NT Integration
Notice a Pattern
In the story, Moses gives the first commandments to the children of Israel: “You shall have no other gods” and, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image”… What happens next? Israel breaks those very laws as they make the golden calf. After this, another story of rebellion appears and Moses gives them more commandments, and then another story of rebellion, and again more commandments.
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Commandments – rebellion – commandments – rebellion… Do you get the pattern?
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The purpose of the story is to show that the commandments weren’t given without reason but were given as a response to Israel’s sinful actions. It’s like an instance when a child breaks a vase and then his parent decides that “from now on, you’re not allowed to play ball in the kitchen!”
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The laws and commandments in the Torah were meant to suppress criminals and to defend the weak. The purpose of the Law was to create basic law and order in a corrupt and barbaric society. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul explains:
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“Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers…” (1 Timothy 1:9)
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Understanding the Context
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There’s a direct correlation between “knowledge” and “morality”. When we “know” God, ie, His character and the will of God, our moral principles and ethical standards go up accordingly. The Torah and its laws were only a first step, a first step out of a moral slough and towards godly morals.
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Western Civilization
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Today, in the 21st century, we have the privilege of enjoying the last thousand years in which much of the western world was built upon biblical foundations and was fashioned accordingly. That privilege did not exist when the people of Israel started. The reason we know today that stealing and committing murder is wrong is because our parents and the society we live in educated us by these moral standards, and that’s the way it’s been for the last thousand year. And, as we all know, the foundations for the entire western world are based on another Jewish book, the New Testament.
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This is what Jesus taught, concerning the commandments of the Torah:
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“Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you… but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8)
Because of the hardness of our hearts we were allowed to take revenge, to get divorced, to take slaves, and so forth. But originally, things were different. In other words, we can find God’s ultimate standards before the Torah was given, back in the beginning – before sin permeated creation, and before Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. God’s standard is not “Do not murder”. It is only preventive and a restraint. God’s standard is to love, to love even your adversary.
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“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27-28
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God’s standard is not “Do not steal” – rather that we need to be generous. “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
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The first attribute of the commandments is that their purpose was to restrict the behavior of the Israelites. The corrupted heart of man is sort of like an animal infected with rabies, that must be quarantined so it won’t hurt others. This is what the commandments did for the children of Israel, they restrained and restricted all their terrible behaviors. Take for example a well-known commandment:
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“Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:24-25
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God’s ultimate moral standards are forgiveness, harmony, and unity; not revenge and discord. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks about these very verses:
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“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:38-44
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In the commandments in the Torah, Deuteronomy 23 and in Exodus 22, the Israelites were allowed to exact interest from foreigners they lent money to, but not from other Israelites. Jesus, however, teaches that if a person in need asks for your help, it doesn’t matter who he is, whether he’s a gentile or whether he’s hurt you in the past. You need to be willing to step up and help anybody in need. In other words, whereas the Torah prevented exploitation, Jesus demonstrated to us God’s ultimate moral standard: grace, show people favor.
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“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:43-44)
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In short, our flawed hearts were under the confinement of the Torah, whose purpose was to restrain us. Now, we no longer need to be under confinement. We have healed hearts. Today, we have the cure. The cure is the Messiah. The Messiah, sets up God’s ultimate moral standards anew, lived from a live heart: grace, compassion, forgiveness, and love. In Messiah, we now go the extra mile, by faith, and not because of laws and rituals.
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People often wrestle with which to follow. The answer is both. Jesus explained in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) the elevated Commandments. He was not replacing or eliminating – He elevated them to their proper stature. He amplified them so we could glimpse their intensity.
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Another way to look at this is through the eyes of the garden of Eden. When God put Adam and Eve there, He gave them one commandment: don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But they did and look at all the destruction humanity found by doing it.
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Likewise, Jesus’ intent was to open the door to the fullness of observing the law of God. His explanations are not a new code of practices. He invited us to explore their robust nature and to utilize their expansive ability. We are to fill our lives and world with the richness of the creative application of the Commandments. His explanations show us examples of His depth of perception. Taste the flavors!
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The writers of the New Testament spoke about the commandments in this way as well, as a “temporary guardian”:
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made” (Galatians 3:19)
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“So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,” (Galatians 3:24-25)
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This guardian role was that of an adult guiding a child to school, keeping him safe as he traveled. The Roman empire had plenty of problem people in the streets. In time, it is expected that the child will internalize the safety wisdom of the guardian and choose to exercise it. Then a transition period would develop, and the child would graduate to traveling alone. He would be able to because the law he was taught was now in his heart. He can apply it with wisdom.
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The commandments of the Torah not only reveal the weakness of the human heart, but they also teach us about the holiness and the grace of God. They show us wisdom and knowledge, deepen our understanding concerning the character and the work of the Messiah, and compel us to love God and love man.
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While the Torah has many purposes, the arch goal of the Torah is to guide us, through the broken Sinai Covenant, to the Messiah. Without the Torah, we wouldn’t have been able to know or recognize the Messiah, or even know of our need of Him. Thanks to the Torah, and to the entire Old Testament, we recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, just as He said Himself:
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“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
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and also:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” (John 5:39)
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As believers, we need to define anew what it means to “keep the Torah”.
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As opposed to the rabbinic definition of today, which defines keeping the Torah as performing external rituals and practices that aren’t even related to the Torah, truly keeping the Torah is to believe in Jesus the Messiah and to follow Him into law-filled living.
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Followers of Jesus are true followers of Moses, in the truest sense, and keep far more than just the Commandments of the Sinai Covenant by loving God and loving others. If only we too, as we meditate on the treasures of the Scriptures, could be as enthusiastic as David was, when he wrote:
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“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalms 119:97)
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