The Privilege of His Presence – The Law of God: Questions and Answers

The Privilege of His Presence

The Law of God: Questions and Answers

The ceremonial laws facilitate the privilege of enjoying the presence of God.

What’s the purpose of the religious laws in the Old Testament?

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1-3

Because the ceremonial laws have been set aside, fulfilled in the work of Christ and replaced by His new ceremonial laws (Heb. 7-9), it’s easy to take them for granted and to believe they have nothing much to offer us today. However, principles that can enhance our relationship with God are encoded in these statutes, precepts, rules, and institutions, and we need to understand them.

A basic assumption embedded in the Ten Commandments is the great privilege we have of enjoying a relationship with the living God. God calls us to “have” Him as our God and to “take” His Name upon us (first and third commandments). The Law of God assumes the existence of a relationship, initiated by God and sustained by His goodness and grace. This relationship is sustained within the framework of a covenant of promise which unfolds and develops throughout the course of Scripture, leaving some components behind as it does, bringing new ones into play, yet maintaining at all times its essential gracious character. Everything about our relationship with God is of grace: He made us, chose us, redeemed and called us, saved us, sustains and sanctifies us—and all out of the unfathomable enormity of His grace.

But no relationship can be one way. God relates to us on the basis of grace; He teaches His people to respond to Him in faith, which we express as loving obedience. We are not wise enough to figure out on our own what is appropriate in maintaining, enjoying, and benefiting from our relationship with God. God graciously instructs us in His Word, beginning with His Law, so that we do not have to guess about what might please Him and benefit us within His covenant. The ceremonial laws in particular establish a structure and means for enabling the Lord’s redeemed people to meet with Him in His glory and to be further sanctified and blessed in Him.

God is pleased for His people to have Him as their God and to be called His own children, His chosen people and glorious possession. All relationships require protocols and regimens through which the covenanted parties demonstrate their love for one another. God continues to relate to His redeemed by His Word and Spirit, graciously supplying all their needs through His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. His people relate to Him through faith and obedience. In the ceremonial laws of ancient Israel we may discover certain aspects of a pattern of faith and obedience that can serve us in enjoying our relationship with God today.

The better we understand these laws, therefore, the richer, fuller, and more fruitful will be our relationship with our gracious God and King.

For a fuller study of the pattern of worship revealed in Scripture, order the book, The Highest Thing, by T. M. Moore, from our online store. These studies and brief essays will help you to see how the pattern of sound worship, which began in the Law of God, comes to complete expression in the rest of Scripture. Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe.

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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.