We are beginning a new Torah series on the Covenant of God, the Repentance Series. This week's "Bits of Torah Truths" is Parashat Bereshit.
A widely accepted theology today is the modern rejection of much of the Tanach (Old Testament) as not being relevant for today, and certainly not for the Gentile Church. This claim is not just modern but has been taught from ancient times going back thousands of years to the infancy of the gentile church. This claim states that the Old Testament was under a different dispensation where the Lord God acted differently in the sense that He was only concerned with the people of Israel. This teaching concludes that Jesus brought in a new dispensation where the church replaces Israel and receives her biblical promises while doing away with the Torah imperatives for the lives of believers. What is interesting is moment we set aside this theology, and study the history of Israel and the Scriptures from a Jewish context, it becomes clear that the Lord God is concerned with all the person on this earth from the beginning. The Apostle Paul understood this when he quoted from Hosea 2:23 in Romans 9:25-26 saying the following:
Hosea 2:23
2:23 ‘I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’‘ (NASB, וְהָיָה ׀ בַּיֹּום הַהוּא אֶֽעֱנֶה נְאֻם־יְהוָה אֶעֱנֶה וּזְרַעְתִּיהָ לִּי בָּאָרֶץ וְרִֽחַמְתִּי אֶת־לֹא רֻחָמָה וְאָמַרְתִּי לְלֹֽא־עַמִּי עַמִּי־אַתָּה וְהוּא יֹאמַר אֱלֹהָֽי׃ פ)
The prophets spoke of a future expectation (Isaiah 2) of the Lord seeking both those from Israel and from the nations to follow in His ways. The question is however, are there any references in the Torah that provide a similar context?
While studying the Bible, it is important to take a multidisciplinary approach by considering the history, the culture, the people, and the languages in order to help us understand the Scriptures and how to apply God's Word to our lives. MATSATI.COM Teaching Ministry examines the Hebrew Scriptures (Masoretic Text), the Aramaic (Targumim), and the Greek (Septuagint), coupled with studies in the rabbinic literature (Talmud Bavli, Mishnah, Midrashim, with the classical commentators: Rashi, Sforno, Rambam, etc). Our goal is to immerse ourselves in the language, the history, the culture, and the people who lived in the time of Moshe, the Prophets, and the Messiah, in order to deepen our understanding of Scripture, increase our faith, and grow in our relationship with the Lord!
I hope you enjoy this short study.
Take care and God bless!
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