Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 25: Laws

Good morning!

Today I read Exodus 22-24, where Moses lays down the law.

Okay. Okay. That was a bad joke. I know.

So, in these chapters, God continues to give Moses laws for the people.

And while it may not be the most interesting read, it's still very important.

I have heard people say that we no longer have to obey the old laws because Jesus freed us from them.

But that's not true.

In fact, Jesus actually said:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Phophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." - Matthew 5:17

The Old Testament laws still apply. They are still a part of God's Word and we must study them.

Now, having said that, let me say this.

It was a different time back then. And some of the laws (I'm thinking of a few found in Leviticus, and specifically the sacrificial laws) don't apply to us any longer.

Some of the Leviticus laws are about cleanliness and health, which we no longer need to observe due to the availability of health care and the changes in the spread of diseases.

And of course the laws for burnt offerings no longer apply because Jesus himself became the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins.

We are no longer bound by law, but saved by grace.

Which does not give us license to do whatever we want.

Thus, we must study all of God's laws so that we can know what is right, and what is good, and how we should behave, taking into account that these laws were written at a specific time for a specific purpose and a specific people, but bearing in mind that God knew that we would read them someday.

My point is that we cannot dismiss any part of God's Word as being irrelevant to our lives just because it's an Old Testament law. Study the laws and the prophets. Ask God to help you learn from what you've read. See what He wants you to take away from it.

Now, there are a lot of laws, and I won't get into all of them today, but there are a few that I want to go back and study further. When I do, I'll try to do a post about it so that we can learn together.

That's all for today. Until tomorrow! I'll be reading Exodus 25-27.