The WAY of YHVH

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[First posted in 2012 and this was the Introduction then:

In “We have heard it said” – A Sinaite’s Apologetics – 4

– this comment was directed at us by our former christian/messianic bible teacher:

How deceptive teachers can be when they reject “The Way, The Truth, and The Life”!!!!!!!!!!!!
They do not have spiritual enlightenment, only academic ability.

At the end of that article, we briefly stated that the “Way” according to the God revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures as YHWH is in His TORAH—teachings, instructions, guidelines, laws in the first five books attributed to Moses.

One of the best expositions we have read on this very topic is Chapter Two of the first book we have highly recommended in this website: Restoring Abrahamic Faith by James Tabor. This may be ordered from his website jamestabor.com; a MUST HAVE book.

We cannot improve nor add to what James Tabor has written so we’re doing the next best thing—-feature a condensed and edited version of Chapter Two titled “THE WAY“. Please check out these other posts in this series:

Reformatting, highlights ours.—Admin 1]

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He will command his children and his household after him and they will keep the WAY of YHVH to do righteousness and justice. (Genesis 18:19)

The WAY of God is intimately bound up with, and grounded in, the revealed character of YHVH.

God tells Moses that—

He is YHVH, YHVH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” but that He will by no means ignore sins.

This very specific “character sketch” spoken by YHVH Himself, about Himself, is reflected throughout the Holy Scriptures in three Hebrew words. These three words are unquestionably the three key concepts of BIBLICAL FAITH, yet ironically, they are virtually unknown to most English readers of the Bible.

To introduce them [here’s a] profound passage from the prophet Jeremiah that puts things succinctly in words directly attributed to YHVH Himself:

Thus says YHVH: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am YHVH exercising steadfast love (chesed), justice (mishpat), and righteoushess (zedaqah) in the earth; for in these I delight,” says YHVH (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

[Regarding] the Shema: This is the WAY, all else is commentary. There is more in these two verses than in the shelves of theological books.

First, note how God specifically identifies Himself by Name that one understands and knows Me . . . that I am YHVH” that is, the Everlasting ONE GOD. Further, observe how the three ways of humankind are sharply contrasted with the three components of the WAY of God. Humans seek for wisdom, power, and wealth. This is the human way, and separate from God, the root of all sorts of evil.

. . . [The] three great words : chesed, mishpat, and zedaqah. In these, God Himself delights. After all, they are a description of His very character, as well as a prescription of His WAY for humankind.

Chesed, which is often translate mercy, love, or kindness is a tender word. It is the very heart of God’s character, much connected to the concept of grace and forgiveness. The translation of “steadfast love” is a good one . . . because the word implies the notion of loyalty. Through the prophet Hosea YHVH declares I delight in chesed rather than sacrifice (6:6). Micah declares, in answer to Moses’ question, What does YHVH require of you, that one must love “chesed,” which might strike one as an odd way to put it, yet the point is a profound one (6:8). Those who come to know God, which is to know the WAY of God, also are drawn in love toward chesed.
Mishpat is usually translated justice. It means to act with fairness, equity, and impartiality in any situation. Again, Micah, in the same passage, declares that YHVH requires that one “do justice” (6:8). The Prophets constantly speak of mishpat. In a well-known passage Amos cries out: Let justice roll down like waters (5:24).
Zedaqah (or zedeq) is often linked directly with mishpat. They are closely related, sometimes overlapping. For example in Deuteronomy 16:18 Moses speaks of “righteous judgment.” It is usually translated righteousness, referring to the good and upright WAY of behavior, in other words, God’s moral standards for humankind is revealed in the TORAH.

The three together form a balanced and composite triad. They combine with one another and play off one another. Steadfast love can sometimes temper justice; and yet what is truly just and right often defines the very way of steadfast love in the first place. The following quotations illustrate this point quite well:

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of YHVH (Psalm 33:5).

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and truth go before Your face (Psalm 89:14).

When the Davidic Messiah comes, his basic task is to establish the Kingdom, or Rule of YHVH, based on these very principles of the WAY of YHVH:

In steadfast love the throne will be established: and one will sit upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness

(Isaiah 16:5; cf. 9:7).

Defining the WAY of YHWH

There is a fascinating text in the early part of Genesis. God deliberates whether to share with Abraham, His intimate friend, His plans for the utter destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God reasons within Himself, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do (18:17)? What follows, as a kind of self-deliberation of God, is profound and fundamental:

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the WAY of YHVH to do righteousness and justice, that YHVH may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him (Genesis 18:19).

There we have it. The very WAY of YHVH is defined precisely: it is doing, or practicing, zedaqah and mishpat. The PLAN of God, that involves the entire calling and mission of Abraham, depends on the preservation and extension of this WAY.

What is involved here? The terms “justice” and “righteousness” mean many different things to different people. Each individual or culture tends to reason out their own sense of what they consider to be just and right. Human beings have been adept at developing their own systems of ethics and morals. However, when the Bible uses these terms something specific and concrete is intended.

There is a definite WAY of YHVH.

The shifting sands of human culture and opinion do not determine it.
At its core, it remains constant through the ages. We can know that WAY.
Its general contours are specifically set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, with many illustrative details and cultural applications.

The TORAH of YHVH

According to the Hebrew Bible there is one primary source for knowing and understanding the WAY of YHVH. One must turn to what is called in the Hebrew Scriptures the TORAH and the TESTIMONY (Isaiah 8:16-20).

Surely one of the most misleading English translations of any term in the entire Bible is the rendering of the Hebrew word TORAH as “the Law.” The modern English word “law” in no way conveys the beautiful, highly positive, and compelling meaning of the original Hebrew concept.

The very first Psalm describes the WAY of the righteous person:

But his delight is in the TORAH of YHVH, and in His TORAH he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:2).

The Holy Scriptures always speak of the TORAH of YHVH in the most positive way. Note the following verses:

The TORAH of YHVH is perfect, converting the soul (Psalm 19:7).

Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O YHVH, and teach out of Your TORAH! (Psalm 94:12).

Your TORAH is truth (Psalm 119:12).

O how I love Your TORAH! It is my meditation all the day (Psalm 119:97).

Open my eyes, that I may see, wonderful things out of Your TORAH (Psalm 119:18).

Eighteen times in Psalm 119 David exclaims his love for, and delight in, the TORAH. So what precisely is the TORAH?

[Continued in The WAY of YHVH – 2]

Source: Exodus/Shemoth 24 – "the sight of the Glory of YHVH (was) like a consuming fire" -- We gentiles living in this 21st century are able to experience that climactic moment [God appearing on Sinai] by reading and studying this portion of the TORAH. Indeed, we see YHWH not quite as dramatically as the mixed multitude did, but perhaps even better through these accounts recorded in Exodus. There is a saying that hindsight is 20/20 vision, i.e., we begin to see and understand the question marks in our past only later in our lives, as we mature and hopefully become wiser and more introspective about the meaning or seeming meaninglessness of happenings in history, whether personal, national, or universal. Søren Kierkegaard adds a twist to this: “Only 20:20 vision is hindsight. Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” As we endeavor to understand each portion in the TORAH of YHWH, much of it will seem irrelevant to our current situation but if we see beyond the time-bound cultural and religious situations and begin to understand what truly has not change—human nature and the Great Revelator who designed the perfect blueprint for living in peace, happily and contentedly with family, community, country and the nations, the unquestionable conclusion is: TORAH is relevant to ALL humankind, not just to Israel, to this very day.

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