Dr. Paul Manuel—2003
One of the hallmarks of this great nation is its legal system, which has some important yet little known provisions. For example, were you aware that according to Pennsylvania law...
- Dynamite may not to be used to catch fish.
- A person is ineligible to become Governor if he has participated in a duel.
- Ministers may not perform a marriage when either the bride or groom is drunk.
- In Connellsville, pants may be worn no lower than five inches below the waist. This is an old law that has assumed renewed relevance in light of current trends.
- In Danville, fire hydrants must be checked one hour before any fire.
- In Morrisville, a woman must have a permit to wear cosmetics.
- In Pittsburgh, it is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.
The Israelites, as they get ready to enter Canaan, may be asking about the many laws God gave to their parents, regulations He expects each succeeding generation to obey. But is that realistic? Their parents are dead, casualties of some past indiscretion, and the current generation will soon be living in the midst of a people whose standard of behavior is quite different. Would it not be better to set aside the old ways and try to fit in? Is there some advantage to keeping God's laws?
...While Moses does not explain the reason for each of God's commands, he does outline the principles that underlie Israel's legislation, principles that give the nation good reason to obey God and that give us good reason to obey as well. Please turn to Deut 6, where Moses states that...
I. God's Laws Promote Life (Deut 6:1-3).
Deut 6:1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.For forty years the LORD has been preparing the people for their eventual settlement of Canaan. He wants them to prosper there and to develop into a great nation that will reflect the greatness of their God, but He knows they will not accomplish this on their own. To guide them, He has given them something of inestimable value: instructions that will guarantee their success. All the Lord must do is convince them that He wants only what is best for His people.
This is not an easy task, because the Israelites have demonstrated that they do not like to be told what to do. Imagine that! Who ever heard of such a thing? Do you not like to be told what to do? ...The uncomfortable reality is that, in this respect, we are not much different from these Israelites. We do not like it when someone orders us around. We would much rather do our own thing, even when that thing may not be good for us. So the LORD's task with us is much the same: to convince us that He wants only what is best for us and, consequently, that God's laws promote life. Through Moses, God offers three reasons why this is so. First...
A. They foster the proper action (Deut 6:1).God gives His people rules to regulate their behavior,1 not because He enjoys ordering them around but because He knows what will enable them to stay on course to reach the goal He has for them and what will send them off course.
When you board a train, you expect that it will follow the tracks to its destination and not veer off course or, worse, jump the tracks and go in an entirely different direction. You are, in fact, depending on the tracks to keep the train on course.
God's laws are like those tracks. They not only mark the right way to go, they enable you to stay on course and eventually reach a most glorious journey's end. You can ignore God's laws and go off in a different direction, but you will likely end up at an entirely different and less pleasant destination. His laws promote life, first because they foster the proper action. Second, because...
B. They foster the proper attitude (Deut 6:2).Moses says that one of the effects of observing God's laws is "so that you, your children and their children after them may fear [or revere] the LORD."2 How is it that heeding God's commands elicits reverence from His people? Moses hinted at the answer earlier in his address, when he asks...
Deut 4:8 ...what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?Christians tend to look no further than a summary of the law in chapter 5, called the Ten Commandments. In so doing, they never develop an appreciation for the scope and specifics of Torah, how His instructions offer guidance in all areas of life—from personal devotions to food preparation, from making promises to maintaining proper relationships, from recognizing immorality to resolving legal disputes—wherever they turn, there is some reminder that His people are to be holy because they serve a holy God. Those in Israel who would rather do their own thing probably consider the ubiquity of God's law, how it does permeate everything, to be stifling or meddling. For the faithful, though, for those who care about their relationship with God and who impress the importance of such a relationship upon their children, the cumulative affect of Torah's constant presence is that it generates reverence for God.3 In this way, His laws promote life by fostering the proper attitude. Third...
C. They foster the proper atmosphere (Deut 6:3).This generation about to enter the Promised Land4 will face many difficulties. The structure of Israelite society will undergo radical change as the people move from a nomadic existence, which is all most of them have ever known, to an agrarian lifestyle. Many will have to build houses and establish farms. Moreover, they will do this in a hostile environment, for the current residents will either resist their presence forcefully or will entice their participation in idolatry.
There is a psychological index called the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale that measures the stress of various experiences, assigning points to different factors that cause change in our lives (e.g., marriage [50], moving [20], new job [36], death of a loved one [631). Accumulating more than 300 points in a twelve-month period increases the likelihood of our having physical or emotional problems the next year (Atkinson 1987:469).
What the Israelites are about to experience will push their stress level off the scale. They need something that will steady them through the momentous changes they are about to undergo. Moses says, "Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you." God's laws provide stability amidst turmoil. They not only give order to life, they remind people that the author of life, the one who gave them life, also does not change, and He is ultimately in control. In short, God's laws promote life by fostering the proper atmosphere, one in which His people can succeed, despite the stress upon them, to undergo changes without allowing those changes to undo them.
Sometimes Christians are reluctant to think about God's laws, afraid they might accidentally slip from grace into works, but Moses is not talking about obedience as a means of salvation. He is concerned about this life rather than the next life and about how God's laws promote life here. He further indicates how...
II. God's Laws Prioritize Life (Deut 6:4-9).
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.Given all the people will face as they move into Canaan, it will be necessary to determine the relative importance of each demand on their time and energy. Otherwise they may waste themselves on frivolous pursuits or neglect truly significant matters. How can they be sure to order their efforts aright so they will not miss what is most meaningful? That, too, is a function of God's laws, to prioritize life, and again, Moses offers three reasons why this is so. One way God's laws prioritize life for His people is that...
A. They focus one's personal life on God (Deut 6:4-6).When Moses says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," he covers the bases.5 Then Moses explains that the proper expression of love for God is obedience to "[t]hese commandments that I give you today.6
This is one of the most significant differences between the true God and the Canaanites gods. You could be a worshiper of Baal and conduct your personal affairs as you pleased, appealing to him when you needed rain but largely ignoring him the rest of the time. Not so with the LORD: He makes specific demands on His worshipers, requirements of holiness that affect every facet of life and that require their full and undivided attention. His commands prevent Israel from ignoring Him, because they focus one's personal life on God and demonstrate love for Him.7 A second way God's laws prioritize life for His people is that...
B. They focus one's family life on God (Deut 6:7).God's commands are not just for this generation entering Canaan; they are for every generation of His people, and Moses charges parents with the task of education: "Impress them on your children,"8 He may have in mind formal times of instruction, but more important is that there be frequent times of instruction.
Moses says, "Talk about them [i.e., God's commandments] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." In other words, make them part of your regular routine, not just special occasions. The more children see their parents (and other adults) integrate His commands in the normal activities of life, the more of an impression that instruction will have. In this way, they focus one's family life on God. A third way God's laws prioritize life for His people is that......
C. They focus one's public life on God (Deut 6:8-9).A relationship with God that results in obedience to His commands is not just a personal matter or even a family matter. He intends it to be obvious to others they know. Moses says, "Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."9
At least since returning from the exile, God's people have taken this injunction literally. Every morning, devout Jews bind teffilin (leather boxes with this passage inside) on their arm and forehead, and Jewish homes usually have a mezuzah (an ornate container with this passage inside) affixed near the front door. By such means,10 Jews demonstrate their obedience to God and their identity to others.
Christians also use assorted aids to advertise their faith. They hang scripture plaques in their home or office, tune their radio to a Christian station, and put religious bumper stickers on the car (although, the way some Christians drive, I would not recommend that last item). Whether or not God intended this injunction literally, your obedience to His commands should be obvious to others as they focus one's public life on God.
As this new generation prepares to enter Canaan, the people may wonder why they need to obey laws God had given their parents. This question arises in every generation of God's people, as it has in ours: Do we need to obey laws God gave to a previous generation?
In Deut 6, Moses outlines the principles that underlie Israel's legislation, principles that are not restrictive, as some might think, and by embracing them, God's people will discover The Freedom of God's Laws, how they are the means by which the Israelites will reach their full potential in the land of Canaan. That assurance of success gives the nation good reason to obey God, and it gives us good reason as well, offering us similar benefits if we avail ourselves of them. God's laws will promote life and will prioritize life, if we let them.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs