Jottings

by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Nov 1962

In some sense there is a parallel between Israel's experience when they came to Mount Sinai in the wilderness (Exodus 19-24) and Matthew 5-7. It is said in the introduction of Deuteronomy 33, in which Moses blessed the children of Israel before his death:

"The LORD came from Sinai,

And rose from Seir unto them;

He shined forth from mount Paran,

And He came from the ten thousands of holy ones:

At His right hand was a fiery law unto them.

Yea, He loveth the peoples;

All His saints are in Thy hand:

And they sat down at Thy feet;

Every one shall receive of Thy words" (Verses 2 and 8).

Ere Moses deals with the tribes of Israel, each one according to its several blessing, he relates that unparalleled incident of national and personal importance to that people, even the giving of the Law, upon the obedience thereto the well-being and service of that nation would rest.

The prime function of Israel was the receiving of the Law, and consequent obedience thereto, which would be followed by their disseminating that Law amongst the nations around. Such was quite clearly God's intention for them. In the light of the Law which God gave to them, which was to be their wisdom and understanding in the sight of the surrounding peoples, who would say as they saw the Law being carried out, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people," and as Moses adds, "What great nation is there, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this Law, which I set before you this day?" (Deuteronomy 4.6-8).

The Law, as Paul shows (Galatians 3.15, 21), was not given to give life. By it came the knowledge of sin, for where there is no Law there is no transgression (Romans 3. 20; 4.15; 7.7). The breaking of the Law's commandments brought death upon the sinner, and no sinner could be justified by the Law (Romans 7.9, 10; 3.20). It was given to regulate the life of the Israel people, not to give the dead sinner life (Leviticus 18.5 ; Ezekiel 20.9, 11, 18, 21).

Some have thought that Israel made a mistake by accepting the Law, which contained the conditions of the covenant made between Jehovah and Israel His people. They should, they say, have pleaded to be placed under Grace and not under Law; instead of saying together, "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Exodus 19.8), and again, "All the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath spoken will we do" (Exodus 24.8, 7), according to the idea of certain they should have refused the terms of the covenant, but what would have been the result of such a course? It would have been rebellion, the complete refusal of the acceptance of the Law to regulate their conduct. And bad as Israel became under Law, they would have been very much worse without any standard of right and wrong. One would think, to read the writings of such like teachers to whom I refer that the Law was an evil thing, whereas Paul tells us that the Law is holy and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good (Romans 7. 12)

The first two commandments were against idolatry "Thou shalt have none other gods before (or beside) Me. " "Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. " "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them nor serve them. " The third had in view the holiness of God's name and the reverence due to Him. "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. " The fourth enjoined upon Israel a day of rest the Sabbath "As God had rested on the seventh day, so should they. " The fifth had to do with family life in the honour due to parents. Then the sixth to the tenth were matters fundamental to social and national life: "Thou shalt do no murder" (6); "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (7); "Thou shalt not steal" (8); "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" (9); "Thou shalt not covet" (10). Where is the mind in which commonsense resides, not to speak of spiritual perception, that will say that these statutes are not righteous and good for men in general, and for God's people in particular? A people without law is a mob.

When God appeared in fire on Mount Sinai to the people of Israel and spoke to them the words of the ten commandments of the Law, it is said, that "at His right hand was a fiery law unto them," and also, They sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words." Of that fearful appearance Moses asked, "Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?" (Deuteronomy 4.88). God appeared in this fashion to Israel, that they might learn to fear Him all their days that they lived upon the earth, and that they might teach their children (4.10).

The Law, if it be examined in its ten statutes, will be seen to be vitally important for the life and well-being of God's people; indeed, we might say, for any people on earth. Obedience to the first three is what God requires from any people as His due as God the Creator. A day of rest is necessary for mankind-God's chosen day in the past was the Sabbath, the seventh day of each week. Now, for Christians, the chief day of the week is the first day, the day of the Lord's resurrection. Then, who can doubt the excellence of the Lord's command relative to children honouring their father and mother? It is called the first commandment with promise, that is, the promise of a long life on earth. There was never a day when disobedience to parents was more in evidence than today. Young people seem to forget that in the natural course of life they may be parents themselves, when they may reap what they sow, and may sit desolate in the ruins of a life from which all joy has departed.

Then as to the next five commandments, which have to do with social and national life, with the relationship of a man to his neighbour, the first of which is, "Thou shalt do no murder" ; it was never right from the beginning of the human race to commit murder. The first of the long line of scoundrels to do this was Cain, the first of Adam's sinful race. Many since have gone in the way of Cain. Prior to the Flood in Noah's day we are told that the earth was filled with violence, and that man's wickedness was great. Lamech, a descendant of Cain, boasted to his two wives of killing a young man who only wounded him. When Noah came out of the Ark God gave a Law for mankind, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man" (Genesis 9.0). Such is the statute of heaven concerning the act of murder, which is a crime against humanity, but not only so, it is a crime against God who made man in His image. In these days murder is rampant, murders committed upon children and persons of old age, as well as persons of middle age; no age group is immune from the wickedness of the murderer, and this state of things is fostered by novels steeped in murder, by cinema and television, and a state of things is now common to human society as, perchance, has not existed for centuries. How abundantly are manifest the vile propensities of human nature:

"Their feet are swift to shed blood

Destruction and misery are in their ways" (Romans 3.15, 10)!

Next in the list of statutes of God is, " Thou shalt not commit adultery." Here again the records of the Press, which do not give by any means a thousandth part of the violation of the marriage bond, reek with sensual accounts of married life. Divorce is now easy to be obtained in this country, but much easier in others. Among the worst offenders are such as are called "film stars"; a more appropriate name might be "fallen stars." How much sorrow people bring upon themselves here and hereafter and upon their children by their lustful conduct!

Then the next of the statutes is, "Thou shalt not steal," and here we have a much larger group of wrong-doers who used to be called "tarry-fingered." Everything they handle sticks to them and they leave their mark wherever they go.

Next is, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Here we have the liar, the person who perjures himself under oath. The evidence of law courts is full of this kind of lying, but liars are everywhere. It is natural for people to lie, for it is testified of mankind that they go astray from the womb speaking lies. David said that all men are liars, and that by natural instinct.

The last of the ten statutes is, "Thou shalt not covet." It was in the breaking of this statute that Paul in youth sinned and fell (Romans 7.7-14). Here, too, Adam and Eve fell and all their children.

How excellent is the Law, not as a means of Life, but as a way of living!

J. Miller | Nov 1962
Jottings