Lesson summary
One page: key verse, five things to remember, the comparison chart, and a reflection question.
Finish the quiz to unlockAny score unlocks all three.
All lessons › Stop 6 of 8
Stop 6 · Torah Grove
The Torah: Forever or Fulfilled?
Is God's law eternal, or was it replaced by a new covenant?
Step 1 of 5 · about 5 min left
A gift called Torah
means “teaching” or “instruction.” It's the Five Books of Moses, and in a wider sense all of Jewish learning. Jewish tradition counts 613 commandments, or , in the Torah.
The 613 commandments
- 248 Positive: things to do (40%)
- 365 Negative: things not to do (60%)
The Talmud links 248 to the parts of the human body and 365 to the days of the year (Makkot 23b).
“She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.”
Proverbs 3:18Forever means forever
The Torah calls its laws eternal. The Sabbath is “a perpetual covenant… a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever” (Exodus 31:16–17). And Moses warns, “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
The prophets even describe Torah observance in the messianic future. Israel will “walk in My judgments” (Ezekiel 37:24), and all humanity will worship “from one Sabbath to another” (Isaiah 66:23).
The Christian view
Christianity teaches that Jesus came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). Paul wrote, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). Many Christians believe the moral law still guides them, while ceremonial laws, such as sacrifices and kosher food, were completed in Christ.
Christians also point to Jeremiah 31:31, which promises a new covenant. The book of Hebrews says the new covenant made the first one “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13).
Reading Jeremiah 31 closely
“I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:33Jewish readers notice three things
- The covenant is made “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (v. 31).
- What's written on hearts is “My law,” the same Torah, kept from the heart.
- Verse 34 says no one will need to teach his neighbor to know God, because all will know Him. That hasn't happened yet.
Side by side
Side by side: The Torah and the covenant
4 comparisonsTopic Judaism Christianity Is the Torah eternal? Yes: “a covenant forever” Fulfilled in Christ. The moral law continues The new covenant The same Torah on Israel's hearts, still to come Began with Jesus (Heb. 8:13) The Sabbath Saturday, the seventh day, from Friday sundown Most churches worship on Sunday, the day of the resurrection Kosher food Still commanded No longer required (Mark 7:19; Acts 10) Pause and ponder
What's one thing in your life you'd call “forever”? How would you feel if someone told you it had expired?
Five things to remember
- Torah means “teaching.” Jewish tradition counts 613 commandments: 248 do's and 365 don'ts.
- The Torah calls its laws eternal and forbids adding to or subtracting from them (Deuteronomy 4:2).
- Christianity teaches Jesus fulfilled the Law, and many Christians see the ceremonial laws as completed.
- Jeremiah's new covenant puts “My law,” the same Torah, on Israel's hearts.
- The biblical Sabbath is the seventh day: Saturday, from Friday sundown.
Trail quiz
7 questions · about 3 minutes. Finish with any score to unlock three free printables. Tip: press 1–4 on your keyboard to answer.
Your free printables
Unlocks when you finish the quizTake your learning away from the screen: read it, quiz a friend, or color while you think.
Finish the quiz to unlockAny score unlocks all three.
Finish the quiz to unlockAny score unlocks all three.