Preaching Old Testament Law to New Testament Christians

Preaching Old Testament Law to New Testament Christians - Part 2

Part two of an exploration of the relevance of Old Testament Scriptures for life in the twenty-first century.

Daniel I. Block, D.Phil., is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, United States.

In the first part of this series, featured in May, the author reviewed various myths Christians have developed over the role of the Old Testament Law and argued that its basic relevance is timeless. He showed how the Law preserved an incredible relationship of people with God and how this relationship is to be evidenced in grateful obedience to God who saves by His grace. In this issue, the author reviews the significance of the laws of the Old Testament for Old Testament believers.—Editors

Even though we have clarified the forms and genres of the major constitutional documents in the Pentateuch, we still may not have overcome the prejudices that inhibit preaching the Old Testament Law. In order to do so, we probably need to wrestle a little more with the significance of these laws, particularly as Moses and the genuinely pious in ancient Israel understood them. As we try to resolve this issue, we must keep in mind two important principles of interpretation. First, whenever we interpret a biblical text, the most important clues to its meaning must be derived from the immediate literary context, not later comments on the text. Second, biblical texts must always be interpreted in the light of the broader cultural context from which they derive, not the culture of a later time, let alone pervasive modern understandings of these texts.

Let’s begin by considering an important question Moses raised in his second farewell pastoral address to his people, as quoted in Deuteronomy 6:20: “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the covenant stipulations and the ordinances and the laws that Yahweh our God has commanded you?’ ”

The point Moses raises is that succeeding generations will not have memory of the experiences that the people in his audience have shared, either of Yahweh’s revelation at Sinai or of his present discourses on that revelation on the plains of Moab. Therefore, it will be necessary for this and all subsequent generations to be very intentional in transmitting their faith to the next generation. As in every social context and every age, the children will watch the way their parents live, and, especially when faced with the challenge of competing cultures, they will be curious about the nature and rationale behind their own traditions. Moses assumes that the children will ask their parents for an explanation of their way of life.

Totality of God’s will

The specific question Moses anticipates here concerns the covenant stipulations , ordinances , and regulations that Yahweh has commanded Israel to observe. These three expressions function as shorthand for the totality of the will of God as it had been revealed primarily at Horeb and to a lesser degree en route to the Promised Land. The question assumes a package, all the moral, ceremonial, and civil regulations that God has prescribed as the appropriate response to His salvation and the privilege of a covenant relationship. As illustrated so impressively in Leviticus 19, this revelation refused to divide life into the sacred and the ordinary. When the children observe how their parents conduct their private and family lives, how they carry on their social and economic relations, how they worship, how they conduct themselves within the family, then they will inquire concerning the meaning of it all. Of course, what the children’s question calls for is not a detailed exposition of each of the 613 laws in the Pentateuch identified by Maimonides, but an explanation of the significance of the entire package. In short, “Why is it that our lives are governed by this set of principles?” and “What is the significance of this set of laws?”

If we were asked today, “What is the significance of the stipulations, the ordinances, and the laws that God commanded the Israelites to observe?” we would probably respond with several differentanswers. If we were actually to read the laws, some of us would probably shake our heads in bewilderment and wonder seriously whether there is any point to these laws at all.

Some with cultural and antiquarian interests, especially those interested in the history of law and culture, might say these laws offer the modern reader an interesting window into the society of ancient Israel. Readers familiar with the Near Eastern legal world of the second millennium B.C. might even conclude that these laws represent a significant advance on those found in the law code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon in the nineteenth century B.C.

My suspicion, however, is that many of us would not have answered the question in either of these ways. In our day, especially in contemporary Western evangelicalism, when asked about the significance of the Law for Israel, many would answer that for Israel, the Law was the way of salvation, whereas in the New Testament, people are saved by grace.

The problem with this explanation is that it contradicts Paul’s explicit statements that even in the Old Testament people were justified by faith (eg: Abraham) rather than through obedience to the Law (Rom. 4; Gal. 3:1–12). Many evangelicals view the Law, not as a way of salvation, but as the way of death. And they quote Paul to buttress their position, for does he not say, “The Law brings about wrath” (Rom. 4:15, NAS); “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound” (Rom. 7:6, NAS); “as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse,” “the Law is not of faith,” and “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law” (Gal. 3:10–13, NAS); and “before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor” (Gal. 3:23, 24, NAS)? Further, does not Paul in Galatians 4:21–31, speaking of the Law, write that Mount Sinai (who is Hagar) bears children who are slaves, in contrast to Jerusalem, our mother, who has borne free children?

Paul’s answer to Moses’ question

These verses seem to offer a rather clear answer to the question that Moses raised. The significance of the Law lay in its power to bind those who are under the Law, to subject them to the curse and the wrath of God, and to demonstrate their desperate need of a Savior. While on the surface this seems to be the way the New Testament perceives the law, it raises serious questions concerning both the justice and mercy of God. How and why would God rescue the Israelites from the burdensome and death-dealing slavery of Egypt (cf. Exod. 20:2) only to impose upon them an even heavier burden of the Law, which they in any case were unable to keep and which would sentence them to an even more horrible fate—damnation under His own wrath? When you look at the Exodus this way, it turns out not to be such a good deal after all.

One of the most important principles for the interpretation of Scripture is to interpret Scripture with Scripture. And this is indeed what we are doing when we appeal to Paul for the answer to Moses’ question. But sometimes we move too quickly to later texts, especially the New Testament, and we forget the primacy of the immediate context in determining the meaning of any word or statement in Scripture. When we seek to understand the significance of the regulations and ordinances that God prescribed for His people, from the outset we need not only to explore seriously their function in the original settings but also to distinguish between the ideal and the real, between the role of the laws in the lives of Israelites as intended by God and Moses and the way the Israelites actually used the laws.

First, God and Moses perceived obedience to the laws, not as a way of or precondition to salvation, but as the grateful response of those who had already been saved. In the New Testament, Paul demonstrates this point by appealing to Abraham (Rom. 4), but he might just as well have cited the experience of the nation of Israel, whose deliverance from Egypt becomes paradigmatic of a person’s experience of salvation. God did not reveal the law to the Israelites in Egypt and then tell them that as soon as they had measured up to this standard He would rescue them. On the contrary, by grace alone, through faith they crossed the Red Sea to freedom. All that was required was belief in the promise of God that He would hold up the walls of water on either side and see them safely through to the other shore.

The chronological priority of Israel’s salvation vis à vis the revelation of the law is illustrated clearly by Deuteronomy 6:20–25: “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and againstPharaoh and all his household, before our eyes; and he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land which he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us’ ” (RSV).

Second, God and Moses perceived obedience to the law not primarily as a duty imposed by one party on another, but as an expression of covenant relationship. Before God revealed His will to His people, “He brought them to Himself.” Israel’s primary commitment was not to a code of laws but to the God who graciously called Israel to covenant relationship with Himself; they were to obey “His voice.” In fact, He does not reveal His will to the people until He hears their declaration of complete and unconditional servitude to Him as covenant Lord (Exod. 19:8). Every one of the so-called law codes listed in the previous article must be interpreted within the context of covenant.

Third, God and Moses perceived obedience to the law not as the precondition for salvation, but as the precondition to Israel’s fulfillment of the mission to which she had been called and the precondition to her own blessing. The first point is highlighted in Exodus 19:5, 6: If Israel will keep Yahweh’s covenant and obey His voice, she will be God’s special treasure, His kingdom of priests, His holy nation (cf. Deut. 26:16–19). The second is spelled out in detail in Leviticus 26:1–13 and Deuteronomy 28:1–4.

Fourth, God and Moses perceived God’s revelation of the law to Israel as a supreme and unique privilege (Deut. 4:6–8), in contrast to the nations that worshiped gods of wood and stone who never spoke (4:28; Ps. 115:4–8). Contrary to contemporary evangelical opinion, obedience to the law for the genuinely faithful in Israel was a delight, in part because of their deep gratitude for God’s grace experienced in salvation and covenant relationship, but also because they knew that God would respond to their obedience with favor (Deut. 6:20–25; Ps. 24:3–6). Moses alludes to this extraordinary fact in Deuteronomy 4:1–8: “ ‘And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Ba´al-pe´or, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Ba´al of Pe´or. But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances as righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?” (RSV).

An example in contrast

To help us understand the significance of the Torah, consider a prayer, written in Sumerian, and probably dating back to the second millennium, but preserved in the library of Ashurbanipal, one of the seventh century B.C. emperors of Assyria.1 The text is repetitious, but to get the point, read the entire piece.

Prayer to Every God2

May the fury of my lord’s heart be quieted toward me.3

May the god who is not known be quieted toward me;

May the goddess who is not known be quieted toward me.

May the god whom I know or do not know be quieted toward me;

May the goddess whom I know or do not know be quieted toward me.

May the heart of my god be quieted toward me;

May the heart of my goddess be quieted toward me.

May my god and goddess be quieted toward me.

May the god [who has become angry with me]4 be quieted toward me;

May the goddess [who has become angry with me] be quieted toward me. (lines 11-18 cannot be restored with certainty)

In ignorance I have eaten that forbidden of my god; In ignorance I have set foot on that prohibited by my goddess.

O Lord, my transgressions are many; great are my sins.

O my god, (my) transgressions are many; great are (my) sins.

O my goddess, (my) transgressions are many; great are (my) sins.

O god, whom I know or do not know, (my) transgressions are many; great are (my) sins;

O goddess, whom I know or do not know, (my) transgressions are many; great are (my) sins.

The transgression that I have committed, indeed I do not know;

The sin that I have done, indeed I do not know.

The forbidden thing that I have eaten, indeed I do not know;

The prohibited (place) on which I have set foot, indeed I do not know.

The lord in the anger of his heart looked at me;

The god in the rage of his heart confronted me;

When the goddess was angry with me, she made me become ill.

The god whom I know or do not know has oppressed me;

The goddess whom I know or do not know has placed suffering upon me.

Although I am constantly looking for help, no one takes me by the hand;

When I weep they do not come to my side.

I utter laments, but no one hears me;

I am troubled;

I am overwhelmed;

I cannot see.

O my god, merciful one, I address to you the prayer,

”Ever incline to me”;

I kiss the feet of my goddess; I crawl before you.. (lines 41-49 are mostly broken and cannot be restored with certainty)

How long, O my goddess, whom I know or do not know, before your hostile heart will be quieted?

Man is dumb; he knows nothing;

Mankind, everyone that exists—what does he know?

Whether he is committing sin or doing good, he does not even know.

O my lord, do not cast your servant down;

He is plunged into the waters of a swamp; take him by the hand.

The sin that I have done, turn into goodness;

The transgression that I have committed let the wind carry away;

My many misdeeds strip off like a garment.

O my god, (my) transgressions are seven times seven; remove my transgressions;

O my goddess, (my) transgressions are seven times seven; remove my transgressions;

O god whom I know or do not know, (my) transgressions are seven times seven; remove my transgressions;

O goddess whom I know or do not know, (my) transgressions are seven times seven; remove my transgressions.

Remove my transgressions (and) I will sing your praise.

May your heart, like the heart of a real mother, be quieted toward me;

Like a real mother (and) a real father may it be quieted toward me.

 

Is this not a pathetic piece? And what an indictment this prayer is on the religious systems of the world around ancient Israel! To be sure, with his keen sense of sin and his awareness of ultimate accountability before deity, this person expresses greater enlightenment than many in our own day. However, he cannot escape the fact that he is faced with three insurmountable problems. First, he does not know which god he has offended. Second, he does not know what the offense is. Third, he does not know what it will take to satisfy the god/gods. It is against this backdrop that we must interpret Moses’ statements in Deuteronomy 4:1–8. With their clear knowledge of the will of Yahweh, the faithful in Israel perceived themselves as an incredibly privileged people and the envy of the nations. Unlike other peoples, whose gods of wood and stone crafted by human hands neither saw nor heard nor smelled (Deut. 4:28; cf. Ps. 135:15–17), Yahweh hears His people when they call upon him (Deut. 4:7). And unlike the nations whose idols have mouths but they do not speak (Ps. 135:16), Israel’s God has spoken. By His grace He has given His people statutes and judgments that are perfect in righteousness (Deut. 4:8), because: (1) they reveal with perfect clarity who He is; (2) they reveal with perfect clarity what sin is; and (3) they reveal with perfect clarity how that sin may be removed and a relationship of peace and confidence with Him established/maintained. This explains why, when David experiences forgiveness for his sins, he can exclaim, “Oh the joy/privilege of the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!”

Fifth, God and Moses perceived true obedience to the law to be the external expression of an inward disposition of fear and faith in God and covenant love toward Him. True biblical religion has always been a matter of the heart. This internal transformation is referred to metaphorically as a circumcised heart (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; 30:6–10; Jer. 4:4), a heart transplant (Jer. 24:7; 32:39; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26), the placement of God’s Spirit within a person (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26), and the writing of God’s on the heart (Jer. 31:33). While these are occasionally viewed as future eschatological events to be experienced by all Israel, it is clear that they have always been true of the remnant of true believers in ancient Israel (e.g., Caleb, Num. 14:24; also Ps. 19:7–13; 37:31; 40:8, 51:16, 17; 119:11; Isa. 51:7).

Sixth, both God and Moses perceived the laws holistically, viewing all of life as under the authority of the divine suzerain. Whereas modern interpreters tend to discuss the ethical relevance of the laws by classifying them according to moral, civil, and ceremonial categories, these categories are not very helpful and in any case do not reflect the nature and organization of the laws themselves. Christopher Wright has moved the discussion forward by recognizing five categories of Israelite law: criminal law, civil law, family law, cultic law, and compassionate law.5 Even so, we must realize that the documents themselves do not make these distinctions. This is illustrated most impressively in Leviticus 19, which, with its more than four dozen commandments, refuses to classify, let alone arrange in order of importance, civil, ceremonial, and moral laws.

Seventh, both God and Moses perceived the laws as comprehensible and achievable (Deut. 30:11–20). God did not impose upon His people an impossibly high standard but revealed to them in great detail a system of behavior that was uniquely righteous and gracious at the same time (Deut. 4:6–8). The genuinely pious in Israel, transformed in heart by the Spirit of God, lived by faith and by the promise, assured that if they would conduct their lives according to the covenant they would live (Deut. 4:20–25). However, God also had a realistic view of His people. Recognizing their propensity to sin, He provided a means of forgiveness and communion through the sacrifi cial and ceremonial ritual. There was no time in Israel’s history when every Israelite was truly devoted to Yahweh in this sense. For this reason, within the new Israelite covenant, Jeremiah anticipates a time when the boundaries between physical Israel and spiritual Israel will be coterminous and all will love God and demonstrate with their lives that His has been written on their hearts (Jer. 31:31–34).

Of course, these facts did not prevent later Israelites from perverting obedience to the law as a condition for blessing into a condition for salvation. The prophets constantly railed against their people for substituting true piety, which is demonstrated first in moral obedience, with the external rituals prescribed by the law (Isa. 1:10–17; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21–24; Mic. 6:6–8), thinking that if they performed these rituals God was obligated to receive them favorably. Nor did these facts prevent the Israelites from perverting their possession of the law as a privilege into a divine right and an unconditional guarantee of God’s protection (Jer. 7:1–10, 21–26; 8:8–12), as if the covenant only obligated God to them and not them to God. Nor did Yahweh’s desire that His people have His Word written on their hearts prevent Israelites from being satisfied with, nay, taking pride in, the external law that they possessed but forgetting to write the law on their hearts. Nor did the fact that God and Moses considered all of life as holy prevent the Israelites from perverting the law by placing great stock in divinely prescribed rituals while disregarding God’s ethical and communal demands. Instead of heeding the examples of Cain and Abel and acknowledging that God looks upon our religious expressions through the lenses of our hearts and everyday lives, they imagined that God looked upon their hearts through the lenses of their sacrifices (“To obey is better than sacrifice” 1 Sam. 15:22). So they violated the moral laws with impunity even while they continued to observe the ceremonial regulations (Isaiah 1; Jeremiah 7).

1 According to Ferris J. Stephens (ANET, 391–92), “This prayer is addressed to no particular god, but to all gods in general, even those who may be unknown. The purpose of the prayer is to claim relief from suffering, which the writer understands is the result of some infraction of divine law. He bases his claim on the fact that his transgressions have been committed unwittingly, and that he does not even know what god he may have offended. Moreover, he claims, the whole human race is by nature ignorant of the divine will, and consequently is constantly committing sin. He therefore ought not to be singled out for punishment.”

2 Adapted from ANET, 391–92.

3 According to Stephens, the Sumerian is rendered literally, “of my lord, may his angry heart return to its place for me.” The phrase “return to its place,” a figurative expression for “to settle down,” suggests the imagery of a raging storm or of water boiling in
a kettle.

4 The restoration is based on line 32, after Stephen Langdon, Babylonian Penitential Psalms (Paris: P.Geuthner, 1927), 39–44.

5 Christopher J. H. Wright, An Eye for an Eye: The Place of Old Testament Ethics Today (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1983), 148–59; ———, Walking in the Ways of the Lord: The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 114.

 

 


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Daniel I. Block, D.Phil., is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, United States.

July 2006

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