The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the books of the Law. Among other things, they contain the commands of the Law which Moses gave to the people. It wasn’t just Moses, of course. This was God’s law for His people.
The Law addresses everything from routine matters of daily life to specific ordinances for worship. We see an example of this in Leviticus 2:
“When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the LORD’s food offerings. “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the LORD, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the LORD’s food offerings. “No grain offering that you bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the LORD. As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the LORD, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” (Leviticus 2:1–13)
No guesswork is involved here. No reading between the lines. No necessary inferences. No Encyclopedia Brown hermeneutic.
When God wants to specify something, He knows how to specify.
I left the following comment over at the Encyclopedia Brown Hermeneutic page as well:
It is hard for us to remember how blessed we are to have easy access to Bibles – and not only Bibles, but commentaries, books on church history, word studies in depth, etc., etc.
If we were like people up until the invention of the printing press could understand the Bible without having personal copies for their daily dose of spiritual food, why can’t we do a better job of understanding it than they? Yet, I dare say the faith of most Christians today is inferior to the faith of those who literally faced the lions and burning at the state.
What is the difference? To them, Jesus was real, not just a subject for debate (though they could do that as well!). He was a constant companion. Prayer was a bigger part of their lives than it is ours. Christianity was less a “religion” and more a commitment to living the life of heaven here on earth.
Now, I’m glad for my Bibles (many different translations). Now, if I could just learn to read them someway other than as Encyclopedia Brown….
Have I had so many of those nuances, inferences, and binding examples drummed into me that I will never be able to see the Bible for what it really is – a joyous good news message of life as God means it to be.
Not only is God capable of making it clear, the very idea that this is what we were supposed to do with the New Testament or that this was the intent of the covenant is totally misplaced.
Great post.
The Law is HARD. It’s demands are relentless and it’s standard is “perfection” (see The Sermon on the Mount)
But St. Paul tells us that “no one will be justified in the sight of the law”. So do we just chuck it, then?
NO! The law has it’s purpose and that is to expose our sinfulness and drive us to Christ.
And the really good news is that “Christ is the end of the law for all those who have faith.”
Wheew…that was a close one! Thank you, Jesus!
Tim,
I’ve made much the same argument when discussing this with a lawyer whom I used to worship with. Told him he was a lawyer and he’d know the difference in how a strict law in the Old Testament was written vs. anything written in the New Testament. As we look at this subject, though, my thought is we still need to remember that Christ is King and the church (kingdom) is His. We are His subjects. We don’t run the place, so to speak. So sometimes, we have commands to follow. Sometimes we have binding examples to guide us on the correct path. And yes, sometimes we have to use our deductive reasoning to decide (or infer) what is being taught or authorized. There’s not a company in America that doesn’t operate with this type of authority structure to some degree or another. The knee-jerk reaction of some in the church would be to dismiss this as being legalistic or binding in areas where God does not bind. I don’t see it this way. What I see throughout the New Testament is God giving us a lot more freedom and flexibility than some want to believe. There are some things that are irrefutable commands. However, in many areas, God has given a generic authority for us to operate with flexibility and using our own judgment. This is the big difference to me in the approach God took with the old law and law of Christ. The old law everything was spelled out in order to train people of His expectations. It became a law of minimal effort on the part of the Jews. The new law places the emphasis on our hearts, with the expectation that we will serve with our entire being. Taking care of widows and orphans, while a command (or at least an expectation), leaves us much freedom in deciding how this is done. Same with edification efforts. Same with helping those in need. Same with spreading the gospel. Same even with baptism, to a degree. God can be specific when He wants to. But human nature being what it is, we’re really no different than the Jews of old in that some people still won’t accept it.
Travis,
I recognize some of what you say to be true. I get real nervous when people talk about “binding examples” and “deductive reasoning.” Way too much of that is merely an attempt to justify the practices that we already have.
Trying to make the New Testament into a constitution or legal code twists it away from what it is. There is legal code in the Bible, like that which I quoted. Then there is the New Testament, which provides an entirely different approach to obeying God.
Grace and peace,
Tim