How the Torah Changed My Life
By Elder Milton Tolefree
The Torah is God's teachings and instruction which are the principles that govern the earth. Yeshua, which is the Hebrew name for Jesus, prepares us for eternity. The Torah on the other hand reveals the principles of how we should live our lives on earth (Rom. 3: 28 -31). Not only is God interested in our destination (heaven), but He is also interested in the process as well. This means that the Torah is put here for us as an inheritance to attain an abundant life. For example: It teaches us how to live healthy through the dietary laws and how we should care for widows and orphans. I have learned from the Torah that God is not moved by needs, but by our obedience to His word. He is Holy (Kad osh ). The Lord wants us to obey His word and commandments, because He is Kadosh. He wants us to strive more intensely to live Holy.
The Torah has given me an in-depth and greater understanding of the scriptures. Hebrew Idioms, for example, the Hebrew word Kal-ve-chomer means; light and heavy; to nip sin in the bud before it develops to the heavier stage and is harder to break; to get sin out quickly referenced in(Matt. 5: 29 -30). The expression “Sounding the Trumpet” (Matt. 6:1-3) refers to when a person dropped a large number of coins into a trumpet shaped container intentionally making a lot of noise to draw attention to the amount of their giving. “Rooster Crow” is also an expression of speech referenced in (Matt. 26: 34, 74-75) which is a call to prayer. All Jews prayed daily on the third, sixth and ninth hour of the day. Each call for prayer was a crow, so after the third crow (call to prayer), Peter remembered what Yeshua told him.
Studying the Torah has transformed and revolutionized my life both internally and externally. Internally, the Torah has freed me from things that I didn't realize were still in me. For example, the pagan traditions my parents taught me and were passed down from generation to generation. The Torah can also be frightening because it brings a greater responsibility in keeping God's word. Studying the Torah also brings a greater reverential fear of the Lord. The word of God tells us in (Deut. 29:30) that He has set before us life and death, blessing and curses, but to choose life that we and our descendants may live.
Externally, I have learned from studying the Torah that faith brings the birthright and obedience brings the blessing. In America 97% of the assets are owned by 3% of the people called Jews. Not because they have great DNA, but they have learned from childhood how to live the commands of the Torah. Once we accept Jesus (Yeshua) as our personal savior, He prepares us for heaven. There are still realms of life and death we could continue to walk in because of the iniquity of our ancestors. These curses need to be broken by being obedient to the Torah. Transgression is when we willfully disobey the Torah. When we walk in and out of the realms of life and death, that does not mean we lose the presence of God, however we walk out of the provision of God. When we confess the sins of our forefathers God said, He will turn and remember His promises towards us.
The principles of Torah create prosperity. When we are obedient to the commands of the Torah then we begin to live in the realm of blessings. The Torah is not a religious tool, nor is it legalism, but it is what leads us to life. We have learned that the promises that were made to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also apply to us and our descendants. The same holds true for the curses. However the word of God tells us in (1 John 1:9); “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” An amazing thing about the Torah is that God is just as faithful to the curses as He is to the blessings (Amen).
I strongly encourage Christians to enroll at New Life Christian Center for Torah Studies, to understand the Hebrew Roots of our faith and the concept of Progressive Revelation from the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament (Brit Hadasha).