The Law of God: His Way
His Covenant, New Covenant, Mt. Sinai, Moses, God's ways,
Law of God, Law of Moses, words of the covenant
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"And the Lord said to Moses, "How
long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?" " (Ex
16:28)
"because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My
charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." (Gen 26:5)
Both of these quotes come
from a time before 'the Law' (Law of Moses) was given. Abraham didn’t
keep the Law of Moses. He didn’t tithe to Levi or offer his sacrifices
at the tabernacle; both required by the Law.
"Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb
for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments." (Mal 4:4)
God probably spoke His
Law, His covenant, the Ten Commandments, within 14 days of Israel's arrival at Sinai.
However it was known long before as Genesis 26:5 and Exodus 16:28 indicate.
Generally speaking the Law, the Law of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, was
also given to Moses
while Israel was camped near Horeb
also known as Sinai, but much of it was new and different instruction. The
nation was camped there for almost a year. It
seems unlikely that Moses received Genesis before Israel left Egypt. It is
much more likely it was given while Israel was camped in the wilderness.
Indeed that is what Malachi 4:4 indicates. However, it wasn't necessarily
given to Moses with God's Law.
Since His Law, the Sinai covenant,
was confirmed so soon after Israel's arrival at Sinai and Moses was very
busy, it makes sense that Genesis would not have been written until
after that. Genesis was undoubtedly written with the full understanding of
what His covenant, His Law was. Certainly Exodus was written after
Genesis but before Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy. Numbers was obviously
not complete until just before Moses died. They all would have been written
within a few years of each other probably one right after the other.
The episode of the golden
calf had a profound
effect on Israel's
relationship with their creator. Before the Sinai covenant it is apparent
He wanted everyone to be His representative or priest. (Ex 19:6) About 45
days later He was prepared to destroy them all. Moses pled for their lives (Ex
32:11-14, Ps 106:23). God relented and on the next trip up the mountain the
Law of
Moses began to be given (Ex 34:30-33). They were still in
the area of Horeb.
The Law of Moses did not
exist before that time. God's Law did exist. Since His Law
was given before Israel ruined their relationship with their Creator, it was
not compromised by an attempt to make it workable for the stiff-necked
people that Israel was. The Law of Moses was compromised this way.
"He said to them, "Moses, because of
the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from
the beginning it was not so." (Mat 19:8 referring to Deu
24:1-2)
"But before faith came, we
were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward
be revealed." (Gal 3:23)
The Law was a guardian
that attempted to keep Israel in line. In line with what? In line with the Law of God
that pre-existed the Law of Moses. The Law that Abraham obeyed was the Law
of God. It was from the beginning. Abraham was given the same covenant
that Israel was given at Sinai. The difference being that He obeyed.
"Remember His covenant forever, The word
which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 The covenant which He
made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 17 And confirmed it to Jacob for
a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, "To you I
will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance," (1Chro 16:15-18)
The fundamental terms of
His covenant are the Ten Commandments.
"So He declared to you His covenant which
He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two
tablets of stone."
(Deu 4:13)
Hebrew speakers often use
redundancy to emphasize a point. They repeat a thought in different words.
Sometimes English speakers take them to be talking of two different things
when in fact, they are just coming at the same thing from a different
angle. Psalms 78:10 is an example of this quirk.
"They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law".
"Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall
come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have
transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law." (Hos 8:1)
Hosea does the same. It
affirms that His Covenant and His Law are
the same thing. It is one and the same with how the Creator guides His own life.
"Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the
LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." (Deu 8:6)
However, life is not
always simple and therefore it is not always obvious what it means to
"not steal". For instance, if you borrow something and it breaks,
how is this resolved? If this isn’t handled correctly one could end
up stealing. There are a number of issues that can come up that
are not directly explained by the Ten Commandments.
For this reason a number
of judgments were included in the instruction God gave when He spoke the
Ten Commandments. (Ex 21:1-23:19) A judgment by the very nature of the word
is a decision based on prior law, although the situation may not be specifically
mentioned in that law. Given the brief nature of the Ten Commandments, the
judgments of Exodus 21-23 clarify detail that might not be intuitively
obvious.
Generally speaking,
examples and conduct before the episode of the golden calf represent God's
Law. Circumcision is a notable exception to this and is explained in
the section on Abraham
and the Patriarchs.
Not everything in the Law
of Moses was added after the Sinai covenant. Obviously the Law of Moses
contains the account of God speaking His Law at Mount Sinai. In this case,
the Law is simply an historical account of what was contained in the
original instruction. Many of the judgments recorded in Exodus 21-23 are
also repeated later in Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy.
"Take this Book of the Law, and put it
beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there
as a witness against you" (Deu
31:26)
Ultimately we are all
headed for a time of judgment (John 5:28-9). It was not
specifically stated at Sinai, but the Law of Moses documented the practice of requiring
two or three witnesses as the minimum that could convict (Deu 19:15). By repeating most
of His Law elsewhere in the Law of Moses, God was establishing two
witnesses. Often in the process of repeating, additional detail was also
added. The Law of Moses attempted to clarify points of the Law of God even
further than the judgments of Exodus 20-23 did.
For instance, Exodus 21:2
directs that Israelite slaves were to be freed after six years of
servitude. Deuteronomy 15:12-15 talks of this same thing, but clarifies
that the master was to give the departing servant supplies so he would not
be destitute. Moses is not adding something new here, but clarifying the original
intent. This is evident because God reminds the master that He was a slave
and God brought Him out of Egypt and provided for Him. This is the basis
for supplying the departing slave. This concept is repeated twice within
God's covenent and Law at Sinai(Ex 22:21, 23:9).
So not all of Moses 'new'
instruction is really new or implemented because of Israel's separation
from God with the golden calf. It may not have been documented
before, but it may well have been the intent from the beginning. The
instruction of Leviticus
18-20 is clearly God's law even though much was not
directly included in Exodus 20-23. Israel should have known, just
like they should have known not to make the golden calf. However, with the
Law of Moses
it was documented so they would have no excuse. The Law was an
additional witness against them.
One must read the Law of
God and the Law of Moses very carefully to extract its full meaning. Of
course any similar instruction in the New Testament should be considered
too. We have the advantage of New Testament instruction that ancient
Israel did not have.
"Oh, how I love Your law! It
is my meditation all the day" (Ps 119:97)
"Open my eyes, that I may
see Wondrous things from Your law.."
(Ps 119:18)
"Make me understand the way
of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wondrous works." (Ps 119:27)
David, a man after God's
own heart had to think about God's Law, precepts and His ways
. It doesn't come naturally. It takes conscientious effort and continual
thought. If David had to put out this effort and still asked for help in
understanding, ("Open my eyes") how much more do we need to do
this who are an additional 3000 years removed from even David's time?
Most people who would get
this deep into a religious web site are probably familiar with the Ten Commandments. I
suspect few have really studied the judgments that follow in Exodus. They
give great insight into what God was and still is expecting of those who
wish to represent Him. Of equal or greater value is being proficient
at meditating and pondering the Law of God yourself. Don't take man's
word for it. Learn to ponder the
Law of God yourself. Continue in it like David did. If you
would like an in depth study of the judgments
click here.