Literarily: 8 Days of Understanding Genres of the Bible by Kristie AnyabwileSample

Law

Scripture - Deuteronomy 1, 10:12-22; 4:1-10; Galatians 3:10-29, esp. 10-13 and 23-29; Hebrews 10

Read today's passages of scripture before continuing to read this devotion.

Based on these passages, what does God expect of His people and why? What is the main principle you take from these passages? How does Jesus teach or embody this principle? How might you live out this principle? Be specific.

The law books include the books of Genesis through Deuteronomy. Careful reading of the law requires that we consider the purpose of the laws and determine how those purposes relate to our lives today. The Old Testament laws are still as instructive for us today as they were for ancient Israel.

The law shows us that God cares about every aspect of our lives, our bodies, our attitudes toward our family members and neighbors, and our celebrations. When we read laws about what Israel could eat and what they must refrain from eating, we learn that God is holy and requires His people to live holy lives. God does not want them to be like the nations around them who did not know or worship God. He wanted His people to stand out and set apart for Him. When we read about what would make Israel unclean, we learn that God requires purification for His people, from the inside out. From their inward attitudes to their outward behavior, the Israelites were to be a people marked by holiness so all the nations would know they worshiped the one true God (Leviticus 20:26). The people knew this was impossible for them to achieve on their own, so they needed the symbolic substitute that helped them anticipate and long for the Messiah who would come to make all things new, reverse the curse of the Fall, and restore humanity to a right relationship with God.

Where Israel was bound by the law to keep and do it (Deuteronomy 4:6), we are bound by the law of Christ, which frees us from the demands of the law because Christ has fulfilled the law on our behalf. His sacrifice was what the Old Testament sacrificial system pointed to. We now come to God not through ritualistic sacrifice and cleansing but through faith in Christ. Through faith in Christ, we are made holy and set apart for God, we receive forgiveness of our sins, and we are made clean. Neither Israel nor we can obey God perfectly. Israel looked forward to the Messiah to fulfill God’s promise to deliver and restore His people. We look back on what Christ has done to deliver us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). For Israel and for us, the law points to Christ.