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God revealed the Old Law

This chapter presents the following key learning points: God gave the people of Israel commandments and laws The Ten Commandments identify responsibilities towards God and others The Ten Commandments summarise Gods rules for human conduct.

God gave the people of Israel commandments and laws

The people of Israel learned much in the early centuries of their history about how to relate with God, the source of true freedom. For this relationship to grow they needed to learn more about God and what is required for an even deeper relationship. They needed to observe Gods commandment: Be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:2)

Holy people behave in God-like ways. As they do so, they realise their true nature as created in the image and likeness of God. They do not behave deliberately in unholy ways. Holy ways are moral ways. They lead to true and lasting freedom. To help them avoid behaving in unholy ways, God gave the people of Israel a series of commandments and laws as part of the Sinai Covenant. These made clear to them what was and what was not holy. God told the people: You will keep my commands and put them into practice. I am Yahweh who make you holy. (Leviticus 22:3132)

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

The Old Law was also called the Torah

The human behaviours God designated as holy and unholy are found in the first five books of the Bible Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Collectively, these books came to be referred to as The Law. Jesus was referring to these books when he said: Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. (Matthew 5:17)

Today, the Torah is called the Old Law to distinguish it from the New Law completed by Jesus.

For your information

The Hebrew word Torah, meaning instruction or law, refers to the first five books of the Bible. Many of their chapters comprise instructions given by God through Moses. Judaism recognised 613 laws in the Torah, for example: If you have resident aliens in your country, you will ... treat (them) as though they were native-born and love them as yourself ... (Leviticus 19:3334)

All who keep these laws draw closer to God, who is holy. As they relate more closely with God, they also grow in real freedom.

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

The Decalogue or Ten Commandments

The people of Israel suffered greatly while slaves in Egypt. Their liberation by God led them to realise that God gave real freedom. It was at the beginning of their new experience of freedom that God, through Moses, led the people to Sinai. The most significant laws given by God at Mount Sinai were originally called the Ten Words or, in Greek, the Decalogue (Exodus 34:28). All who kept these Words would be freed from sin, just as the Israelites were freed by God from slavery in Egypt. The Ten Words are preserved in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy (Exodus 20:117 and Deuteronomy 5:622). Though written differently the Deuteronomy version gives more detail than the Exodus version both versions come from the same oral tradition. Both were recorded by authors inspired by God. To make the Decalogue easier to remember, a great Christian teacher, St Augustine (354430AD), the bishop of the ancient African city of Hippo, presented the basic Ten Words in the format commonly known and used by Catholics today. In this format, they are called the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I am the Lord your God... you shall not have strange gods before me. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember to keep holy the Lords Day. Honour your father and your mother. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. You shall not covet your neighbours wife.

10 You shall not covet your neighbours goods.

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

The Ten Commandments identify responsibilities towards God and others

The people of Israel knew from Moses that keeping the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words was proof of a persons love for God. In fact, anyone who loved God would take them to heart: Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh. You must love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let the words I enjoin on you today stay in your heart. (Deuteronomy 6:45)

You must love Yahweh your God and always keep his observances, his laws, his customs, his commandments. (Deuteronomy 11:1)

The Ten Commandments identify values of God that people need to share if they are to love God. They also command peoples responsibilities towards God and other people.

Responsibilities towards God

The first three commandments identify the responsibilities towards God that come with the covenant at Sinai. Each is concerned with particular values. To deliberately fail to fulfil these responsibilities damages a persons relationship with God. The following chart gives examples of values and responsibilities with which each of the first three commandments is concerned.

God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2004 (w/c on paper) by Wang, Elizabeth (Contemporary Artist)

m the Lord your God... you shall not have strange gods before me. To 2 You shall not take the name of the First Faithfulness to God relate with God am the praying Lord daily your God... you shall n d your God in vain. 3 Remember to keep holy the Lords Day. 1 I including Second for God show proper strange gods before me. 2 You shall not takeRespect the name of the Lord To your God inrespect vain.for 3 Remember to k God and the things of God, includinggods Gods before name me. 2 You shall n the Lords Day. 1 I am the Lord your God... you shall not have strange Third Human closeness with God To worship, praise and God in vain. 3 Remember to keep holy the Lords Day. 1 I am the Lord yo the name of the Lord your thank God, especially on the Lords Day. name of the Lord your God in vai .. you shall not have strange gods before me. 2 You shall not take the member to keep holy the Lords Day. 1 I am the Lord your God... you shall not have strange gods befo name of the Lord your God in vain. 3 Remember to keep holy the Lords Day. 2 You shall not take the 122 COME FOLLOW ME YEAR 10 Return to to the Lord your God... you shall not have strange godsReturn before me. 2 You shall not take the name of the CONTENTS CHAPTER

Commandment

Value

Responsibilities

4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

Responsibilities towards others

The remaining commandments identify peoples responsibilities to others, each of whom is loved by God. Fulfilling God-given responsibilities towards others is a sign of love for God. To deliberately fail to fulfil these responsibilities damages a persons relationship with God. Commandment Fourth Value Family Responsibilities To give and receive respect as a member of a family To respect the rights of every human person to the necessities of life and to protection from the moment of conception to natural death To respect chastity and commitment in marriage To respect peoples rights to a legitimate share of the resources of the earth and private property To respect peoples rights to a good name and the esteem of others To respect every human being as a person, and never reduce anyone to a sex object To respect peoples rights to security of legitimate possessions.

Fifth

Life

Sixth

Marriage

Seventh

Ownership

Eighth

Truth

Ninth

Purity

Tenth

Contentedness

e not keep not our in. ore 1

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

The Ten Commandments summarise Gods rules for human conduct

The Ten Commandments were divine declarations to remind people of the laws of God found in the first five books of the Bible. They applied to many areas of life. The following are a few examples of specific laws of the Torah which relate to the Ten Commandments.

I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me Do not turn to idols and do not cast metal gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God. (Leviticus 19:4) You will not practise divination or magic. (Leviticus 19:26)

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain You will not swear by my name with intent to deceive and thus profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh. (Leviticus 19:12)

If a man makes a vow to Yahweh or a formal pledge under oath, he must not break his word: whatever he promises by word of mouth he must do. (Numbers 30:3)

Anyone who curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin ... (Leviticus 24:16)

Remember to keep holy the Lords Day You will keep my Sabbaths properly, for this is a sign between myself and you for all your generations to come, so that you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who sanctify you. You will keep the Sabbath, then; you will regard it as holy ... (Exodus 31:1314)

Work must be done for six days, but the seventh day will be a day of complete rest, consecrated to Yahweh. (Exodus 31:15)

Honour your father and your mother Honour your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

You shall not kill If someone beats his slave, male or female, and the slave dies at his hands, he must pay the penalty. (Exodus 21:20)

You will not oppress the alien; you know how an alien feels, for you yourselves were once aliens in Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)

You will not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but you will love your neighbour as yourself. I am Yahweh. (Leviticus 19:18)

You shall not commit adultery You shall not covet your neighbours wife None of you will approach a woman who is closely related to him, to have intercourse with her. I am Yahweh. (Leviticus 18:6)

Furthermore, you will not have intercourse with your fellow-citizens wife; you would become unclean by doing so. (Leviticus 18:20)

You will not have intercourse with a man as you would with a woman. This is a hateful thing. (Leviticus 18:22)

You shall not steal You shall not covet your neighbours goods If anyone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he will pay back five beasts from the herd for the ox, and four animals from the flock for the sheep. (Exodus 21:37)

If a fire breaks out, setting light to thorn bushes and burning stacks, standing corn or the field as a result, the person who started the fire will make full restitution. (Exodus 22:5)

You will not be unjust in administering justice as regards measures of length, weight or capacity. (Leviticus 19:35)

When you reap the harvest of your land, you will not reap to the very edges of the field, nor will you gather the gleanings of the harvest; nor will you strip your vineyard bare, nor pick up the fallen grapes. You will leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am Yahweh your God. You will not steal, nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your fellow-citizen. (Leviticus 19:911)

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

You will not bear false witness against your neighbour You will not spread false rumours. You will not lend support to the wicked by giving untrue evidence. (Exodus 23:1)

In Class Work
Research some other laws of the Torah. The Book of Leviticus contains lists of these laws, for example dietary laws (Leviticus 11).

For your information

Other names for the first five books of the Bible or Torah are The Five Books of Moses and Pentateuch. Pentateuch derives from the Greek word meaning five containers.

God promised a Messiah

Despite Gods efforts, the people of Israel soon began to take God for granted. In the seven hundred years after Moses, there were periods when they obeyed the Ten Commandments, drew closer to God and experienced Gods guidance and power freeing them, but for much of this time, they ignored God and disobeyed the Ten Commandments. They behaved in unholy ways, and damaged their relationship with God. They weakened their capacity to recognise Gods guidance and power. This led them to experience great unhappiness. The children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lost both their inner and external freedom. For much of the time after Moses, they were dominated by foreign powers.

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4. GOD REVEALED THE OLD LAW

They made decisions that often led to defeat in wars. The nation divided into two kingdoms at odds with each other and both were eventually overrun. Around 587BC Jerusalem was captured and the inhabitants deported to Babylon. The Israelites were totally subjugated once more. God wanted to help the people of Israel overcome the obstacles that prevented them relating with God, the one who loved them. This led God to promise to change the situation by renewing their hearts. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised: I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed ... I shall give you a new heart ... I shall put my spirit in you ... You will be my people and I shall be your God. (Ezekiel 36:2529)

To fulfil this promise, God would send a Messiah. This Messiah would be filled with Gods Holy Spirit, and share this Spirit with all who believed in him.

In Class Work
Based on the information in Chapters 3 and 4, answer Yes or No to the following statements: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Illness and other sufferings come from God. Human nature is fundamentally and permanently flawed. Creation is a sign of Gods love. God has no name. The covenant given on Mount Sinai was the first covenant. The religion of Israel was the forerunner of Judaism. The first three commandments are concerned with relationships with God. There is more than one list of the Ten Commandments in the Bible. The Torah does not contain just ten laws but hundreds. Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N

Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N

8. 9.

10. Jesus rewrote the Ten Commandments. 11. The Israelites discovered that it is right to take God for granted. 12. When the Israelites disobeyed God and suffered exile, they were left to their fate.

Y/N

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