Introduction
Over the last couple of chapters, this one, and the next
few, God gave statutes to the Israelites by which they were to live. Bible
teachers and commentators have called these statutes miscellaneous or sundry statutes/laws.
Though God appeared too concerned with the minutiae of the days and appeared to
be overbearing, we must not forget the main purpose of the laws, statutes, and
commandments. God gave these laws to help the Israelites, God’s chosen people,
stay pure. To be pure means being “clean,” not stained by bloodguilt and not
bowed with sin and its resultant guilt, but staying in relationship with Yahweh
God.
Before the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the
Israelites, God made a covenant of love with His first created people, Adam and
Eve. He created them because He wanted to be in a relationship with them. God
made them in the image of Himself. He gave to them authority over everything on
the earth, in the seas, and in the sky to manage and maintain it. This covenant
was the first between God and created humankind. This Adamic covenant continues
throughout earth’s lifespan, even today. God had unhindered access to Adam and
Eve and they to Him. Remember, the Bible says He walked with them in the garden
(Genesis 3:8). The first people, representative and father/mother of humankind, had closeness, intimacy, and
communion with God, Creator of humankind. When sin entered the world through
Adam and Eve’s disobedience, the closeness, intimacy, and communion with God
left. God, being holy, cannot be in the presence of sin.
Disobedience continued to occur on earth. God found just Noah
and his family repentant and willing to stay in a relationship with Him. God’s
judgment upon sinful humanity was to flood the earth. After the flood, the
regeneration of humanity occurred, but people continued to sin. God had a plan
from the beginning of the world to make a people pure so they could be in
relationship with Him. First, He had to get the attention of people and to show
Himself so that they sought relationship with Him. Leviticus 26:12 says Abraham
walked with God. Over time, more people walked with God in relationship, but
these followers were still few .
Because of God’s relationship with Noah and Abraham, God chose
to love the people descended from Israel, Abraham’s grandson. These people
became God’s chosen people – the Israelites. Through Moses, God taught them who
He is and what He would do for them. This is yada “knowing” Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy – a progressive knowing
of God. God’s one requirement was they stay faithful to Him as their
LORD/YAHWEH. Because God chose the Israelites as His people and they covenanted
with Him about He being their one and only God, God gave laws, statutes, and
commandments to them so they would stay righteous and pure before His eyes. This
reason is the primary purpose God gave the rules for living. The secondary
reason for God’s laws/statutes was for each person to live in harmony with
other people and to live in harmony with nature. God did not give His laws to
police and put the people under a tyrannical dictator. He gave them to keep the Israelites in
relationship with Himself. God gave His laws because of His love.
In Deuteronomy 22:1-12, God gave the Israelites laws
affecting relationships between people and between people and nature. By keeping
and obeying these laws, they would stay strong in their relationship with God.
People’s relationship with God remains strong and strengthens
because of their love
of and obedience to God. Remember, by keeping God’s laws and statutes the
Israelites remained right in God’s eyes. They remained free from the guilt of
sin and pure in God’s eyes.
Affecting Humans – Care for Neighbors: Possessions
The first four verses of Deuteronomy 22 affect the Hebrews’
relationship with his or her neighbor. Verse 1 says a person shall not ignore
or hide him or herself when he or she sees his or her countryman’s ox or sheep
straying away. That person must take the animals back to the countryman to whom
the animals belong. First, we need to note that the word “countryman” comes
from the Hebrew word ach. It means a
brother, relative, or kinsman. Since God founded the nation of Israel from the
family line of Israel and gave them the Promised Land, this verse refers to
every person who lived in the Promised Land. Anyone who lived in Israel must
help anyone else who lived in Israel. The other important point of this verse
is that God commanded (“shall”) them not to be negligent about taking care of
another person – their person or possessions. Additionally, at the end of verse
one, God told the Israelites, “You shall certainly bring them back to their
countryman.” The finder was not to keep the possession of another person. The
word “certainly” is a strong adverb added to the command “shall” to make sure
the Israelites would not take liberties and keep the possession.
In verse 2, God told the Israelites what to do if the
countryman to whom the possessions belonged did not live nearby or if he was
unknown. He said the finder must (“shall”) take the neighbor’s possession to
his or her own home and keep it until the countryman looked for it. The finder
must keep the item with him or her just like he or she found it. He or she must
keep it safe in his or her home until the countryman “looks” (seeks and asks)
for it. The last part of verse two says, “Then you shall restore it to him.” The
finder must not squeeze out of the obligation to return the found item. God
commanded him or her to “restore” it. The word “restore” comes from the Hebrew
word shuwb and means to restore,
refresh, repair, and relinquish.
God said in verse three if the found item was an animal, the
finder must return the animal in as good or better condition than he found it.
That means the finder was to feed the animal and not use it for his or her own
purposes and work. If the found item was a garment (“simlah”), God meant the
finder return it to the owner in the same condition, not more worn. God
required due diligence of the finder. He did not apply this law just to animals
and clothing, but included anything found belonging to another person. God
said, “You shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he
has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them.” The Hebrew
word for our English word “found” is matsa.
It includes protecting the found item - protecting for the future when the
owner claims it and protecting from his or her own “neglect” (concealing and
keeping it for his or herself). The word “neglect” in Hebrew is ‘alam and means to hide and keep to
oneself.
God explicitly said was a person to pay attention, keep, and
protect a found item. He stated, too, a person must help another person who was
in obvious need. In verse 4, God told the Israelites if they saw a countryman
whose donkey or ox fell, they were not to ignore the countryman. They were to
help the countryman raise up the animal. Once again, God told the Israelite not
to hide (neglect) from the need of another countryman (anyone living in
Israel), but He commanded them to “certainly help.” These four verses relate to
the relationship between two people. They relate to a person’s covenant with
God about managing and maintaining the earth, too (from the first covenant with
humankind in the garden of Eden). Animals are part of the earth and when they
are in need, God commanded the Israelites give compassion and help.
Affecting God’s Order - Humans
From the beginning of creation, God created man and woman
different. He created them in His image, both male and female (Genesis 1). God designed
them with different bodily characteristics that gave them the ability to do
tasks needed to be “fruitful,” “multiply,” “fill,” “subdue,” and “rule” over
the earth (Genesis 1:27-28). Adam and Eve and their descendents were to use
their bodies as God made them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. To
keep chaos from occurring on earth (remember, God is not a God of chaos and
confusion – 1 Corinthians 14:33), they had to exercise the authority and wisdom
God gave them to fill, subdue, and rule over the earth. “Subdue” comes from the
Hebrew word kabash and means to keep
under control and make subservient. This action requires brain and brawn.
“Rule” comes from the Hebrew word radah
and means to have dominion and subjugate. This action required brain and brawn,
too. God gave man and woman the ability to multiply humankind and they each had
different roles in re-creation. He gave men and women a desire for each other
so they would be fulfilled in their relationship with each other as well as
multiply and fill the earth. God made men with more muscle so they could do
harder tasks and work longer. He gave both man and woman brains to exercise
knowledge and wisdom in subduing and ruling over the earth, sky, and seas to
keep them in God’s natural perfect balance so ecological chaos did not occur. God
gave women the physical ability to bear and nurture her children. Because of
that and her smaller muscle mass, her body could better care for the family and
tasks requiring less strength. Neither partner in the relationship demands from
the other a specific role, but in love for the other person, recognizes his or
her strengths and weaknesses and works to help and complement the other for the
tasks needed so they both work together in union and unity, like the husband-wife
team of Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18, Romans 16:3-4, 1 Corinthians 16:19,
and 2 Timothy 4:19. Paul considered them
both equal, but they knew each other’s strengths and worked towards their joint
strengths. Paul recognized the equality of every person under God in Galatians
3:27-28. This complementary work is how both man and woman fill, subdue, and
rule over the earth, together. Neither the man nor woman is greater under God;
they are equally loved and cherished. One’s ability – brain, brawn, nurturing nature
– does not make him or her greater than the other.
God knew working side by side in managing and maintaining
His creation would create a potential for distraction because of the desire man
and woman would have for each other – a God-given desire. Satan would try to
use the sexual attraction/distraction to cause lust, abuse of one by the other
and temptation to change the God-made purpose of each sex. To keep correct the
God-given order of sexuality, God commanded in verse five, “A woman shall not
wear a man’s clothing nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing for whoever
does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.” This verse does not
command one person be subjugated under another. It means most of all be careful
how one dresses so temptation is not given to another regarding one’s body.
Paul reiterated this statute about modesty in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 when he told
Timothy women should cloth themselves modestly and discreetly. A deeper
understanding occurs when the Hebrew words are understood in Deuteronomy 22:5.
If you think you know exactly what this verse means, let me
remind you to be open to God’s Spirit moving and teaching as you read God’s
Word. This verse does not say, as people over the years interpreted it, that
women must not wear pants. Let us study the Hebrew words. The word “woman” used
both times in this verse is the Hebrew word ishshah.
It means a woman, female, or wife. It gives the general meaning of woman. The
English word “man” in this verse is the Hebrew word geber. Geber is not the
general word for man. It means a strong, valiant warrior. The most common
Hebrew words used for “man” in the Bible are ‘ish and ‘adam. Ish means man, male, or husband and ‘adam means man or mankind. ‘Ish is the most common word for man and
is used 1797 times in the Old Testament. “Adam
is the next most common word used for man and is used 524 times in the Old
Testament. Bible writers used geber
sixty-three times. It speaks about a specific male role in society that
reflects upon his strength and valor due to his strength. Hence, the comparison
in this verse is between a general female role and a specific male role.
Next, let us look at the words used for clothing. The “man’s
clothing” mentioned in the first part of the verse comes from the Hebrew word keliy and means implements such as for
hunting, war, or specific to a man’s labor. Since the verse speaks of a strong,
valiant warrior, then the clothing the woman must not wear, according to God,
was the clothing a strong, valiant man
wore. These types of clothes could be armor, shield, chainmail, or any other
clothing/implement a strong, valiant man would wear. These clothes would be extremely
heavy for a man and more so for a woman. Now, to look at the clothing of a
woman that a geber man must not wear,
we need to look at the Hebrew word used for woman’s clothing. The woman’s
clothing is the Hebrew word simlah. Simlah is a mantle, cloak, wrapper, or
covering garment. People wore these cloaks for extra warmth during colder
weather and often used them as blankets. Both men and women wore cloaks. Some
Bible teachers propose people made cloaks for men and women differently. They
proposed a man’s cloak/mantle had long slits in it so it could be tucked into
his loincloth to make running or fighting easier. A woman’s cloak, they say,
had no slits because they were to dress modestly and cover more of themselves.
This theory sounds plausible, but nothing proves this idea. Other commentators
say people transposed silmah from salmah, which means something closer to
a dress. I think we should not stray too far from the Hebrew words and the
context in which they are used. This verse, in essence, says a woman must not
wear a strong, valiant man’s implements and a strong, valiant man must not wear
women’s clothing – dress or a cloak made for a woman. The first thing we must
remember is that God commanded it so we must obey it. The second thing we must
remember is God gave these commands to keep this new nation - a people He chose
to be His own – right and pure before His eyes so He could be among them.
For our rational selves, the next thing we want to consider
is does this statute affect all men’s clothes and all women’s clothes. From the
first, we see God only spoke about not wearing strong, warrior clothing. God
did not want women wearing strong, valiant man’s implements either because of
woman’s innate, God-created lesser muscle strength or because the role of a
strong warrior was not the role God intended for women. Most of us cannot deny
that women in general are not as physically strong as men, especially strong
warriors. Added to this, we do not see within the Bible specific roles about
women farming or men cooking and cleaning. We read about men and women working together
to get tasks done. We read, too, that women have the specific task of bearing
and feeding infants. Therefore this verse does not say women cannot wear pants
and men cannot wear coats and it does not say women work only in the house and
men work only out of the house. It says women shall not put on strong, valiant warrior-like
men’s implements and men hall not wear women’s clothes (form-revealing
garments).
In regards to form-revealing garments, Paul told women and
implied to men they are to dress modestly not to cause distraction or
temptation (1 Timothy 2:9-10). This verse tells us, too, men are not to act as
a woman nor women act like a man, this includes relationships. Men acting as
women for other men or women acting as men for other women is specifically
forbidden in the Bible (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, Romans 1:24-28, Jude 1:7, 1
Corinthians 6:9-11, and 1 Timothy 1:10). Dress for the task, but modestly so
the work is done and no distraction or leading into temptation occurs. Remember,
Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit
adultery,’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Modesty helps curb
the temptation to lust. God put man and women together on earth to help each
other (Genesis 2:18) do the tasks He set them to do in Genesis 1:28. A person dressing
for the task enables him or her to work better, but God gave specifics about what
clothing/implements men and women were not to wear.
Affecting God’s Design – Nature: Balance
Deuteronomy 22:6-7 appears from an initial reading to give
God’s statute on maintaining and managing ecological wildlife. In essence, God
told the Israelites when they came upon a bird’s nest with eggs and/or chicks
and a mother sitting on the eggs, they were not to take both eggs/chicks and
the mother, but leave the mother. By leaving the mother to survive, the person
ensured the species survived to another gestation. By taking all of them, that
branch of the species ended. In Genesis 1:28 God requires humankind to manage
and maintain God’s creation.
Upon closer study we find God commanded this. He used the
word “shall” twice – “you shall not take the mother with the young” and “you
shall certainly let the mother go” (vs. 6 & 7). Another lesson we learn
upon study of these two verses is following this command brings with it a promised
and implies a curse if not followed. At the end of verse seven, God told them
to do this “ so it may be well with them and they may prolong their days.” God
gave this exact promise in Deuteronomy 4:40 if the Israelites followed God and
His commandments. Remember, inheriting the Promised Land came from a covenant God
had with Abraham. God promised the possession of the Promised Land came if the
current Israelites’ kept their covenant with God. The promise in verse seven
promises a long life in the Promised Land for each person and generation who
lives there. The long life is individual and national. God will judge each
person and controls the timing of each person’s life. As the ruler of Israel
and creator of humankind, He controls the life or death/destruction of each
nation as judgment for their moral depravity and disdain of Yahweh.
Another part to this command is that it taught compassion
and mercy to the Israelites. As the Israelites cared for one animal and then
others, the compassion and mercy God instilled within them would grow. The
command taught each action built upon the next and led to a way of life. On the
negative side, it forbade cruelty and covetousness. In caring for animals, the
Israelites’ hearts learned compassion and mercy so that when they needed it in
human relationships and encounters, they would have it to use.
Affecting Humans – Care for Neighbors: Life
Deuteronomy 22:8 says, “When you build a new house, you
shall make a parapet for your roof so that you will not bring bloodguilt on
your house if anyone falls from it.” In the Middle East at that time, people
made their houses with flat roofs so that when the weather was hot, people
could sleep and be on the roof to catch any cool breeze. Because a person could
easily fall from the roof by a misstep, God told them to make a low wall on the
roof to prevent that from happening. Researchers explained that the roof wall
was between three feet high and ten hands high. Both heights were enough to
keep a person from stepping off the roof.
God told the Israelites the main reason He commanded this
action – to prevent bloodguilt. If you remember from the last Bible study,
bloodguilt occurred when a person or nation killed people. The blood of any
person created a wall of separation between God and the person or nation. So rid
themselves of bloodguilt, the person/nation had to remove the evil from among
themselves if the killing was intentional or break the neck of a young cow if
it was not and then declare they were innocent and did not intend the death of
the person. Either way, bloodguilt created a separation from God. God provided
a precaution against accidental death by stipulating a wall be built around the
roof edges. This statute prevented the severing of human relationships, the assumption
of guilt, and the severing of a relationship with God.
Affecting God’s Design – Nature: Clean and Unclean
Verses nine to eleven speak about keeping dissimilar things
separate. In these three verses, God dealt with mixing crops, mixing animals,
and mixing fibers/threads. Remember, though, the three laws deal with the
purity of things and keeping pure in God’s eyes. In each of them, God forbade
particular actions. The Jews call this kilaym,
which means the forbidden mixture of two things.
Sowing Seed.
The common practice of farming in the Middle East at that
time was to sow seeds of a fruit, vegetable, or grain among the vines of the
vineyard. In verse 9, God told the Israelites, “You shall not sow your vineyard
with two kinds of seed or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and
the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.” On the surface, this seems like
an unusual requirement, but when we look deeper, good reasons appear about why God
commanded this.
First, having a vineyard required about seven years of hard
labor. This means the place in which the vineyard grew was an established town,
city, or nation. Since that was the case, most likely the area grew other crops
necessary for survival, too. To sow more than one crop in a particular field
could point to discontent by a farmer, town, or nation with what the LORD gave
them. This mindset came from comparing what God blessed them with to what
another farmer, town, or nation had. The tenth commandment stated that they
were not to covet anything that belongs to their neighbor (Deuteronomy 5:21).
Discontent is a symptom of covetousness. By being covetous, a person goes
against God and makes the person and nation be sinners and unrighteous in God’s
eyes.
A second issue to consider with this command of not sowing
two things in the vineyard arises when considering the science of farming. When
sowers put two distinct plants too close together, they created a potential for
cross-pollination. When a new plant occurs, it could be indistinguishable from
either of its parent plants and may not have the benefits of the two original
plants. Additionally, it could be an infertile plant. God created each plant
for a purpose and told Adam and Eve to eat from it. He knew these plants as He
made them would give the nutrients and benefits that a human body needed. This
commandment prevented the corruption of the plants from cross-pollination and
kept the original order as God created.
The kilaym of Jews
speaks about the forbidden mixture of plants to keep God’s intended design and
purpose for them. By following God’s commands kept the plants pure and the
people pure, the latter by obedience. Hence, this command affected the
physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of creation. Kilaym considers the forbidden mixture of animals, too.
Plowing with Ox and Donkey.
Where the former section forbade the mixing of plant life, in
this section of Deuteronomy 22 God forbade the mixing of animals. God said in
verse ten, “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” This law appears
innocuous and makes a person wonder why God would consider making such a
commonsense law. God meant more than the obvious when He gave this statute to
the Israelites.
The obvious purpose of this command is that an ox and donkey
are different and must not be mixed to do a joint task like pull a plow or
cart. Consider the ox’s strength as compared to the donkey. When an ox and
donkey wore a yoke together, the plow would veer toward the side the ox pulled
making uneven furrows. On top of this, because the ox is taller than the
donkey, the yoke would tear at the ox’s skin or the donkey might choke from the
straps pulling higher to accommodate the ox. Additionally, because an ox has a
longer stride and is stronger, the donkey would have to work harder to keep up
with the ox, putting a strain on the donkey’s body. Once again, God taught the Israelites
compassion for animals, as He did with the mother bird in verses six and seven.
By living in a compassionate, the Jews were a light to other nations. Each of
these obvious facts makes sense of God’s command.
Another fact comes into play with this command from God. In
Leviticus 11:18 and Deuteronomy 14:16, God specified which animals were clean
and unclean. Mammals that chew the cud and part the hoof, such as the ox, were clean. The equine family of animals, such as the donkey
and horse, were unclean. Notice that God never asked the Israelites to
sacrifice a donkey on the altar, but He often stipulated that they sacrifice an
ox. Hence, God commanded they not work a clean and unclean animal side by side.
As a final note, Paul used this verse as the rationale for
what he wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. He told the
Corinthians not to marry a person of another faith. Righteousness and
lawlessness do not go together just as ox and donkey do not go together. In
verses fifteen and sixteen Paul said,
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a
believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, ‘I will
dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my
people.’
Each of the statutes above affect a
person’s relationship with other people, with nature, and with God. God did not
do this on accident. He made sure the Israelites learned the way they live
affects every part of life. God gave His commandments, laws, and statutes to
keep the people right and pure - set apart from other nations. He chose them to
love them, be there God, and they be His people. These laws did not come from a
vindictive God, but loving Yahweh.
Mixed Fabrics.
God gave another law that affected everyday life for the
Israelites. He said in verse eleven, “You shall not wear material mixed of wool
and linen together.” This is a reiteration of Leviticus 19:19c. The only
difference in these two verses is Leviticus says no mixture of any material
shall occur, whereas in Deuteronomy God stated no mixture of linen and wool
shall occur. A few Old Testament teachers say the difference in the two verses
came about because God used wool and linen as an example for the Israelites in
Deuteronomy 22:11. Others say that God clarified which materials He forbade be mixed
in the Deuteronomy verse.
To understand this verse better, we need to understand the
practices of other nations of which the Israelites were aware or would become
aware. Maimonides, a renowned rabbi of the twelfth century AD, wrote in his Guide to the Perplexed that ancient
pagan priests wore wool and linen woven together because they knew how to use
it in occult practices. The pagan priests believed the weaving of the fabrics
together united the power of the items and made them more powerful. Maimonides
said because of this God forbade the Israelites not to mix these two materials
and to stay away from it. The Hebrew word sha’atnez means to stay far away from. The Jews have
laws of sha’atnez to cover every
similar commands and laws. Maimonides said God permitted the priests to wear a
linen garment with a wool garment over or under it because but not attached to
each other. Exodus 28:31-35 tells readers that the robe of the Levitical priest
was blue linen with blue, purple, and scarlet in the hem. The ephod had these
colors, too, with golden thread woven in it. God said in Exodus 28:39-43 the
ordinary clothes of priests were to be made of linen with sashes. They wore
linen trousers, too. God said no Israelite was to wear cloth made by mixing
wool and linen.
Another possible reason God forbade the mixing of wool and
linen comes from the history of linen in the Israelites’ lives. Linen derives
from flax. Flax is a plant grown in places with much water. Egypt produced lots
of flax to make linen. Israel, because they were nomadic and, thus, farmers of
sheep and goats, easily produced woolen, not linen garments. By forbidding the
Israelites from mixing wool and linen, God removed the method of making cloth
like their captor, Egypt, to remove their ties from Egypt and create stronger
ties with Himself.
In answering the question,
“Did God use wool and linen as an example of not mixing any cloth or was
he clarifying and making his command in Leviticus 19:19 more clear,” it appears
reasonable to conclude that since God forbade the priests wear clothes of mixed
wool and linen, God meant to exclude these two materials from being mixed
within one piece of cloth for everyone. The important part of this statute is
God required it to keep the Israelites righteous and pure. If their making
mixed wool and linen cloth led them to look back with fondness at Egypt, God
removed that possibility with this statute. If making a mixed material garment
caused them hardship because one material was not a product of the Promised
Land, God removed that hardship with this statute. Since God required obedience
to this statute for them to stay right in His eyes and have a prolonged life in
the Promised Land, the Israelites had great incentive to follow this statute. Each
of God’s laws was not about the ease of doing them, but of the Israelites’ set
apartness - their consecration - for God’s purposes. Would they be different
from the nations around them and stay faithful to their covenant with God? Or would
they meld themselves with the neighboring cultures and become a new country
unlike what God chose and taught them to be?
Affecting Humans – Remembering God
The final verse in this lesson is verse twelve. God said,
“You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which
you cover yourself.” This is unreasonable to people today, except to Hasidic
Jews. For the Israelites, it made great sense. Remember when God told the Israelites
to write God’s words on their heads and hearts, to put them on the gates and
doorposts, and to teach them to their children. He did this so they would visually
see and remember Him, His commandments, and laws. By seeing things, people find
it easier to remember. When a person ties a strong around his or her finger, a
visual reminder to remember something important occurs. God said the tassels would
remind the Israelites of Him and His commandments. Numbers 15:37-41 spoke of
this. God commanded the wearing of tassels in Numbers after a man gathered wood
on the Sabbath instead of keeping it holy (the fourth commandment – Deuteronomy
5:12). He gave this commandment solely to keep the Israelites’ focus on Him. Do
we today have anything that reminds us to keep our minds on God?
Recap
God gave commandments, laws, and statutes to keep people
right before His eyes and to keep them pure. Their purity determined if He
could be among them. From the beginning of the world, God chose to make humans
to love them. From then to now, God still chooses to love people. He made
covenants with people over time to be in relationship with them and show His
merciful love.
The covenant God made with the Israelites occurred because
of His love for the descendents of Abraham. At Mount Sinai, the Israelites
agreed to be in covenant with Yahweh God. God gave the commandments, laws, and
statutes to the Israelites to live by to keep them safe from mixing with other
people and nations and then having their faith diluted with faith in false gods.
He did not give them to be overbearing. They were for the good of the
Israelites. The laws and statutes were good for God’s created order, too – nature
and man. They kept relationships between people and between humankind and nature
stable and good. God gave the commandments, laws, and statutes because of His
love for the Israelites just as parents give rules and set boundaries for their
children to follow. He gave them to keep a love relationship with humankind
possible. The laws and statutes affect the person and world in four ways - personally, ecologically, relationally, and spiritually.
Relevance and Conclusion
Since the covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, God
created another covenant – an everlasting one. He made a covenant for anyone to
join into with Him. This covenant guarantees not just a prolonged life on
earth, but a long life with God in heaven after our deaths. Through His Son,
Jesus Christ, we can live eternally with God – on earth now and in heaven after
our physical bodies die. Jesus came to earth as a baby who grew up and lived. The
Jewish leaders instigated the Romans to crucify though He never sinned. Jesus chose
to come to earth so He could die a sinless life as the sacrifice for the death
penalty humanity deserved for its sins. His sacrifice made a way for the
cleansing of sins from people – being
made pure. To receive this gift of grace through Jesus’ sacrifice, each person
must choose for him or herself to accept Jesus’ salvation - accept Him as his
or her Lord and Savior, and confess and repent of his or her sins. No works
need to be done for this and none can be done to compensate for the wrongdoings
of our lifetimes. Jesus’ death paid the complete penalty price for our sins.
A question remains – will you join God in His covenant to
you? Will you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? Will you follow Him? It is
that simple. It is your choice.
