Israels Civil Laws Also Reveal The Moral Law Of God
Murder
Striking or cursing a parent
Kidnapping
Failure to lock up a dangerous animal that results in someones death
Sorcery and Witchcraft
Bestiality
Working on the Sabbath
Incest
Adultery
Homosexual acts
Refusal to obey a decision of a judge or priest
Perjury in capital cases
A woman falsely claiming to be a virgin before marriage
Sexual relations between a woman pledged to be married and a man other than her husband to be
Rebellion against parents
But If We Follow The Moral Law Dont We Have To Follow The Punishments
In many cases the punishments prescribed for these violations of moral law fell to the civil government of Israel as a theocracy . The theocracy of Israel is now gone. We live under our various governments in the nations of the world today and the Church is now a group called out from every tribe and nation of the world. If our various governments wanted to adopt some of Israels punishments for laws that would be within their God given power to do so. As individual Christians, or even as families and churches we do not have the right to execute these punishments but that does not mean we cannot uphold the moral law found in these civil laws.
Spiritual Law #: You Reap What You Sow
Youve probably heard some version of this spiritual law: What goes around, comes around.You get out what you put in.Chickens come home to roost. But no matter how you say it, the underlying message is still the same.
Heres how God inspired the apostle Paul to put it:
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap .
One of Jobs friends remarked, Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same . Through Hosea, God told Israel, Sow for yourselves righteousness reap in mercy break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies .
Its easy to picture God with His hand hovering over a big red button labeled SMITEjust waiting for us to mess up so He can rain down punishment from the great beyond. But the fact is, its rarely God who punishes us. Most of the time, we punish ourselves. The laws established by God are not arbitrary they serve to protect us from decisions and actions that would otherwise lead to painful consequences for ourselves and others.
Jesus asked, Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit . It is completely impossible to grow something good from a seed of wickedness.
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Works In Which The Number Of Commandments Is Not 613
- Sefer Yereim by Eliezer ben Samuel lists only 417 commandments .
- Menahem Recanati, in his book Taamei haMitzvot, counted 250 positive and 361 negative commandments, for a total of 611. These 611 include the two commandments of Exodus 20:2, indicating that this list is incompatible with the approach of R’ Hamnuna in the Talmud .
- Sefer Mitzvoth Katan, by Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil, listed 320 commandments applicable nowadays. To reach a total of 613, one would have to add 293 commandments applicable only while the Temple stood. As the number of Temple-only commandments appears to be much lower than 293 , it seems that the overall count of commandments would likely be lower than 613.
- According to Dr. Asael Ben-Or, Gersonides‘ commentary to the Torah indicates that he counted a total of 513 commandments.
What Is The Difference Between The Torah And The Bible
The main difference between the Hebrew Bible and Torah is that the Hebrew bible is the first sacred book of the Jewish people. … The Torah is one of the sections of the Hebrew Bible, and it is again divided into five divisions. The Torah contains Numbers, Exodus, Leviticus, Genesis, and Deuteronomy.
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What Are The 10 Laws Of Judaism
Judaism’s View Of Idolatry
Judaism had historically stood out from other religions in the ancient world because of its exclusive monotheism. According to Jewish theology, idolatry is the ultimate betrayal of God’s relationship with humanity. It is also the ultimate metaphysical error. Idolatry was also reckoned as avodah zarah . Jewish identity in the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations was shaped by the rejection of idolatry. The strict avoidance of idolatry affected Jewish daily life in terms of cuisine, coinage, socialisations and participation in games. Jewish law’s strict prohibition of idolatry meant that Jewish movements through areas containing images were inhibited. By the first century CE, Jews had responded to the idolatry of non-Jews through satire and polemics. Jewish writers used the works of their own scriptures as well as the works of Greek philosophers to denounce idolatry. While Judaism has never sought to impose the faith on non-Jews, it does require the elimination of idolatry from the world. According to Maimonides, Moses was ordered to compel all the world to accept the Noahide laws and end idolatry. The question of idolatry was a sensitive one, because idolatrous actions had brought destruction in the wilderness, according to the scriptures. Maimonides argues that the Torah’s rules for ritual sacrifices are intended to help wean the Jewish People away from idolatry.
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The Moral Law In The Bible And The Ceremonial Law
by Thomson Dablemond | Sep 22, 2018 | Religion |
How to define the ceremonial law in the Bible? What was it used for? What is the meaning of the moral law in the Bible? What was the purpose of the ceremonial law? What is moral law? How to distinguish between the ceremonial law and the moral law in the Bible? Learn everything about the difference between the ceremonial law and the moral law in the Bible, in this article that preacher Thomson Dablemond offers you.
The laws in the Bible, there are some. There is so much law in the Bible that it is often difficult to know how to do things in the Bible. It is on this subject that wants to overcome this article. In the Bible, especially in the Scriptures , we distinguish different types of laws.
What Is A Law
How does man define the law? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines law as:
1. the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties
2. a statement of fact, deduced from observation, to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present
3. the body of divine commandments as expressed in the Bible or other religious texts.
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Clean And Unclean Foods In The Bible
Many today regard the law of clean and unclean animals as an Old Covenant law that was done away with when Christ was nailed to the cross. Modern Christianity teaches it as a Jewish tradition, antiquated and no longer necessary. Yet the first mention of this law was almost 1,000 years prior to its codification to the Israelites in Leviticus 11 .
The first mentions of this law are in Genesis 6:19 7:2, 8 and 8:20. To put it plainly, this law long predates the Old Covenant! Noah was given clear instructions to set apart a different number of clean animals than unclean animals , just as Noah and his family were set apart by God from the wicked generation that He would destroy with the Flood. But why would God do this?
To begin with, God sets apart what is holyHe defines what is acceptable and righteous, not man. God then tells His people that they are to be holy . Therefore we must strictly avoid anything that would contaminate us, either physically or spiritually . This is a law that, like marriage, is still in effect today. Read more about it in our article Clean and Unclean Animals: Does God Care What Meats We Eat?
What Are The 7 Laws Of Moses
The Seven Laws of Noah include prohibitions against worshipping idols, cursing God, murder, adultery and sexual immorality, theft, eating flesh torn from a living animal, as well as the obligation to establish courts of justice.
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Civil Laws In The Bible
Many laws were given to allow the proper functioning of a physical nation. These national laws and punishments cannot be fully implemented or enforced outside of a nation under Gods control.
Since Christians are not of the world and its governments, and Jesus Christ said My kingdom is not of this world , Christians do not seek to apply the letter of civil laws about tribal inheritances, temple taxes, punishments for crimes, etc. God has delegated civil authority to the governments of this world .
However, Christians do seek to understand the purpose and spirit of the civil laws of the Bible.
Why Was The Law Given To Israel
The Tôrh, including the Ten Commandments, was given to Israel to regulate their society for a specific period of time, namely from the time of their acceptance of the Sinaitic Code until the coming of Jesus Christ. These are the commandments the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites31 .
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Two Ways Moral Laws Are Presented In The Old Testament
Moral laws in the Old Testament are presented in one of two ways. They are either a positive or negative command that stands alone like do this or dont do that or they are sometimes found inside civil laws like if you do this then the punishment or restitution for doing that is this.
Now we will look at several moral laws that stand on their own and also some moral laws which are contained in civil laws to illustrate how we can search out and find the moral law of God in the Old Testament.
Archaeological And Historical Research
Biblical archaeology is the archaeology that relates to and sheds light upon the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures . It is used to help determine the lifestyle and practices of people living in biblical times. There are a wide range of interpretations in the field of biblical archaeology. One broad division includes biblical maximalism which generally takes the view that most of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible is based on history although it is presented through the religious viewpoint of its time. It is considered to be the opposite of biblical minimalism which considers the Bible to be a purely post-exilic composition. Even among those scholars who adhere to biblical minimalism, the Bible is a historical document containing first-hand information on the Hellenistic and Roman eras, and there is universal scholarly consensus that the events of the 6th century BCE Babylonian captivity have a basis in history.
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Gods Law And Its Applications
Deuteronomy continues with a second speech containing the main body of the book. This section centers on Gods covenant with Israel, especially the law, or principles and rules by which Israel should live. After a narrative introduction , the speech itself consists of three parts. In the first part, Moses expounds the Ten Commandments . In the second part, he describes in detail the statutes and ordinances that Israel is to follow . In the third part, Moses describes the blessings Israel will experience if they keep the covenant, and the curses that will destroy them if they do not . The second speech thus has the pattern of first giving the larger, governing principles , then the specific rules , and then the consequences for obedience or disobedience .
The passage is virtually identical to Exodus 20:1-17grammatical variations asideexcept for some differences in the fourth , fifth , and tenth commandments. Intriguingly, the variations in these commandments specifically address work. We will repeat the commentary from Exodus and Work here, with additions exploring the variations between the Exodus and Deuteronomy accounts.
In the realm of work, this means that we are not to let work or its requirements and fruits displace God as our most important concern in life. Never allow anyone or anything to threaten Gods central place in your life, as David Gill puts it.
The Prophets And The Law
The next section of books is the fifteen books of the prophets. They reflect back on the story of the Torah and the historical books , looking at how Israel was disobedient in the past and in the prophets own days. The prophets saw that Moses was right: people needed new hearts if they were to follow God.
Isaiah promised a future leader the Messiah who would lead the people in obedience to the Torah and would continue the story of the OT.
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Heart Change > Obeying
The Pharisees were exacting and scrupulous in their attempts to follow their laws. So how could Jesus reasonably call us to greater righteousness than theirs? The Pharisees weakness was that they were content to obey the laws outwardly without allowing God to change their hearts . They looked pious, but they were far from the Kingdom of Heaven. God judges our hearts as well as our deeds, for it is in the heart that our real allegiance lies.
Jesus was saying that his listeners needed a different kind of righteousness altogether , not just a more intense version of the Pharisees obedience . Our righteousness must
come from what God does in us, not what we can do by ourselves,
be God-centered, not self-centered,
be based on reverence for God, not approval from people, and
go beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law. We should be just as concerned about our attitudes that people dont see as about our actions that they do see.
Settlement In The Land Of Israel
For the benefit of settlers it was decreed that the owner of a town in the Land must leave a public thoroughfare on all four sides of the town, and that a Jew about to purchase real property from a gentile in the Land of Israel may have the contract drawn up on Sabbath to facilitate and bind the bargain, though such a proceeding is prohibited in other lands,
Residence in the Land of Israel is regarded as becoming immediately permanent. For example, a rented dwelling outside Israel need not have a mezuzah during the first thirty days, as the tenancy is considered temporary for the first month but in Israel the posting of the mezuzah is immediately obligatory.
The regulation of migration to and from Israel had in view the object of maintaining the settlement of the Land. One must not emigrate unless the necessaries of life reach the price of a “sela” for a double se’ah-measure of wheat, and unless they are difficult to obtain even then. A person may compel his or her spouse, under pain of divorce, to go with them and settle in Israel, which is not true for any other travel.
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The Laws Of The Bible Were Given For Our Benefit And Show Us How To Become More Like God What Should Christians Learn From The Various Types Of Biblical Law
Many people have heard of the 10 Commandments and recognize the importance of some of them, like the laws against murder and stealing. But other laws in the Bible are less well known or appreciated.
Do the biblical laws apply today? Or did the Creator God establish them, only to wipe them all out on the cross, but then promise their restoration during Christs millennial rule?
Or is there a larger meaning to the whole subject of the law of Godone that bears witness to the very plan of God, which is always consistent and points toward the Kingdom of God?
Did Jesus Pay Taxes
In Matthew 17:24-27, we learn that Jesus did indeed pay taxes: After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, Doesnt your teacher pay the temple tax? Yes, he does, he replied. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.
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What We Learn From These Civil Laws Of Israel
The first thing we notice about all these civil laws mentioned above is that each one is actually a violation of Gods moral law. This shows the principle that many civil laws that God gave to Israel also contained his moral law.
As Christians we can without shame look to the moral parts of the civil law of Israel as part of our basis for understanding Gods moral law. Obviously, we need to look at the entire revelation of Gods moral law as also found in the New Testament to get a complete understanding of Gods moral law. But we should not do as many Christian Churches and teachers do today and simply dismiss the Old Testament as any basis for moral law.