Living in the Spirit

August 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—

I wonder if Moses ever dreamed that the laws he introduced to the Israelites could be interpreted in many ways. Indeed, progress over time has required a new understanding of the fundamentals of original rules. I remember reading somewhere, sorry I cannot document it, that in the strictest interpretation of work on the Sabbath, producing light and heat before electricity constituted work and therefore could not be done on the Sabbath. When electricity became available, it was necessary to determine if flipping a switch was work. Beyond progress, humans tend to bend laws to their desires and not their needs. We often do not recognize what we need because we focus so much on what we want.

Jesus came along centuries later and attempted to help us understand that ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’ (Mark 2:27–28) In our hectic world today, God is probably shocked when we take the time to withdraw from the clutter of our lives to be still and know that God is God. (See Psalm 46:10)

I just finished reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the story of how Abraham Lincoln dealt with his intentionally selected diverse cabinet. It is an excellent book, by the way. I read it at an interesting time in our history where every move of the president and other leaders is scrutinized, criticized, and polled. The same thing was happening during the Civil War. The only difference was it took longer to spread the news via printed newspapers and telegraphed information. Truth than as now was bent to support differing political advantage.

The Deuteronomic warning above is apt: to take care and watch yourselves closely so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life. Jesus set as the foundation of the law to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves as the overriding rules.  

We need to remember that the Pharisees who led the charge against Jesus that led to his crucifixion felt sure they acted according to the law as they perceived it. Some would respond that Jesus had to die for our sins because they were so egregious. I cannot help wondering had we followed his way from the start, would not that have ushered in the Kingdom of God right then?

Prayer: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. (See Psalm 51:10) Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.