Reconciling the Law of Moses, the Torah, and the Rabbinic Oral Law

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Prepared by P. R. Reid, a servant of Yeshua HaMashiach
Article 16; Exhibits A, B, C and D
November 1, 2023

  • It’s common knowledge that when we enter into The Faith of Our Fathers, we must follow the 613 commandments as outlined by various Rabbis.  Throughout the centuries, to my surprise, each of the revered Rabbis have composed their own list of the 613 commandments, which for us means, they are not necessarily the same. 
  • There is something else for us to consider; these revered Rabbis followed Pharisaic or Talmudic Judaism.  This manmade dogma is also referred to as the “Oral” Torah.  They believed that they alone were authorized to interpret Scripture which meant that all Hebrew people had to obey them.  This belief system is exactly what Yeshua spoke against.
  • Mt. 15:7 – 9 is one such Scripture spoken by Yeshua:  “You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”  ** Talmudic Judaism is also referred to as “Takanot’s.”
  • My question is this, do we want to follow 613 Commandments taken from Rabbinical Oral Torah or do we want to follow those contained only in Scripture?
  • For the purpose of this teaching, I created my own list using the first mention of the words referenced in Ge. 26:5.  My goal is to determine if we can assign each Scripture under the banner of the Ten Words. This should be fun and informative.
  • In order to prepare this teaching I will use the hermeneutical tool of the Rule of First Mention.  What is the Rule of First Mention?
  • The law (or principle or rule) of first mention is a guideline that some people use for studying Scripture. The law of first mention says that, to understand a particular word or doctrine, we must find the first place in Scripture that word or doctrine is revealed and study that passage. The reasoning is that the Bible’s first mention of a concept is the simplest and clearest presentation; doctrines are then more fully developed on that foundation. So, to fully understand an important and complex theological concept, Bible students are advised to start with its “first mention.” (gotquestions.org/law-of-first-mention.html)

Reconciling the Law of Moses, the Torah and the Rabbinic Oral Law

Part One

  • We will begin this study in Ge. 15:6:  “And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He (YaHaVah) accounted it to him for righteousness.
  • All believers in Messiah Yeshua are defined by Scripture as the seed of Abraham, therefore, it is his behavior that we should study.  We are told in Ge 26:4 -5 exactly what his behavior consisted of;  “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”  **We’re going to examine each of these words as they relate to Scripture, in the order of first mention as our goal is to be called righteous in the eyes of our Creator.

My charge

  • The first word to examine is “charge.”  The Hebrew word for “charge” is מִשְׁמֶרֶת.  Mishmeret (Strongs number H4931) is defined as to guard, charge, function, obligation, service, watch, keep or preserve.  This word is used 78 times in the Tanakh.  We have already provided the first mention of this word as being found in Ge. 26:5. The word מִשְׁמֶרֶת ends with the letter Tav which means mark, seal or covenant and is feminine in gender.
  • It is the “bride,” the female part of our heavenly union with Messiah Yeshua, who is supposed to “keep His charge, His mishmeret.”

Mishmeret

The second mention of “mishmeret” is found in Ex. 12:6 – 12:  “Now you shall keep (mishmeret) it (the lamb) until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill It at Twilight.  And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh (אֶת־הַבָּשָׂר ) on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

  • And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood (אֶת־הַדָּם ), I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
  • This block of Scripture is a prophetic picture of Messiah Yeshua.  Recall this is the second mention of mishmeret. The second letter of the Aleph Bet is the Bet and represents Yeshua, the Son.  Recall we saw the Aleph Tav connected to the word flesh.  It’s at His first advent that the Son will come to earth in the flesh.  
  • Since the Aleph Tav reads “strength of the covenant,” then we can say that in His flesh, His humanity, is found The Way to The Fathers covenant.  The Aleph Tav being connected to the blood is how The Fathers covenant will be ratified.
  • There is no mention of the pascal lamb being sacrificed for sin.  Pesach/Passover is a covenantal appointed time.  Those who chose to put the lambs blood on the doorposts and lintels were clearly expressing their allegiance to YaHaVah.  Yeshua died on the tree to redeem the firstborn, Ephraim’s, broken covenant.  Ephraim is a name used in Scripture to identify the Northern Kingdom, the so called lost ten tribes of Israel.
  • Mishmeret comes from the root word Mishmar, מִשְׁמָר, which  is defined as a place of confinement, prison, guard, jail, guard post, watch or observance.
  • Mishmar comes from the masculine root word “shamar” which is defined as to keep, guard, observe or give heed.  The word “shamar” connects us to the man formed in Ge. 2:7:  “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.  His royal assignment was to guard, keep, observe, serve etc. the Etz Chaim.
  • This man was placed in the walled garden for one main purpose, that being to watch and guard “The Way” to the Tree of Life.  The Tree of Life connects mankind to the Covenant of YaHaVah.  If this is not true then there would be no need to form a man and give him a specific assignment.
  • On an aside, It’s important for us to be able to discern the distinction between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
  • The Tree of Life, The Etz Chaim, is extremely important to The Father because this tree teaches us the “Rules of the Kingdom.”  Without understanding these “rules” we will not be permitted to serve King Messiah in His millennial kingdom.  It is the “leaves” of the Etz Chaim that John is speaking about in Rev.  22:2:  “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”  **The nations will need to be taught the “Rules of the Kingdom.”
  • Adam failed in his assignment to keep, guard and watch over the Etz Chaim.  Not to worry, this didn’t catch The Father unaware.  He made provision for this eventuality before creation.  The remedy for Adams failure is found in the completed work of Messiah Yeshua, the second Adam!
  • We know this because Ge. 3:24 tells us “So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life (אֶת־דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַֽחַיִּֽים  ).  The Aleph Tav is Yeshua.  The Aleph Tav means “strength of the covenant.”  This is what Yeshua meant when He said ”I am the Way”!  The Way to covenant loyalty.
  • Yeshua is “the Way” to the Etz Chaim.  In the words of Moses he tells us in Dt. 30:19 – 20:  “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” 
  • Obedience = life, partaking of the Tree of Life, which = blessing!
  • Once again, It’s recorded in Rev. 22:1 – 3:  “Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.…”
  • At some future point, the nations will choose to enter into a covenant relationship with YaHaVah.  They will be required to learn Torah, thereby eating from the Tree of Life, the “leaves” of that glorious tree.
  • Why was Adam and Chava forbidden to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
  • They were forbidden from learning how to “mix” good and evil. 
  • The Hebrew word for “good” is טוֹב.  Tov means something that is pure, i.e. ritually pure.  The numerical value of Tov is seventeen. The seventeenth day of the first month is resurrection day!  The first mention of Tov is found in Ge. 1:4: “And God saw the light, that it was good ( אֶת־הָאוֹר ); and God divided the light from the darkness.”  The Aleph Tav is Yeshua and seventeen is His resurrection day.
  • The Hebrew word for evil is רַע.   Ra means wickedness.  Ra is also the name of the Egyptian sun god deity.  The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil then, means mixing ritual purity with wickedness.
  • This behavior is most commonly seen in those who claim to love The Father and Yeshua but refuse to observe His commandments.  They worship on Sunday, that is the day of Ra, the sun, and guard and protect Ra’s festivals instead of The Fathers appointed times.
  • We have been called to separate ourselves from Ra and be holy as He is holy.  Aligning ourselves with Ra is clearly the opposite of life, it is a curse which = spiritual death.
  • Lets examine a few of the 78 Scriptures that use the word mishmeret beginning with the third mention.  The complete list is marked Exhibit A and will be posted on our website.
  • 3.)  Ex.16:23:  “And he said unto them, this is that which the LORD hath said, tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remained over lay up for you to be kept (Strongs number H4931) until the morning.”
  • The subject is the Sabbath and the verb is kept.  The action part of this Scripture is “keep.”
  • Ex. 31:16) “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
  • The Sabbath is the subject and observe is the verb.
  • The Sabbath is now connected to His covenant.  In my opinion, keeping the Sabbath is the first part of our assignment.  Keeping His Sabbath is safeguarding His covenant and is our witness to the outside world.  Keeping the Sabbath is the fourth commandment.
  • Our choosing to be in covenant with Him is the desire of His heart.
  • 4.) Ex. 16:32:  “And Moses said, this is the which (the Omer) the LORD commanded, fill an omer of it (manna) to be kept (H4931) for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.”
  • Ex. 16:33–34.  “Moses said to Aaron, ‘take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.’ As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.”  
  •  If a jar of manna lives inside the Ark of the Covenant then it is most certainly related to His covenant.  Ex. 16:32, 33 and 34 represent the 3rd, 4th and 5th mention.
  • 7.) Lev. 8:35:  “Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge H4931 of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.”
  • Lev. 8:35 is the 6th mention.  Now we have an extension to His covenant, that being the physical location where His covenant will reside, which is within the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
  • The tablets of stone that contain the Ten Words are also placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark of the Covenant dwells inside the Holy of Holies, the most sacred space within the Mishkan.

The Mishkan

  • I will provide a brief study of the Mishkan for those of you that are not familiar with this term.  As the first exodus continues, YaHaVah gives Moses instructions to build the Mishkan, The Tabernacle in the wilderness, from the pattern of the Mishkan in HaShamayim, the heavenlies.  
  • Ex. 25:8 – 9:  “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
  • The Hebrew word for tabernacle is “Mishkan,” מִשְׁכָּן.  Mishkan means “dwelling place.”   The Mishkan is intended to be the “dwelling place” of YaHaVah on earth.  He word “Mishkan” comes from the root word “Shakan” which means to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle and reside.
  • The Mishkan will house certain furnishings specific to the relationship between Israel and Yah, i.e. the Ark of the Covenant, the Altar of Incense, the Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the Water Laver and the Great Altar.
  • The Glory of YaHaVah will rest atop the “mercy seat” which is located on the Ark of the Covenant between the two cherubim.  At certain times then, The Father will “dwell” with Israel.
  • The topic of this study then, is “my charge.”  The word for “charge,” mishmeret,  is consistent with safeguarding the place where His presence resides, i.e.  His covenant, His Shabbat, the Garden and His Mishkan.
  • In conclusion, the usage of the word “Mishmeret” is clear, it relates to His plan, His Covenant,  His presence, His Sabbath and His dwelling place. The word usages can all be connected to the very first of the Ten Words.  Ex. 20:2 – 3:  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
  • When we join with Him in His Covenant we are honoring Him.  When we observe His Shabbat we are giving Him honor and glory.  When we safeguard His dwelling place, our bodies, we are likewise giving Him the supremacy He is due.
  • Finally, we have established that The Law of Moses, The Torah, provides a clear understanding of His “charge.”  We should pray for discernment when we choose to add to or take away from what is already written in Scripture.