We peeps are a humorous specie. We want everything spelled out for us to the Nth degree. The Old Testament Law spelled it all out, but the New Testament seems to be vague or silent on a lot of things addressed in the Law.
Entire books of the Old Testament are dedicated to spelling out the whats & what-nots and the dos & do-nots for the people of Israel. God went deep into the details in the Law, spelling out how people were to act socially, ceremonially, how to travel as a nation until they reached the promised land, how to prevent an epidemic, etc. I am talking hull crush depth here!!!
The Law defined the way the Israelites were to live their lives. It covered everything from lending money, animals, and materials to dealing infectious skin diseases. Men, women, menservants and maidservants, slaves, and aliens all had laws that pertained to them. The Law went deep into social justice, medical issues, financial topics, crimes worthy of death and those not worthy of death. Just the idea of the Sabbath took on new meanings once the law was written.
We know about the Sabbath Day: the seventh day of the week was a day of rest. No man, woman, or animal was supposed to work on the Sabbath. People were to be like God. He worked for six day when He created Earth, and rested on the seventh day. The people were to do the same thing: work for six days and rest on the seventh day. The Sabbath rest was a big deal to God… big enough for Him to declare…
“ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between Me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He abstained from work and rested.’ “ Exodus 31*14 – 17
You read it correctly… desecrating the Sabbath was a capital offense!
But the Sabbath rest was not limited to the peeps!
Fields and orchards were to have a Sabbath rest too… a full year! They were to be planted and harvested for six years, but were to rest throughout the seventh year. The owners of the fields were not to harvest anything that grew in the Sabbath year. Instead… the family, servants, poor people, and aliens could go through field and orchard and pick what they needed each day from the produce that grew naturally. Wild animals could do the same during the Sabbath year. Can you imagine letting a field rest for an entire year and eating only what the land produces without working the field at all? But God said it in the law so, to remain right in the eyes of God, all the field and orchard owners had to observe the Sabbath year by letting their fields rest! Now wrap your gray matter around this concept…
A Year of Cancelling Debt!!! No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep… the remainder of a debt that would normally take more than seven years to honor had to be cancelled by the lender in the seventh year.
Confession Time: In accordance with the Sabbath Rule… my remaining five-digit credit card debt would be cancelled in 2019. I returned home in 2012 and used a credit card to pay for the move. Since then, I got stupid with that credit card and have been servicing debt for the last seven years. I believe American society would be very different if the Sabbath rule for cancelling debt were still enforced today. Now… back to the blog…
Additionally, a Hebrew that sold him- or herself to another as a servant was to be freed from that servitude in the seventh year. The newly freed servant was not to go away empty-handed either. This did not apply to slaves, as slaves were considered property. Then there was the hard reset called the year of Jubilee.
Every 50 years, each person could to return to the property his family owned, and to his own clan. The price of land was based on the years until the next Jubilee year. In essence, the sell price was for the number of harvests the land was expected to yield before the land was returned to the seller. There are other hard resets that take place in the year of Jubilee. Imagine if our country functioned like that!!! Along with all this, there was the religious part of the Law to be obeyed.
The Law covered every aspect of worship. Certain animals were acceptable for the required sacrifices, and others were not. The tabernacle had to be built to certain specifications. There were tools, instruments, and utensils the priests were to use while serving in the tabernacle. There was a Holy Place and a Most Holy Place. Only the priests could enter the Most Holy Place one time each year, and had to follow very exacting instructions to properly make atonement for their sins and the sins of the people. Bear in mind that everything had to be dismantled, transported, and reassembled each time the twelve tribes changed locations. God even designated the tribe of Levi as the priests. That tribe’s only responsibility was to serve before God at the Tabernacle.
The tribe of Levi offered all the sacrifices for all the people, both individually and collectively. Levi maintained everything used to worship God. The tribe was the only tribe to transport the Ark of the Covenant; the poles, beams, and coverings of the Tabernacle; and every bit of gear used while serving before God Almighty. There was even a set order the 12 tribes and the tribe of Levi would travel and settle.
Six tribes would break camp and depart first. The priests and all the gear used to worship God would fall behind the sixth tribe. The remaining six tribes would take up the rear position behind the priests… and thus the Israelites would travel at God’s behest.
Upon arrival at the next destination, three tribes would settle and secure the eastern quarter, the next three tribes would do the same to the north, Levi would set up the Tabernacle in the center of the new camp, three more tribes would secure the west quadrant, and the final three would lock down the south quarter. There was a religious schedule to follow while all this other stuff is going on.
This is a small sample of how detailed the Law is in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It merely scratches the surface!!!
The New Testament remains silent on a lot of those issues. Instead, its authors focus on the character traits the believers should possess and display. The writers were preaching “Character Counts” long before the “ Character Counts” movement began in 1992.
It is like the emphasis shifts from what we are to do (Old Testament)… to what we are to be and become (New Testament)!
Colossians 3*1 – 17 is a wonderful example of God’s emphasis on what we should be and become, as opposed to us following dos and do-nots in an obligatory, checklist-compliance fashion without praising and worshipping the One who wrote the Law. There are some dos and do-nots in the new testament, and they appear vague when compared to the details offered in the books of the Law!!!
Notice how the greater emphasis in Colossians 3 is put on what to be instead of what to do.
- Do
- Set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
- Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- Be not…
- Sexually immoral
- Impure
- Lustful
- Greedy
- Idolatrous
- Angry
- Enraged
- Malicious
- Slanderous
- Be…
- Compassionate
- Kind
- Humble
- Gentle
- Patient
- Forgiving
- Thankful
- Loving, which binds them all these virtues together in perfect unity.
There are some dos and do-nots in this section, but much greater emphasis is placed on what we should and should not be and become as opposed to what we should and should not do.
Three areas where more emphasis is put on the dos and do-nots is the operations of churches, home life, and civic duties and responsibilities.
Church Life, Duty, and Responsibility
- Romans 14*1 – 15*13
- 1 Corinthians 11*1 – 12*31 and 14*1 – 40
- 2 Corinthians 8*1 – 15
- Ephesians 4*1 – 16
- Philippians 4*14 – 20
- 1 Timothy 2*1 – 3*16 and 5*1 – 21
- Titus 1*5 – 9, 2*1 – 15
- James 2*1 – 7
- 1 Peter 5*1 – 7
Home Life, Duty, and Responsibility
- Ephesians 5*22 – 6*9
- Colossians 3*18 – 4*1
- 1 Peter 2*18 – 3*7
Civic Life, Duty and Responsibility
- Romans 13*1 – 7
- Titus 3*1 – 2
- 1 Peter 2*13 – 17
Paul, Peter, and James wrote about the way we are to love both believers and nonbelievers, how we are to submit to the authorities appointed over us (both in the church and the local, state, and national governments), and how we are to live our lives as men and women of God. Their writings are not in a checklist style like the Law. “Do this… don’t do that.” There are some dos and don’ts in their writings, but much more time is spent on who Christ Jesus is, what His salvation means to all believers, and what Christians are to expect because we live for Christ Jesus instead of for the world.
Please do not misunderstand this post. We are expected to do certain things as children of God and to refrain from certain things: not because we are attempting to earn our salvation; but because Christ redeemed us, and our faith in, hope, and love for Christ inspires us to do good things that reflect our excitement for and appreciation of this grand salvation that was gracious given to us in spite of ourselves.
A “pilot” that does not fly is a pedestrian in a leather jacket and cool shades.
A “golfer” that does not golf is a caddy.
A “Christian” that does not Christian is ____________________. Leave your response in the comments!
More on these ideas in the coming posts.
Is there something about Christianity that baffles you? Leave a comment, or DM me through Facebook or Instagram
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I hope you spend time in God’s Word each day. Life gets interesting when you view the world through the filter of God’s Word.
Tootles!