Week of May 28: The Old Testament: Torah; What is the Law?
This week we will be exploring the significance and role of the Old Testament law, including the Ten Commandments. The “law” is found in the first five books of the Bible, also called the Torah. According to Judaism 101, this is a limited meaning of the word. The word we translate “law” is much more than just rules or regulations. It gives an image of how to have a right relationship with God including living right, loving him, finding forgiveness and restoration. For this week we are focusing on the law found in the first five books of the Bible, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These first five books of the Bible reveal God’s nature, teach us the history of his purpose and relationship with humankind, and establish covenants with his people. These covenants, which could also be called agreements or even legal contracts, set up the expectations that God had for his people, but also gave reassurance that he was their God and would remain so. God had made a covenant with Abraham to make a nation from his line that would be God’s chosen people. He had promised to bless them and be with them, and in return they would follow him and bless others. God’s people were “blessed to be a blessing.” These people came to be known as the Israelites. Through Moses, God gave his law to the Israelites, and established how to live as his people. As you go through the entries this week, we hope you engage with us by posting comments or questions because we would love to hear your thoughts as well!!
(Val)
Monday, May 29
(Val)
In this third chapter of Exodus, Moses is given a mission. He also meets God personally for the first time. What a crazy experience, to come upon a burning bush and have a voice come out of it, telling you he was God! Moses ended up having many of these types of experiences with God! But at this first meeting, Moses needed to know who God was, needed to know his name, so he could convince the Israelites he wasn’t making stuff up. God told him his name was YHWH, or Yahweh, which was translated in the Bible to be “I am who I am” (or “I will be what I will be”). This name revealed the nature of God. According to an article on Bible Study Tools by Jenna Martin, there are seven meanings or attributes this name reveals: God is self existent and eternal; he is a relational God; he is with us; he is unchanging; he is holy, and wholly other than us; he keeps his covenant with us; he is full of mystery, but worth seeking. In thinking about these meanings, I find the last one on the list really speaks to me. God is a mystery–I think about how many times in my life I have asked, “Why, God, why?” or “What are you doing, God?” Yet, as I walk with him and seek him, I find that the answers, while often not forthcoming, don’t really matter. It is about trusting him, having faith that he is true to his word, and believing he loves me and has my best at heart no matter what is going on around me. I think about the great men of faith that we read about: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, and so many more. Each of them met God, had to trust him and step out in faith to follow him, and had to seek his face for answers or guidance. They all found that God was true to his word and kept his covenant with them. Since he is unchanging, we can take heart knowing that he will do the same for us.
While the passage from Jeremiah 29 was a direct message from God to the prophet Jeremiah for the people who were taken captive into Babylon, this passage reveals God’s relational nature towards his people, both past and present. We may not be physically exiled to a foreign land, but we are exiled spiritually until we meet God, like Moses did. However, God is faithful to reveal himself to us as we seek to know him. How has God revealed his nature to you? What has he revealed to you about his nature?
Like Moses, God has plans for us that we may not even be able to imagine but first, we need to seek him and be willing to follow what he shows us. I have found that often God’s plans for me are scary at first. He usually asks me to do things I am not comfortable with, or that seem a bit sketchy to my human mind! For example, in the early 1990s, Chuck and I were living in Los Angeles County, and were young parents of four young children. Chuck was teaching, coaching, and working a night job at a grocery store to support our family so I could stay home and raise our kids. We had felt for a few years that God was calling us to the Pacific Northwest. We didn’t know why, but we both felt the pull. We visited relatives and friends in various parts of Oregon and Washington, and found that it felt like home more and more each time we visited. However, we didn’t feel we could move until we had certain things nailed down, like a job and a home. Yet, that was not God’s plan. We prayed for more than a year about this move, and Chuck applied for numerous teaching jobs all over the PNW, but to no avail. Then one day, he came home from school and said that God had spoken to him and we were supposed to just trust him and go. Uh…what?! We continued to pray, sought counsel from a trusted Christian friend, and prepared to move our family to the great unknown. My parents had moved to the Tri-Cities about two years earlier, so they were a natural base for us. Some people thought we were crazy, and even told us we would be cursed if we left (yes, really), but we had sought the Lord, had prayed without ceasing, and trusted that God would do what he promised. Looking back, I still can’t believe at times that we did this, but we moved to Washington without a solid plan other than following by faith. Sure enough, once there, God provided everything we needed, and we have lived here since 1993. Have you ever felt called by God to step out in faith? What scary thing has God asked you to do? What was the result of doing that thing, even though it was scary?
Like Moses, we may not realize the long-term outcome of obedience to God, but we may get a glimpse of the purpose of what God asked of us. When have you gotten a glimpse of God’s purpose in something you were asked to do or experienced? What was the effect on your faith?
Tuesday, May 30
(Maria)
We seem to live in a time of skimming and scrolling over information. It’s more of a rarity for us to dig in and dwell on, or spend time thinking about, one particular topic for long. When was the last time that you reflected and thought about the 10 Commandments, not just skimming over them, but taking the time to consider the different commands? At the heart of the commandments, God is concerned with relationships. First, our relationship to Him, and second, our relationships with each other. The whole foundation of our existence, of the world throughout history, what matters is how we relate to God and others. Dwelling on that thought leaves me a bit stunned. What do I focus on most days? A lot of tasks, a lot of ‘to-dos’, things that would often seem important–my job, cooking dinner, kids’ homework, appointments, getting the car washed, what we’re going to do on the weekend, and things of that sort. In conversations I’ve had in small groups and with friends about this, I have realized the enemy purposely wants us to stay busy so that we don’t focus on what is important. In my head sometimes I even hear the phrase over and over, “Busy, busy, busy…” Like Martha in the Bible, we might feel like we’re doing the right things by being so busy, but maybe we are missing out on the key thing. Let’s look at the commandments as a way of dwelling in the presence of God and each other; the commandments show us how to be in relationship with God and one another.
If you could categorize the commandments, what would you notice that they have in common? Are they random or do they have some continuity? Based on any categories that you noticed, what would it seem that God is concerned with?
Take a moment and try to look at them in their own context. If God took interest in a group of people and said, “Here’s how I want you to live”, what do these commands show us that God was interested in or concerned with in regards to humanity?
We all know we shouldn’t murder, steal, worship idols, etc. Beyond these very basic facts, however, what do the Commandments tell us about living in relationship with God and others?
Wednesday, May 31st
(Maria)
Last week Val brought in Psalm 119 in talking about the totality of the Bible. Psalm 119 is a long Psalm that is called a Love Poem to God’s Law. Honestly, any time I have read Psalms that talk about love for the law I’ve been a bit perplexed. How can people LOVE the law? Maybe I’m just the kind of person who sometimes doesn’t give the law much thought. Or maybe I’m like a character in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. When talking about the pirate code, Captain Barbosa says, “...the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.” What a contrast. On the one hand, a deep love for the law and on the other a casual, lack of concern for the law. Which attitude do we have? Honestly, sometimes I have a bit more of a casual attitude towards ‘the law’. This concerns me, because the first five books of the Bible deal with law. The 10 commandments are considered foundational. In addition, Psalm 119 has 176 verses that are a proclamation of love for the law. This leads me to think my attitude shouldn’t be so casual.
Why was the law so meaningful to the people of Israel? I think it’s helpful to understand this so that we can value the law. If you read Exodus 19, you see that God spoke to the people through Moses. Moses brought the word of God to the people. The people were afraid to hear from God and many times in Exodus 20, it is stated that the people “stayed at a distance” and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” The people had an understanding of the gravity and power of hearing from God. They clearly knew, in first-person, the reality that God’s words could destroy them, but God was engaging them in a covenant and had delivered them from Egypt. God never said, “These are some guidelines you should follow.” Leviticus 26 shows us some very clear instructions about the benefits that come from obeying and the drawbacks of disobeying God’s commands (not guidelines or suggestions). How can we apply those laws to our lives today? Are they still relevant?
Aside from the reverent fear or awe that the law can inspire, why else does the law matter? In Psalm 119:120 the psalmist states, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” Perhaps I should give it some more regard and in turn I will have better understanding. What else does the psalmist find in his love for the law?
Over the past couple of weeks I have picked up my old NIV Student Bible. It has a section in it that provides insight on Psalm 119 stating that, “God’s laws channel God’s love into the poet’s life. They protect him from doing wrong, give him wisdom to understand his situation. They make new life flow into him. No wonder he writes with such thankfulness. In God’s word he finds more than direction. He finds God himself.” How can you and I embrace this same love for God’s law? Stop and take a closer look at the Commandments and ask yourself how much do they speak to you. What would learning to love them mean to you?
Thursday, June 1
(Aaron)
What is the role of the Jewish law for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and particularly for those who come from outside the Jewish faith? This question was challenging for the early Christian church. One of the earliest epistles, from Paul to the church in Galatia, addresses the mis-application of the law. A faction within the church (referred to by later scholars as the Judiaizers) was trying to enforce the entire Jewish law on converts to Christianity. Circumcision, the external sign of Judaism, became the pivotal issue in this struggle. Paul addresses the issue of circumcision both literally (sometimes graphically) and symbolically as representing the Jewish law as a whole.
Why is Paul so emphatically against the imposition of law and circumcision upon followers of Christ? What is the fundamental danger that he is trying to warn against?
While we are held to the higher standard of living “by the Spirit,” can the law continue to inform and guide (see the NET footnote for v. 3:24) the way that we act toward God and others?
Reflecting on Memorial Day, we are the benefactors of those who have given their lives for our freedom. While it is Jesus who ultimately sets us free from sin and death, the modern Western world also affords a historically uncommon degree of freedom in how we live and worship – or whether we worship at all. How can we use this blessing of freedom to be a blessing to others?
Friday, June 2
(Val)
The Ten Commandments are taught in church from the time we are very young, continuing throughout our lives. Most people who have spent any time in church can list the Ten Commandments by rote. Yet, these commandments cannot save us–only by accepting Jesus’ forgiveness for our sins can that happen. In Romans 8, we are reminded that Jesus did what the law could not do–give us a life in the Spirit free from condemnation. While Jesus' own sacrifice, death, and resurrection fulfilled the Mosaic Law and the need for blood sacrifice, the Ten Commandments remain an important moral guide for Christians as we live out the law of Christ to love the Lord with all our being, and our neighbors as ourselves.
There is a lot of back and forth about Old Testament Law, with many views of how it should or should not affect the way we live our lives as Christians. What seems to make sense is that the Mosaic Law had important purposes, among which are providing a stronger connection to God, giving us a moral code to live by, revealing our need for a Savior, and pointing the way to Jesus as the Messiah. When Jesus came, he said he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. One common take on this is that Jesus perfectly followed the Law and was the perfect sacrifice needed for humanity to be able to live under the new covenant of grace while giving us direct access to God through him. This also opened the door to non-Jews to become part of God’s family. As part of his family, how does this relationship with him help us lead moral lives? Why is it important to live morally, even when no one is looking? What benefits have you seen in your own life as you live morally? How does living a moral life relate to loving God?
In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” While the Old Testament Law had important purposes, it was a heavy burden in many ways. No human could follow every single word of it successfully.
Yet, Jesus promised that his burden is light. What are some burdens you carry now that you could exchange for that light load? Is there a time in the past that you didn’t think you could handle the load, and God intervened in your circumstances? How did he do that and what was the result?
Saturday, June 3
(Val)
I think the beauty of studying the Law of Moses is that we learn who God is and how much he yearns for us to be in relationship with him. Another benefit is that we see that while the law was established to create relationships with God and others, give guidelines to live by, and to teach humans how and why to worship God, in the end it could not do all that needed to be done. Because of that, it also revealed the need for a Savior. Thank God for the gift of Jesus!! He did all that the Law could not. He made a way for us to come to the throne of God, to seek mercy and grace in our sin, and to be able to have a personal relationship with our Creator.
In thinking about this portion of the passage, Hebrews 3:1-6, it seems that these verses address the importance of Moses and his obedience to God. Through Moses, God gave the Law that our faith was founded on, that helps us understand who God is, and that reveals our need for Jesus. It also shows us that while Moses was an important and vital part of God’s plan for humankind, Jesus was and is the one who ultimately fulfilled the law and is now the Son over the house, meaning us. Because of this, we can approach God’s throne with confidence that our sins are forgiven and he has given us life. We need to live in this confidence! What do you think about this? How confident are you in your relationship with God? Is there an area where you lack confidence in these promises? If so, what is it? What do you think you can do to change this lack of confidence in God’s promises to you?
I think I have mentioned before that I make connections between what I read in the Bible to other things in life to create understanding for myself. A picture came to me while reading a portion of the passage in Hebrews 4:12-16, where it says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” I thought of a time I was watching a courtroom drama (which I will not name 🙂) where the prosecutor is questioning the accused and they claim the 5th amendment so they don’t self-incriminate. It made me think of going before God’s throne on the day of my judgment, and the evidence of my life is laid out–all my failures and sin for all to see. Then, I am asked for an account of my failings. I simply say, “Jesus paid for those sins, and I am no longer guilty. I plead his sacrifice as my covering!” We truly are redeemed when we accept Jesus and follow him. We are not outcasts nor are we cast out. This is our confidence. Jesus wiped out our sin and our shame. We no longer live under the burden of what the law could not do–because Jesus paid it all. We can’t earn it, we don’t deserve it, but we can rejoice in this fact! Reflect on what that truth means for your life. How are you living your life–as an outcast or a child of God? If you still feel like an outcast, what might you need to live in the confidence you should have as a child of the King? You are not alone–let us know how we can help.