Week 3.
2 Law, Language of Relationships
Is OT Law for Christians?
How do these laws a ect the life of Christians?
Should we be obedient to them?
More than 600 laws in the OT
Which ones should we keep?
All of them?
None of them?
The Ten Commandments?
Can we be obedient to them?
Ancient Near Eastern Law - did not appear in a vacuum -
Economics
Slaves, Property damage, Pricing
Civil Law
Malpractice, Contract Law
Criminal Law
Perjury, property crimes, assault, murder
Family Law
Marriage, sexuality, children, abortion, adoption
These areas heavily in uenced by property law. Land rights, inheritance,
bride price, and the right to descendants were all regulated to safeguard property
rights.
Comparing Israelite and ANE Law
Hebrew tradition re ects legal ideas of the broader ancient Near East
Similarities between Israel and the ANE
Property
Family Law
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Treaty—Deuteronomy is structured like a 2nd Millennium Haiti treaties
Lex Talionis
The primary basis for civil law in the ANE
The principle of retribution “in kind” — “eye for an eye”
Deterrent to crime
Prevents escalation of revenge
Exodus 21:23-25 … life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for
hand, foot for foot, burn of burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
Often treated symbolically (e.g., Ex. 21;26 “if a man destroys the eye of a
servant he must let the servant go free to compensate for it.
Primarily a value assessment
Varies depending on:
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Concept of human worth
Concept of justice
Administration of justice (e.g. Loose clan-cased structure of Judges vs.
established urban center of Babylon
All Were Not Considered Equal
Status a ected your rights
Ethnicity
Class
Gender
ANE Government
Kings were the source of Legislation
Israel—Legislation came from Yahweh
Ideally:
Delivered by the Prophet
Implemented by the Priest
Enforced by the King
Didn’t always work this way, but Israeli law was designed to not pit the king on a divine
pedestal
Comparing Israelite and ANE Law
Hebrew legal tradition also had signi cant di erences
Heavy focus on religious practices
Mutilation as punishment is rare (occurs only once in Deut. 25:11-12)
Adoption law absent
Maintaining ethnic identity
Circumcision
Intermarriage
Diet
Warfare
Casuistic Law - Case Law
Apodictic Law - Unconditional / Universal
The Nature Of OT Laws
Apodictic Laws (Universal)
General laws in which the principle of the law applies to everyone
Casuistic Laws (Case Law)
Laws that apply in speci c situations when certain conditions are met
7 Guidelines (Fee & Stuart)
The OT Law is God’s covenant with Israel
The OT Law is not binding on Christians unless restated or reinforced in the NT
Both the Old and New Covenants demand loyalty to God’s holiness
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Some stipulations of the OT civil and ritual laws have clearly not been renewed
in the New Covenant
Some of the OT Laws were to help people in their particular circumstance
Part of the OT is renewed in the NT
The OT is still the Word of God to us even though we are not bound by the many
of the covenant stipulations
Interpreting Law Passages
Consider the ancient context
Our culture is vastly di erent
Women’s rights
Slavery
Divorce
Capital punishment
Communally focused
OT compared to modern culture —> Oppressive
OT Compared to ANE —> Liberating
The Judeo-Christian Paradigm created the mechanisms for modern
liberation - Many today who reject Judeo-Christian principles rely heavily on the values
that produced.
View law through the lens of the NT
Law cannot produce righteousness
Law is not inherently an internal motivator
The Spirit fuels the life of the believer
Gal 5:22-23 Fruit of the Spirit…Against such things there is
no law
External vs. Internal Motivation
Murder vs. Anger
In delity vs. Lust
Tithing vs. Generosity
Obedience vs. Submission
Perjury vs. Truthfulness
External vs. Internal Motivation
When Laws are Tough
Acknowledge the di culty
Look for God’s intention behind the law
Many laws were a response to the surrounding cultures
Yahweh was trying to create a paradigm
To embed an awareness of human distance from God’s holiness
To preserve national identity by preventing contamination
To make the core of their approach to life theological
When uncertain about the rule, follow the principle
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Keep in Mind…
The heart of the OT beats in the NT
Law springs from the heart and character of God
Holiness
Love
Laws are God’s provision and protection
Laws preserve community and identity
Laws maintain relationship
Laws shape the heart
The question isn’t “What can I get away with?”
Permission leads to narcissism, license, and enslavement
The question isn’t “What lines should I cross?”
Restriction creates fear and enslavement.
The question isn’t “What does the bible command me to do/not do?”
Rules become their own end.
A better question is, “Does this choice nurture a relationship
with God and bring him joy?”
Exodus 21:23 - Lex Talionis
Matthew 5:38 - Christ’s answer to Lex Talionis
He wants us to move past the back and forth of Lex Talionis and su er for
the betterment of others
What Jesus Said…
Matt 5:18 …until heaven and earth disappear not the least stroke of the law will
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
What The Law Does…
Gal 3:24 So the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be
justi ed by faith.
What Jesus Did…
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for
us, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Romans 10:4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for
everyone who believes.
2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
Wrapping Up…
OT law ows from the holiness of God
Christians interpret law through the lens of Christ
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