Following on the heels of yesterday’s post, last time we discussed the following verse (specifically the bolded and underlined part).
“Now the angel of Adonai came up from Gilgal to Bokhim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt, led you to the land I swore to your fathers and said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you“.-Judges 2:1
I tried my darnedest to make clear that when God said “never”, He most surely meant it.
However, since I know that gentile Christendom holds to this idea that Yeshua did away with the Law, I feel it ain’t gonna suffice to just throw verses from the “Old” Testament up in the air.
So in order to have some authority in the eyes of gentile Christendom, to the NT I go.
This is a verse I’ve pulled outta my arsenal many times before.
Let’s cross reference Judges 2:1 with Matthew 5:17.
Here are the words of the Messiah of Israel in all of their thunderous glory:
“Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah– not until everything that must happen has happened.”
And there you have it homies.
A full 1300 years later, Yeshua stood on a hilltop over the Sea of Galilee and delivered an oracle that continues to be recited, preached and taught to this very day.
And right smack dab in the middle of this famous Sermon on the Mount, we can see that Yeshua inserted a pregnant pause.
It was almost as if he could foresee ahead of time the theological nonsense that would overtake the church in the future.
He then declared in a loud voice that I can only imagine thundered across the plains and valleys on that clear and sunny day in Israel.
“Do NOT think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets!” was his proclamation.
Yeshua wanted to make sure that whatever the future held, one was never to jump to the conclusion that God had somehow went back on His promise to Israel and broke covenant with them.
And when I say “covenant”, I’m specifically referring to the Torah or the Law of Moses.
Yet, in spite of Yeshua’s clear declaration, is it not astounding how the vast majority of gentile Christian churches out there insist that God did exactly what He said He would not do here in Judges Chapter 2, verse 1?
And I don’t give two hoots how you interpret the word “abolish” in these famous words of Yeshua.
The gentile church has been twisting the meaning of this phrase for centuries now.
You can attempt to twist the meaning of this phrase as much as you like.
It don’t matter.
‘Cause at the end of the day, whether you say abolish, revoke, replace, finish, end or whatever, what Yeshua meant to say here was “break” as in God “breaking” His covenant made with Israel.
I’m done.
I have tried many, many times to use this verse (Matthew 5:17-19) to convince people. doesn’t usually work, but I keep trying.
It is amazing how thier eyes are blinded to this clear message. You can point out this verse and they will twist a turn it to the thing they were taught. It was for me one of the turning points in my faith. I read it and all the sudden I saw the truth of His words.
Amen Wendy! Be blessed and shalom!
So many interpret this to mean once Yeshua went through the crucifixion and rose again, he “fulfilled” everything. The problem is that any messiah that perverts or does away with Torah or teaches others to do so is no messiah at all. So much has been lost because of the Church’s antisemitism and replacement theology that took hold in the early 2nd century. In a way, it makes me think that the apostles should have demanded/expected some type of Jewish religious education for their Gentile converts.
Hi Hanne, I think your last sentence says it all: “it makes me think that the apostles should have demanded/expected some type of Jewish religious education for their Gentile converts”. Totally agree!