What is Old Testament “Law”?

[On Sunday we return to the sermon series on the book of Psalms, The Songs of the People of God, with the first of several sermons on Psalm 119. This longest of all psalms begins: “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” The Hebrew word translated “law” is “torah.” This devotion on the meaning of “torah” is edited from the introduction to a sermon on Malachi 2:1-9 preached March 16, 2008. You can listen to the audio here – Coty]

What is Old Testament law?

Most English translations use “law” to translate the Hebrew word “torah.” But torah is not “law” in the sense of a speed limit or the internal revenue code. Indeed, three times in Malachi 2:7-9 the ESV translates “torah” as “instruction.” That alone shows us we might benefit from investigating the meaning of the Hebrew word.

So what is “torah”?

Torah is the revelation of God to man, fundamentally communicating His character, and consequently instructing us how to live in light of who God is. It is thus the source of joy and well-being, the foundation of any right view of the world, the foundation of any wisdom, any knowledge, any insight. Through torah we learn who God is, who we are, how we can be reconciled to Him, and how we can live every day before Him to our joy and His glory.

As the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament puts it: “The true purpose of torah is to lead man into a fruitful, abundant life of fellowship with God.” I would add “and thus fellowship with each other, and with the created order.”

Therefore:

  • Don’t think of torah as a list of rules or laws that we must keep in order to earn God’s favor
  • Don’t think of torah as a set of hoops He requires us to jump through
  • Don’t think of torah as arbitrary standards God sets up.

But think of torah as precious revelation from God given to us for our good.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 is helpful here:

“Now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?” (NIV)

This is torah – God’s commands given to us for our good:

  • He tells us to fear Him; that’s the right response when coming before a majestic, perfect King.
  • He tells us to walk in His ways, His paths, His road – and on no other road, not turning off that road but observing His commands.
  • He tells us to agree that He is wise – much wiser than we are – and thus to follow His ways even if doing so doesn’t seem to make sense.
  • And He tells us to do all this from a heart devoted to Him. Thus we are not just going through the motions, but our outward behavior flows from an inner change, from hearts that love Him and thus serve Him wholeheartedly.
  • Finally, He tells us doing all this doesn’t limit us, doesn’t keep us from true life, but rather leads to our good.

Many of the same ideas come out in John 15:1-11 as Jesus elaborates on His statement, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” That is, “I am the source of all that is good in you. If you are to accomplish anything of value, you must depend on Me. So abide in Me, remain in Me, depend on Me always. If that is to happen, My words, My torah, must abide in you. As you keep My commandments, my torah, you abide in my love. And all this is to your great joy; all this leads to life, to fulfillment, to peace/shalom. Furthermore, all this leads to My glory – to your creating alleluia.”

The bottom line is this: God does not set up hoops for us to jump through, and then say, “On your marks, get set, go! Jump through those hoops! Show Me that you deserve eternal life! If you succeed, I’ll give you that life!”

Nor does God set up barriers to joy: “If you want heaven, you have to prove to Me that you can give up everything that you enjoy, everything that is good, everything that leads to life.”

No. We are to desire God because He is the greatest joy. He is true life. He is peace/shalom. His torah is the way to the greatest happiness imaginable.

Our task is not to prove our worth, but to help each other to turn away from cheap, momentary pleasures that never satisfy and to turn to the greatest pleasure of all: Knowing God through Jesus Christ, knowing the King of the Universe through the King of kings and Lord of lords, knowing the heavenly Father through the crucified Son.

This is torah. This is the torah that leads to peace/shalom. This is the torah that leads to our joy and God’s glory.

To Desire God

[This devotion is based on one section of the July 21 sermon. Audio will be available at this link soon.]

We call ourselves Desiring God Community Church. Verses 25 and 26 of Psalm are therefore central to who we aspire to be:

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Think of what these verses tell us concerning, first, this present life, and, second, our future life.

In this present life, we have many desires: We want security; we want joy and satisfaction; we want a sense of accomplishment, to feel like we have some importance; we want to be loved and cared for. And to the extent we have attained the objects of those desires, we don’t want to lose them. We don’t want to lose our strength, or our friends, or our family members, or our other joys.

Yet our bodies are weak and eventually wear out; in the vicissitudes of life we are always at risk of losing what we have; in addition, many of our desires are never fulfilled – and then, even when we attain what we think we desire most, so often we remain unsatisfied, longing for that unarticulated something that is still missing.

The psalmist recognizes this. Left to his own resources, his flesh and heart fail. His body loses strength and his thoughts and affections grasp for what he does not have. No matter what he might have, no matter what he might have attained, eventually he is dissatisfied and disgruntled.

But as he comes into the sanctuary, as he worships (Psalm 73:17), he sees God for Who He is. He encounters the reality of the one true God – and that reality strengthens and changes him.

He sees that today, in the midst of whatever trials and difficulties God’s people might face, God Himself is the strength of our hearts:

  • He lifts us up
  • He enables us to fight temptation
  • He listens to our cries
  • He comforts our souls
  • He answers our prayers
  • He accomplishes His work through us.

We see even more than the psalmist from our side of the Cross:

  • He sent His Son to die for us
  • He reconciled us to Himself through that death
  • He provides us in Christ with life and breath and everything pertaining to life and godliness
  • He works all things together for our good and His glory
  • He loves us as His own precious possession in Christ, hearing our prayers and giving us Himself.

So if we have Him – what else should we desire?

But note: When the psalmist says, “There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you,” he is not denying that he has the desires detailed above – for joy, satisfaction, health, accomplishment, or love. Rather, he is saying:

Now that worship has sobered me, I see: There is no joy apart from You, there is no satisfaction apart from You. I do not deserve, I do not earn anything good in this life – indeed, I only deserve and earn Your judgment on me. But worshiping You among Your people has made clear to me: Everything good in this life is an undeserved gift from you – life and breath and everything. If I have You, I have the source and fountain of all good. So there can be nothing I desire on earth apart from You.

That’s true now, in this present life. What about in eternity, in our future life?

The psalmist says these same truths hold even then, even in heaven: “Whom have I in heaven but You? … God is … my portion forever.”

That is, my great inheritance – what I can look forward to receiving – is God Himself.

What do you look forward to in heaven? There is an overflowing abundance of good promised to God’s people: Bodies that don’t grow weary and never wear out; reunion with loved ones who are in Christ; the opportunity to get to know giants of the faith who lived centuries before (or after!) us; knowing all of God’s people made perfect, without any sin, without even any wrong desires; all the goodness of material prosperity without selfishness or smugness.

Yet all that abundance of good cannot compare with the greatest good of knowing God, of knowing Jesus (John 17:3). God Himself is not only the source of all those other goods, but the One to Whom they all point. He opens the way for us to come to Him, He brings us to Himself in and through Christ, and He rejoices in us in Christ for all eternity. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him (Romans 11:36). Jesus Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), and in heaven in Him we have the true peace, the true shalom, of being part of God’s beloved family forever.

So the psalmist speaks this precious truth that we today can see even more clearly: Now and for all eternity, God’s people have Him – and in Christ, life-giving relationships with one another, with ourselves, and with the created order. All of that is true shalom.

Do you have this peace? Can you say with the psalmist, “Earth has nothing I desire besides You”? Do you recognize that far and away the greatest joy in eternity is knowing God?

Worship Him – and so desire Him above all else. In this way – and only in this way – will you find your greatest joy.