Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part V

As we proceed through the Old Testament in the reading plan, all of Genesis and the first half of Exodus are narrative. These are the stories of great pathos and the stuff of movies! When we hit Exodus 20 and the giving of the 10 Commandments, much of the remainder is what is known broadly as “the Law.” 

 #1 We need to start by defining our terms when we think about “the Law.” This concept is used to describe several different things, so we need to understand its different meanings. The various definitions are: 1) it is the 613 commandments as tallied by Jewish scholars; 2) it is the five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy; 3) it is the theology of the Old Testament; and 4) it can also refer to how the Jewish religious leaders at the time of Jesus and the early church interpreted and sometimes mis-interpreted the Law as mentioned in the first sense previously. When we are reading through Exodus and eventually Leviticus and so forth, we are largely thinking of meaning 1 and 3. 

#2 What are the Laws in the 613-commandment sense? They fall into three broad categories: moral law, civil law, and ritual law. For current day Jewish people, the ritual laws that pertain to Temple sacrifice are moot since as there is no longer a Temple and the civil laws don’t apply since whatever country a Jewish person lives in has its civil laws. The Jewish people who are very committed still observe some of the ritual laws. And, of course, the moral law still applies. Likewise, as Christians, the moral law is authoritative since they are largely restated in some form or another in the New Testament while the civil law and ritual law don’t apply. 

#3 What is the purpose of the Law? There are a number of them: 1) they make clear the the holiness of God; 2) they describe the provision of God for restoration and forgiveness when we inevitably fail to live up to the standards set by God; and 3) they point toward Jesus. 

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!