How many times have we opened up our Bible to Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, or Numbers and thought “What does this have to do with the Gospel?” As I trek through some of the OT lawgiving that begins in Exodus, I struggle with my own, small-minded perception that the laws given here aren’t “relevant to my life” (whatever that post-modern phrase means). How often is this my primary mindset when reading any part of Scripture?
It seems as if spending time reading OT Law has revealed a pattern in the way I read all Scripture that I need to remedy. We must change our view of Scripture so that instead of hijacking Scripture (even in a faithful interpretation) to serve our own needs, we enter into God’s story. We can almost all quote 2 Tim 3:16 where Paul writes that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, correction, reproof, and training up in righteousness.” What are we supposed to be learning? Where do we need correcting and reproof? In what ways can the Scripture we’re reading train us up in righteousness? We must be learning more about God, the meta-narrative of the Bible, and where God has worked and is working. We must be corrected when our priorities are not God’s priorities. In the end, we must read Scripture not to gain theological/intellectual knowledge, practical wisdom, or inspiration, but to expand our vision of God and his glory.
So what has this approach yielded in my OT study? The whole of the law from Exodus to Deuteronomy can be summed in the first of the commands. Exodus 20:2 says that God spoke, saying “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” These are the first words that “God spoke,” and we see in these words the framework for viewing the rest of the law. This is a God who delivered Israel from the throes of a cruel and abusive monarch, the God who led Israel through the desert to the Red Sea. At this point, as Pharaoh and his legion of chariots pressed in, Israel believed God had led them there to die. Instead, it was a moment where God demonstrated his mercy and faithfulness to the preservation of his people and also poured out his wrath on a hard hearted monarch. This is the God who provided manna daily as Israel trekked through the desert. God’s story was and is bigger than any story the Israelites or Egyptians could fathom.
In one phrase, we have the sum of the exodus and the law. “I am the LORD your God.” We see a God of mercy, a God of faithfulness, a God of provision, a God of wrath, a jealous God who desires a people to call his own. God is a God who is preeminent over all of creation, over all peoples, at all times, and we are to value him over all other people, possessions, interests and hobbies. He is the Ultimate Provider, who because of the very character that we see demonstrated and expounded on in the OT sent his own son to pay a ransom for our unfaithfulness, our selfishness, and our rebellion. This is what Exodus 20:2 says, and what the rest of the law expounds upon. Let us glorify Him and make the Lord foremost amongst our affections.
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