I often hear people talking about this part of the Bible in negative (or maybe hopeless 🤔) terms - usually some version of “it’s impossible to do all.the.things…we can’t hope to be ‘good enough’ to get God’s approval based on this list of do’s and don’ts” …but that’s not how this passage lands on me… The LORD is creating a community here for this group of people whom he called out of “the world”. Let’s remember that this community started…um…3 generations back?…with the sons of Israel (Jacob) when they relocated to Goshen in Egypt. By the time we get here to Mount Sinai, the 10 Commandments, and the Torah, there are *millions* of Israelites, plus a “mixed multitude” that came with them. …and so the Most High is giving them instructions on how to build a community. I don’t think they were meant to look at these instructions as “LAW”, that they must do in order to “get in” - because they were *already* a part of the group! These instructions are more like community standards for the group: “this is what you can expect from everyone here”...
…what a fantastic plan this was! By the time they get to the land which the LORD had promised their fathers, they would be big enough to take control, and already have a way of life established. They wouldn’t have to figure out how to start a “new life” in the Promised Land, because they would already have established community standards and culture. - jeffrey
I often hear people talking about this part of the Bible in negative (or maybe hopeless 🤔) terms - usually some version of “it’s impossible to do all.the.things…we can’t hope to be ‘good enough’ to get God’s approval based on this list of do’s and don’ts”
ReplyDelete…but that’s not how this passage lands on me…
The LORD is creating a community here for this group of people whom he called out of “the world”. Let’s remember that this community started…um…3 generations back?…with the sons of Israel (Jacob) when they relocated to Goshen in Egypt. By the time we get here to Mount Sinai, the 10 Commandments, and the Torah, there are *millions* of Israelites, plus a “mixed multitude” that came with them.
…and so the Most High is giving them instructions on how to build a community. I don’t think they were meant to look at these instructions as “LAW”, that they must do in order to “get in” - because they were *already* a part of the group! These instructions are more like community standards for the group: “this is what you can expect from everyone here”...
…what a fantastic plan this was! By the time they get to the land which the LORD had promised their fathers, they would be big enough to take control, and already have a way of life established. They wouldn’t have to figure out how to start a “new life” in the Promised Land, because they would already have established community standards and culture.
Delete- jeffrey