ost civilized cultures have laws and, perhaps not surprisingly, the essences of those laws are similar. In western cultures our laws have been predominately influenced by Biblical laws, however, we could say the same for many eastern societies as well. The Laws that were given to Moses from God are perhaps the most comprehensive list of guidelines, decrees, penalties and safeguards ever written in the ancient world. They cover the basic and international laws for the protection of private property, extra-marital sex, murder, giving false testimony and honoring parents. On top of these are laws covering all manner of circumstances such as social responsibilities, human rights, loaning of money, diet, avoiding diseases, and unlawful sexual practices. In total the Jews were given over six hundred laws. Most of these laws could apply to almost any group of people and would constitute a sound basis for establishing a well functioning community.
However, there is a large body of the laws givenby God which have a very specific function. These laws are connected to the issue of sin, that is wrong motives, thoughts and actions against the holiness of God. God chose the nation of Israel to make Himself known to the world through them. An important part of that process lies in the fact that the laws of God reveal what God is like. The law, then, is part of the self-disclosure or revelation of God’s character. When we examine the most well known of the Jewish law, the Ten Commandments, we can see our point illustrated. Here are the Ten Commandments in brief.
1. Have no other gods but the Lord.
2. Do not make idols and worship them.
3. Do not misuse the name of the Lord. E.g. “Oh my God”
4. Keep the Sabbath day.
5. Honour your father and mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not give false testimony.
10. Do not covet (do not earnestly desire or lust after) anything belonging to another person.
The first commandment reveals God’s desire for our affection and allegiance. God created us for intimate relationship with Him. He wants to be number one in our lives. God wants us to love and worship Him, rather than our being in love with money, material possessions and ambitions. Those things will not prepare us for sharing eternity with Him.
The second commandment is related to the first, however, it includes those things which have demonic origins. Don’t make idols. In days past people would worship all number of idols and false gods, indeed many still do. Sometimes demonic entities pose as gods and demand worship in exchange for protection or reward. In the modern world people have other forms of idolatry, such as their ideals. Militant Communists have created a religion of an ideology;
some scientific atheists do the same. Post-modernists worship and cherish their plurality and some people pay homage to alcohol, drugs and sex. Anything that demands our attention over and against God’s ideals is an idol.
The third commandment is about respecting God’s name and many cultures abuse this. The fourth is about taking time to worship the one who gave us life. God wants us to stop relentlessly pursuing money, power, etc., and spend time with Him. The Sabbath regulation was for this purpose. The other commandments are mostly self explanatory, but again, all show us what God is not like, and also reveal some of the fundamental ways which people sin against God’s holiness.
The tenth commandment is interesting. It is about coveting and jealousy. It is a sin against God to lust after someone else’s spouse, or to jealously desire their property, their popularity or position in life. It is the opposite of the commandment “love your neighbour as yourself.” This particular sin leads to a host of others, such as adultery, murder, stealing, corruption, extortion, etc., and yet most of humanity is guilty of it.
God then gave the Jews a system of ceremonial worship and sacrifice in order to deal with
issues of sin, guilt, forgiveness and purification. He commanded them to make a large tent with many sections, a small prototype of what later became the
magnificent Jerusalem temple. He also commanded them to make an exquisitely decorated box called the Ark of the Covenant1 and within this box His presence dwelt, alongside the Ten Commandments and
other items. After the Ark was finished and placed within the most holy and exclusive area in the temple tent, no human hand could touch it without dying. However, the Ark could be carried in public with the aid of rings along the sides in which were placed long poles. Whenever Israel carried the Ark into battle they were victorious.
God then set aside one of the twelve tribes of Israel to serve as priests in the temple and to administer the Laws. These were the tribe of Levites. They were in charge of administering the intricate system of sacrifices for the cleansing of sins, and admin- istering justice to convicted criminals. All of these laws, commandments and regulations, make up what we are referring to as the Covenant in the Law.
Whenever God enters into a covenant, that covenant is sealed in blood. A covenant is like a contract; however, the breaking of a covenant has consequences of life and death. Life and blood are synonymous in Scripture, and when a covenant is sealed in blood, the breaking of the covenant is the forfeiting of one’s life. In the case of marriage, for example, this covenant is sealed in the bride’s blood on the wedding night. God has designed a woman’s body specifically to show the sacredness of the marriage covenant, and under the Covenant we are examining, the penalty for breaking the marriage vow through adultery, was death to both parties.
After the laws were read to them the Israelite community entered into a covenant with God. They agreed to obey all of His commandments and laws. Moses sprinkled blood over the entire community as a sign and seal of the covenant, and all of the males were circumcised as a physical sign of the covenant. This covenant promised prosperity, fertility, victory over enemies, food, freedom from disease and overall blessings in all areas of life. However, this covenant had a little word which makes it differ from the New Covenant which would come over a thousand years later. That word is “if”. The blessings of the covenant were conditional. “If” the Jews obeyed they would be blessed, but “if” they turned to the worship of false gods and committing the evil practices of other nations, then the blessings would turn to curses in order to turn them around.
Unfortunately, Israel couldn’t keep the covenant. Like all people, they sinned and it was for dealing with sin that God set up the sacrificial system. One particular way of understanding sin is the concept of missing the mark. Imagine an archer deliberately missing his target and you have an analogy of sin. He knows where he should aim, but temptation draws his aim away from the true mark. Through the temple sacrifices a person could receive atonement for sin. Basically, this meant that the crime could be forgiven through a compensation being made. Sin brings with it two things; a penalty and a consequence. Many sins carried a penalty of death, such as adultery and striking one’s parent, whereas other sins carried a lesser penalty that could be forgiven through the offering of a sacrifice.
The consequences of sins vary, but one thing they all have in common, and that is a separation from the holiness of God. God’s nature cannot tolerate sin, cannot compromise with sin. Even the smallest sin separates us from a perfect and holy God; therefore, in order for relationship to be restored, a suitable atonement must be made. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death. There are two meanings to this. The first is obvious, a physical death which we are all experiencing as our bodies decay. The second is a spiritual death, a separation from God. God’s holiness demands perfect justice. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life. When death is caused through sin, a life is needed to restore the person to God. One cannot even offer one’s own life as an atonement, as our life is imperfect and therefore unsuitable as a sacrifice.
Here again I am introducing God’s plan of salvation, His signposts to Christ. Every year, a person was commanded to choose a lamb, a perfect lamb without any blemish or spots. They would bring the animal to the entrance of the temple. A ceremony would be performed in which the guilty person would hold onto the head of the lamb as the priest killed it by cutting its throat. The lamb was a substitute; it gave its life on behalf of the guilty party. The person continued to hold its head while its lifeblood flowed out. The blood would get onto the person and that blood, that life, would cover their sins. One doesn’t need to be a genius to understand that this signpost also points to Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God.
Under the Old Covenant a person performed thissacrifice every year, but the sacrifice was a signpost to the future, and although God forgave the person’s sins, the blood of an animal could never equal that of a human being to accomplish perfection in that person. Under the New Covenant, which was to be established through the death of Christ, a person
would symbolically offer by faith, Jesus as a sacrifice for their sin, for their sin as an individual, and then God would declare that person perfect forever. There
would be no more need of sacrifice year after year, and what is most important, once the person was perfected through the blood of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God could enter that person and dwell within them, giving them both the power and will to live for God. The establishment of this covenant was still about 1,300 years away, and the Lord had much to prepare before He would enter into this world and give His life as the Lamb of God. The Jews as a nation would also continue to serve as an example, and often as an example of what not to do. They were about to do exactly that and to pay the ultimate consequence for their sin.