans 7was primarily addressed to those who know the law which would be the Jewish Believer and the Proselyte, either one of which would have understood the struggle Paul presents.Where in his heart Paul recognized the Law was spiritual, holy, righteous, and good, in his flesh he operated under a conflicting law of sin and mind that resisted the Law because of the conviction. It was the flesh that proved to be the weakness of the Law and as Paul candidly admits it isn't the Law that is the cause of death for him, but sin.Through faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us from from the law of sin and of death and through Jesus and the Holy Spirit the righteous requirements of the Law are fulfilled, if we walk according to the Sprit rather than the flesh.So, it is not obtaining or maintaining Torah that I appreciate God's commands, statues, and judgments but by understanding them, placing them in context of Israel's history of struggle through uncircumcised hearts serving as examples for us, the foreshadowing of the coming of Messiah and the redemption He brings, and the ultimate salvation at His second appearing, the understanding of the cultural context of the Gospels and the world the Apostle Paul emerged, and the extraordinary wisdom, character, majesty, mercy, graciousness of Yahweh Torah reveals.As part of the Scriptures inspired by God, and used appropriately, Torah is 'profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; sos that themas of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.Just as the example regarding the ox and compensation for teaching elders is used to illustrate Paul�s point, he does so elsewhere. Further, though not directly cited, there are principle of conduct Paul addresses that find their foundation in the Law.So, while I may recoil from Torah because it defines sin and through the Spirit it brings conviction (not condemnation), I also realize Torah is indeed spiritual, holy, righteous, and good The HammerMi kamocah ba'elim AdonaiWho is like you, Adonai, among the mighty? (Exodus 15:11
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