God’s will for all of humanity is to connect to Him through His instructions (a.k.a. Torah). According to the Rabbis, the Torah is composed of two parts: the Written Law and the Oral Law. The written Torah contains the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings (a.k.a. the Old Testament). Together with the Written Torah, Moses was also given the Oral Law, which explains how to live out the Written Law. It was given through Jewish people orally from generation to generation for thousands of years (Romans 3:2).
Jesus and the Apostles only had the Torah; they did not have the New Testament, and they referred to the Torah regularly in their teachings. Below is a video that is a great introduction to why Christians should study the Torah.
The Oral Torah
Many topics such as Sabbath or any of the other Appointed Times of the Lord are not explained in the written Torah, but they were handed down orally from generation to generation. A person can learn by attaching themselves to the Jewish people and learn from them. We are even told to obey everything Moses said as it is stated in Joshua 1:7-8 states, “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Even Paul told Timothy to listen to the Oral Torah that he taught when he said in 2 Timothy 1:13-14, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me …”. Another example of Oral Torah involves the phrase “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot” that is stated in Exodus 21:22–27 is held in the oral teaching to only imply monetary compensation as opposed to a literal one. In fact, the entire New Testament is the Oral Torah handed down and written by the Jewish Apostles.
Much of the Kingdom of God understanding is handed down orally. Without the oral teachings it is very hard to distinguish that the Kingdom of God is here on earth, and when the teachings are taken out of the Jewish context, they get lost in translation. Once a person comes to understand the Kingdom of God from a Jewish perspective, and that it is a physical place here on earth where God dwells with us, all scripture becomes more vibrant and starts to make more sense. In fact, much of the discussion in the Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, and the Torah literature opens up an entirely new perspective to the Kingdom of God that is otherwise is hidden in plain sight from many people.
The Kingdom of God is hidden from those who do not attach themselves to the Jewish people. Paul even said in Romans 3, “the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God”. Because of the Oral Torah that has been handed down from the generations, the Jewish people have many hidden treasures regarding the Kingdom of God. A good resource to start learning more about the Oral Torah while reading the Bible is the The Stone Edition of the Chumash. It has oral commentary on every scripture, and an impressive amount of wisdom in it.
A Mitzvah (Commandment)
The Torah has specific instructions, also known as commandments. Every commandment is called a ‘mitzvah’ in the Hebrew language. The word mitzvah also means to connect, and there are 613 mitzvot (ways to connect to God) written in the Torah. The Jewish people study specific portions of the Torah every week throughout a year (called a Parshah). Here is a really good video resource from Aleph Beta on YouTube about the Parshah. Both Jews and Non-Jewish people spend a lifetime determining who should apply which mitzvah, when they should apply it, and how they should apply it. A person can connect to God through a mitzvah and learn about God through them. You will gain much more understanding about God by keeping His commandments and learning how they apply in your life. Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:13, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” This would have been what Jesus was doing at the age of 12 in Luke 2:41-52, he was devoting himself to understanding and learning God’s instructions. The study of the Torah takes a lifetime and is one of the best ways to understand God and who He is. As John says in John 1:1-4, Jesus is the Living Torah!
Seek The Kingdom By Learning The Torah
To Seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness means to prioritize God’s will in your life, to learn His instructions, and how to apply them in the jurisdiction that you are in by studying the Torah. Some laws are specific to one group while others are universal. An example of keeping a commandment inside of your jurisdiction is following the laws of the state you live in; Texas laws may be different from Florida laws. In the same way, there are mitzvot (more than one commandment) that only apply in Israel, some only apply when there is a Temple in Jerusalem, some only for a King, some for women, and some only for men. The Jewish people are under one jurisdiction, while non-Jews are under another jurisdiction. Jesus said in Matthew 5:19, “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” It is very important to never set aside any commandment in the Torah, and one should ask God how it needs to apply in their life. Learning God’s instructions in the Torah takes humility and patience. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:15-16, “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”. As you seek the Lord and live out the instructions of God, you will understand the Kingdom of God and know Him more as it says in 1 John 2:3, “and by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments”.
Jesus gave His disciples oral teachings about living a righteous life from the instructions in the Torah, and how the instructions should be applied as explained in Matthew 5-7 in the Sermon on the Mount when it says, “His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them”. The Apostles also gave oral teachings about living a righteous life to non-Jews in Acts 15:19-21 when they said “to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood”. These instructions came directly from the Torah in the book of Numbers 17. For example it says, “I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people”.
Repentance Is A Universal Mitzvah
The Torah, God’s instruction to all humanity, is to repent. Repentance is a universal mitzvah, and it is the connecting tool God gave all humanity on how to serve and worship Him. Jeremiah 15:19 states, “Therefore this is what the Lord says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me”. God created people with different jobs and roles to serve Him, and each job has a different duty and responsibility, which is why there are different jurisdictions. All of the instructions are in the Torah, and along with the Oral Torah, they can be understood if a person invests in studying them.
There are different obligations for Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) regarding which commandments to obey. All commandments can be used as a reference to learn more about God and how to apply them in your life, if applicable. The following audio is highly recommended for a better understanding of these laws as presented by Daniel Lancaster:
Jesus Lived A Torah Observant Life
The Jewish people are obligated to keep all commandments in the Torah, and Jesus is a Jew. Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” If Jesus did not fully keep the Torah, then He is not the Messiah. It is important to understand this.
Christianity was originally a sect of Judaism that believed in Jesus and revered the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). As it says in Acts 21:20, “And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law (Torah)”. The book Restoration, from FFOZ is an excellent book that helps explains this very well.
Here are other resources to assist you with your Bible study, and can be used to attach yourself to the Jewish people by reading the same portion of scripture that so many people already do all around the world: Daily Bread & Daily Bread for Busy Moms, weekly Parshah readings. Also, Torah club which is a weekly study guide, is a great resource to know Jesus better.