What Is the Law?

KEY VERSE: “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.” —Deuteronomy 5:6,7

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 5:1-21

THE NATION OF Israel, after receiving freedom from bondage in Egypt, received exclusive favor from God, as stated by the Prophet Amos: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” (Amos 3:2) This favor was indicated by the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai through Moses as mediator. The Law can be summarized by the Decalogue, or ten commandments, which Moses recited to the people on the occasion of our lesson.

In the Book of Deuteronomy are recorded the final admonitions of Moses before Israel was to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. He reminded them of their many experiences during the forty years of traveling in the wilderness of Sinai.

They had become the most civilized nation in the world because of the Law. Moses said to them, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this Law, which I set before you this day?”—Deut. 4:5-8

Earlier, as recorded in Exodus 19:7,8, Moses told of his conversation with the Lord and the words spoken by God: “All the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” If Israel would keep the Law they would be blessed. If they would not, they would be cursed. God gave them a choice, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”—Deut. 30:19

It was not possible for the Israelites to keep this Law because it required a perfect man to do so. Their failure is illustrated by what occurred when God gave Moses the first tables of the Law on Mount Sinai. When he came down from the mount and saw Israel worshiping a golden calf, in his anger he broke the two tables of the Law.—Exod. 32:19

Later Moses went up into the mountain again and received a new set of the same Law written on two new tablets. (Exod. 34:4) These were not broken, but were placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle for safekeeping.—Exod. 40:20

The first set of tablets were broken demonstrating the impossibility of imperfect men to keep this Law. Only the man Christ Jesus could keep the Law perfectly. Likewise, the second set of tablets is a picture of the Law of the New Covenant which God will make with Israel and the world with Christ as the Mediator.—Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8

Which of these commandments given by God was the greatest? The answer Jesus gave to a lawyer who asked this question, is an excellent summary of the Law: “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 neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”—Matt. 22:37-40

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