Rembrandt’s “Moses with the Tablets of the Law.”
Start with Scripture:
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
OBSERVE:
The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality. These ten “words” aren’t exhaustive. Altogether in the “Torah,” (which is the first five books of the Bible), from Exodus to Deuteronomy, there are over 600 laws, commandments and precepts.
These ten laws are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.
God initially declares his claim on Israel. He is the Lord their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. The covenant between the Lord and his people is predicated on this history. Before he was their lawgiver he was their Savior and Liberator.
The first four commandments may be described as “vertical.” What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God. First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself. No other gods. The second is an amplification of the first: no worship of images. The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion. God is the maker of all creation. It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone.
God is described in very personal terms here – he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal; and loving toward those who love him.
Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Lord. This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or incantation. A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person. So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.
Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation in God’s rest from his acts of creating. Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy – set apart.
In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy. One God, no rivals, a holy name, a holy day. This is to remind them of the God who has delivered them.
The last six commandments govern human relationships. These are the “horizontal” commandments. But the fifth commandment, like the first, is a demand for reverence and loyalty – in this case, honoring their parents. As with the second commandment, which promises love to a thousand generations of those who love God, the fifth commandment also promises blessings – in this case long life.
It would seem that every “civilized” society holds these last commandments in common: respect for parents, respect for life, respect for marriage, respect for property, respect for truth telling.
The final commandment, though, crosses the line from mere external obedience into internal motivation. Covetousness is that sense of greed or craving or envy that begins to penetrate and to corrupt the heart. It might even be said that the sins of murder, adultery, theft, and even deception begin with covetousness.
Needless to say, these commandments are a cornerstone for a biblically righteous and harmonious life.
APPLY:
The Christian attitude toward the law is a little complicated. The law performs the very vital function of revealing God’s will and his holy nature. But as Paul illustrates in his Epistles, pure obedience to the law is impossible.
In a sense this self-defeating nature of the law is built into it — the tenth commandment, prohibiting covetousness, makes clear that sin is more than mere action. Sin springs from the heart and the will.
Jesus says as much when he says “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. (Matthew 5:21-22) and again, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28).
None of this suggests that the law is abolished or that it can be ignored. It simply reminds us that the law is like a mirror that shows us what is wrong with us, and drives us to Christ our Savior, who satisfies the law on our behalf. And that only through the help of the Holy Spirit are we empowered to fulfill the outer and inner aspects of the law. As Romans 8:1-2 says Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
The law is summed up by the law of love, in which we are commanded to love God and our neighbor. If we love God and our neighbor, it stands to reason we will also fulfill the ten commandments – and we will do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.
RESPOND:
The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people. If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well – from my heart.
As 1 John 5:2-3 says, This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.
Lord, how I love your law! And yet how I hate it at the same time! I love the guidance and the boundaries that the law provides. And yet I find myself unable, in my own strength, to perfectly keep it. I pray that your Holy Spirit will enable me to keep the perfect law of love, in your strength and not in mine. Amen.
PHOTOS: "Moses with the Tablets of the Law" by Rembrandt is in the Public Domain. "Do I Know You?" by Tom -- An Untrained Eye is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. "Law of Love Ministries Logo" is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 
From your Article: None of this suggests that the law is abolished or that it can be ignored.
While it is true that the Law of Moses can never be abolished or ignored it can be and has been fulfilled and set-aside for those who are in Christ Jesus:
• The Law of Moses is in effect until we come to salvation in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:19-29)
• At this point the Law of Moses is fulfilled because its purpose to drive us to Jesus so we can be saved has been fulfilled. Romans 13:10 (Love is the fulfillment of the Law)
• When the Law of Moses has been fulfilled it is set aside for the new believer so they can live by love toward God and man and no longer have to worry about the Law of Moses again. (Hebrews 7:12-18)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comments Timothy. I would like to think that we are in fundamental agreement, with just perhaps some nuanced points. Please help me to understand if I’m mistaken. Jesus does remind us in Matthew 5:“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
At the same time he, like Paul, makes it perfectly clear that love for God and neighbor perfectly fulfil the law.
I guess my point is that when we do love God and neighbor, what we do will look a lot like what the law of Moses commanded in the first place. Love means we will honor God’s name. Love means we will worship him. Love means we will not only avoid adultery we will avoid lust because it is objectifying and selfish.
Paul himself cites the commandments in Romans 13:9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In this sense, even the Mosaic law seems to be used as a kind of guide by Paul – not in a legalistic sense, but in terms of defining what love looks like in practice.
I would never suggest for one moment that we are in any way saved by works of the law. The grace of Christ, received by faith, saves us.
However I think the law still serves a purpose to drive us to Christ; and then Christ drives us back to the law – the law of love.
As Martin Luther is supposed to have said, “Preach law to the proud and grace to the humble.”
I hope this clarifies what I was hoping to say.
LikeLike
It is true Paul cites the Law of Moses in Romans 13:9 and in the next verse, Romans 13:10, he tells us how that law is fulfilled. “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” When the Law has been fulfilled “the former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless. (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:18-19)
While the Law of Moses can be a guide to show us what love looks like in practice the Holy Spirit is a much better guide and is given to believers for that purpose by God the Father. Paul tells us we died to what once bound us, and have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6) Christ has made us competent ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)
Paul is telling believers to live by the Spirit and warning us against living by the written code because the Law kills but the Spirit gives life.
LikeLiked by 1 person