The Hebrew Perspective of Love, Faith, and Law David Field October 2, 2011
The Christian bible as we know it today, is a collection of books written beginning centuries ago, translated and retranslated over this period of time. It begins with the writings of Moses, Jews refer to as the Torah, and continues with the prophets. Together these writings are called by the Jews as the Tanakh, or the Jewish bible, Christianity knows as the Old Testament. The early followers of the Messiah wrote and kept some other writings by the disciples and apostles of Yahshua, and Christianity knows those as the New Testament and has incorporated some of those into the Christian bible of today.
There is a commonality to all these writings, they are all written from the perspective of the Hebrew culture, and from a Hebrew religion, from a peoples called the children of Israel, Israelites, and referred to as Yahwah’s, the creator of all, chosen people. Now there is one huge assumption made about this collection that never occurs to Christianity, because people of today are totally unaware of it. Today we live in a Greek inspired western culture. These writings were written by those of a far different culture, and mindset. It was the Greeks that inspired the abstract thinking technique. While in Hebrew culture, everything is thought of in terms of absolutes; the tangible things experienced in everyday life, explored with the five senses.
So what does this have to do with the interpretation of scripture? Everything; the word meanings have no basis in fact or understanding. The word love in western thinking is an abstract idea of emotion. Love is changed from an action word in Hebrew to fondness or desire. Love is the action necessary to the benefit of another. Love is actually DOING for another, and not just wishing them well. Faith is changed from an action word to a just a mental believing; doing is out of the equation. A faithful servant can be trusted to carry out all instruction to it’s intended end.
Bible translators have changed the Hebrew word “Torah” to “law” or “commandments”. So this leaves the reader not knowing what the law is, so we use our current understanding of the word. But at the time of the writing, there were two sets of laws known to Jews. The Pharisee Jews added their own set of laws that they claim override the Torah instruction of Yahwah. This set of false laws are referred to as the oral law, now recorded in the Talmud, developed during the Babylonian captivity period. Yahshua referred to this law as the tradition of men, and spoke against these laws while walking the earth many times, and renounced these laws as not from His father, but from the dark father.
Matthew 23:13 (Yahshua) But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go inyourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Ephesians 2:8 (Paul) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Torah is he word Yahshua would have uttered, for the English word commandments, in the John 14:15 because every Hebrew knew that the only law he was talking about was his father’s law recorded by Moses and recorded in the Torah. Every reader should know that understanding the mindset of the writer is prerequisite to understanding the writing. We have been thinking that we understand what is said, totally unaware we have the wrong perspective.
So putting this altogether, faithfulness to Yah is the act of doing what he instructs, not just believing in the Messiah only. Adhering to his law is following his instruction given in the Torah, written by Moses, rather than just following our own set of laws we suppose are right and just. Yahwah’s laws are much different than supposed by our own human thinking. But they are simple laws, and written clearly in text. Now you may go back and read them with this mindset. Every place in the bible that uses the English words “law” or “commandments” think of either the Torah laws or the oral laws known in the day of the writing. Where ever a bible writer such as Paul speaks of the law that binds, we now know to be the law from the evil one, because Yah’s laws set free, are meant as a means of blessing to all those who practice them. Adherence to these blessed laws brings it’s own reward of steering clear of those things which bring failure into your life.