At last we make it to the climax of Moses great journey.
He receives the Big 10 no-no's and the people he's been leading actually hear from the Big Guy himself.
As a teacher I relate this to having the principal actually come into class to speak to the kids about their behavior. You say something over and over and the don't listen, so you push that button on the wall and say "Can you have Mr. Whatshisname come to my classroom please." Just like the people who hear God speak the kids are like "OK!! We'll listen to Mrs. Stone, you don't have to come down again!!"
The 10 Commandments are exactly what I expected them to be. We are all familiar with these. They are at the heart of our justice system even today. What I found terribly interesting is all the stuff that followed and how crazy specific it was.
I think one of them went something like this,
"If you have a she- goat and you allow your she- goat to wander into the field of another she- goat and your she- goat looks at the other with disdain, and it happens to fall on the first day of the third month and the owner of the second she- goat likes his toast butter side up, then the first she- goat must give her milk to make cheese for the party of the offspring of the owner of the second; if the attendees of the party find the cheese in the least little bit repugnant then .......somebody must die."
I may have the wording a bit off, but it was along those lines.
The Big 10, I get and I see why they are important and long lasting. They are still relevant today, however I want to know what's with all of that other? Was that from God as well? If so, why be so specific?
I have a point and a question, but I need the clarification first,I shall wait to hear from Jamie, as his clarification might answer my question....
3 comments:
Maybe all of the specifics were because of certain problems they were having then. I believe God, if we ask Him, is a part of every aspect of our lives. He is relevant (eternally). Also, I think it goes to teaching us how to be fair. For instance, when you have to pay for somemone's oxen that was killed, you get the killed oxen. Which is fair. And without going on and on with other examples, maybe that's part of what God was trying to teach with all of those specific examples. Also, He makes a clarification between manslaughter, self-defense killing, and murder. Also, very important. And I think the specificity comes in because of our sinful nature will always look for loops holes, just like we do now in our laws. Overall, I think it's about accountability, responsibility, justice, fairness, and mercy if able.
Another small dig on socialism is the self defense part and "no stealing"....the right to protect your private property. Afterall, if all goods and property are communal than there can be no theft, and hence no need to protect what is everybody's anyway.
I guess my question is, if these are eternal truths, why make them so situationally specific? Isn't that why the 10 Commandments are still around, because they are so broad?
I'm not sure I understand the question. Why can't they be eternal truths and specific? Actually, the fact that they have held up so well (being specific) is a greater testimony. I mean, general notions should intuitively be long lasting, but for specifics to hold up so well I think is more impressive. And again, like I said earlier...loop holes/catch 22's. Even as specific as the killing definitions are, people still try to say all killing is un-Christian when we see here that is not the case. Murder and killing are NOT synonymous, but even with that spelled out specifically you still have critics (not skeptics) try to site the Bible and say that it is.
Post a Comment