Religious Laws – The Law of God: Questions and Answers

Religious Laws
The Law of God: Questions and Answers

The religious laws defined the terms of Israel’s relationship with God.

Question: What do you mean by “Law”?

“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.” Exodus 23:13

Following the giving of the first round of civil laws to Moses, God begins to explain the religious or ceremonial rules that must govern His people in their relationship with Him.

First, He restates the demand for exclusive devotion in the text cited above, then outlines a program of worship, offerings, sacrifices, rests, and feasts that express His will for His people. It is safe to say this facet of the Law of God—the religious laws—reflects an aspect of the will of God that is at once beautiful, mysterious, practical, terrifying, satisfying, sensate, and deeply spiritual.

The religious laws of Israel include instructions about sacrifices and offerings—whether to atone for sin or express gratitude or worship—and the rules defining the work of priests and Levites in administering the service of the Tabernacle. Special garments and furnishings, as well as detailed guidelines for offerings, cleansings, and festivals, are included in these laws. The religious laws were to be followed by the people in worshiping the Lord. They were not to be added to or amended in any way (cf. Lev. 10).

The writer of Hebrews explains that these laws foreshadowed God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ and that, since He has fulfilled the work of which these were but a shadow, the religious laws—sacrifices, priesthood, feast days, and the like—had now been set aside. However, as Paul shows in 1 Corinthians 9, there are principles of propriety in serving the Lord encoded in these laws that should guide us in our practice even today.

We look to the religious laws of Israel, therefore, to aid us in discerning principles and practices that can guide us in personal and corporate worship, and in thus maintaining continuity with our forebears and contemporaries in the covenant community of the Lord.

Got a question about the Law of God? Write to T. M. at tmmoore@ailbe.org, and your answer might appear in this series of In the Gates columns.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

–

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.