Many look for ways to interpret God’s laws as harsh or irrelevant. Let us be careful not to begin with a biased opinion based on what is taught by man about God’s law. Instead, let us read God’s word to understand what He shows us about His law. The law and commands of God are based on loving God and loving others.
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He [Jesus] said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
The law of God is not bondage from which we must be set free. May it never be. The law is perfect. It sets us free from sin!
7The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
44So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
Obeying God’s law leads to blessing; rebelling against it to a curse. The law is provided for our benefit, to guide us in the right ways… not as bondage!
26“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.
Let us look at an example in Exodus 21. God spoke to His people about slavery. This scripture is often misunderstood. We think of slavery as cruel and forced bondage without hope. The slavery we are familiar with in the United States is different than that from Israel’s past. Without dwelling on that detailed study here… just watch how God’s focus is protecting the rights of those who may be subjected to slavery. God was providing protection and a path to freedom, if desired. God’s law provided amazing consideration for how to treat slaves for their protection.
1“Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:
2“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3“If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4“If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. 5“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7“If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do. 8“If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her. 9“If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10“If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. 11“If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
God’s law was not telling people to have slaves, but protecting and caring for those individuals who may find themselves in that situation. Providing hope and a path to freedom and care for their families. God’s law showed the Israelites how to love one another in that circumstance.
Let us prayerfully reflect on the love of God and love of others that is the solid foundation of all of God’s laws and commands. Let us not be quick to discard His law, but rather seek to understand it in proper context.
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