Before we can get into the debate of Thorah (law)  versus  Favor (grace), we need to make sure of the definitions of the two. When I set out to study the subject, I thought that I had a pretty good idea of what Thorah and Favor meant. But, I was mistaken. All that I had heard in the “Church” was wrong and the uses of the words were not even correct.

 

Thorah is Hebrew for instruction, precept, teaching, law. It comes from the Hebrew word yarah, which means to flow as water (i.e. to rain), to lay or throw (to shoot); fig. to point out ( as if by aiming the finger), to teach (direct, inform, instruct, lay, show). The Book of Laws, the five books of Mosheh, are also called Thorah.

 

Favor in the Hebrew is chen (khane), which comes from chanan, which means kindness, favor, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior, to bestow, grant or give. The Greek is charis (as in charity). The meaning of the Greek is very close to that of the Hebrew, but since the Greek originates potentially, from a pagan gods name, as well as the English rendering of grace and since the mindset of grace and charity is different than that of favor,  I will be using the word favor throughout this study.

 

Some of the uses in the Testimony and Letters for grace, is the Hebrew word Chesed. Chesed means mercy, kindness and is from the same origin as another Hebrew word, by the same spelling meaning shame, curse, rebuke, reproach.

 

Here are some examples of these uses, in the Letters.

In Yaaqob [James] 4:6, Yaaqob is quoting Scripture [the Tanak (OT)] and says, "elohiym opposes the proud, but gives favor [chen] to the humble."  This is a quote from Mishley [Proverbs] 3:34. Kefa [Peter] 5:5 quotes the same verse.

 

In Yahudah [Jude] 1:4, " 'for some men have obtained entrance, who from the beginning were registered beforehand under this condemnation, wicked men, who pervert the mercy [chesed] of elohey to shamefullness, and deny him who is the only master elohey and our master, yahusha` hamashiyach.' " 

 

Now that we have the foundation of the two meanings laid, we can then proceed to build. I will be using only Tanak [Old Testament] to begin with. This way we can see the whole subject as it appeared to the early Believers, who only had the Tanak - the Scriptures, available to them; before the gentilizing of the subject by the “Church”. Then, I will go in and provide verses from the Testimony, Letters and Revelations (NT).

 

 

Favor

 

Let’s begin with Favor [chen], as it applies to YHWH. Shemoth [Exodus] 34, this is  at Mountain Siynay, after the golden calf incident. YHWH had directed Mosheh to cut out two new stone tablets, which he did. YHWH then tells Mosheh to present himself up on the mountain, early in the morning, by himself, which he also does. Verses 5-7, " YHWH descended in the nimbus cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name YHWH.  6 then YHWH passed by in front of him and proclaimed, 'YHWH, YHWH, el, compassionate and favorable, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness and truth;  7 who keeps kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.' "

 

Shemoth [Exodus] 33:19, "and he said, 'i will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and i will proclaim the name YHWH before you. and i will favor him whom i favor, and I will have mercy on him whom i have mercy.’ “ 

 

Also, Thehillah [Psalm] 103:8-18, " 'YHWH is compassionate and showing favor, slow to anger and great in mercy. he does not strive for eternity, nor will he harbor anger forever. he has not treated us according to our sins, nor repaid us according to our wickedness. for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. as far as east is from west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. as a father has compassion for his children, so YHWH has compassion for those who fear him. for he knows how we are made; he remembers that we are dust. the days of a man are like the grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. for the wind blows over it, and it is no more. but the mercy of YHWH is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him, and his righteousness to the children of his children, to those who observe his beriyth, and to those who remember his commands to do them.' " 

 

Thehillah [Psalm] 84:11(12), " 'for YHWH is a sun and a shield; YHWH gives favor and honor, he withholds no good matter from those who walk blamelessly.' "

 

So here we begin to see that all the  love, mercy, favor and patience of YHWH is for those who fear Him, observe His beriyth [covenant], walk blamelessly and obey His commands; not for those who do not fear Him and break His beriyth, do not walk in His ways and do not obey Him. This love, mercy, favor and patience is conditional on the relationship.

 

Favor of YHWH is shown only when the conditions of the beriyth are met. In this case, when a sinner turns from his sins, back to YHWH. YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 30:18-21,  " 'therefore YHWH will wait to show you favor. therefore he will be exalted, to have compassion on you. for YHWH is an elohey of justice. blessed are all those who wait for him. for the people will dwell in tsiyon at yerushalayim, you will weep no more. he will show much favor to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears, he will answer you. though YHWH gave you the bread of adversity and water of affliction, your moreh [teacher] will no longer be hidden. but your eyes will see your moreh [teacher], and your ears hear a word behind you saying, "this is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right, or whenever you turn to the left.' "   This is a prophecy for Yisrael that is conditional. The verses before and after state that Yisrael was stubborn and did not seek YHWH, they added sin to sin, verse 9, " 'that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who refuse to hear the thorah of YHWH.' "  So YHWH says that He will wait to show them favor. He tells them in verse 15, what must be done to have that favor and compassion,  " 'for so says adonay YHWH, qedowsh [set-apart one] of yisrael, "in turning and returning [shubah]  and rest you are saved, in stillness and trust is your strength."  but you would not,' "   Shubah is the same word the the NT calls repent. It is what Yahuchanan the immerser [John the Baptist] cried out to the people, "shub", to turn from your sins and return to YHWH. He does not pour out mercy and favor on the disobedient. It is not His nature, as just and righteous, to favor the rebellious and the disobedient, while they are rebellious and disobedient. The key is in the turning and returning.

 

In Mishley [Proverbs] 3:1-4, we see a warning to a son,  " 'my son, do not forget my thorah, and let your heart watch over my commands; for length of days and long life and shalom [peace] they will add to you. do not let mercy and truth forsake you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, so finding favor and good insight in the eyes of YHWH and man.' "   Mishley 13:15, "good understanding gains favor , but the way of those that break faith is hard (does not endure)."  Once again the condition for favor is to not forget the Thorah of YHWH, not to break faith with Him and obey His commands.

 

YHWH is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He does not change like shifting shadows.  Should you disobey and not follow Thorah and continue in that disobedience, He turns His back on you until you turn from your sins, back to YHWH [shubah - repent] and obey Him. If you are walking in His ways then He blesses you. Here is a blessing that Aharon spoke over Yisrael - BeMidbar [Numbers] 6:24-26, " 'YHWH bless you and guard you; YHWH make his face shine upon you, and show favor to you; YHWH  lift up his face upon you, and give you shalom [wholeness, completeness, peace].' "

 

 

Relationships

 

To better understand favor, between YHWH and ourselves, we need to view favor between one person and another. Thehillah [Psalm] 37:21, 26, "the wicked one borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one shows favor (is generous) and gives. all the day he (the righteous man) shows favor and lends; and his seed (children) are a blessing."  Thehillah 112:5,  "good is a man showing favor and lending, who conducts his affairs with justice."  Mishley [Proverbs] 14:31,  "he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his maker, but he who honors him shows favor to the needy."  Mishley 19:17, "he who shows favor to the poor lends to YHWH, and he rewards him for what he has done." And finally, Mishley 28:8, "he who increases his possessions by interest and profit gathers it for him who shows favor to the poor."

 

Interestingly enough, these five “people references” all deal with the generosity in giving to those that need it; giving generously to those that lack. This is how YHWH is. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Thehillah [Psalm] 50:10), giver of every good and perfect gift ( Yaaqob [James] 1:17). He is the generous one, showing favor to us who lack. II Corinthians 9: 6-11, " 'remember this, whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for YHWH loves a joyous giver. and YHWH is able to make all favor overflow toward you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will have plenty for every good work. as it is written, "he has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever."  and he who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, will supply and increase the seed you have sown and increase the fruit (harvest) of your righteousness, you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous (show favor) on every occasion and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to YHWH.' "

 

 

Prayers for favor

 

Here are some of the prayers that are ascribed to Dawiyd and others, concerning the favor of YHWH.  Thehillah [Psalm] 51:3(1), " 'favor me, YHWH, according to your kindness; according to your vast compassion, blot out my transgressions.' "  Thehillah 119:58,  " 'i have sought your face with all my heart; show me favor according to your word.' "   Thehillah 119:132, " 'turn to me and favor me, according to your justice, toward those who love your name.' "   Thehillah 57:2(1),  " 'favor me, YHWH, favor me. for in you my nefesh (breath/being, soul) takes refuge; and in  the shadow of your wings i take refuge, until destruction passes by.' "   YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 33:2, " 'YHWH, favor me, for we have longed for you. be their arm every morning, our deliverance also in time of distress.' "  And, Thehillah 123:2,3, " 'see, as the eyes of servants look toward the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a female servant look toward the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes toward YHWH, till he favors us. favor us, YHWH, favor us, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. our nefesh (breath/being, soul) is exceedingly filled with the ridicule from the complacent ones, with the contempt of the arrogant." ' "   We cannot live without the favor of YHWH, without His gifts of kindness. That is not life.

 

 

Thorah

 

Now, let’s  take a look at Thorah, what Scripture says that Thorah is, and what this instruction from YHWH does for us. Thehillah [Psalm] 78:1, " 'my people, give ear to my thorah; listen to the words of my mouth.' "  Mishley [Proverbs] 6:23, " 'for these mitswoth [commands] are a lamp, and this thorah is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.' "  Mishley 7:2,  " 'observe my mitswoth [commands] and live, and guard my thorah as the apple of your eye.' "   Thehillah 19:8(7),  " 'the thorah of YHWH is perfect, reviving the nefesh (breath, soul, being). the testimony of YHWH is trustworthy, making wise the simple.' "  And, HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 32:46,47,  "he (mosheh) said to them, 'set your heart on all the words which i declared to you today, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this thorah. for they are not just empty words for you, they are your life, and by this word you prolong your days on the soil which you pass over the yarden [jordan] to possess.' " 

 

So in these Scriptures we see that the Thorah are the words out of the mouth of YHWH; it is light; should be the apple of our eye;  it is perfect, reviving our nefesh; and they are not empty words, but our life. This does not sound like something that was made obsolete by “grace”, rather it sounds like the Son of YHWH, Yahusha`. He is the word out of the mouth of His Father, He is perfect and has revived our nefesh, He is not empty and void, but our life and He should be the apple of our eye.

 

Bereshiyth [Genesis] 26:4,5, " 'and i will increase your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and i will give all these lands to your offspring. and in your offspring all the goyiy [gentiles] of the earth will be blessed, because abraham obeyed my voice and observed my observances, my commands, my rules, and my thoroth (plural of thorah).' "  Because of Abrahams obedience, we have blessings, if we walk in those same ways.

 

So why should we obey Thorah? HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 11:8,9,  " 'and you will observe every mitswah [command] which i have commanded you today, so that you will be strong, and will go in, and will possess the land which you are crossing over to possess, and to prolong your days in the land which YHWH swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.' "   HaDebariym 4:5,6,  " 'see i have taught you rules and judgements, as YHWH commanded me, to perform them in the midst of the land which you go to possess. and you will observe and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the peoples who hear all these rules, and they will say, "surely,  a wise and understanding people is this great goy [nation]." ' "   HaDebariym 6:20-25, " 'when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "what is the meaning of the testimonies, and the rules, and the judgements which YHWH  has commanded you?" then you will say to your son, "we were slaves of faraoh in mitsrayim, and YHWH brought us out of mitsrayim with a strong hand, and YHWH sent signs and wonders, great and grievous, upon mitsrayim, upon faraoh, and upon all his beyth, before our eyes. and he brought us out from there, to bring us in, to give us the land of which he swore to our fathers. and YHWH commanded us to do all these rules, to fear YHWH, for our good always, to give us life, as it is today. and it will be righteousness for us when we are careful to do all this command before YHWH, as he has commanded us." ' "

 

So we should obey Thorah because it provides us with blessings; gives us strength to possess the land; prolong our days; gives us wisdom and understanding that is obvious, even to unbelievers; it is for our good; to give us life; and is righteousness for us. Observing the Thorah of YHWH, His commands, His judgments, His laws, His testimonies is for our benefit, not to wear us down, burden us or make it difficult for us. Just as a parent says to their child, “Do not touch the fire. Obey me in this and you will be safe”,   “Do not eat or drink this, it is poison and could kill you”,   “These are the foods you eat to help your body grow strong and stay healthy”,   YHWH has given us teachings that are to help us, steer us, protect us, bless us, mature us. They are not just for our physical being, but more importantly, our spiritual being. They do not affect just what we do here, in the short span of our existence on this earth, but our future, determining if we get the blessing of spending it with YHWH.

 

A child may cast off all restraint and become rebellious. Growing up to be a lawbreaker and quite possibly spending time in prison or just in the prison he has made his life to be. Or a child can embrace the teachings that his parents have hopefully set forth for him, those that his society  and country place on him, and be a law abiding member of his community and not go to prison. Now I know that some of the rules and laws that are set up by our governments are not just or necessary and sometimes innocent people are imprisoned or executed for crimes they did not commit.  My point is that the Thorah (teachings)  of YHWH  is  perfect and just and they are for our benefit, to teach us how to relate to Him, ourselves, others and our environment. They show us a perfect way, the perfect way that Yahusha` came to show us.

 

 

Blessings for observance

 

Here are some Scriptures that show how a man is blessed for observing Thorah. Thehillah [Psalm] 94:12, " 'happy  is the man you discipline, YHWH, and teach from your thorah.' "    Thehillah 1:2,  " 'but his delight is in the thorah of YHWH, and in his thorah he meditates day and night.' "   Thehillah 119:1, " 'happy are those whose way is perfect, who walk in the thorah of YHWH.' "   Mishley [Proverbs] 1:8,9,  " 'shema (hear), my son, the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the thorah of your mother; for they are a garland to favor your head, and chains to adorn your neck.' "  YHWH teaches us from His perfect Thorah, we should meditate on it day and night; to walk in it. Notice that the discipline and Thorah, to the son, is not as a yoke or shackles, but as a wreath or crown upon his head and a chain (necklace) about his neck. Thorah is a blessing, not a burden.  Mishley [Proverbs] 4:2,  " 'for i have given you good instruction,  do not forsake my thorah.' "

 

 

Keeping Beriyth

 

These are some of the promises that go along with this beriyth of keeping Thorah. Yahusha` [Joshua] 1:8, " 'do not let this book of the thorah depart from your mouth, but you will meditate on it day and night, so that you may observe to do everything that is written in it. for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will act wisely.' "   HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 30:9,10,  " 'and YHWH  will make you prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil for YHWH will return to rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of YHWH, to observe his commands and his rules which are written in this book of the thorah, if you turn back to YHWH with all your heart and with all your nefesh (breath, being, soul).' "    I Dibrey HaYamiym [I Chronicles] 22:12,13,  " 'only, may YHWH give you wisdom and understanding, and give you command over yisrael, to keep the thorah of YHWH. then you will prosper, if you are careful to do the rules and judgments which YHWH commanded mosheh concerning yisrael. be strong and courageous, do not fear or be discouraged.' "  By observing, doing and meditating on the Thorah, YHWH promises to make us prosperous; give us wisdom and understanding, so that we will act wisely; prosper the fruit of our hands, our wombs, our livestock and our soil. These are tremendous promises that YHWH makes to us, for what? Just for keeping His Thorah, with all our heart (not for show or half-hearted), which is pleasing to Him.

 

Written on our hearts

 

Our attitude should be one of pleasure  in observing the Thorah of YHWH. Our hearts should desire to do what pleases YHWH.  Thehillah [Psalm] 40:8,  " 'i have delighted to do your pleasure, YHWH, and your thorah is within my heart.' "   YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 31:33,  " 'for this is the beriyth [covenant] i will make with the beyth yisrael after those days,' declares YHWH. 'i will place my thorah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. and i will be to them for elohiym, and they will be my people.' "   Yechezqel [Ezekiel] 36:26,27,  " 'and i will give you a heart restored (this word is chadashah, as in restored, new, repaired, renewed. The same word is used in YirmeYahu  31:31, when YHWH says that He is going to make with us a “Beriyth Chadashah” – restored covenant.)  and place a ruach [spirit] restored (chadashah) within you. and i will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and i will give you a heart of flesh, and place my ruach [spirit] within you, and will move you to walk in my rules and guard my judgements and observe them.' "   I Melekiym [Kings] 8:57,58,  " 'may YHWH  be with us as he was with our fathers, may he not leave us or forsake us, to turn our hearts to himself, to walk in all his ways, and to observe his commands and his rules and his judgements, that he commanded our fathers.' " 

 

This heart of stone is not a literal rock where your heart should be, but a heart that has become hardened, calloused, by continued disobedience.  ZekarYahu [Zachariah] 7:12,  " 'and they made their hearts like flint, rather than hearing the thorah, and the words which YHWH tsabaoth had sent by his ruach [spirit] through the earlier nebiyiym [prophets], and great wrath came from YHWH tsabaoth.' "  The people who do not observe the Thorah of  YHWH, who turn from His ways, develop a hard, calloused, hardened heart -  a heart of stone. The only way to get rid of that, is to turn from your sins to YHWH. Then He will take out the hardened heart and give you a restored one of flesh, kind of like a heart transplant. He then places His ruach within you to move you to walk in His ways and observe His Thorah, to fulfill them. Without this restored heart and His ruach, you will never be able to observe and fulfill His Thorah. A person can never observe and fulfill True Thorah without a renewed heart and the ruach of YHWH.

 

There is a difference between those that have the Thorah of YHWH in their hearts and those that do not. One example is that of the Thorah helping you to resist temptations and trials. Thehillah [Psalm] 37:31,  " 'the thorah of YHWH is in his heart; his footsteps will not slip.' "  Mishley [Proverbs] 13:14,  "the thorah of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one away from the snares of death."   Thehillah 17:4,5, " 'as for the deeds of men, by the words of your lips (remember, the Thorah are the words of the lips of YHWH), i have kept myself from the paths of the lawless. my steps have held fast to your paths, my footsteps have not slipped.' "  When Yahusha` was being tempted, in the wilderness, what did He use to stand firm against the temptations of Satan? He used the Thorah. “It is written.”  For every temptation of Satans, Yahusha` used portions of the Thorah to point out what YHWH spoke and required of His people. Ah, but that is the Testimony and I am jumping ahead of myself.

 

Another example of the difference between those with the Thorah of YHWH in their heart and those that do not, is in their relationship to each other. There will be striving and contention between the two. I have seen this in person, as well as on the forums. One of the biggest sources of contention is the subject of observing Thorah.  Mishley [Proverbs] 28:4,5,  " 'those who forsake the thorah praise the wicked, but the observers of the thorah contend with them. evil men do not understand judgment, but those who seek YHWH will understand all.' "  YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 51:7,8,  " 'shema (hear, listen) to me, you who know righteousness,  a people with my thorah in their hearts; do not fear the reproach of men, and do not be broken by their insults; for like a garment, a moth will eat them, and like wool, a worm will eat them; but my righteousness is forever, and my salvation for all generations.' "

 

 

Not observing Torah

 

Which leads me to the  Scriptures of those that do not keep Thorah. YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 9:12-16, " 'who is the wise man, who will understand this? who is he to whom the mouth of YHWH speaks, that he may explain it? why has the land perished, and become burned up like a wilderness, with none passing through it?' and YHWH says, ' because they have forsaken my thorah which i placed before them, and they have not obeyed my voice, or walked according to it, but they have walked according to the stubbornness of their own heart and followed after the baaliym, as their fathers taught them.'  therefore so said YHWH tsebaoth, elohey of yisrael, 'observe, i am making this people eat wormwood, and i will make them drink poisoned (gall) water. and i will scatter them among the goyiym, that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until i have consumed them.' "   This is no small matter to YHWH. Not keeping His Thorah is a major offense against Him, with serious repercussions.

 

 

Violating Beriyth

 

What is interesting in this passage, is the statement of having to drink poisoned water. In the thorah, if a man suspected his wife of being adulterous, the kohaniym [priests] made the woman drink bitter water. If she was innocent nothing happened. If she was guilty, he belly would swell and her thigh waste away. Also, when Yisrael sinned by making a golden calf and worshipping it, Mosheh came down from the mountain and chastised them for doing so. The calf was burned up and ground to a powder, mixed with water and Yisrael was made to drink. Idolatry is as adultery in this beriyth with YHWH.

 

Also, Hoshea 8:1,12, " 'put the shofar to your mouth, like an eagle over (as an enemy swooping) the beyth YHWH [House of YHWH], because they have violated my beriyth [covenant], and they have rebelled against my thorah.' "    NechemYahu [Nehemiah] 9:26,  " 'but they became disobedient and rebelled against you, and cast your thorah behind their backs, and they killed your nebiyiym [prophets] who had warned them, to bring them back to yourself, and they committed great blasphemies.' "    YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 24:5,6,  " 'for the earth has been defiled because of its inhabitants, because they have disobeyed the thoroth (plural of Thorah), violated the rules , broke the everlasting beriyth [covenant]. therefore a curse will consume the earth and the guilty inhabitants in it. therefore the inhabitants of the earth will be burned, and few men will be left.' "  The earth was cleansed of the wicked once before, in the flood. The earth, like a person, underwent a miqweh of water, for purification of uncleanness. See the study on Miqweh for more Scriptures. The next immersion to cleanse is that of fire. These Scriptures are showing that cleansing, yet because of the intensity of corruption, the fire will totally consume the earth and the wicked, Thorahless inhabitants. Sin is breaking Thorah.

 

 

YHWH and Thorah inseparable

 

Many people feel or have been taught, that they can have a relationship with YHWH and Yahusha` without Thorah; that Thorah is legalism. They do not realize that the relationship with YHWH and Thorah is inseparable. The scripture is quite clear that the man who does not uphold Thorah is a cursed man and a cursed man cannot be in right relationship while he is cursed.  HaDebariym 27:26,  " 'cursed is the one who does not uphold the words of this thorah to fulfill them.'   and all the people will say, "Amen." ' "    Mishley [Proverbs] 29:18,  " 'without revelation (vision) there is loosening (casting off restraint), the people that observe the thorah are praiseworthy.' "   Hoshea 4:6,  " 'my people are destroyed for no (nothing) knowledge. you have forgotten knowledge, so I forget you from being a kohen [priest] for me. since you have forgotten the thorah of YHWH, i will also forget your sons.' "  What these people have sown in putting the Thorah of YHWH behind their back, they reap in His anger and wrath.

 

In the beginning of Chabaqquq [Habakkuk], the prophet is crying out to YHWH about the injustices and violence that he has seen, the abundance of the wicked surrounding the righteous. He states in verse 4,  "' that is why the thorah is weakened and justice never goes forth. for the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice comes out twisted.' "  When the wicked handle Thorah, it is perverted and distorted, it becomes paralyzed. YeshaYahu 8:20, " 'to the thorah and to the testimony. if they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no light of dawn.' "  These wicked people counsel against the Thorah and as a result, they have no light. They stumble in the darkness and lead others to their dark path. The Thorah is light on the path.

 

 

Kohaniym

 

It was the kohaniym [priests] function to teach the Thorah to the people, to be the guides, the instructors. Instead, they became defiled and perverted the True Thorah, thereby leading others astray.  Malakiy [Malachi] 2:6-9,  " 'true thorah was in his (Lewiy-Levi) mouth and perversity was not found on his lips. he walked with me in shalom (peace, completeness, wholeness) and straightness and turned many away from iniquity. for the lips of a kohen [priest] should safeguard knowledge and thorah pour forth from his mouth, because he is a malak [messenger] of YHWH tsebaoth. but you have turned from the way, you have caused multitudes to stumble in the thorah, you have corrupted the beriyth [covenant] of the lewiy [Levi],' said YHWH tsebaoth. 'and i therefore will make you repulsive and low before all the people, because you do not observe my ways, and are showing partiality in the thorah.' "    Yechezqel [Ezekiel] 22:26,  " 'her (yisrael) kohaniym [priests] have done violence to my thorah and they polluted my set apart things. between set apart and common they did not distinguish; between contaminated and purified they did not make known, and they have veiled their eyes from my shabbathoth (plural of shabbath), and i became polluted in the midst of them.' "   This is like the blind leading the blind, only the kohaniym had the True Thorah to begin with, they chose to become blind and made the Thorah of no effect and taught the people their perverted version.

 

Thehillah [Psalm] 119 is an acrostic poem. You cannot see this in the English, but only in the Hebrew. Each group of verses begins with a Hebrew letter of the aleph-bet (alphabet- alpha beta are the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Aleph bet are the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.), in alphabetical order. Within the group of verses of Aleph, every verses first word will begin with the letter aleph, and so on. This acrostic poem is filled with verses about Thorah. I have saved this for last. Since the poem has 176 verses, I have chosen only some of the verses. You should read the poem in its entirety, it is beautiful. It is all about the judgments, laws, commands, ways and Thorah of YHWH.

 

Thehillah 119, " '1 how happy are those whose way is perfect, who walk in the thorah of YHWH.  7 i will give thanks to you with an upright heart, because of studying your righteous judgments.  11 in my heart i have stored up your word, so that i would not sin against you.  18 remove the veil from my eyes that i may see marvelous things from your thorah.  29 remove from me the way of falsehood, and show me favor through your thorah.  34 give me understanding so that i may cherish your thorah, and observe it with my whole heart.  44 i will always observe your thorah for ever and ever.  51 willful sinners mock me exceedingly, but i do not turn aside from your thorah.  53 rage has seized me because of the wicked who forsake your thorah.  55 In the night, i have remembered your name, YHWH, and i kept your thorah.  61 the cords of the wicked surround me, but i have not forgotten your thorah.  70 their hearts became callused, without feeling; but i have delighted in your thorah.  72 the thorah from your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.  77 let your mercies come to me, that i may live, for your thorah is my preoccupation.  85 willful sinners dug pits for me, which is not in accordance with your thorah.  92 had your thorah not been my preoccupation, then i would have perished in my affliction.  97 how i love your thorah. all day long it is my conversation.  109 my life is constantly in my hand, but i did not forget your thorah.  113 i hate double minded men, but i love your thorah.  126  it is time for YHWH to act. for they have broken your thorah.  136 streams of water have run down from my eyes, because they did not obey your thorah.  142 your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your thorah is truth.  the pursuers of sinful counsel draw near; they are far from your thorah.  153 see my affliction and release me, for i have not forgotten your thorah.  163 i have hated falsehood and abhorred it; your thorah i have loved.  165 abundant shalom [wholeness, completeness, peace] have they who love your thorah, and for them there is no stumbling block.  174 i crave your salvation, YHWH, and your thorah is my preoccupation.' "

 

From all the Scriptures in the Tanak, it is obvious that you cannot have favor without observing the Thorah of YHWH, His commands, judgments, rules, testimonies, ordinances and ways. The two go hand in hand and you cannot separate either of them from YHWH. It is His favor that He gives to us and it is His Thorah from His mouth. Anyone who does not listen to, observe, keep, obey, safeguard, meditate, do and take delight in the Thorah of YHWH is a cursed man that has turned their back upon YHWH and His ways. Therefore, He does not pour out His understanding of Thorah, nor His favor upon that person, their eyes will be veiled to His word. When a person turns from their sins to YHWH and walks in His ways, observe His Thorah,  then favor and understanding are given.

 

Now, a person might say, “That is how it may have been in the ‘Old Testament’, but now we have the ‘New Testament’ and that is no longer the case. We now have ‘grace’. Yahusha` fulfilled the Thorah and we don’t have to follow it now.” Let us take a look at the Testimony, Letters and Revelations [NT] and see what testimony it gives in this matter.

 

 

Testimony of Yahusha`

 

First, let us take a look at some of the words out of Yahusha`’s own mouth in this matter. This is the teaching that Yahusha` gave to the people on a mountain. MaththiYahu [Matthew] 5:17-20,  " 'do not contrive that i came to annul the thorah or the nebiyiym [prophets]. i did not come to annul but to fulfill. for truthfully, i say to you, till the heavens and the earth go away, not one yod (the smallest letter in the aleph bet looking like an apostrophe) or one tag (a crownlet or ornament on a letter. this is not one of the vowel pointings underneath the letters, but the smallest mark above a letter, looks like a stick.) will go away from the thorah till all will be done. for rightly so, all who breaks one of the least of these mitswoth [commands], and teaches this with the sons of men will be called least in the kingdom of YHWH; however, all who accomplishes this and teaches this, he will be called great in the kingdom of YHWH. for I say to you, that unless your righteousness becomes greater still than that which belongs to the soferiym [scribes, teachers] and the farushiym [pharisees], you will not enter into the kingdom of YHWH.' "

 

 

Not annulling, but observing

 

There are several important points in this passage. First and foremost, Yahusha` is saying that He is not annulling the Thorah. That is not what He came for and that is not what is going to happen. He did not say that because of “grace” that you no longer have to observe Thorah. He does not even mention that after His death, you would not have to observe Thorah. He makes it very clear, we are to keep Thorah. Second, He tells them not to contrive, devise, fabricate, deceive, or invent that He came to annul Thorah. This is one of the biggest deceptions in the “church”.  Further, He says that the smallest letter or the smallest mark will not pass away  before the earth and the heavens do. Now in the book of Revelations, the old heavens and the old earth are destroyed because of sin, in chapter 21. This is after Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, and this is after the Judgment. A new heavens and a new earth are formed and then the wedding of the Lamb. So before that time, Yahusha` says that nothing is removed from the Thorah and the Prophets, NOTHING! He goes on to say that anyone who breaks,  even the smallest commandment and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the kingdom. He is demanding that the Thorah be observed and not only observed, but you must teach others to observe it as well. Those that don’t will be called least and those that do observe and teach others to do so, will be called great in His kingdom. But, He doesn’t stop there. He states that we have to have a greater righteousness than did the Farushiym [Pharisees] and the Soferiym [scribes and teachers]. These men were considered the most righteous of all men, by men’s standards. We have to become greater. Many of these men’s righteousness were acts to be seen by men. Ours should be of the heart, whether anyone sees us or not. We have to observe the True Thorah. You may think that this is impossible, that those of Yisrael could not do it, how can anyone today. A Hebrew could not do it then, nor could one now, by themselves. Likewise, a Goy [gentile] who became a Ger [convert] could not fulfill all the Thorah then and could not now, by themselves. Of yourself, no one can. But, this is made possible with the ruach YHWH! Remember YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 31:31? YHWH will place His ruach within us and the ruach will move us to walk in His ways and follow His thorah and fulfill them.

 

Yahusha` does not abolish or annul His Fathers Word, but shows us and draws us to the True Thorah. The following verses of MaththiYahu 5, Yahusha` goes on to explain that the mitswah [commandment] not to murder is more than just physically obeying, “do not murder,” it is a matter of the heart and mind, one of “do not hate”. It is so much easier to not murder, than it is to not hate. This is the True Thorah. Then He goes on to say that the mitswah is not to commit adultery, but the intent of True Thorah is not to lust after a woman. By lusting after a woman, a man has committed adultery in his heart. Again, the physical abstaining from adultery is great, but YHWH wants your heart to also abstain. Everything Yahusha` taught, was to bring the believer to an understanding that you could observe Thorah physically and yet your heart and mind could be Thorahless;  you could be born an Ibriy [Hebrew] and yet live like a Goy [Gentile];  you could be circumcised physically and yet not be circumcised in heart;  you could be of the physical line of Abraham and yet your father (by the words of your mouth) could be Satan;  you could call on the name of YHWH, but your heart be far from Him. The intent of the Thorah is to point the way to YHWH; and Yahusha`, the Thorah made flesh, the Thorah made manifest, did just that.  Yahuchanan [John] 5:36-40,  " 'but i have testimony weightier than that of yahuchanan [john], for the works that the father gave me to accomplish, the works that i do bear witness of me, that the father has sent me. and the father who sent me, he bore witness of me. you have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. nor does his word dwell in you, because you do not believe the one he sent. you search the scriptures diligently, because you think that by them you possess eternal life. and these are the scriptures that bear witness of me. yet you refuse to come to me in order to possess life.' "

 

We see another testimony of Yahusha` stating to obey the words that His Father spoke to us.  Yahuchanan 14:23,24,  "yahusha` said to him, 'if anyone loves me, he will obey my word. and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. he who does not love me does not obey my words. and the word which you hear is not mine, but of the father who sent me.' "  Remember that the Thorah were the words out of the mouth of YHWH. These are the words that Yahusha` also speaks. He does not have His own teaching, but teaches that which His Father taught - the Thorah.

 

MaththiYahu [Matthew] 15:1-9,  "there came to yahusha` farushiym [pharisees] and soferiym [scribes] from yerushalayim and saying to him, 'why do your thalmiydiym [students] break on masoreth [plural of masorah, meaning traditions, (Tradition of the elders-in the Greek text, the Greek word  is paradosis, which means transmission of a precept, specifically the oral Jewish traditional law-oral thorah.)] of the elders (post biblical hebrew word meaning elder, old man, scholar, lit. the bearded one-plural)? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.' he answered them saying, 'why do you also break the mitswoth [commands] of YHWH for your masoreth? for YHWH has commanded saying, "honor your father and your mother," and , "he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death." but you have a saying, "everyone who says to a father or a mother, 'qarbaniy [my offerings brought to the altar, devoted to YHWH], is that which you received from me.' "  and he does not honor his father or his mother; and you have nullified the word of YHWH for the sake of your masoreth [traditions].' "  Yahusha` is saying that the Written Thorah is the highest authority. The traditions that they have upheld should not cause the nullifying of the Written Thorah. Yahusha` totally advocated the Written Thorah.

 

A man came to Yahusha` and called Him, “Towb Moreh [Good Teacher].”  MaththiYahu [Matthew] 19:17,  "and he said to him, 'why do you call me good? no one is good except YHWH haechad [the one]. but if you want to enter into life, observe the mitswoth [plural of mitwah, meaning command].' "  Again, MaththiYahu 22:34-40,  "but the farushiym [pharisees], having heard that he silenced the tstsadukiym [sadducees], assembled, becoming united, and one of them that knew thorah, asked him and then tested Him, 'moreh, which is the highest mistwah [command] in the thorah?'  and yahusha` said to him, 'you will love YHWH with all your heart, and with all your nefesh [breath, being], and with all your strength, and with all your mind.  this one mitswah is the highest and the first. and the second is similar to her [the ah ending of words is female, as in mitswah, therefore the pronoun used here is her.], you will love your fellow man as yourself. on these two mitswoth [plural of mitwah-command] depend the thorah and the nebiyiym [prophets].' "  Yahusha` is not annulling the rest of the Thorah and the Nebiyiym by this statement. He is simply stating, that if you love YHWH with all of your heart, your breath, your strength and your mind, and love your fellowman as yourself, then you would automatically be keeping all the other mitswoth, in following these two.

 

 

Observance by Yahusha`

 

Yahusha` observed His Fathers commands as well. Let’s take a look at the accounts in the Basoroth [good news] and see what He observed.

 

·        MaththiYahu 3:13, Yahusha` goes through a miqweh in the Yarden [Jordan] river. Yahusha` was not doing this as a cleansing of sins, He had not committed any, because He kept His Fathers commands. But, all new kohaniym [priests], when they reach the age of  about thirty, which is the age that Yahusha` was (Luke 3:23), go through a miqweh as they are initiated into the kehunnah [priesthood]. This is to cleanse them before they begin ministering. Shemoth [Exodus] 29:4, Wayyiqra [Leviticus] 8:6.

·        MaththiYahu 8:2-4, Yahusha` commanded the leper, that He had just healed, to obey Thorah and go and present himself to the kohaniym [priests] to be inspected. Lk. 5:14. Wayyiqra [Leviticus] 13:1-46.

·        MaththiYahu 9:20, He wore tsiytsiyt on the corners of His garment. Mt.14:36, Mk. 6:56, Lk. 8:44. The word in the Greek text is kraspedon, meaning fringe or tassel. This is the same as the Hebrew tsiytsiyt, which is required in BeMidbar [Numbers] 15:38-41 and HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 22:12.

·        MaththiYahu 12:1-12, Observed Shabbath. Commanded in Wayyiqra [Leviticus] 23:3, Shemoth [Exodus] 20:8-11.

·        MaththiYahu 26:17, Observed Pesach [Passover], Mk. 14:13,16, Lk. 22:13, YN 2:23. Pesach is one of the feasts that are required as an everlasting ordinance, Shemoth [Exodus] 12:14, HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 16:1-8, Wayyiqra [Leviticus] 23:4-8.

·        MaththiYahu 26:17, Observed Chag HaMatstsoth [Feast of Unleavened Bread]. Commanded in  HaDebariym 16:1-8, Wayyiqra 23:4-8.

·        Mark 14:62, declared and made known His Fathers Name-YHWH. Lk. 22:69, Yahuchanan [John] 17:6,12,26. Decreed in Shemoth [Exodus 3:15, 9:16, YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 42:8, 52:6, YirmeYahu [Jeremiah]