Oral Law

The Oral Law is claimed to have been given to Moses when he received the written law.

These are believed to be the instructions that God gave to accompany the Torah explaining how they were to do the various things mentioned in the written law. The idea is that God gave the law orally and Moses only wrote some of it down. Pharisees saw the oral law as binding as the written law. Sadducee belief was only in the first five books of the Bible, and that there was no oral law (Moses never actually mentioned an oral law). This appears to be a power grab though, because they had their own notions of how to obey the Torah and didn't like the Pharisee control. When the second temple was destroyed the Sadducee party disappeared and the oral law is what preserved Jewish culture. Students that were to become the future religious leaders would memorize all of the oral law.

Eventually, when there was fear that the oral law would be lost due to the temple being destroyed and their captivity, it was preserved by being written down in the Mishna which means "repeated study." Pharisees became the sages and eventually became today's rabbis. More interpretation and commentary on the Mishna (mainly by two different schools of rabbinical thought) were added since the Mishna was published, and this collection created the Talmud (Talmud means to "learning" or "instruction"). This written commentary are customs and traditions that define Jewish culture. The problem comes because these writings are given as much, sometimes more, authority than the Bible.

The writings in the Talmud place the Rabbis above God, the story "The Oven of Akhnai" shows that it doesn't matter what God intended since he rules in heaven not earth. This does not honor God.

“Blasphemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blasphemy. Accessed 27 Jul. 2020.

These commentaries and traditions come from the religion Judaism that does not follow God. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him'" (John 14:6-7 ESV). There is nothing wrong with traditions, and the desire to learn these things by Christians is usually in an attempt to walk as Jesus (who was a Jew) walked. I make the point that culture does not define God in my sermon "Culture Doesn't Define God."

When Jesus was walking the earth and confronting the teachings and behavior of the religious authority he revealed that oral law was not supported by the Torah. Since the oral law was the way for these leaders to control people they were not about to endorse Christ, that would mean submitting to authority and losing their power. They were looking for a savior that kept them in charge and rallied the people to overthrow the Romans. After rejecting Christ, these are the leaders that developed the oral law (which had become a written law, the Mishna) that eventually became the Talmud (further commentary adding to the Mishna).

The Jews are what is left of the physical descendants of Abraham. They are a shadow of God's promise that he will never leave nor forsake His people. Those that come against the Jews will eventually be punished, even if God uses the enemies to draw His people back to Him. We should be friends with the Jews. They are God's people even though these descendants are currently not following God. Proof: They are not following Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus the Messiah, and as a result they do not know the Father. God will not abandon them, (thank God for that since this is a shadow of us) and they will be brought back to Him.

I want to encourage you to pray for discernment and read your Bible. God has given us in inerrant and sufficient Word. That is all we need.

May God bless you.