BIBLE INSIGHT

How to Study the Law of Moses

In their book How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Fee and Stuart bring to light quite a few good ideas on how to study the Law of Moses (pp. 149-164). We will summarize many of them below.

God tested the loyalty of the Israelites by making them responsible for over 600 commandments. Most of laws can be found beginning in Exodus 20 and ending with Deuteronomy 33. However, when referencing "The Law" most writers (including Joshua) mean the first five books of the Old Testament (Josh. 1:8). Furthermore the words of Jesus and Paul indicate that "The Law" can be used to represent the entire Old Testament (Mt. 5:17,18; Lk. 16:17; Titus 3:9).

Christians and The Law

From our point of view the most difficult question to answer is: do these legal formulations apply to us? The New Testament Christian is not expected to keep the Old Law. Yet Christ and the Apostles emphasize the importance of "the Old Law" on many occasions (Mt. 5:18, etc.). Fee and Stuart suggest the following six guidelines to help understand what obligation (if any) we have to the Old Law.

• The Old Testament Law is a covenant. A covenant is a binding contract between two parties. In the case of the Old Law, the two parties were God and the children of Israel. Note as you study the Old Covenant how God followed the traditional format of preamble (identifying the parties to the agreement), prologue (a brief history of the connection between the parties), stipulations (the individual laws), witnesses (those who will enforce the covenant), sanctions (blessing and curses used as incentives for keeping the covenant), and document clause (a provision for a regular review of the covenant to keep it in the forefront of the minds of the parties involved).
• The Old Testament is not our testament. Actually, none of the old covenant is binding on us today unless it is renewed in the "New Covenant." God still expects his people to remain loyal to Him, but the New Testament has made new stipulations as to how that loyalty is to be shown and maintained.
• It is clear that many stipulations of the Old Covenant have not been renewed in the New Covenant. Jesus fulfilled the Old Law and gave a New Law of love.
• Part of the Old Covenant is renewed in the New Covenant. All of the Ten Commandments except the Sabbath Law are renewed under the New Covenant as well as other aspects of the ethical law. Please note that none of the ritual law is renewed.
• All of the Old Testament law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us. The Bible contains many commands that God wants us to know about even though He does not expect us to obey them (i.e. Mt. 11:4). And so it is with the Old Testament.
• Only that which is explicitly renewed from the Old Testament can be considered as the "Law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2) Note the two great laws from Deut 6:5 and Lev. 19:18.

Some Dos and Don'ts

The following table summarizes the principles to keep in mind when studying the Old Law.

The Leonid Meteor Shower by Jim Jonas (jjbogator@aol.com)

"Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6:16).

In mid-November, the orbit of the earth crossed the debris trail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Most of the comet fragments were about the size of a grain of rice, but traveling at an incredible 45 miles per second. As they slammed into the earth's atmosphere, friction rapidly turned the particles into flaming missiles. The result: a meteor shower that illuminated the heavens with dazzling streaks of color.

If it were not for the protective layer of the earth's atmosphere, our beautiful planet would be a desolate as the Moon. Air doesn't seem like much protection. It is relatively thin; you can't see it; and it seems rather flimsy and porous. In fact, we don't give air much thought as we go about our daily activities. Yet it is there, doing the job that God assigned it. It is a shield to guard life from the dangerous forces of space, like meteors, harmful rays and other harmful elements.

The above quotation from Ephesians concerns the armor God has provided to Christians. Paul says that there are spiritual forces at work in this world that are intent on destroying us: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). We should thus "put on the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).

Faith is a crucial piece of that armor. It is not enough just to believe that God exists; we must be confident of His goodness, kindness, patience, love and personal interest in us. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Thus, when the fiery darts of hatred, injustice, failure, guilt, uncertainty and temptation are hurled against us, that protective faith swallows up the threats, even as earth's atmosphere does meteors. We may get singed here or there, but we are shielded from heavy impacts that blast craters in our soul.

Our faith must be flexible enough to allow us to enjoy the pleasures and blessings of life ordained by God, adapt to cultures and customs of others in order to teach them and to help those who have been injured by Satan. Genuine, mature faith becomes such a part of us that we don't even notice it, like the air that surrounds us and sustains us. But it is there, doing its job of protecting our soul from Satan's fiery darts.

Short Exhort - Written and/or Compiled by David J. Riggs (http://www.public.usit.net/driggs/)

"...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Tim. 3:15)

There is a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia named, "Church of God Grill." Someone called and asked about their unusual name and the reply was, "We had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. People liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church service. After a while, we just closed down the church altogether, and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that's 'Church of God Grill.'"

This incident is similar to many congregations and denominations that have over time drifted from their original purpose. Let us, as a church of our Lord, continue to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Let us continue to uphold, defend, and proclaim the truth that souls might be saved.

MONTHLY BIBLE READING: Genesis 37-50

GOSPEL MEETING: Alan Irwin will be presenting a series of sermons each evening July 14-19, Sunday at 6:00 PM, each weeknight at 7:00 PM.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
BIBLE INSIGHT is published for the members of, and visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church address or via e-mail: dillinc@yahoo.com