God, the Bible and Political Justice: Part 3, Introduction

Part Three: Political Lessons from Jewish History

Introduction

Israel and the Historical Law

For Jews the Law is the entire Old Testament including the historical books.  There was the Law as God gave it to Moses, the prescriptive such as the 10 commandments and the Law as Moses interpreted it during the 40 years in the wilderness.  But there was also the Law as revealed throughout Old Testament history as the Jews lived it out.  We know the Jews understood the meaning of the Law by how they applied it and whether God was able to bless their application or not.  In other words, the Jewish people where taught that the Laws of God were not only words but also deeds.  One did not know if they understood the Law or not until they applied it, or actively “loved your neighbor as yourself.”  In the context of the Hebrew understanding of “knowing” you “knew” the law if you could apply it to a situation, not just quote it.

The greatest distinction between “religion” and “faith” in the God of the Bible is that religion is by definition a set of dogma we believe in.  Biblical faith is action we take because of what we believe. Believing and action cannot be divided.  Another way of saying this is that moral judgments are always situational, or applied to and in real situations, and not moral abstractions, ideas that can be embraced without application.  In following God we cannot just quote “thou shall not murder” without defining what murder is and working to stop it.  You cannot say, “thou shall not steal” without defining the right to own and defending private ownership.  So “the Laws of God” are not abstract principles, but principles and values applied in given situations.  It is a living law.

Theology, the study of who God is, cannot be understood in theoretical isolation.  Biblically to be known and understood it must be applied.  The God of the Bible does not have the slightest interest in “how many angels can stand on the head of a pin?”  Because it has absolutely no application to the reality of the world He has created.  God will not enter the debate over “how much you may sin and still be saved.” This is not a question the Bible seeks to answer.  The whole point of the Bible is the pursuit of God and His Glory.

When we say the 10 Commandments tell us not to “murder” and we conclude or assume it means we cannot be in the army, or the police force, or defend our families or ourselves from attack, we have misunderstood. These conclusions are diametrically apposed to what the Bible teaches about military service and the right to protect. These conclusions are working with a very limited definition of murder by violence, eliminating the broader Biblical discussion of death by starvation because of greed, poor building practices because of a lack of concern, bad sanitation and health practices in the production of food, lack of medical care, etc.  If we are to understand the Law we must understand the historical application of it in Israel through the lives of the kings and the message of the prophets.

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