All God’s People – Interpreting the Law of God (22)

All God’s People

Interpreting the Law of God (22)

Interpreting God’s Law is the duty of all citizens of the Kingdom of God.

“Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law….” Deuteronomy 31:12

Every seven years the people of Israel were to gather in one place to hear the reading of the Law of God—probably the book of Deuteronomy. We must remember that people in those days did not have books of their own, and it’s likely many of them, especially the young, would not have been able to read at any rate. While, as we shall see, instruction in the Law of God was primarily the responsibility of parents; local rulers and religious leaders, as well as the leaders of the nation, were expected to make sure the Law was the common possession of all the people, young and old alike.

In other words, the duty of hearing, learning, interpreting, and living by the Law did not fall only to the rulers of the people, any more than, in our day, it is the duty of scholars, theologians, or pastors only. All God’s people have been given the Law as a primary resource for unpacking our salvation in good works of love for God and our neighbors. But we will struggle to do this unless we all take on the responsibility of studying, learning, and applying the Law of God to our lives.

Given the low esteem in which the Law of God is held in churches today, it’s not surprising that little in the way of true holiness distinguishes the citizens of the Kingdom of God from the people of the world. Here there is a need for believers to encourage one another in love and good works by taking up the privilege and duty of learning the commandments of God and living by them, and of teaching and encouraging one another in this important (as we shall see) aspect of our Kingdom citizenship (Col. 3:16; Heb. 10:24).

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.