As I've been reading and studying this weeks portion from Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 I keep seeing the same thing over and over again as it refers to righteousness and what is good. Laws are God’s standards of righteousness. We recognize God as the supreme Law Giver. God’s laws are eternal. These laws will be used at a future time of judgment. They exist to keeps man’s sinful nature in check. When obeyed they will result in blessings.
To "fulfill" is the idiom of the sages meant to observe and to practice. When Jesus said he came to fulfill the Torah, he was saying he came to observe and to practice all of the Torah and to teach us to do the same.
Where do we find God’s righteousness- in the Torah (Deut 4.6-8; 6:25). As we are called to return to righteousness, it must be a righteousness that comes from God alone, not man. God’s righteousness is revealed to us in the entire Bible but specifically is found in the Torah. Just as Israel was called to be a light to the nations based upon their keeping of the statutes, judgments and laws of Torah, Jesus called us to be a light to all people by seeing our good works, which are our mitzvahs, which are our keeping of Torah commands. By our observing of God’s Torah rules we draw men closer to Him. When we fulfill Torah, when we observe and practice Torah, we are serving as witnesses for Jesus because we are truly doing as Jesus did, not just the miracles and signs and wonders but the everyday things of life.
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