Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 9/26/2005

Question
Two Part Question:

How do we decide which OT laws to follow today and which ones to discard?

In the Old Testament, there are many laws we no longer follow.  For instance, various laws that merit death when transgressed: a rebellious son (Due 21:18-21), a bride that cannot prove she is a virgin (Due 22:20-21), those who do not honor the Sabbath (Num 15:32-36), blasphemers (Lev. 24:16), etc.

In the OT, father's were permitted to sell their daughters to pay debts (Ex 21:7-11), bastard children (down to the tenth generation) were not permitted in the Assembly of the Lord (Due 23:2), Israel was commanded to kill those who worshipped other gods (Due 13:6-11) and those who dabbled in sorcery (Lev 20:27).

God in the OT permitted polygamy.  Many of the great OT prophets had multiple wives and concubines.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but concubines were a type of female servant that their owners were permitted to sleep with.  

Of course, presently we pick OT laws that we should follow such as the Ten Commandments, but completely discard others like those featured above.  As per my initial question, what are the criteria to discern which ones we will and will not follow?  In Psalms 119, we learn that God's statutes are to stand forever (vs 111, 152).

My second question: how do we relate God's natures between the OT and NT?

It seems that most denominations focus on God's qualities that most match what we as humans view to be positive: loving, caring, concerned, empathetic, and supportive. But as I read the Bible, God seems to have a lot of characteristics that we would consider negative: jealousy (Ex. 34:14), vengeance (Ps. 94:1), wrath (Deu 9:7), and hatred (Deu 9:28, Mal 1:2, 3).

God, in the OT, commanded Israel to kill absolutely everything that breathes including women, children, newborns, and  the sick and elderly before they could enter the Promised Land (Due 20:16, 1 Sam 15:3).  Also, if an Israelite found a woman that was still alive after a battle and found her to be attractive, he was allowed to take her and partake of marriage rights, and then get rid of here if he didn't like her all that much.

How should commandments like this affect our modern view of God?


Answer
God's natures never changes.  He is the only one that is allowed to be jealous, have wrath etc for it is His universe and His rules.  This is a two-part question but I will answer it in three.

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
(KJV)

What you are missing is that in the OT, God is dealing with sin and building an earthly nation out of a group He pulled out of the nations.   

Let's just look at the sin issue.

The angels were created perfect and innocent.  Satan gets the big head; rebels, falls, and one-third follow him.  He goes to earth to mess with God's other creature, Man.

God created man in innocence and gave him one command.  Man was seduced and fell.  Adam and Eve were saved because God provided the blood sacrifice for them.  Abel and others, were saved by placing their faith in a substitutionary lamb per God's example.  

God allowed man to use his own conscience.  Man being depraved became the generation that caused the Flood.  Only 8 were even close to righteous and God saved them because they placed their faith in His Word and build an ark when they had no clue what a boat or rain was.

God gave man the Law because they asked Him what He wanted.  The OT Law is in essence a synopsis of holiness that would have been if man never fell.  It was a synopsis because man could keep one command and yet man asked for a detailed law to follow.  God provided sacrifices to cover man's failures because He knew man could not keep it.  An animal dying for my sin makes no sense in the human scheme of things but by placing faith in God's Word and doing the sacrifices their sins were covered until Christ became the perfect sacrifice.  

God interacted with man and still man did not do right so God left them alone so to speak for 400 years.  There was no open miracle.  Man had what he wanted, a code.  Man didn't get any better.

Then God interacted with man by sending His Son in the flesh.  They crucified Him.

Now, we are under an age of grace and evil men wax worse and worse and the love of the Church is growing cold though He is interacting with them by His Spirit as well as His written Word.

God will let unleash His wrath in the Tribulation on sin and men will not repent even when they see Him on His throne.  

Christ will again reign as the resurrected Lord for a thousand years in near Eden conditions and yet men will sin and in the end some will side with the devil and try to overthrow Christ.

Then all unsaved go to Hell and sin is wiped out of the Kingdom forever.

God has allowed to sin to be seen for what it is by the angels that did not fall and those who are saved in each age.  He has show that no matter what He does some will not respond to love, wrath or anything else.  We see the horrors of rejecting God.  No one will ever rebel again.  We will finally understand.

All though the ages, it really has been about trust in God, His Word and His grace.  While you point out the justice of God and the condemnation of unrighteousness you fail to see the love, grace and mercy that is all through the OT and the NT.  You seem to miss the justice in the NT.  God has not changed.  He has tried every means to bring Man to Him.

Jude 1:21-23
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.  (KJV)

Jesus made us fishers of men and different fish require different bait.  God has used every degree of His nature as bait to catch men, but while some fish in the pond respond to the bait others do not.  That is not change in the fisherman but in the fish.  The intent and character of the fisherman is always the same.  Only the tools vary.

Now, God was building a nation and since he was dealing with fallen man, He had to train them like children according to their understanding and capability.  Many of the laws seem harsh by our standards.  Yet, sin is horrible and the wages of sin is death spiritually forever.  Trying to get us to understand that is tough even now.  


Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (KJV)

Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (KJV)

We place everything we think about in the context of this life.  The average lifespan is still only 70-80 years.  If a person dies at 7, 17, 27 etc and goes to Heaven the time spent here is unimportant.  If however, by some the grace of God a person lives to be 120 and goes to Hell the time spent here is even less important because compared to eternity 10 million years is a puff of smoke and Hell is forever.  As the poem goes it is how we spent the dash.  

So, death penalties seem harsh but when you are dealing with the health of a society they are needful.  When they take out your appendix, gall bladder or a kidney that organ dies so that the body may live.  Something as small as an infected appendix can kill you so while looking at the appendage itself as something small it is not insignificant problem.  Looking at some of these laws we may think that they are minor infractions unworthy of such drastic punishment but if you look at what they do to the health of a family and a nation the disease is much worse than it first appears.

When you look at the societies around Israel and even at some today, these laws are quite moderate.  When you look at what was allowed by other nations you could see why God tried to make His people holy.

One of the reasons God wanted the Canaanites taken out was indeed because of their wicked paganism, but also because of the results of their idolatry.  When archaeologists came across some ruins in the early, 1900's they puked their guts because the depictions of the perversities were so vile.  It is likely that they had STDs that may have made AIDS look mild.  They practiced bestiality, homosexuality, pedophilia, and other things we don't want to discuss.  Thus these people were diseased from infants to old age and that might have meant 50 or 60 for their culture considering the general health of the population.  To let any live would have caused disaster.  Even today, I have heard of children as young as 6 months having STDs and AIDS is rising among those over 60.  Not much change in man in 5,000+ years.

Thus while God taught his people to respect life from cradle to the grave to let these people live would only infect his people with diseases as well as heresy.  God could have killed them Himself, but He was teaching about sin and judgment to spare those who followed Him.  

Even their diets would have been bad to emulate so we have the dietary laws.  Daniel and his buds were healthier than anyone else because they did not eat royal food but rather only vegetables and water.  

Deut 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.  (KJV)

Deut 28:60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.  (KJV)

It appears that they saw diseases in Egypt that they had never seen before and they feared them.  Many of these were brought about by poor sanitation and weird medical ideas like using dung from various critters as a cure.  That is why God gave them laws about these things.  

God has not changed.  He has offered Grace unto all men from Cain until now and has exercised judgment in this life and the next on the wicked.  Man changed at the Fall and is only getting worse.  

Now, what laws do we observe?

First, we are not a theocracy though most of our laws in the beginning were taken from the law.  Adultery was a death sentence in the early days of the country as was rape.  Most of our country would be dead if we instituted the adultery law today.  Adultery is still punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for the armed forces.  It is not applied very often but some have been kicked out recently under that article.  Remember, when the contract was made back the she was supposed to be a virgin.  If she was not then she committed adultery during the separation period before the consummation.  He could still forgive her and marry her anyway.  

The rules of war in those days would have allowed a captor to rape a woman until he was tired of her and then either prostitute her or sell her as a slave.  Theoretically the man in the passage falls in love with the woman.  God gives him a month cooling off period while she is being cleansed and mourning her parents.  What causes the love to end we are not told.  Maybe she wasn't a virgin and portrayed herself as so or she is not a real convert to Judaism as the shaving of the head indicates to some though most of the rituals might be just for hygiene.  (lice, etc.)  Whatever brings about the end of the relationship the man is not allowed to prostitute or sell her since he has humbled her and in essence has also committed a breach of promise.  She is free to go.  That would be unheard of in that culture.  Slaves had no rights.  In Judaism, she does.  

Concubines were often gifts from treaties and men gained wives in treaties as well.  God did not approve, but He recorded it.  What they did with His will is an example to us.  What will we do with it?

Remember that God commanded the priests to put away the pagan wives they took because they were supposed to know better and they were an example to the nation.  Again, God is training His people. They are in Kindergarten in the Pentateuch and really we aren't much past third grade today.  Some things we don't understand, but the judge of all the earth shall and did do right.  Actually, polygamy was against the Law and it took years for Israel to get it because it was common in the lands around them.  God did not condone it, but He reported it for our learning.  We see the warts of all His servants as well as their strengths and faith.

We would have a better society if we followed some more of those laws but we are not a theocracy and must abide by the laws of the land and change the unjust ones if we can.
Like the Jews under Roman rule we could not act upon some laws even if we thought that we should.  But, we are under a New Covenant. We are not under law but grace.  Christ fulfilled the law and we have done the same when we put our faith in Him and died with Him on the Cross.  

Rom 6:14-15
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.  (KJV)

1 Cor 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.  (KJV)

1 Cor 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.  (KJV)

God's moral law never changes.  The Ten Commandments and others like it are eternal.  If we are led by and empowered by the Spirit, He will never lead us to violate those things.  

The sacrificial law was fulfilled in Christ.  No need for it.

The dietary law and ceremonial laws are not binding unto us at all.  Yet, if we followed the dietary law we might be healthier because of it.  Pork is lawful unto me but it may not be healthy for me and it is not expedient if I eat it in front of someone who thinks it is sinful and I should avoid it forever if it makes my brother stumble.  Circumcision is not required as a sign of the covenant but it has some health benefits.

1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  (KJV)

The OT has many examples of God dealing with the righteous, the wicked, and the backslidden.  We can learn a lot from them.

2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.  (KJV)

ALL Scripture is profitable for doctrine, etc.  While we are not under law, we can see the principles and precepts that God gave as insights into what holiness is all about and gain insights into the mind of God but we do have the mind of Christ to learn the spirit of the law as well as the letter and He will guide us into all truth if we let His Spirit do so thus we will know what we need to apply to our lives and what is strictly of the Old Covenant.

Gal 3:11-12
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.  (KJV)

The law will not save us, only condemn us.  Yet, even unbelievers trying to save themselves by it will find some practical benefits in that if they don't do active wickedness, though seeking to establish their own righteousness is wicked, they will not have some of the problems that people have who totally disrespect Him and His Word.  However, in the end they will die and go to Hell.  

Again, the Spirit will never lead us contrary to God's moral or even social laws.  If I see Bob's steer is loose I need to tell him or take it back to him not just ignore it or try to claim it if it is on my land.  Yet, I am not saved or made holy by the Law.  Christ is the end of the law for believers.  As I allow Him to live His life through me I will live righteously or lawfully but it will be through His power not mine.

Hopefully, this has been of some help to you.  May God richly bless you as you seek His will through His Word and the Holy Spirit.  

Bro, Ron
www.mavmin.org