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Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus: How the Torah Fulfills Its Goal in Yeshua
This book addresses the questions about the believer's relationship to the Torah (the five Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch) and its commandments (the Law): Though this book is based on more than a decade of academic research, it is written with the non-academic reader in mind and provides easy-to-understand answers to the questions related to the Torah and does so in a manner thoroughly rooted in a careful reading of the biblical text.
128 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 6, 2021
An amazing book!! I learned an incredible amount. I read this as I was reading through Numbers, and I wish I would’ve started it sooner. It illuminates so much about the beauty of the Torah.
I give this 4 stars rather than 5 because the reading was dense and slow at times, BUT it was probably my favorite book I’ve read in months purely in terms of what I learned. Also, closed with some hot takes which is always fun.
I give this 4 stars rather than 5 because the reading was dense and slow at times, BUT it was probably my favorite book I’ve read in months purely in terms of what I learned. Also, closed with some hot takes which is always fun.
May 18, 2021
Great, easy to understand, but still thorough book on the meaning and purpose of the Old Testament law. Some helpful things for me:
-provided an understanding of the different words for law/Torah/Scriptures so that when you read the NT and those words are mentioned, we aren’t coming up with our own definitions
-Gave a persuasive argument on the purpose of the OT law. *spoiler -it’s not to win God’s favor. But more than saying what the law isn’t, this book was helpful to say what the law IS. This book gives motivation and excitement to meditate on the OT law and gain value from it today.
-provided an understanding of the different words for law/Torah/Scriptures so that when you read the NT and those words are mentioned, we aren’t coming up with our own definitions
-Gave a persuasive argument on the purpose of the OT law. *spoiler -it’s not to win God’s favor. But more than saying what the law isn’t, this book was helpful to say what the law IS. This book gives motivation and excitement to meditate on the OT law and gain value from it today.
September 12, 2021
I always had challenges understanding the concept of the new covenant in Christ for which our justification is no longer in the Law yet the ten commandments were still taught and we are obliged to follow. There are New Testament quotations that seem to be contradictory regarding the Law and whether it is to be followed or not. If you have those same questions and uncertainty I recommend Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus: How the Torah Fulfills Its Goal in Yeshua. For such a short book its authors, learned messianic Jews, have concisely written what the relationship is between the Torah, the Law (as in the Sinai covenant and related religious proscriptions) and the new covenant in Christ. The authors' exegesis of scripture using their understanding of the ancient near east cultures and Jewish tradition add depth to their narrative. One of my favorite reads for 2021, and a wonderful library addition for those wanting a deeper understanding of the relationship between old and new.
July 5, 2021
This is a small, but powerful book proving the thesis that the Torah (first five books of the Bible) is not primarily about the Law, but about the Messiah. The idea was that Moses was not leading us to the law but through it to Jesus. There were several mind blowing aha moments for me that connected key passages in the Old Testament to Christ. I got a little lost in the Balaam chapter, but really appreciated the clear presentation overall of looking through at the Law this way. My favorite chapter outlines the benefits/roles of the Law now- shadow, tutor, prosecuting attorney, love, wisdom, etc. Must read for all Bible and Jesus lovers. Read in pretty much one sitting! I read in preparation to teach and lead women through Deuteronomy and the Shema specifically.
April 10, 2021
I had not heard of the ministry, ONE FOR ISRAEL, that stands behind this book, but I am blown away by the quality of this little work.
I have rarely ever felt so moved by clear and sustained logical argumentation. The authors argue from the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) that the Mosaic Law was not intended to provide righteousness for its adherents, but instead, as Paul of Tarsus asserted, to reveal human unrighteousness and need for salvation. The Torah that reveals this convicting Law also provides for the need--a Savior, a Messiah, predicted as early as Genesis 3:15.
The book spends a chapter a piece on three of the four major poetic sections of the Torah, all of which look forward to a Messianic figure in "the last days." And the final few chapters of the book are very practical, addressing the uses of the Mosaic Law for believers today and the way in which Jewish believers should live in relation to the Law. All followers of Christ are free from the Law as a law, though we still derive great benefit from it as a reflection of God's character and will--the authors of this work even observe some of the festivals and regulations of the Law, but they are clear that this is not from necessity but from a desire not to prevent their Jewish neighbors from hearing their message about Yeshua (they live in Israel).
I can't recommend this little work enough. It is brief, but clear.
I have rarely ever felt so moved by clear and sustained logical argumentation. The authors argue from the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) that the Mosaic Law was not intended to provide righteousness for its adherents, but instead, as Paul of Tarsus asserted, to reveal human unrighteousness and need for salvation. The Torah that reveals this convicting Law also provides for the need--a Savior, a Messiah, predicted as early as Genesis 3:15.
The book spends a chapter a piece on three of the four major poetic sections of the Torah, all of which look forward to a Messianic figure in "the last days." And the final few chapters of the book are very practical, addressing the uses of the Mosaic Law for believers today and the way in which Jewish believers should live in relation to the Law. All followers of Christ are free from the Law as a law, though we still derive great benefit from it as a reflection of God's character and will--the authors of this work even observe some of the festivals and regulations of the Law, but they are clear that this is not from necessity but from a desire not to prevent their Jewish neighbors from hearing their message about Yeshua (they live in Israel).
I can't recommend this little work enough. It is brief, but clear.
October 14, 2021
The author was all over the place in his logic. I caught multiple instances where he made bold claims and referenced scripture that actually stated the exact opposite. He also made many many bold statements without any backup from scripture at all. Be on the lookout. Actually read his references in Scripture’s context.
The difference between the following two questions is subtle, but important:
Is following Torah perfectly required for salvation?
Vs.
As followers saved by faith, do we now look to the Torah as part of our “good works” that God has called us to? (Ephesians 2:8-10)
The author jumps back and forth between answering these, creating confusion for the reader actually paying attention. I was under the assumption the second question would be answered, but he actually answers the first, claiming it is also the answer to the second because he has meshed these two as one question with the same answer.
But just because I don’t need to love my husband to be saved (first question) doesn’t mean I shouldn’t love him as a response to my salvation (second). Even worse logic, just because I know I won’t love him perfectly doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to love him best I can.
The author goes into great detail outlining that the Law is a tutor to Christ (when you learn algebra, do you reject addition?), a shadow (because Christ followed the Law and then extended it: murder is wrong in Torah, but now hate is too), good theology, a source of wisdom, holy, beautiful, and good. Then he says this means we no longer actually do what it says? Absurd.
Confusingly, the author also refers to the Law in other chapters as broken (the whole Bible argues otherwise), actually contradicting himself. Further, he refers to the Sinai Covenant as a broken covenant. This is also absurd. The Law is good and a covenant in itself is amoral (it’s a legal document). The only thing broken is us, which the author unfortunately doesn’t highlight enough.
The one redeeming aspect of this book is the great detail he goes into about the purpose of the Law: to point us to our Messiah, who is the only Way for salvation. Amen, hallelujah. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the question up for debate in my mind. If the book’s goal is to answer question one, leave question two out of it because they are not the same question.
The difference between the following two questions is subtle, but important:
Is following Torah perfectly required for salvation?
Vs.
As followers saved by faith, do we now look to the Torah as part of our “good works” that God has called us to? (Ephesians 2:8-10)
The author jumps back and forth between answering these, creating confusion for the reader actually paying attention. I was under the assumption the second question would be answered, but he actually answers the first, claiming it is also the answer to the second because he has meshed these two as one question with the same answer.
But just because I don’t need to love my husband to be saved (first question) doesn’t mean I shouldn’t love him as a response to my salvation (second). Even worse logic, just because I know I won’t love him perfectly doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to love him best I can.
The author goes into great detail outlining that the Law is a tutor to Christ (when you learn algebra, do you reject addition?), a shadow (because Christ followed the Law and then extended it: murder is wrong in Torah, but now hate is too), good theology, a source of wisdom, holy, beautiful, and good. Then he says this means we no longer actually do what it says? Absurd.
Confusingly, the author also refers to the Law in other chapters as broken (the whole Bible argues otherwise), actually contradicting himself. Further, he refers to the Sinai Covenant as a broken covenant. This is also absurd. The Law is good and a covenant in itself is amoral (it’s a legal document). The only thing broken is us, which the author unfortunately doesn’t highlight enough.
The one redeeming aspect of this book is the great detail he goes into about the purpose of the Law: to point us to our Messiah, who is the only Way for salvation. Amen, hallelujah. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the question up for debate in my mind. If the book’s goal is to answer question one, leave question two out of it because they are not the same question.
June 9, 2021
Looking forward to reading this with my high school students at church. It’s a good resource to understand why reading the Hebrew Bible is important as a follower of Jesus.
April 17, 2021
I will give this five stars even though I'm not quite sure I agree with it all. It is, in 130 pages, "this is the point of the Old Testament". Perhaps such a big picture presentation has to also go quickly lest you get bogged down in details, but going fast does leave more room for criticism (and I'll give one criticism below).
The point of the Old Testament, the point of the Torah in particular, is NOT "here are all these laws, follow them and be saved". The point, he says often, is to point through the laws, *toward* the coming Messiah. AND, and this is absolutely critical, that isn't something you can figure out because you've read the New Testament and now you've figured everything out and can go back and reinterpret the Old Testament in light of the New. No, the OT by itself, read carefully, points over and over again to the coming Messiah, that is THE BIG POINT of the OT from the beginning of Genesis. And therefore, although I don't think he says this, he would probably agree, when the New Testament authors make all the arguments they do based on OT verses, that isn't because they were filled with the Holy Spirit (although they were) and could therefore spot things in the OT that nobody had ever spotted before - no, it was because they knew their OT very well and read it carefully and could make legitimate and entirely appropriate arguments out of it. And this book will show you how to read the OT like that.
So there we go. I was also impressed that he clearly reads the Torah, and the Old Testament itself, and the entire Bible, all as "a single book" in their way, spotting themes that (he argues) are intentionally carried throughout. Although that is not the point of his book, that also ends up making a strong case for a single divine author behind the many different human authors. So reading this book can also end up increasing your overall confidence in your Bible.
The one criticism I will make now - he has one very short chapter, the shortest chapter in the book, to deal with "what do you make of all those weird laws on the OT?", like "don't wear clothes of mixed fabrics", or laws about slavery that we would now frown upon, for example. And, while he is not at all against pulling moral lessons out of the OT law (after all, the NT writers do that), he does sort of say well, the law was never supposed to be permanent, and God met people where they were in their ancient culture and wrote laws that would make them better people, without trying to just overturn everything. The problem with the argument (especially when it's made in just five pages or whatever), is that it does also open the door to people jettisoning just about any moral claim made from the OT law that is not also repeated by an NT writer. So that one chapter you wish was more careful but, as I said, the book was a high-speed presenting of the Big Goal of the OT, and "follow all these laws" was not the Big Goal, so it is not a major concern of the author.
I could say much more - an excellent book you can read in a day.
The point of the Old Testament, the point of the Torah in particular, is NOT "here are all these laws, follow them and be saved". The point, he says often, is to point through the laws, *toward* the coming Messiah. AND, and this is absolutely critical, that isn't something you can figure out because you've read the New Testament and now you've figured everything out and can go back and reinterpret the Old Testament in light of the New. No, the OT by itself, read carefully, points over and over again to the coming Messiah, that is THE BIG POINT of the OT from the beginning of Genesis. And therefore, although I don't think he says this, he would probably agree, when the New Testament authors make all the arguments they do based on OT verses, that isn't because they were filled with the Holy Spirit (although they were) and could therefore spot things in the OT that nobody had ever spotted before - no, it was because they knew their OT very well and read it carefully and could make legitimate and entirely appropriate arguments out of it. And this book will show you how to read the OT like that.
So there we go. I was also impressed that he clearly reads the Torah, and the Old Testament itself, and the entire Bible, all as "a single book" in their way, spotting themes that (he argues) are intentionally carried throughout. Although that is not the point of his book, that also ends up making a strong case for a single divine author behind the many different human authors. So reading this book can also end up increasing your overall confidence in your Bible.
The one criticism I will make now - he has one very short chapter, the shortest chapter in the book, to deal with "what do you make of all those weird laws on the OT?", like "don't wear clothes of mixed fabrics", or laws about slavery that we would now frown upon, for example. And, while he is not at all against pulling moral lessons out of the OT law (after all, the NT writers do that), he does sort of say well, the law was never supposed to be permanent, and God met people where they were in their ancient culture and wrote laws that would make them better people, without trying to just overturn everything. The problem with the argument (especially when it's made in just five pages or whatever), is that it does also open the door to people jettisoning just about any moral claim made from the OT law that is not also repeated by an NT writer. So that one chapter you wish was more careful but, as I said, the book was a high-speed presenting of the Big Goal of the OT, and "follow all these laws" was not the Big Goal, so it is not a major concern of the author.
I could say much more - an excellent book you can read in a day.
July 10, 2018
From three Messianic Jews who celebrate the Biblical Feasts but who's thesis is that the point of the Torah is NOT (and never was) the keeping of the law but Yeshua himself. After careful examination of several key aspects of the Torah they find that loving God and loving others is completely fulfilling the law. A very cohesive response to the Hebrew Roots movement and the questions it raises.
November 4, 2022
What a fabulous little book.
The writing is dense, so I found myself inching along before needing to take notes and reflect, but don't let that put you off.
Excellent correlations between Adam and Israel, Moses prophesying that Israel will fail to keep the law, and what this all means regarding the purpose of the law.
Thoroughly recommended.
The writing is dense, so I found myself inching along before needing to take notes and reflect, but don't let that put you off.
Excellent correlations between Adam and Israel, Moses prophesying that Israel will fail to keep the law, and what this all means regarding the purpose of the law.
Thoroughly recommended.
April 29, 2021
Great book! I was able to understand why believers are not required to keep Jewish traditions. I understand it now that the message of Christ is how we live out our faith. I still feel a call to observe the 10 commandments in my home. How my family does this is of our choosing. This book was helpful in understanding the messianic Jew and how I fit in as a gentle.
Note: It was a hard read for me. Lots of big fancy words. But I think I got it!
Note: It was a hard read for me. Lots of big fancy words. But I think I got it!
April 14, 2021
I read this book in a day in a half. It was a joy! The final words of the book “Reading Moses Seeing Jesus” (which I highly recommend) ...As we read the Torah (Bible) may our eyes be opened to its singular story, who’s goal it is to restore a lost blessing to humanity through Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah-King, who’s new covenant frees us to “owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). RMSJ is a good reminder in these trying times that our faith can be not only restored but made stronger by returning to which is not complicated...love.
August 7, 2017
A fresh look of how the Gospel writers would understood the writings of Moses. Seth provides fresh interesting facts with each page turn and in style of writing I enjoy. The Torah, the Law the Pentateuch, the Oral Law, the early church. I particularly enjoyed how Seth highlights the Parallel threads all through scripture. God always understood we would fail to keep the law, and so his plan and purpose throughout scripture is and always was Jesus. Seth write in a way which will make you search for other book he may have written,
April 18, 2021
Short but packed with deep theology written for the non-scholar, these Messianic Jews living in Israel explain the purpose of the Torah and the relationship of Christians, both Jew and Gentile, to the law.
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September 18, 2018This helped me understand my own faith in a deeper way and opened my eyes further to how Israelis live and what shapes their thinking. I think it would be a good read for anybody who lives in Israel or who is interested in it.
December 1, 2020
It was well written and I would love to read more books from the same author. It gave me insights into the Messianic Jews (Christian Jews) understanding of the law. As a non-Jewish Christian, this is a very helpful view.
I love the book.
I love the book.
November 17, 2017
Helpful
November 28, 2018
Absolutely riveting! This book was SUCH a blessing!
May 3, 2020
Highly recommended. Should be in “mandatory reading” bucket list of any christian.
July 18, 2021
Such a refreshing read and an incredibly essential resource about Yeshua in reading the Torah and the New Testament from the point of view of the Jews it was written for in its time (whether as ancient Near-Eastern Israelites or 1st century Jews, and unpacked by Messianic Jews of our time). It puts conversations about the Law (Sinai covenant) in a much clearer perspective for me, when contrasted with the Rabbinic/Talmudic/Oral Law that I had always heard of but knew nothing about. God's Law is beautiful and is a description of who God is, pointing us to Yeshua, who fulfilled it in perfection. I learned a lot from this book and highly recommend it to those seeking answers as to why we need to read and study the Old Testament; to make sense of our need for a Messiah.
April 13, 2024
Very interesting read. Came as recommended by my Hebrew professor. This comes from a messianic Jewish background. He argues, very convincingly, that the Torah expects fulfillment in Jesus. He argues mainly from texts within he Torah itself, making many connections that I have not noticed before. He also covers topics such as how believers should relate to the law (written and oral). The format is a bit strange, and there were some typos, but the content helped me to have a better grasp of the significance of the Pentateuch.
September 7, 2021
Having recently studied some of the first books of the Bible from a Jewish viewpoint, this book is very insightful. This is an easy-to-understand read of the things in the Torah in regards to Messiah as well as the Law of Moses. A careful reading will enlighten those seeking to know the true Jewishness of the Christian faith.
June 30, 2021
Excellent book showing how Christ is the fulfilment of the Law. It is one of the few books that leaves one with a better grasp of the whole of the Bible and how the revelation of Scripture fits together.
January 18, 2022
I really enjoyed this, it is a bit challenging though. I would say that I almost wish there was more but it’s a good start on a very large topic.
June 5, 2021
If you want to now what to do with the law of the Old Testament and how it applies to your Christian life, this is the book to read.
June 6, 2020
Book on tips to reaching Jews. ok. Recommended if you are working with Jews.
August 26, 2024
So interesting! Had never seen those connections before!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews