2. The Law of Moses

We are seeking to harmonize the sweet love of Jesus throughout the gospels with the instructions given to the Israelites to stone sinners. We have seen that the law of Christ does not remove the law, or sin, but instead it removes men punishing other men for sin. Now we will study the law of Moses.

Consider the following instructions given to Israel:

“And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Deuteronomy 19:21.

"Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, [even] that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die." Deuteronomy 17:5.

These instructions, among many others, are often referred to as the “The law of Moses.” References to this are throughout the Bible with such phrases as "Moses said...", "Moses wrote unto us...", "in the book of Moses...", "Moses commanded...", and as already mentioned - "the law of Moses". Mark 7:10, 12:19, 26, Luke 5:14, 24:44.

In our quest to understand how a loving God could give such instructions we want to start with two points regarding the law of Moses:

1) What did it consist of?

2) Why was it given?

The Scriptures tell us that Moses wrote “the words of this law in a book” and “commanded the Levites” to “take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant”. Deuteronomy 31:24-26. Note carefully that this law was written with Moses’ hand, and placed on the side of the ark of the covenant. In contrast, let us consider what was inside the ark. Inside the ark were the “two tables of stone written with the finger of God. And He wrote on the tables… the ten commandments, which the Lord spake…” and Moses “put the tables in the ark”. Deuteronomy 9:10, 10:4-5. Scripture clearly identifies that the Ten Commandments were written by God on stone and placed inside the ark, while all that Moses wrote was in a book and placed on the side of the ark.

The previous points indicate that the law of Moses was a “supplement” to the Ten Commandments, one was written by God in stone and placed within the ark, the other was written by Moses in a book and placed in the side of the ark. The law of Moses was simply all the instructions given to Israel by Moses, other than the Ten Commandments. When comparing the two writings it is clear that the law of Moses is simply addressing the Ten Commandments in detail. Consider these examples:

Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14.

The law of Moses: “Thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife.” Leviticus 18:20.

Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not steal.” Exodus 20:15.

The law of Moses: “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” Leviticus 19:13.

The law of Moses expounded on the Ten Commandments for the people, it gave practical examples of how far reaching God’s law is. Even the sacrificial system of the sanctuary was an illustration of the law of God, for the law says God shows “mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:6.

A common misunderstanding regarding the law of Moses is that it was full of Moses’ own thoughts, ideas, and rules. The Bible is very clear that “Moses wrote all the words of the Lord” in the book. Exodus 24:4. The law of Moses is made up of instructions given by God, but a clear distinction was made between these instructions written down by Moses in a book and the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God in stone.

Since “the law of the Lord is perfect” why was there any need for a supplement? Psalm 19:7. The disciples of Jesus asked a similar question to Him regarding divorce in the law of Moses - “Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her [the wife] away?” Matthew 19:7. Jesus answered very clearly - “Because of the hardness of your hearts”. Matthew 19:8. The law of Moses was given because the hearts of men were hard. These thoughts will be explored more deeply in following articles, but let this point be established firmly now: The law of Moses was not by any fault of Moses, nor was it his own thoughts or rules, but the law of Moses was given by God because of the hardness of men’s hearts. The law of Moses was given by God because of man’s condition, to meet him where he was at.

Our goal in this series is to understand how a loving God could give certain instructions in the law of Moses, such as to stone sinners. In preparing for our deeper study we have briefly considered two points regarding the law of Moses:

1. The law of Moses was written in a book and placed on the side of the ark, in contrast to the Ten Commandments written by God and placed inside the ark. Thus the law of Moses is a supplement to God’s law.
2. The law of Moses was given because of man’s hard heart. It was given to meet men where they are at.

As we explore this subject further we hope it will become abundantly clear to you that God is full of love for you, and that this love drives His every word and action.

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