Change Does not
Change the Changeless
Isn’t it Ironic
that the very nature of change makes it consistent, and therefore change is one
thing that stays the same?
However, as far as
change goes, times have changed. This is not the “Brady Bunch” world of our
Mothers, or the “Leave it To Beaver” world of our Grandmothers, or “The
Walton’s” of our Great-Grandmothers, nor is it the “Little House on the
Prairie” of our Great-Great-Grandmothers. No doubt about it, times have
changed.
Technology has
changed from smoke signals, to Morse Code, to the telegraph, to the telephone,
to the cell phone, to Face Time; technology has definitely changed.
Sholomo Ha Melek
(King Solomon) argued in his book called, Ecclesiastes, that there is nothing
new under the sun, and it is true, what seems new is just a recycled or an
improved upon idea.
So in essence,
even though the package may change, the core is virtually the same. Yet this
illusion of change makes one believe that the changeless changes; and
therefore, one excuses oneself from so-called moral and religious entrapments.
I have found three
things that never change:
1. God (Mal. 3:6, Titus 1:2)
2. The Human Condition
3. God’s Torah (Law)
Just because times
have changed and technology has changed does not mean that the three things
mentioned above do. Changing times only causes the illusion in the spirit to
rationalize that these three things change.
Since the downfall
of our parents Adam and Chava (Eve), we have inherited this predisposition to
sin, and it will not change until we are in the World to Come. We fight and
struggle between the choice of good and evil every day, in every aspect of our
lives. Even after one is “saved” one still fights the old nature; Rav Sha’ul
(Apostle Paul) did (Rom. 7:13-25). The Human
Spirit changes not.
God said Himself
that He does not lie, and He does not change (Mal. 3:6, Titus 1:2). Yet this is precisely what most Christian’s claim
when they say the Torah is irrelevant, it has been done away with, or at best,
they try to divide the Torah up into subjects or special classifications and
say, “Oh, the religious and ritual laws have been done away with and the moral
code is still in effect for us today.” The Scriptures say there is ONE Torah
(Law), not three (Ex. 12:49 ,
Lev. 24:22, Num. 15:16 ).
God does not change, and therefore, His Word, His Torah does not change.
Some try to argue
that the Torah, by necessity, has changed because of the changing times and the
changing technology. NO, because the human spirit and God are a constant, this
predetermines that His Torah does not change. As I have stated before, time and
technology come in different packages, yet the core of it is essentially the
same.
Just look at God’s
Word and we will see the times change, yet the message, the Torah remains a constant.
You have the leadership or the governmental structure of Israel change, yet the
Torah that guides them never changes. From the Patriarchs, to Moses, to the
Judges, to the Kings and to the Prophets, the message of absolute and resolute
obedience to Torah changes not. Yet, after the closing of the Scriptural canon,
people claim that we are too far removed from those times, and that the Torah
is outdated. Therefore, the secular state of Israel
Let me attempt to
put this into perspective. I stand firm in saying that the Torah is relevant
and applicable for today and none of it has been “done away with,” even after
the advent of Messiah Yeshua. However, because times have changed does not mean
the Torah changes, but that certain commandments are unfulfillable at this time
in history.
I like to give the
example of the outdoor public pool in the little village that I live in. On the
wall of the pool house there is a giant sign that lists all the rules of the
pool. No running, no diving, no horse play, no foul language, etc., etc. In the
summer time, when the pool is open to the public and there is water in the pool
these rules can be followed. But in the winter, when the pool is drained and no
one can swim in the pool, such rules cannot be adhered to. Does this mean such
rules have been done away with or abolished? No, it just means that the
prerequisite for following such rules (the pool being filled with water and the
weather agreeable) are not in place and thus the rules temporarily can’t be
followed. This is just like the Laws governing the Temple. Because there is no
Temple standing in Jerusalem at this present time, and because there are no
working Levitical Priests in the Temple, the laws regarding the priesthood and
the sacrificial and Temple services are temporarily put on hold, or suspended
until the time of the building up of the third Temple. The Prophets tell of a
time when the third Temple will be rebuilt, and the sacrifices will resume, and
at the time of Messiah’s reign no less (we will explore this more later)! So,
Just like you can’t obey pool rules when the pool has no water you can’t obey
the laws of sacrificial worship when there is no standing Temple.
We also live in a
monogamous society despite the Torah making provisions for polygamy, because
the Law was given in a time and culture when polygamy was practiced. We can’t
live by the laws of polygamy that Torah dictates because the Western society we
live in is not geared or set up to accept or to practice such a lifestyle, but
that doesn’t mean they are done away with, because they are very applicable in
an African culture that still practices polygamy, and any Christian missionary
ministering to such people would do well to know and teach what the Bible says
to them regarding polygamy, instead of trying to squeeze them into a monogamous
Western cultural mold and construct. Trying to change a foreign culture to look
like one’s own in the name of, and under the guise of Biblical obedience has
had devastating effects and repercussions on such a culture, especially on
women and children. They are the ones who usually suffer because of this.
The Torah also
makes provision for the proper treatment of slaves, but as you know in our
society the practice of slavery has been abolished and so such laws do not
directly apply, but such laws would still be very applicable in the Middle East
and parts of Africa and Asia where slavery is still practiced and culturally
acceptable. However, here in the West we can make them applicable for the
Employers fair treatment of Employees.
We need to sift
rabbinic decrees regarding Torah commands, Jewish literature, customs and
traditions of Judaism in regards to the Law. We need to filter it through the
words of Torah itself and the Words of Messiah who in Matthew chapter 5
proclaimed that He didn’t come to do away with the Torah but to show us how to
live it correctly. If the Rabbis uphold Yeshua’s words or if we see that the
protective fences the Rabbis have erected around the Torah are wise, needful,
and maybe necessary in some circumstances, we need to graciously and joyously
abide by them. If they do not measure up, then we must not fear to toss them
aside, despite what men may say.
Then you have
those who say the Law is divided into three sections, the Civil Law, the
Ceremonial Law and the Moral Law, and all but the Moral Law has been
eradicated.
“This threefold explanation is flawed… and does not
withstand serious scrutiny. There are not three different Torahs. The Torah
itself exclaims, “One Torah and one manner shall be for you…” (Num. 15:16,
KJV)... The distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial is artificial and
arbitrary.” – Ascend Magazine, Issue 2, Volume 1, p. 5, Summer 2003
On this basis of
artificial and arbitrary divisions of the Torah, Christianity keeps “Old
Testament” moral laws and claims society for the most part has adopted the
“civil laws,” and has totally thrown out the so called “ceremonial law” except
when it’s convenient for them such as the law of the tithe! They claim the
letter of the Law has been done away with so as to give way to the freedom in
the Spirit, thus spurning the very source from which the moral laws stem. God’s
Commandments have become a cafeteria style smorgasbord of “keep what you like
and ignore what you don’t,” despite Numbers 15:16 that states that there is ONE
LAW for the Jew and Gentile with no divisions of civil, moral and ceremonial
categories.
