The Law

In the Torah, we see God create humanity, but humanity rebels. Later, God chooses Abraham to bless all of the nations through his family and bring them back to God. Abraham's descendants, though, end up as slaves to the Egyptians. After God rescues them, He makes a covenant with them, agreeing to protect them and bless them if they follow a set of rules and rituals that we now refer to as the Old Testament law.

While much of the rest of the Torah is spent explaining these laws, the laws are still only a part of the Torah's overall narrative. Throughout the rest of the Torah, we see a continuous pattern of the Israelites receiving laws from God and breaking them. This pattern of instruction leading to rebellion continues all the way up to the conclusion of the Torah, where Moses tells the people that the only way they will ever be able to follow God's laws is if their hearts are transformed.

Moses's words were true, and throughout much of the rest of the Old Testament we see the death and destruction that besieges Israel because they are unable to follow God's laws. Later in the story, though, we begin to hear from prophets who spoke of a day when following God's commands would feel like a pleasure rather than a duty. The prophet Isaiah also spoke of a Messiah who would lead all the people in obedience to the law.

Together, all of these books form a cohesive story - one that Jesus saw Himself as continuing. Jesus preached that He came to solve the problem with humans' hearts and in His words "fulfill the law." Jesus explained that all of the laws of the Torah could be fulfilled if we were to just follow one law: to love God and love others.