The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS

131

GENESIS

The Old Testament Law

There are five reasons for the Old Testament Law: 1. To provide a social and civil framework for Israel (I Ki 2:1-12) 2. To reveal God’s standard of right and wrong (Rom 7:7-13)

3. To illustrate God’s love toward mankind (Rom 8:3) 4. To show God mankind’s love for Him (Jn 14:15) 5. To explain to man his need for a Savior (Gal 3:19-24) This fifth and final reason for the purpose of the Law is the most important reason. Randy Meulman in FromDeath to Life notes:

When God gave the law to the Jews, they came to believe that keeping the law was the issue. In reality, the law and the efforts to keep it were meant to lead to something much bigger. The law was, to us a medical analogy, simply a diagnostic tool that the Jews confused for the cure. It was kind of like confusing the thermometer that reveals the fever with the aspirin that relieves it. The law and the inability to keep it were really meant to expose and reveal the existence of spiritual death, thus driving mankind back to God for healing. Instead, the Jews came to believe that keeping the law itself would bring about healing and a restored relationship with God… The main purpose of the law was to prove that keeping the law was impossible. 1

There are five parts to the Old Testament Law: 1. Moral Laws - The Moral Laws (crimes against God – I Sam 2:25 and Prov 29:2 ) were written to show man his relationship to a Holy God. These laws revealed God’s standard of righteousness. They were written so that people could live at peace with God. According to the Bible, the following crimes (under the Moral Laws) were worthy of capital punishment: -sex with animals (Exo 22:19, Lev 18:23 & 20:15-16 and Deut 27:21) Man was created in the image of God, above the animals ( Gen 1:24-27 ). Sex outside the boundaries of God-ordained standards is an insult to the Designer. -homosexuality (Lev 18:22 & 20:13, Deut 23:17 and Gen 13:13 / Rom 1:26,27 ) If God is the Great Designer (and He is), then you don’t need a degree in physiology to realize that the human body was never designed for homosexual or lesbian relationships. God is a God of order, and common sense says that a man and a woman match up, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman. It is the ultimate insult to the Designer when the design does not live according to its design (Rom 1:18-28 and I Cor 6:9). -prostitution (Lev 19:29 & 21:9, Deut 22:13-21 & 23:17-18 and Gen 38:13-24) God never created the woman (His greatest design - Gen 2:18b ) to sell herself for money. It is an insult to the Creator whenever His greatest design sells her self for mere money. NOTE – The following crimes (under the Moral Laws for the nation of Israel) were also worthy of capital punishment: -worshipping false gods (Exo 20:3-6 & 22:20 & 23:13, Lev 19:4 & 26:1 and Deut 4:19 & 5:6-9 & 7:25,26 & 13:6-18 & 16:21,22 & 17:2-5 & 27:15), which included falsely sacrificing (Lev 17:8,9 & 18:21 & 20:2-5 and Deut 17:1 & 18:10) by profaning the blood sacrifices, which depicted CHRIST (Gen 9:4, Lev 3:17 & 7:26 & 17:10-16 & 19:26 and Deut 12:16, 23-25 & 15:23), falsely prophesying (Deut 13:1-5 & 18:20-22), blaspheming God (Exo 20:7 and Lev 19:12 & 22:32 & 24:10-16,23 and Deut 5:11), and sacrificing your children to false gods (Lev 18:21 & 20:2-5 and Deut 18:10). Fact: Nothing sends a person to hell faster than worshipping the wrong god (Jn 8:24, Deut 32:17 and I Cor 10:19-20). -sorcery (Exo 22:18, Lev 19:26,31 & 20:6,27 and Deut 18:10-14) God never intended man to fellowship with fallen angels (evil spirits) (I Sam 28:7-10). God is greatly insulted whenever a man chooses the creation over the Creator. -willful disobedience towards God’s Laws (Num 15:30-31) -lewd behavior (Lev 18:9 & 20:17 and Deut 27:22) -promotion of unisex (Deut 22:5) -unlawful marriages (Deut 7:3-4 & 24:4) -misuse of God’s land (Exo 23:10-11 and Lev 25:1-7 & 26:2-35) -selling God’s Land to other nations (Lev 25:23) -misuse of the tithe (not taking care of the men of God monetarily who take care of you spiritually – Exo 22:29-30, Lev 27:30- 33, Num 18:20-32 and Deut 12:19 & 14:22-29 & 18:1-8 & 25:4 & 26:1-14) 2. Civil Laws - The Civil Laws (crimes against people) were written to govern relationships between God’s people. These laws were to help the Israelites get along with one another and live at peace with one another. According to the Bible, the following crimes (under the Civil Laws) were worthy of capital punishment: -murder (Gen 9:6, Exo 20:13 & 21:12,14,20, Lev 24:17,21, Num 35:16-21,30-33, Deut 5:17 & 19:11-13 & 27:24 and Prov 6:16- 17). According to Romans 13:1-9, murder is part of the Civil Laws. -rape (Deut 22:25-27) -kidnapping (Exo 21:16 and Deut 24:7) -adultery and incest (Lev 20:10-12,14,17,19-20, Exo 20:14, Lev 18:9,20, Deut 5:18 & 22:22-24,30 & 27:20,22, 23 and Prov 6:26- 35). According to Romans 13:1-9, adultery is part of the Civil Laws. -personal injury resulting in death due to a lack of concern (Exo 21:22-23) -personal property injury resulting in death due to a lack of concern (Exo 21:28,29) -presumptuous disobedience towards the law (Deut 17:12-13) -blatant disobedience to parents (Exo 21:15,17 & 20:12, Lev 19:3 & 20:9, Deut 5:16 & 21:18-21 & 27:16 and Prov 20:20)