One Torah For All

One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Exodus 12:49

Not a Burden
Rather a beautiful garment to be worn

Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 5:3
For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.

This study will examine from Scripture why the Torah is not a burden, but rather, is a beautiful garment to be put on and worn. In fact, to be included in the bride of Mashiach, one must have the proper clothing, which we shall demonstrate to be His Torah.

In the above passage of Scripture it is shown that those who truly love YHWH our Elohim keep His commandments. His commandments are found in the Torah Moshe. Please note that these commandments are not grievous, that is, they are not a burden.

It is interesting that there are those who attempt to put aside the so-called Old Testament in favor of following the New Testament. In the Torah, by rabbinical count, there are 613 commandments. Many say this is too many, it is too burdensome to keep all of these. Yet those same voices often fail to see that there are nearly 1200 commandments, nearly double, in the New Testament. Furthermore, they seem to fail to realize that each and every one of the commandments found in the New Testament has its foundation in the Torah.

Matithyah (Matthew) 11:28-30
28 “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Our Master and Savior Yeshua also taught that it was no burden to follow Him and to live according to His standard. We have already demonstrated in other studies that Yeshua is the Creator of all things as well as the Law-giver. As the Giver of the Torah to Moshe, when Yeshua says that, if we love Him, we are to keep His commandments, He is referring to the Torah which He gave to Moshe on Mount Sinai.

The burden one carries before coming to Yeshua as Mashiach is heavy and burdensome. Yeshua suggests swapping burdens. He will carry the person’s burden willing to swap, if he will accept His yoke, the yoke of Torah. This yoke is no burden; it is light and easy to bear. As will be seen below, the Torah is actually one's clothing, preparing one to come before his Master and Groom.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 10:12-13
12 “And now, Israel, what does YHWH your Elohim require of you, but to fear YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 to keep the commandments of YHWH, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?”

There are those who have somehow twisted what is good and right into being evil. That is, there are those who would convince their listeners that it is evil to keep His commandments, even a sin to attempt to obey even one of His righteous commandments. Nowhere is it recorded that Yeshua taught any such notion. In fact, what Yeshua taught was to keep and do all of the commandments of YHWH. All of the writers of the Brit Chadasha also taught this as well, even going so far as to admonish their readers to live in the same manner which Yeshua lived, that is, He kept every single commandment. From beginning to end of Scripture, this is the constant admonition: to obey YHWH, obey His commandments, and to obey His Voice.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:11-16
11 “For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?'
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?'
14 But the word is very near unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 in that I command you this day to love YHWH your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that YHWH your Elohim may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.”

The Torah is not a burden. The Torah is not difficult. The Torah is life and brings good to those who choose to live according to the standard set forth therein. When one makes a choice to live according to His standard as set forth in Torah, it opens the door for YHWH our Elohim to bless.

However, if one chooses to do what is right in his own eyes, then it closes the door of blessing from YHWH and He cannot bless in the manner which He desires to bless His people.

Tehillim (Psalm) 19:7-13
7 The Torah of YHWH is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of YHWH is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of YHWH are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of YHWH is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of YHWH is clean, enduring forever;
The ordinances of YHWH are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is your servant warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
You clear me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me;
Then shall I be upright,
And I shall be clear from great transgression.

The Torah is perfect. Read this Psalm several times. All those things that a man desires can and will be found in the Torah of YHWH. Some may object and point to Mashiach and say it is in Him these things are found. This is true, but what is the difference between the written Torah and the Torah made flesh? There is none, really.

Please consider the opening phrase of verse seven above: “The Torah of YHWH is perfect.” Logically speaking, there is only One who is perfect, namely YHWH. If the Torah is perfect as stated above, then the Torah is much more than what most people understand. Namely, the Torah is actually an extension, an attribute of YHWH. The Torah is actually part of the makeup of the being we know to be the Creator of the universe. Thus, not only does this show one the person of Mashiach, but it also shows there is no real difference between the written Torah and the living Torah.

Keeping this in mind, please consider the following passage in which the followers of Mashiach are admonished to put Him on as a garment.

Romans 13:14
But you put on the Master Yeshua Mashiach, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

The person who would follow Yeshua as Mashiach is also to put Him on as a means of protecting himself from the lusts of this world. That is, when a person puts on Mashiach Yeshua, he is putting on the mindset of Mashiach and living in and according to His Spirit, which dwells within him.

Iyov (Job) 29:14
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was as a robe and a diadem.

There is only One who is righteous and good (see Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:12). When a person chooses to move towards living righteously, he can only do so in the strength and spirit of Mashiach Yeshua. That is, he puts on Mashiach. Mashiach then duplicates His own life in the life of such a person.

Iyov understood the need to be properly clothed in righteousness. One’s own righteousness is as but filthy menstrual rags, as found in Isaiah 64:6. This is not something that one would want to be found wearing at his own wedding. Proper attire is critical, as will be seen below in the words of Mashiach.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 61:10
“I will greatly rejoice in YHWH, my soul shall be joyful in my Elohim; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

What are the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness? It is not only Torah, but it is obedience to Torah. It is not obedience to the letter of the Torah; rather, it is walking in His Spirit and keeping the spirit of Torah because one has put on Mashiach.

It is Mashiach who is our salvation, and one must put Him on as a garment in order to be saved. How does one put on Mashiach? Simply, it is by hearing and obeying His Voice. He will not tell a person to do anything contrary to His own nature, that is, contrary to His own obedience to Torah.

Gilyana (Revelation) 19:8
And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Notice that the bride of Mashiach has adorned herself in fine linen. YHWH has even seen fit to tell His people what that fine linen consists of, namely, the righteous acts of His people. Please note that righteous acts can only be done in the Spirit of Mashiach as one endeavors to hear and obey His Voice.

Please note that the above passage is dealing with the wedding of the bride of Mashiach to her Groom. She is arrayed in her wedding clothes, which consist of pure white linen, her righteousness.

Please prayerfully consider this next passage which is dealing with the kohen gadol as he enters the inner sanctuary, which is only done on one day in a year, the tenth day of the seventh month. During this day, the kohen gadol enters and exits the inner sanctuary several times. Each time he enters, he must do so wearing the pure white linen clothes signifying the righteous acts of the people, which are the clothes in which to be properly attired for the coming wedding. Please note that the inner sanctuary is symbolic of the wedding chamber. One must be properly attired to enter therein.

Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 16:32
And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments:

At all other times, the kohen gadol is wearing his priestly garments. However, when the day of atonements arrives, and he prepares to enter into the qodesh haqodeshim (the holy of holies), he lays aside his everyday high priestly clothes, that is, his battle clothes, and puts on the pure white linen clothes. He must only enter with the righteous acts of the people of YHWH. He must enter wearing the wedding garments.

Yeshua also taught the importance of being properly attired at the wedding.

Matithyah (Matthew) 22:8-14
8 “Then says he to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy.
9 You go therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage feast.’
10 And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was filled with guests.
11 But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment;
12 and he says unto him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding-garment?’ And he was speechless.
13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness;’ there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few chosen.”

This parable is sobering. Sobering to think that many of those who were originally invited to the wedding were not fit to come, they were not worthy. Replacements were found at the command of the king. However, when the king arrived, he noticed one who was there who was not properly attired. The king immediately confronts the offender and asks how he was even able to get into the wedding feast without being properly attired. The offender had no response. The king ordered the offender removed and thrown out into the outer darkness.

It is absolutely critical that one be properly attired for the wedding! This means that one must be wearing pure white linen, which is symbolic of righteous acts. One cannot depend upon his own righteousness, for Scripture shows that one’s own righteousness is but filthy menstrual rags, fit only for the dung heap. So how does one procure righteousness? He must put on Mashiach Yeshua. He must put on the Torah, both the written as well as the living Torah. One cannot separate the two as they are one. One needs to put on both the living Torah and the written Torah in order to be properly attired for the coming wedding.

Ivrim (Hebrews) 10:16
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,” says YHWH, “I will put My Torah on their heart, and upon their mind also will I write them;”

Here is the essence of both the written Torah and the living Torah. Both are found in the hearts and minds of His people as they are filled with the Spirit of Mashiach. As a follower of Mashiach Yeshua endeavors to hear and obey His Voice, His Spirit writes His Torah upon his mind and upon his heart. This, in turn, manifests in his life as living righteously, not in his own strength or will, but according to the will and strength of Him who dwells within. He is daily putting on the pure white linen as he chooses to live according to the standard of Torah, both the written and the living.

It is interesting to note that the Torah commands one not to keep a man’s pledge, that is, his garment from him overnight. Rather he is to return it to him immediately. To follow this commandment is an act of righteousness. One does not want to be found uncovered when the darkness falls.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 24:12-13
12 “And if he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge;
13 you shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless you: and it shall be righteousness unto you before YHWH your Elohim.”

Are you covered in the righteousness of Mashiach Yeshua?

This commandment looks forward to the return of the Groom, that is, Mashiach Yeshua, who shall come during the midst of the night. One cannot be properly prepared if another has his garment with which he covers himself. Therefore, in looking ahead, YHWH commands his people to return the pledge, the garment to the owner before sunset.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
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