GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 24 ~ ~ Psalm 94:12 ~ ~ “Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord …”
From the book, How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef. Chapter entitled The Law of the Old Covenant
Society today has lost sight of the solemnity of covenants and keeping vows. Our culture treats morality and truth as matters to be legislated or voted on. Nine black-robed justices can declare the abortion of an unborn baby to be legally, morally acceptable. Legislators can pass a law or a majority of voters can pass a proposition – and same-sex marriage can be declared legal and oral. What’s more, anyone who dares to oppose abortion or same-sex marriage is accused of “hate.”
But the universe is not interested in human opinions of what is “moral” according to a majority vote. God has established moral standards that are immutable and immovable. His standards are not subject to an opinion pole or a judicial ruling. When it comes to God’s moral law, only one opinion matters: God’s.
The law of God is contained in what the Bible calls the “Law of Moses,” which consists of the teachings of the first five books of the Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Judaism calls these five books the Torah – meaning “law” – in English, we call them the Pentateuch – meaning simply “five books” in Latinized Greek the law was revealed to Moses by God. We see sit called the “Law of Moses” for the first time in the book of Joshua 8:30-32:
“Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses – an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings,. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the Law of Moses.”
After Moses led Israel out of Egypt, God gave His Law to Moses – a law that included moral instruction plus the specific rituals, requirements and restrictions of the Israelite religion. Most of these instructions are found in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The priestly class, the Levites, were established as the keepers and interpreters of God’s Law.
When God established His laws and commandments, He required perfect obedience. Does this seem like an unreasonable standard? No, it is not unreasonable – but it is unattainable. We can’t hope to come close to God’s standard of moral perfection.
That’s why legalism – the attempt to save ourselves through the perfect observance of God’s Law – is doomed to failure.
Fortunately for you and me, our God is not a legalistic God. He is a God of mercy and grace. That is why God sent His Son to die for our sins. Jesus came to meet all the requirements of God’s Law. As Jesus Himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is the only human being who kept all of God’s commandments all the time. He came to show that the Law points to Him.
If Jesus came to fulfill the Law, why do we still need it? Shouldn’t we ignore the Law of God and focus instead on the love of God? No. We still need God’s Law because it is a mirror to see ourselves in. It shows us how far we are from God’s perfect moral standard. It reveals our desperate need of a Savior. It shows us why Jesus had t die a lonely, agonizing, shameful death – the death of a criminal on the cross.
Jesus said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). At first glance, this is a terrifying statement because the Pharisees were meticulous about keeping the Law. The Pharisees even tithed from their spice racks, as Jesus said:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!!! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23)
What did Jesus mean when He said that our righteousness must EXCEED that of the Pharisees or we cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven? He wasn’t advocating legalism. He was talking about the righteousness that flows from the grace of God as a FREE GIFT. The righteousness that is greater than that of the Pharisees is the perfect righteousness of Jesus that we receive when we commit our lives to Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ~ ~ “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
************ **********
Helen Steiner Rice:
Each day at dawning I lift my heart high
And raise up my eyes to the infinite sky.
I watch the night vanish as a new day is born,
And I hear the birds sing on the wings of the morn.
I see the dew glisten in crystal-like splendor
While God, with a touch that is gentle and tender,
Wraps up the night and softly tucks it away
And hangs out the sun to herald a new day.
And so I give thanks and my heart kneels to pray,
“God, keep me and guide me and go with me today,”
*GOD KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED,
WHO YOU NEED,
HOW MUCH YOU NEED
WHEN YOU NEED IT
TRUST HIM!!!
But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’