The Torah is For Humanity

Summary: Today is April 6th, the 6th day of counting the omer. Today I’m writing about how the Torah is universal. It’s the inheritance of the Jewish people, yet it’s the best moral guide for all humanity.

I just started reading The Rational Bible, an excellent new commentary on the book of Exodus from Jewish author and conservative voice Dennis Prager.

In it, Prager makes this fantastic observation:

The idea that the Torah is only for the Jews is as absurd as the idea that Shakespeare is only for the English, or that Beethoven is only for the Germans.

-Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible

I think that has big implications for the Messianic movement and indeed all of Christianity. If the Torah is the world’s best moral code, and it’s included in the Christian Bible, why not follow it?

Christians certainly keep much of the Torah; you will not find Christians who justify murder, theft, adultery, etc. But even parts of the 10 commandments, like 7th day sabbath, is not kept due to a belief that Jesus did away with the Torah.

But one of the restorations God is doing through the Hebrew Roots movement is the idea that Christianity must return to its historical Jewish root, including an honoring and keeping of the Torah. It is the next great step in the Reformation of Christianity.

Messiah is in the global Torah export business. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah said,

כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה, וּדְבַר-יְהוָה מִירוּשָׁלִָם

-Isaiah 2

Which is, “Out of Zion will go forth the Torah, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” And this is something Jews say in the synagogue every Shabbat as the ark for the Torah scroll is opened.

This is interesting because the Torah has gone out from Zion into all nations, and the Word of God – the whole Bible – has gone from location-specific (Israel) and people-specific (Israelites) to a global and universal application. The Torah is for everyone, all humanity.

And you know who is primarily responsible for that?

The Jewish messiah Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth.

Regardless of one’s personal views of Jesus, one thing is historically certain: he caused the Hebrew Bible to go global. He exported the values of Judaism and the monotheism of the Jewish people to the entire world.

And, as a follower of his, I can say with certainty that he has turned us all into followers of the God of Israel. It’s really why you see such broad Christian support of the nation of Israel: it’s primarily because Christians are followers of the God of Israel.

That’s remarkable, even from a secular standpoint. Billions of non-Jews now call the Jewish God their God, the Jewish Scriptures their Scriptures. That, frankly, is a miracle.

God went to great lengths to export the Torah from Jerusalem to all nations. So, fine Kineti reader, why not consider it, hear it, listen to what it says?

(Today is the 6th day of counting the omer. Blessed are you Lord, who gave your Torah and your Spirit on Shavuot.)