Law in the Bible

GOLDEN TEXT: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. … And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”—Matthew 22:37-39

DEUTERONOMY 6:20-25—In this passage Moses explained to the Israelites how they were to answer any who might ask them the meaning of the laws and statutes which the Lord had enjoined upon them. They were to say that it was for their “good always, that he [God] might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness.”

From this we see that fundamentally the purpose of the Law given to Israel was the same as in the case of Adam—in fact, it is always the same. The keeping of God’s laws is always for the “good” of those who keep them, and in order that they might live. God benefits only in the sense that it brings joy to him when his creatures, through obedience, place themselves in a position to receive his blessings.

In our Golden Text Jesus sums up the meaning of God’s Law as given to Israel. This summary, however, was not original with the Master, for he is quoting largely from Moses. (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18) What Jesus designates the “first and great commandment” epitomizes the intent of the first four of the Ten Commandments, for these outline man’s duty toward God—what he expects in the way of homage and reverence.

If we love God with all our hearts and souls and minds we will have no disposition to worship other gods; nor will we knowingly take the name of our God in vain. Any Israelite who was whole-hearted in his love for God would take delight in observing the sabbath of rest and keep that day holy unto the Lord, for he would see in this commandment that which would help him to know his God better and to put his trust in him more fully.

Keeping the sabbath by the Israelites was primarily a resting from their own labors—labors by which they provided for themselves the necessities of life. To rest from these one day in seven called for an exercise of faith in God’s ability to care for them, hence it was a reminder of his faithfulness in providing for their needs. With the Christian this rest is on a higher plane, for with us the hope of everlasting life is involved. This divine provision for life is available only through Christ, so we rest by faith in his finished work. Thus we rest from our own works, as God did from his.

The “first and great commandment,” which calls for supreme love for God, applies to his people in every age, for no other attitude of heart and mind could be pleasing to him. As the Creator and great provider of the needs of all his creatures he could not expect less. To the Israelites this full heart obedience was expressed in their loyalty to the Law Covenant.

To the followers of the Master in this age, it means the laying down of our lives sacrificially, following in his footsteps. We cannot love God supremely without loving his will and endeavoring to be obedient thereto. His will for us is that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, with the realization that this is our reasonable service.—Rom. 12:1

LEVITICUS 19:9-14, 17, 18—Here we have set forth somewhat in detail the manner in which the Israelites were, in a practical way, to love their neighbors as themselves and thus fulfill the intent of what Jesus referred to as the second great commandment. Just as the first “great commandment” summarizes the first four of the Ten Commandments, so the second presents a digest of the last six, for these outline man’s duty to man.

Those who love their neighbors as themselves will not willfully disobey any of the last six of the Ten Commandments. When the Lord, through Moses, said to the Israelites, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” he stated in a positive form that which the Decalogue sets forth in a series of “thou shalt nots.” Simply to refrain from doing injury to another is not the full expression of the Law, for the spirit of the Law is to do good, to love others as we love ourselves.

Jesus summed up this thought in what has been designated the Golden Rule, and how much better off the whole world would be if this rule were observed by all! And it will be, eventually, when the work of restitution is complete at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ.

But even the Golden Rule is not the full expression of God’s will for the followers of Jesus. It outlines the operation of justice, whereas we are invited to walk in the way of love—that love which was exemplified by Jesus in laying down his life for the world. Jesus said that we are to love one another as he loved us. That was a love which impelled him to die for us and for the world.

QUESTIONS:

Who was the first to state what Jesus designates the “first and great commandment”?

What was God’s purpose in giving the Law to Israel?

What is the relationship between what Jesus referred to as the “first” and “second” commandments, and the Ten Commandments?

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