Misunderstanding the Torah and Paul’s Message
Far too many have been deceived into believing that the Torah, the very Instructions of YaHuWaH, is a “yoke of bondage.” This misunderstanding, born of false religion and centuries of mistranslation, has caused many to reject the very covenant that defines our relationship with the Almighty. Let us return to the text itself and discern Shaul’s words in their Hebraic context.
Two “Laws” at Work
In Shaul’s writings, particularly in Galatians, there are two distinct “laws” under discussion. The first is the Torah of YaHuWaH, the written covenant given through Mosheh (Bereshith (Genesis) through Debarim (Deuteronomy)). The second is the Oral Law of Judaism, a man-made system of traditions and rulings later compiled into the Talmud, which consists of 74 volumes of commentary and oral traditions known as Shebe al’peh (“law of the mouth”).
Shaul was well acquainted with this oral system. As he testified in Galatians 1:13-14, he had once advanced in Judaism, not in the Torah of YaHuWaH, but in Pharisaic Judaism. His encounter with Yahusha on the road to Damascus did not cause him to abandon the Torah; it caused him to finally understand and love it in truth, apart from the traditions of men.
Under the Law – or Under the Oral Law?
In Galatiyim (Galatians) 4:3, Shaul writes,
When we were children, we were in bondage under the elements of the world.
The phrase “elements of the world” (stoicheia tou kosmou in Greek) refers to worldly systems of ordinances and traditions, what Shaul elsewhere calls “the commandments and teachings of men” (Qolasim (Colossians) 2:8, 22). These are not the Torah of the Almighty, but the oral traditions and religious systems built around it.
When Shaul says in verse 5 that Yahusha came to “redeem those under the law,” he is not speaking of the Torah itself, but of those held captive under man-made law, whether Jewish Oral Law or pagan legalism, so that we might receive adoption as sons through the covenant.
Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, also an heir of Elohim through Messiah.” (Galatiyim (Galatians) 4:7)
To be “under the law” in Shaul’s context means to be under the condemnation or the perversion of it, to live according to humanly invented systems rather than according to the Torah written by the finger of YaHuWaH.
The Weak and Beggarly Elements
In Galatiyim (Galatians) 4:8-9, Shaul reminds the believers in Galatia:
But then, indeed, when you did not know Elohim, you served those which by nature are not mighty ones. But now, after you have known Elohim, or rather are known by Elohim, how do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
The “weak and beggarly elements” were not the Torah; they were the traditions, rituals, and sectarian rulings of men who claimed to define righteousness apart from YaHuWaH’s instructions. Shaul’s grief was that those who had been freed by the pure covenant were returning to bondage under rabbinic control.
They zealously court you, but for no good; they wish to shut you out, that you may be zealous for them.” (Galatiyim (Galatians) 4:17)
The Torah is not a “them.” The Torah is the voice of YaHuWaH Himself.
The Free Woman and the Bondwoman
Shaul concludes his illustration by contrasting two covenants: the Torah, represented by the free woman, and the oral system, represented by the bondwoman (Galatiyim (Galatians) 4:31). The Torah leads to freedom because it is the covenant of sonship. The oral system leads to slavery because it replaces the authority of YaHuWaH with the rulings of men.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Messiah has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatiyim (Galatians) 5:1)
That yoke of bondage is not the Torah; it is the man-made oral law that Shaul once defended before he encountered Yahusha.
The Works of the Law vs. The Book of the Law
Shaul makes a profound distinction in Galatians 3:10:
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it has been written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all that has been written in the Book of the Law, to do them.’
Notice carefully, Shaul contrasts “works of the law” with “the Book of the Law.”
The phrase works of the law (ergon nomou) refers to humanly defined acts of righteousness, as promoted by Pharisaic and rabbinic teachers. The “Book of the Law,” however, is the Torah of YaHuWaH, the written covenant. Shaul is showing that those who seek justification through oral law are under a curse, because they have replaced the written Torah with traditions.
Yahusha and the Prophets Spoke Against Oral Law
Yahusha Himself confronted these same traditions, declaring:
Why do you also transgress the command of Elohim because of your tradition?” (Mattithyahu (Matthew) 15:3)
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) and Yeshayahu (Isaiah) echoed this rebuke against those who mixed man-made observances with set-apart commands:
Your new moons and your appointed times My being hates; they have become a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” (Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 1:14)
YaHuWaH was not rejecting His own moedim (appointed times), but the corrupt way they were being observed, the hypocritical traditions that desecrated His appointed days with lawless hearts.
The Curse of Rejecting Torah
From the beginning, YaHuWaH warned:
Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this Torah, to do them.” (Debarim (Deuteronomy) 27:26)
Shaul repeats this truth in Galatians 3:10, confirming that it is disobedience to the Torah, not obedience, that brings a curse. Both YaHuWaH and Shaul condemn those who exchange the Torah for man’s religion, whether it be Jewish Oral Law or Christian Tradition.
Come Out of Babylon
This confusion, the replacement of Torah with religious tradition, is the very essence of Babylon. It is mixture, confusion, and rebellion against the pure covenant of YaHuWaH.
The call of Revelation remains:
Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” (Hazon (Revelation) 18:4)
Return to the Torah of Liberty, the perfect instruction that restores the heart and brings true freedom (Yaʽaqob (James) 1:25).
The Torah was never bondage. The bondage came when men twisted it into religion. The Torah is life, it is covenant, it is freedom under the authority of the One true King, YaHuWaH.
© AmmiOlam.org
Restoring the ancient paths – walking in the covenant of truth.