THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE

 

I have heard it said that the most important of the Ten Commandments is the one you are struggling with the most. There is a lot of wisdom in that. In reality though, there are only two real commandments because they underlie all others.

The Saviour was asked during His earthly ministry which is the greatest of all the commandments. The Saviour replied: to love God and to love your neighbour….on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). If we obeyed these two commandments, there would be no need for any other and here is why:

“Any person who truly understands the implications for daily living that are part of the commandment to love God with all his heart, might, mind, and strength and to love his neighbour as himself, can function well with no additional laws. One does not need to warn a person who loves God properly about idolatry, for any act of worship not devoted to God would be naturally offensive to him.

“The prohibitions against stealing, adultery, murder, and so on are not required if a person truly loves his neighbour as himself, for to injure his neighbour in such ways would be unthinkable. But, of course, the vast majority of men fail to understand and keep these two commandments, and so the Lord has revealed many additional laws and rules to show specifically what the commandments require……. all such commandmnets do nothing more than define and support the two basic principles: all the law and the prophets are summarized in the two great commandments.”  (The Old Testament Student Manul p 186)

Moses spent 40 days on Mt Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. Before he went he entered the children of Israel into a covenant of obedience. The covenant bound God to support, defend, and save them and the people were bound to God to fear, love, and serve him.

This covenant was written in the book of the covenant, a sacrifice was offered, half the blood was sprinkled on the people and the other half on the altar. The covenant was binding when the people proclaimed: “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:1-7).

You can only imagine the outrage Moses felt when he descended the mountain 40 days later to find the Israelites breaking the very first command by worshipping a golden calf. It is no wonder he broke the tablets of stone containing the commandments written by the finger of the Lord (Exodus 32:19).

Historians have speculated why the people turned away from the covenant so quickly. There is no scriptural explanation for this or Aaron’s seemingly unobjected fulfilment of the camp’s request for other gods to worship (ibid v 1-5). Their idolatry was a metaphorical ‘return’ to Egypt by worshipping an Egyptian highly revered idol of a cow but their greatest sin was giving the golden calf credit for bringing them out of Egypt (ibid v 4).

The Israelites paid a heavy price for breaking the covenant. Jehovah’s punishment caused 3,000 men to be slain (ibid v 27,28). Aaron also was nearly destroyed and was saved only through Moses’ intercession in his behalf (see Deuteronomy 9:20).

And Moses? He proved he truly was a prototype of Christ. He returned to the Lord and begged for Israel’s forgiveness, and if the forgiveness was not granted, he asked the Lord to blot out his name from the book of the covenant instead as intercession for the people’s sin (ibid v 31,32). The weight this man carried on his shoulders is astounding. But not nearly as heavy as the weight of the God of Israel.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)