A quick question.
Have you ever heard of the World Biblical Commentary?
If you haven’t, you should have.
Why?
Because without a doubt, within the realm of Biblical academics, it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to come across a more thorough and complete work of Biblical research, exegesis and commentary ever produced in the history of mankind.
This commentary is freakin’ huge!
We’re talking about 52 volumes exceeding over 30,000 pages that were written and edited by the world’s most respected scholars and theologians.
What makes this commentary so unique is that it does not handcuff itself to either a liberal or conservative mindset.
It actually tries to do what I’ve attempted to do with this blog which is to…
…simply present Scripture as it is minus skipping over the difficult parts or allegorizing away hard-to-understand or hard-to-accept passages.
The person who contributed the 2000 page 2-volume commentary for Deuteronomy is a highly respected scholar by the name of Duane L. Christensen.
For those folks who have a ridiculous tendency to practically worship those who possess an array of advanced academic degrees, you won’t be disappointed with Dr. Christensen’s background.
This homie first received his training at American Baptist Seminary.
He then went on to advance his studies at M.I.T.
Afterwards he went on to Harvard University where he earned his Dr. of Divinity.
Finally, upon completing his academic studies, he served as a Professor of Old Testament Biblical Studies at both Pontificate University in Rome and later Hebrew University in Jerusalem (where Albert Einstein also taught).
So why am I bringing this guy up?
Because I’d like to share a quote from this scholar (which I first discovered on Tom Bradford’s Torah Class site).
For all of those church pastors, preachers, and teachers who still hold to the ridiculous idea that the Law has been done away with, I warn you to brace yourselves.
Because after reading this quote, you may never and I mean NEVER be able to go back to the doctrinal brainwashing you’ve undergone via whatever institution of higher education you studied at that implanted the false idea that the law has been done away with and is an accursed thing.
Alrighty, here’s the quote:
“Deut 33-34 are the traditional readings in the synagogue liturgy for Simchat Torah (the celebration that occurs among the Jews when the annual cycle of reading the Torah from beginning to end has come to a close). Christians would do well to recover some of this “joy of the Torah” in public worship. Many have misread the teaching of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times……but I say to you.” in the book of Matthew, He was NOT replacing the Torah. He was merely challenging the manner in which the Torah was being interpreted in rabbinic circles of His day. Jesus was interpreting the text as it was written, for when properly interpreted, there is nothing there that is contrary to His own gospel message.
The Torah is a way of life and a source of meaning and joy to Jew and Christian alike. The Torah was not intended to be something external to us, which only the highly trained specialists could understand. The Torah was to be learned by every member of the community; and the message is exceedingly practical. Jesus summed up the matter well when He was asked, “Which commandment in the Torah is the greatest? He said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it; ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
The Law (the Torah) and the Prophets, to which Jesus referred on this occasion, make up fully one-half of the Christian Bible, as we know it today. And all of it is built on these two primary teachings of Deuteronomy. We would do well to become more familiar with the words of the Torah, as a guide to proper living in the very manner in which Jesus lived and taught His disciples. What better way to do this than to include once again the systematic public reading of the Torah within the context of Christian worship?”-2nd Volume-World Bible Commentary on Deuteronomy (Of course, all of the bombastic emphases are mine).
Keep in mind that the above quote does not come from some crackhead Hebrew Roots freak living out of a tent located in some forest as he waits for the end of the world to come.
Nope, the quote I just shared comes from a man who was highly trained in a wide variety of different theological perspectives…
…AND…
…is considered to be one of the greatest living authorities on the “Old” Testament in the history of mankind ever since God Himself first uttered “Let there be light” at the creation of our planet as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis.
Trust me, most pastors, preachers and teachers would happily cut off their left hands to possess even a fraction of the understanding and insight this man has into the Scriptures.
I hope you properly caught the main point of the above quote.
But just in case you didn’t, let me boil it down nice and simple for you.
There simply is no better way for a believer to understand how to live a holy life as defined by God than to not only read the Torah (in public worship he says) but also to obey it.
Got it?
I’m done.
It is good to reason very well and give all the words spoken in the Torah a deep thought to come out with a vivid explanation about the meanings, before you come to conclusion .thanks,
That is so very true – the Christian Church – has done away with the OT and stands simply on the NT – words of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, etc. choosing the passages that confirm their ideology of sola scriptura – that is like sitting on a two-legged stool. It’s impossible not to tip over. As you state, the 30’000 pages of the World Biblical Commentary described in 52 volumes – who has the time, energy or desire to study 30’000 pages… besides you and a handful of devout souls like you. Kudos to all who have done it. On the other hand, walking with the Spirit and listening to HIS TEACHINGS and DOING what HE asks of us (and me in particular) – and of any believer in Yeshua – has inspired me to search deeper because HE speaks so beautifully through HIS WORD every time I open it, which on 7.22.1996 started with a question : Where does it say WHITE AS SNOW? That night HE showed me and hooked me on HIS WORD… After 24 years I am still amazed how HE lays out the path for me to take… One of the KEY passages are in Matthew Chapter 5 – Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. (7) Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. (8) Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see GOD (conditional blessing to see GOD one must be PURE) (9) Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called children of GOD. (10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Verses 11-12 continue with the blessing statements if we are persecuted, falsely accused; we are to rejoice because the reward in Heaven will be great. Verse 13 -16 explains that a believer is the salt of the Earth; A light of the world to be shared by doing good works and our Heavenly Father is glorified by this. Here is THE KEY : in verse 17-20 : THINK NOT that I am come to destroy the LAW or the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.*** Most Christians stop short right here, explaining that Yeshua fulfilled the LAW and there is NO NEED for it any longer – Sabbath ? any day is Sabbath… Love the LORD with all your heart, mind, soul = 1 hour a week in Church? (hardly what HE means). HE wants to be present 24/7 to guide the soul to its destiny. So what does HE say in verse 18: Till Heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the LAW, till all be fulfilled. (LAW STANDS) (19) Do not break the least Commandments or be called the LEAST in the Kingdom of Heaven.(read entire v. 19) Then in verse 20 – a true shocker: Yeshua says: except your righteousness shall exceed the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the scribes & Pharisees, you shall in NO CASE ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. So here Yeshua doubles up and states that the believer must be BETTER than the Pharisees & scribes to ENTER the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WOW – let that sink in for a little… Who were the Pharisees – Paul was a Pharisee – “Pharisee” is mentioned 95 times in the NT, the most in the book of MATTHEW – 30 times in fact. The first time in Matthew 3:7 mentioned together with the Sadducees who came to hear John the Baptist preach in the wilderness of Judaea – (v. 2) Repent ye; for the kingdom if heaven is at hand. John called the Sadducces and the Pharisees of his day “O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come”, then in Matthew 3:16 John baptizes Jesus after their short exchange : And Yeshua, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of GOD descending like a dove upon him : (17) and lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Point to digest : The Sadducees (today’s Orthodox Jews) and the Pharisees (today’s Conservative Jews) are both named in Matthew 3:7. Then Yeshua is baptized by JOHN the Baptist and the GOD spoke from Heaven expressing that HE is pleased with HIS SON’S action of being baptized. Point : How many “Christians” claim that water baptism is not necessary for salvation. To me: If Yeshua demanded to be baptized, I want to do the same and in fact, following the prompting of the HOLY SPIRIT which led me to an Orthodox Synagogue in Sept 1998, I did receive the Mikveh (the JEWISH purification bath 5 x 1998/1999, last time immediately before Passover 1999). (I asked the LORD why 5 x and not 6 times, since the Star of David has 6 points – HIS answer: “To purify my 5 wounds”). Back to MATTHEW 5:17-20 : Thus Yeshua is stating that #1 The LAW still stands. # 2 We must be better than the scribes and Pharisees to enter into the kingdom of heaven. That is very deep, so let me explain…. One of my personal professions to the LORD in 1996 (my 7th year of being a “Christian”) was this short prayer : “Lord, I don’t want to walk with you every day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day…” If you are wondering, what I am saying : Here is the punch line: “I want to walk with YOU every second of the DAY.” Meaning, I cannot fall away and at the same time HE will give “signs & wonders” to confirm my walk with HIM. Thus the Journey started in 1996 – in 1998 HE had me worshipping at the Orthodox Synagogue learning about HIS Fasts, Feasts & Festivals on the Jewish Calendar including eating KOSHER food, having my dishes blessed for a kosher Sabbath etc. building my own Sukka for the Feat of Tabernacle etc. My Dad came to live with me at the old age of 96 and I became his caretaker. With my kids in school I studied Scripture and wrote many letters to many religious people. I kept writing to the Orthodox Rabbi about JESUS/YESHUA, but when I asked Rabbi Goldberger to accept YESHUA as Savior, I was threatened by Police Chaplain Tony with arrest if I returned… He called me a “disgrace to Christianity” – I told him to read Matthew 5:17-20 and read it to him. He hung up the phone with the promise to call me back, but he never did. The next day I received another call from the local Priest with the same request… My thougths at the time: “I must be doing something right, if everybody gets so upset with me!” This is 22 years later: Still doing the same thing which is listening to the HOLY SPIRIT and then follow through on HIS REQUESTS. Thus if you are wondering why this CORONA VIRUS is rattling every corner of the Earth : CORONA is part of my walk with HIM back to 1997 mentioned in my Testimony : The Spirit & the bride – Revelation 22:16-17. 70 pages of MY walk with Yeshua… DO you trust ME HE said audibly to me the day before Thanksgiving 1996 — Audibly HE said it twice. “Of course I trust YOU, who else can I trust?” The Corona Virus is HIS doing to wake us up. The Church is asleep. Too comfortable. Set in her ways. Not believing HIS WORD – That is JEW & GENTILE = Today’s reading around the entire GLOBE was from JOHN 4:22 – “SALVATION IF OF THE JEWS” – it does NOT say THE JEW (YESHUA) – it says : “…of the Jews”. Okay, I understand that the entire bible with the exception of 1 Book is written by Jews but that is NOT was Yeshua means. Read the entire Chapter of John 4 – The woman at the well is having a conversation with Yeshua. She is a Samaritan (hated by the Jews) and Yeshua offers her the LIVING WATER (The Holy Spirit) – The first verse in John 4:1 When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Yeshua made and baptized more disciples than John (2) though Yeshua himself baptized not, but his disciples) (3) he left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. He met the Samaritan woman and asked her for a drink of water.(HE knows her heart) .. Read the exchange… HE then declares that HE has LIVING WATER to give to her – HE knows everything about her and her 5 husbands and the one she is living with without being married to him (and that is over 2000 years ago ~) – she perceives Yeshua to be a Prophet – 4:21 Yeshua said unto her, “Woman. believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (22) You worship you know not what; we (the Jews) know what we worship; for SALVATION is of the Jews. (23) But the hour comes and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in SPIRIT and in TRUTH; for the Father seeks such to worship HIM. (24) GOD is a SPIRIT, and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in SPIRIT and in TRUTH; (25) The woman says unto HIM, I know that MESSIAH comes, which is called CHRIST; when HE is come, HE will tell us all things. (26) Yeshua says unto her, ” I that speak unto thee am HE “. The woman leaves her water pot and brings the entire town of Samaria to meet him. Yeshua stayed with them 2 days (=2000 years) Many believed because they have heard HIM themselves and said : “This indeed is the Christ, the Savior of the World”. Yeshua then went on to perform HIS first Miracle of turning water into wine in Cana, also in Chapter 4 of the Book of John.
Why am I going into such length with this scripture : in your post, you state that the OT is no longer read in the Church today and that is why Christianity is without a foundation. I can argue that point, since I was a lector and proclaimed EXODUS 17:3-7 from the pulpit this morning – it is also about “WATER” V. 3 “And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against MOSES, and said, Wherefore IS this that you has brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children… (4) And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me. (5) And the LORD said unto Moses, GO on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy ROD, wherewith you smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. (6) Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And MOses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. (7) the place is called Massah and Meribah because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD saying, “is the LORD among us or not”? That exact passage is also read around the entire World today, in every Catholic (= Universal) Church, followed by Romans 5.1-8, verse 5:5 “and hope makes not ashamed, because the LOVE OF GOD is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. (Hearing & following HIS instruction for the last 24 years = HOPING IN HIS MERCY) Today’s Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 : If today you hear HIS VOICE, harden not your hearts… thus the WORD is proclaimed in full around the World of 8 Billion People . THE WORD will not return VOID. Sorry for this long post however I just wanted to clarify that the Universal Church reads through the entire Bible in 3 years (that is the OT & NT) ; our Jewish Brethren read through the OT & Haftarah every year, of which the first 5 books of Moses are read completely, while the Haftarah readings are more selective. Being in the Synagogue on Saturday mornings, and Church Saturday evenings and Sundays mornings (not always but many times) as well (as I was this morning), the committed student of the WORD OF GOD will have a better picture of HIS WILL for all of Mankind. Conclusion : This year – on 4.8.2020 evening starts the first day of Pesach/Passover, the beginning of the year on the Jewish Calendar, going on all day on 4.9.2020 which is also HOLY THURSDAY = the LAST SUPPER… These two huge events fall on the SAME DAY this year (and it also happens to be my Birthday – 4.8.48 ) Passover is 8 days, Easter is 4 days – followed by DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY instituted on 4.30.2000 which falls on the first SUNDAY after Easter. I think the WORLD is in desperate NEED of HIS MERCY – and a second Chance to do it HIS WAY from now on…with JEWS and CATHOLICS/CHRISTIANS walking Hand in Hand to proclaim & LIVE THE WORD. Shalom to JerUSAlem & the WORLD with Yeshua in the Heart of all people. ANd may the Corona Virus disappear because ” Out of Egypt on DRY GROUND walked GOD’s People”. HE says : “Flip the page, we are starting over” – may we all get on the SAME PAGE for this RE-DO of HIS WORD. In the Beginning was the WORD & the WORD was with GOD/G-D, and the WORD was
GOD/G-D. Amen & Amen & Amen . SHALOM TO ALL on EARTH !