LESSON 6 • A New Nation: The Law (Exodus - Numbers)

SUGGESTED READING

• Exodus 20:l-20, 2l:l2-22:3, 
• Matthew 5:l7-48, Galatians 3:2l-4:7

IN-DEPTH READING:
Exodus and Numbers


LET’S REVIEW A FEW BASICS -

What is the Law? When did Israel receive it? 


He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Psalm l47:l9-20


After bringing the children of Israel out of bondage, God gives the Torah to them out of love, to give them guidance to have a complete life. When the first stone tablets with the commandments are broken because of the golden calf (Ex. 32:19), Moses cut two new stones and went back up the mountain to hear the Lord say,


The Law actually included:

1. The Decalogue- the Ten Commandments

2. The Book of the Covenant- to give specifics to 
start a just society

3. The Tabernacle directions- for the presence of Yahweh

4. Leviticus- concerned with worship and holiness

5. Law and the book of Numbers- more laws of cleanliness and purity


How did Israel understand this type of law?

The nations around Israel had treaties with certain characteristics. 

1. First, a great suzerain (king or emperor) declares himself as very powerful.

2. He saves a weak nation from an enemy or calamity.

3. The king asks the nation for gratitude and loyalty in return.

4. Lastly, the king sets out the ways to show their gratitude 
and loyalty.


*Covenant law was not a mutual agreement between equals—
it was not a series of rules to obey in order to avoid punishment.



Notice the similarities between these treaties and God’s 
covenant relationship with Israel in Exodus 34:6-7, 20:2 
and Deut 5:6, 11:8-9 

What were the main principles of the Law?

1. The Law was made for man, not man for the Law. God wanted to enrich lives, not just impose rules. Notice the story in Mark 2:27

2. God gave the Law not to restrict but to free mankind. Notice Matthew 23:4, I John 5:3 and Lev. 25:39-46.

3. God’s Law always respects human dignity. Because God created man in His image (Gen. 1:26), we do not have the right to take life(Gen. 9:6) or to mistreat God’s creation (Pro. 14:3l, Deut. 15:7-11, Lev. 19:17)

4. The Law says to treat others as God has treated you. As God was good to Israel as slaves in Egypt, they were told to be good to their slaves (Deut. 5:l3-l5)

5. God seeks to preserve community life through the Law. God’s plan was for other nations to see Israel acting in harmony with the Law and be attracted to the God who gave such Law. (Joshua 4:2l-24, Psalm 22:22-3l)

6. The Law helps us reflect on our God-to be like Him and to obey Him. Deut. 4:6-8, John 14:15

Notice in the following passages any parallels in the New Covenant? Matthew 5-7, Matt. 22:38, Mark 2:27, Matt. 23:4, Romans l3:9, John l7:l7-2l, Eph. 6:7-l0)

How does the Law help us to understand God’s character? How do we see God in the Law as we walk toward Jesus?

A few years ago, John Mark Hicks (formerly professor at Harding Graduate School of Religion and presently at David Lipscomb) spoke to our church about the covenant law of the Old Testament. He talked about the tremendous value of law as a window into the heart of God. The Torah is a way to know God, not just a set of rules. In Leviticus 11:45, we read “Be holy, for I am holy”. He wants us to know Him and be like Him. The Law says “You shall not commit adultery.” Why? Because God was faithful to his relationship with Israel, and He is faithful to us in the New Covenant. As we strive to be like God, we will strive to be faithful in our relationships. The Law forbids false testimony. Why? Because God’s Word is true-He is true. As we strive to be like God, we will not lie. God helped Israel when she was oppressed and despairing many times. He told Israel to help the poor and oppressed, and he wants us to help those who are down and out. By doing this, we are imaging the character of God.

Why do we need boundaries or a law?
We sometimes say we love God, and we want to be like Him. However, we don’t know how to please Him without some guidance. Sometimes we deceive ourselves or rationalize that God just wants us to be happy, but the Law reminds us that God wants us to be holy. The Law even helps us to know the mind of Jesus because it was these scripture that Jesus studied and knew.

John Mark Hicks concludes, “Love is the heart of the Christian ethic, but this love is revealed, embodied and given concrete form through law. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. We know we are God’s when we love as He loved, but we know we have loved as He has loved only through the guidance of the Law (torah, Christology, and community).

So, what is our relation to the Law today? How do we see it today?

As Hicks points out, “Jesus himself embodies the Torah and fulfills the Torah because He Himself is the revelation of the character of God. Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. In the context of Matthew (i.e. The Sermon on the Mount), His character embodies the ethics of the sermon, that is, the perfection of God. The Law is not a savior, but it is a standard. It is not an enabling power, but a guide. It guards against understanding grace as license, and it functions as a boundary marker to undermine our own self-deception. Love is the heart of the Christian ethic, but this love is revealed, embodied and given concrete form through the Law. There is no condemnation in Jesus Christ for those who seek the heart of God and yearn to emulate the character of God in their lives. The Spirit will bear fruit in the lives of God’s people through faith. The Law of God is simply the standard and guide for taking up the character of God in our daily walk.” Let’s keep walking!

For further discussion about our relation to the Law, read –
Romans 7:l2, Gal. 3:l9-27, Matthew 5:l7-l8, Romans l0:4, Hebrews 10

Review these questions as you prepare for discussion . . . 
1. What is the Law? How do we feel about it today?
2. How did God’s people see the Law in their time? How do we see God’s laws today?
3. What is the relation between grace and law in the Old Testament?
4. What is the relation in the New Testament?
5. What did God try to emphasize in the Law? What principles does the new covenant emphasize today? What do we learn about our God in the “old covenant” and the “new covenant”? (Give specific examples.)
6. How did the Law proclaim Yahweh to the world? What are ways we proclaim God to our world today?
7. How is the Law profitable for instruction? (II Tim 3:l6-l7)
8. How is our new covenant a better and superior covenant? Hebrews 

RESOURCES 

Baylis, From Creation to Cross
Hicks, “Law and the Christian Life”
Holladay, Long Ago God Spoke
Willis, Between God and Man
Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read