Law and the Land is the theme for this week in the E100 bible reading challenge; 100 passages chosen to help us get the “big picture”. Usually when I preach I look at the immediate context of the passages and then the bigger picture. Today I start from the week’s readings and we look at the big picture, those who have been reading will have spent time on these events – for those of you who haven’t yet started the challenge it is not too late to start!
So this week we read of the giving of the 10 commandments to the Israelites through Moses. Joshua was there when Moses returned with the tablets and found that Aaron, whom he had anointed priest, had made a golden calf and let the people run wild, there were dreadful consequences but also a renewal of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of a land flowing with milk and honey. A promise fulfilled in today’s reading as lessons learnt Joshua leads the people into the promised land where they fight the battle of Jericho – another lesson in listening to God and doing it “his way”.
So we look at today’s reading thinking of the Law and the verses which I am drawn to are: and Together with another theme in the E100 readings: Today’s Psalm says There are those who keep God’s will “because they will prosper” but if our actions are motivated by rewards in this life we may be disappointed. There are also times when it seems that it is the wicked who prosper but their successes will not last, they will not stand the test of judgement.
The events which have been unfolding at Times International show the temptations of seeking short term gains at the expense of the law – the time of reckoning and of judgement has come for them and many have been found wanting having given or taken the counsel of the wicked. So what about us in our daily lives, in our places of work how do we decide whose advice to follow? How do we avoid the path the sinners tread? The answer is in the psalm and it is in the advice given to Joshua: Why meditate on the laws? Why not just “learn the laws”? because if we learn the laws we may be able to follow them to the letter but we will miss out on the heart of the law the reasons behind them, the guidance they give if we meditate on them and let them shape our lives.
One of the wrist bands worn by many Christians says WWJD – what would Jesus do? Sometimes it is easy to know, when we see the situation of drought in Africa we know he would respond with compassion and pray and give and perhaps even go, but not all situations are so easy. In many situations to know what to do we need to know God’s will. Read a little earlier in the New Testament reading to the beginning of chapter 12 and you will see it is not as easy as following the letter of the law. Indeed Jesus breaks the letter of the law of the Sabbath and in our reading he says it is those who do God’s will whom he welcomes as family, but Jesus also said that he had not come to do away with the law.
So what is our response to reading “be careful to act in accordance with all the law,…..do not turn from it to the right or to the left” Do we end up demoralised? Feeling the burden of the law and condemned by it? If so read Romans 7 Paul gives us his answer in chapter 8 So we are living under Grace, God is with us, we are adopted into God’s family. The law is still there for us to meditate upon, I like to think of the law as a compass – it gives me the direction to go, but it does not tell me the exact path to take – it is the direction I am travelling which is important. If we look for rules to govern our actions at work and in our daily lives the 10 commandments are a good basis, but God asks that we go further and meditate on the words he has given us that we may know his will. Then will we be able to answer the question “what would Jesus do” and be strong and courageous in our actions and our God will be with us.