THE LAW OF GOD

Unfortunately, in both Jewish and Christian circles, there is a great deal of confusion associated with the subject of God's Law. This confusion arises in both how we define God's Law, and in how that Law is applied to our lives. This post will examine this subject and offer a perspective on God's Law that incorporates the totality of Scripture and reconciles both the writings of the Hebrews and the writings of early Christians in the Greek language.

First, although both Jews and Christians sometimes refer to the Pentateuch or Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) as the Law of Moses, both groups generally accept the characterization of this legislation as also being God's Law. Now, this characterization of Torah is consistent with the language used throughout those writings. Over and over again, the voice of God in that narrative refers to "MY commandments/statutes/laws" (see Exodus 20:6, Leviticus 22:31, 26:3, 15, Numbers 15:40, Deuteronomy 5:10, 29, 11:13). Moreover, it is referred to as the "law of God" in Joshua 24:26 and Nehemiah 8:8, 18, and 10:28. Having established that, however, it is equally important to understand that anything which God has commanded anyone to do is also God's Law. In other words, there were a number of different versions/iterations of God's Law given to various individuals before the legislation delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Genesis 2:16, 6:22, 12:1, 21:4, 22:2, 31:13, etc.). In other words, while Torah, is God's Law, there are other commandments of God besides the ones enumerated in the Law of Moses.

Likewise, it is critical to a proper understanding of God's Law(s) to be aware of the fact that the version given to Moses was addressed to the people of Israel (as many of the posts on this blog have pointed out). Hence, although this iteration of God's Law contained some "universal" moral principles, it was NOT addressed to all of humankind. Thus, this version of God's Law was more parochial in nature than "universal"! In other words, Torah was designed to meet the needs and circumstances of the people of Israel in the Promised Land. More particularly, this legislation was designed for a primitive, patriarchal, superstitious, polygamous, violent, and slaveholding group of people. Moreover, those commandments were incorporated into the terms of an exclusive covenant/contract/agreement between God and THOSE people. And, finally, consistent with all of this, the specific commandments were intended to separate the Israelites from the people who surrounded them - to distinguish the children of Israel from Gentile nations (see Deuteronomy 4:1-8, and 12:29-31)! Indeed, throughout Torah we read "Speak unto the children of Israel" (see Exodus 19:6, 25:2, 30:31, Leviticus 1:2, 4:2, 7:23, 29, 11:2, 12:2, 15:2, 18:2, 23:2, etc.)

Now, while Torah views itself as a whole (see Deuteronomy 5:32, 8:1, 11:22, 32, 12:28, 32, 16:12, etc.), some Jewish and Christian believers break down Torah into different categories and/or exclude certain provisions of that legislation as binding on them (even though that is specifically forbidden, as in Deuteronomy 4:2). For instance, many Jewish scholars divide the commandments of Torah into dos and don'ts, just as they divide the books of the Hebrew Bible into Torah, Prophets and Writings. Moreover, in the Judaism 101' article on Halakhah: Jewish Law, we read that: "Many of these 613 mitzvot <commandments> cannot be observed at this time for various reasons. For example, a large portion of the laws relate to sacrifices and offerings, which can only be made in the Temple, and which does not exist today. Some of the laws relate to the theocratic state of Israel, its king, its supreme court, and its system of justice, and cannot be observed because the theocratic state of Israel does not exist today. In addition, some laws do not apply to all people or places. Agricultural laws only apply within the state of Israel, and certain laws only apply to kohanim or Levites." In other words, changed circumstances have forced them to exclude (subtract) over HALF of the commandments of Torah from the practice of their religion!

Likewise, many Christians have divided Torah into three different types of commandments (Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial). Now, although such categories can help us to better understand this legislation, we must not forget that Scripture itself does NOT divide the various commandments into these categories - some of us do this. Once again, Scripture sees this body of legislation as a comprehensive whole. Hence, the question naturally arises: "Why would these folks seek to divide these commandments into various categories?" I would say that, more often than not, the obvious answer to that question is found in their desire to make some of the 613 commandments binding on Christians, while simultaneously trying to justify excluding others! Of course, with most of the Christians who pursue this framework, the category which they most often want to preserve is the "Moral" one. They reason that Jesus has fulfilled the other two categories, and that this category represents those "universal" aspects of the legislation. By now, the problem with this approach should be apparent to everyone. It effectively subtracts some of the individual commandments from that body of legislation!

On the other hand, Jesus of Nazareth taught his disciples that this entire body of legislation was comprehend by just two of those 613 commandments. He said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40, ESV) In other words, these are those "universal" principles which Torah was based upon, and those are the principles which underpinned ALL iterations/versions of God's Law. Hence, these two commandments represent the version of God's Law which Christians should strive to obey, NOT the version or iteration given to Moses and addressed to the people of Israel! Torah literally means "instruction" in Hebrew. Jesus came to this earth to fulfill Torah (Matthew 5:17), and he did just that. Afterwards, he commissioned his disciples to instruct the people of the earth to follow the instructions which he had committed to them during his earthly ministry (Matthew 28:19-20). Interested in reading a summary of those instructions? If you are, read Christ's Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7).