Law of Moses — Conclusion

There are two primary object lessons we can draw from the sum total of this series on the Law of Moses. The first is obvious, and flatly stated several times in Scripture. Take a look Stephen’s condemnation of the Jewish leadership in Acts 7. More than once the Bible condemns Israel as the single most obstreperous nation ever. If God had chosen any other nation to carry the mission of Israel — to live in such a way as to shine the light of revelation to the rest of mankind — things would have turned out better.

God Himself says this. Things could have been better, but that doesn’t mean they would have been good. We can be sure things would not have worked out very well with any nation He could have chosen. This brings us the second lesson which isn’t quite so obviously stated: It is impossible to raise up a human nation that will consistently live up to the standards of Biblical Law. It’s a lesson you should grasp from subtle hints throughout the Bible.

This is why the Kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of hearts. There can be no such thing as a Christian nation. Without a personal commitment and loyalty, no law formulated for political organization will keep us at peace with God. And it is utterly impossible to create a political system that excludes those who refuse to fully commit from the heart. There is no human means for verifying a heart-led consciousness.

Keep in mind: The heart-led consciousness was the norm across the entire Ancient Near East. This is what was expected of people as the basic minimum. It was the foundation of language itself, and written into the moral standards, and thus legal standards, across the board. Yet those nations still struggled to keep people in that mode on a daily basis. How much more difficult is the heart-led way in a time and culture that militates against the very idea itself, as it does in the West?

This is the very foundation of Western Civilization. We console ourselves in recognizing that the West is dying before our eyes. What replaces it so far appears to be a little more amenable to the concept of not trusting solely in the human reasoning. There will be at least a little more room for the heart-led way in the future. It remains to be seen what kind of accommodation we will find, but it will be better than in the past.

But that won’t make any difference if we don’t take seriously the duty to live the heart-led way, and to apply that consciousness to Biblical Law. The Covenant is the message; it is our testimony. Not just in the obedience, but in the fundamental value system and the blessings we reap within that value system. Thus, our shalom is our testimony.

So it’s not the specific provisions of the Law of Moses that we should learn, but what those provisions say about the character and nature of our God. You’ll notice how crappy performance in the history of Israel always worked out well enough when the leadership was genuinely trying to please the Lord. He was merciful, in part because His own glory was at stake. The heart-led commitment was the key, not the objective performance of the requirements.

This is exactly what Jesus taught as the Law of Moses. Everything He did up to the Cross was a perfect fulfillment of Moses; He was superior to Moses in His Person and role, not to mention having higher standards than Moses. But He remained fully observant of the Law of Moses until His resurrection.

If you want to know what happened during the years between the close of Nehemiah’s ministry and the birth of Christ, you can see it outlined in my book, Ancient Truth: Old Testament History, Chapter 12: Inter-Testamental Period. I can tell you in sum that the events represent very little of the Covenant passion that drove men like Nehemiah.

It shows us that Jesus offered His nation one last chance to get it right. In theory, they could have seized the moment and turned things around. They could have gone on to a glorious future with Him as the Messiah and King. God would have gladly set them free from Roman domination. They had long ago rejected that, and we should hardly be surprised. You and I struggle to meet the mandate as individuals, never mind as a community of faith with no formal organization of human activity.

And yet, the only hope you and I have is to keep in the forefront the heart-led consciousness of shalom as an informal community of faith. That may change a little in the future, but you may never see it if you don’t first accept the obligation to take the leadership wherever you are, and walk in Biblical Law. Keep the faith you have now and let’s see what God has planned.