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Delighting in Torah

The Bible, as we've discussed many times, is a complex and wondrous book. It is full of different types of literature that serve different functions but still manage to form one, cohesive narrative. It was written over the span of nearly 2,000 years yet remains remarkably consistent.

As Christians we believe that the entire Bible is a gift from God given in order to instruct, train, and mold us to be more like Jesus. We believe that every part of the Bible is God-breathed and relevant for us today in some way, or at least that's what we say. In practice we gravitate towards certain parts of the Bible while leaving other parts pretty much untouched.

If I had to guess at which part of the Bible is the most ignored, most skipped, and least understood it would have to be the Torah. Now when I say Torah I am not referring to the first five books of the Bible, because Genesis and Exodus (at least most of Exodus) are certainly not ignored. When I say Torah I am referring to what we normally translate as the Law.

That right there is our first issue. We translate the Hebrew word "Torah" as "Law," even though that really isn't what that word means. It would be far better translated as "Guidance" or "Instruction." The concept of laws the way we understand them didn't actually exist back then. Rather, a king gave decrees and there was a collection of wisdom that was drawn upon to help rulers make decisions.

Simply because of the word choice in translation we have essentially developed a whole theology around the "Law" that isn't what it was meant to be. In fact, we are making the exact same mistake the Pharisees made! There whole problem was that they treated the "Torah" as a strict set of legal codes that had to be followed to the letter rather than a guiding wisdom designed to help Israel live out its covenant relationship.

Now this is a complex topic that would take many weeks of digging into nitty-gritty of why we know the "Law" isn't actually designed to be a comprehensive legal code. The point I want to make is this; because of this misunderstanding we tend to avoid reading books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy altogether. If we look at them not as "Law" but as "Torah" or "Guidance," it makes a difference.

Does it magically make those books easy to read? No. However it does change our perspective enough to reconsider what God is doing with these books. It also might enable us to do what the Psalmist did, to delight in the Torah of the LORD. 

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