Congregation Beth Ha'Mashiach
(House of the Messiah) - Worshipping ADONAI
& His Messiah, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach
Living & teaching as our
Messiah taught us to Live
Messianic
Congregation serving Northeast Atlanta Georgia (Gwinnett, Barrow, Dekalb,
Rockdale, Walton)
Phone 770
554-2867 - email:
rabbi@cbhm.org
Bechukotai - בחקתי : “In My Statutes” Torah : Leviticus 26:3–27:34 Haftarah : Jeremiah 16:19–17:14 Gospel : Luke 23–24
Thought for the Week:
(An excerpt from Torah Club)
“I will establish my covenant with you,” [means] a new covenant, unlike the
first covenant which you annulled [broke] at the sin of the Golden Calf, but a
new covenant, which will not be annulled, as it says, “And I will enter into a
New Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah…” (Rashi quoting
Leviticus 26:9, Jeremiah 31:30–31)
Commentary:
Redeemed from the Curse of the Torah
(Based on Torah Club)
It is tempting to suppose that all of the curses of the law have been removed
in Messiah. It is common teaching, based on Galatians that, “Messiah redeemed us
from the curse of the Torah.” (Galatians 3:13). This seems to indicate that the
Torah has lost its teeth, so to speak. In Messiah, the curses are removed, but
the blessings remain. But is this really true?
On closer examination, it becomes obvious that “the curse of the law” spoken
of in Galatians 3:13 is not the curses for disobedience listed out in Leviticus
26 or Deuteronomy 28. Instead, the curse of the law is death—not mortal
death—but eternal separation from God. According to Paul, "The curse of the
Torah" is condemnation in the eternal court of judgment.[1] It is the curse of
condemnation and death that was unleashed upon Messiah. It is this condemnation
from which we have been redeemed. It is this condemnation which has been nailed
to His cross.
In one of his oft misunderstood passages, the Apostle Paul speaks of a
written document of condemnation which is nailed to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)
Too often this document is misinterpreted as the Torah. It is not at all
uncommon for well meaning brothers and sisters to triumphantly declare that
Messiah nailed the Torah to the cross. (God forbid.) Translations like the NIV
encourage this kind of interpretation by translating the thing nailed as “the
written code,” a term which seems to imply a law code, namely the Torah. It is
not the Torah which has been nailed to the cross. It is a written verdict of
condemnation, like the type delivered by a Roman court of law.
Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of dogma
against us, which was hostile to us; He has taken it out of the way, having
nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)
The “certificate of debt” which has been taken out of the way and nailed to
the cross is condemnation. Condemnation (i.e. death) is the ultimate curse of
the Torah. It is this curse which Messiah took upon Himself when He became “a
curse for us.” (Galatians 3:13)
Therefore it is incorrect to suppose that there are no longer any
consequences for sin. The ultimate consequence of condemnation has been
removed—nailed to the cross. But the laws of cause and effect are still very
much at work. Sin still reaps punishment. Obedience to God still results in
blessing. Disobedience to God still results in consequences dire.
