The Teen Commandments

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

God did not make a request. God did not make a vague order. Because of the spiritual war already in progress, God made a clearly defined boundary that all could verify. Onlooking angels would not need to attempt to judge motive and intent. They would not need to wonder if the fruit was merely eyed or touched or kissed. In this vote there would be no hanging chads or circles marked in lightly or erased.

Eat or don’t eat. Simple. Clear. Decisive. Even a teenager could understand it.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6)

Eve was not a teenager. She was formed fully in the image of God. Reason was in control of appetite and passion. She walked with the Son of God “in the cool of the evening.” Faith was strong. Gratitude abounded. Except at the tree, which she could easily and wisely leave, there was no temptation, no imperfection, no shortcoming.

But Eve chose to eat.

She chose to disobey Infinite Wisdom and Boundless Compassion. She chose to part ways with her Creator and follow the advice of a ventriloquist because the fruit tasted nice, looked pretty, and claimed to be the gateway to enlightment. It promised a rush. Eve made an immature, teenage decision for no good reason.

That choice deranged the delicate inner workings of her brain. It devolved and degraded her. That mortal, carnal, unspiritual brain would be passed down to her offspring. The teen kingdom commenced the moment of eating, and we see it in action immediately.

“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? have you eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you that you should not eat? And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:9-13)

In this scene, God is the loving adult trying to get the kids to own up to their decision. However, like teenagers, they instantly pass the blame without acknowledging their responsibility. We do not inherit their guilt, but our carnal minds naturally fall into this evil habit. The teen kingdom is self-perpetuating.

Many people cast aside this story as simplistic fiction, but simplicity is needed to make root causes stand out. Our first parents chose physical, emotional, and intellectual qualities over spiritual truth and loyalty. There is nothing wrong with the physical, emotional, or mental parts of our being—as long they work in harmony with, not contrary to, positive faith, hope, and love.

Eve trusted the serpent, but not God.

Eve hoped great things from eating the fruit, but forgot the future promises and current blessings of God.

Eve loved the fruit more than remaining loyal to her Father.

Adam loved his wife more than God.

They severed their connection to God by breaking the pattern of faith, hope, and love. They lost their immortal robes of light and, like silly teenagers with a bad sense of fashion, they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. In the very presence of the All-knowing One, they tried to keep their privileges while denying their responsibilities. Their now fallen minds could only repeat such bad reasoning. Without divine grace, they would model that habit to their children who would teach it to theirs.

This is how the self-perpetuating teen kingdom got started.

The first ceremony of sacrificing a lamb was conducted right after the fall. Simple, bloody, powerful, the consequences of sin were both seen and felt in a painfully real way.

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

The spiritual robe of light having disappeared, the first physical clothes from an innocent lamb. The Son of God instructed Adam how to kill a lamb, something he had never before thought of. With horror and utter sadness, Adam slew the symbol of the Lamb to come. He began to understand the terrible results of disobedience and the utter desolation of breaking the pattern of love. As the life-blood drained from the body, our first parents saw God’s life pour from His heart. Although the animal was an offering to God, its life was the Son of God’s offering to Adam. Even the skin was a physical lesson of the spiritual robe of righteousness to be granted to the repentant sinner.

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5)

In just the second generation we see the typical teenage mindset. Failing to see beyond the rules of the ritual to its deeper meaning, Cain decided his bending of the rules was good enough for God. Failing to learn from the failure of his parents, Cain refused to offer complete trust. He was not grateful for God making a way back to Eden. Cain insisted God rewrite His plan of redemption based upon himself and his good-enough intentions. After all, he reasoned, a dead lamb can’t save us, so what does it matter?

Cain’s reasoning was correct, and even God would agree with him, but he was missing the point. The ceremony was needed by fallen humans as a real reminder of the results of sin as well as a reminder to trust in the Lamb of God to come. Infinite Wisdom had devised this ritual as the most powerful and the most simple way to illustrate these lessons.

We should be careful of reading backwards into this requirement. Both pagans and Jews went to the extreme of slaughtering great numbers of animals, and even humans, thinking that the power lay in the offering itself. However, their immature perversion does not negate God’s truth. It was actually an offering from God to us. The skin symbolized God’s everlasting protection around us. The meat was food to be eaten after the ceremony. The blood that was the physical life represented God’s soul sacrificed and offered to us. (see Leviticus)

Circumcision

There is always a history of sin before a mostly arbitrary, external rite is instituted. Cutting off the male foreskin is no exception.

Genesis 11 tells the story of the tower of Babel where the majority of the world determined to disobey God’s gracious command to spread out and fill the world with family-owned plots of land. Everyone would have been free and independent. Instead, God forcibly confused their language and thus caused separation and distribution into nations.

In Genesis 12 we read of God calling Abraham (Abram) to become His chosen missionary nation. This was not because of favoritism, but because of spiritual qualifications. “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment.” (Genesis 18:19) “By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went." (Hebrews 11:8)

Genesis 13 sees Abraham and his nephew, Lot, arrive and prosper in Canaan (future Israel and Palestine). But “the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray you between me and you and between my herdmen and your herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before you? separate yourself I pray you from me: if you will take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you come unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” (Genesis 13:6-12)

Again we see the nobility of Abraham’s character and another reason why God chose him. And again, and more specifically, God repeats His promise. “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which you see to you will I give it, and to your seed for ever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto you.” (Genesis 13:14-17)

Chapter 14 records the story of a battle in which Sodom and all the peoples in the area were captured, including Lot and his family. Abraham rescued all of them and returned home safely, but now he had become involved in national conflicts and therefore became a potential target.

That concern leads to the event in chapter 15. Abraham fears the promise may no longer be fulfilled. However, God “said unto him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Genesis 15:9-18)

The promise is given a third time. This time it adds another layer of specificity by drawing the boundaries.

Chapter 16 describes the final event in this series that precipated the requirement of circumcision. “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing: I pray you go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived.” (Genesis 16:1-4) And so Ishmael was born.

Abraham thought he was helping to fulfill God’s promise, but it was not in God’s way. Abraham resorted to polygamy and disrespected the Eden example of true marriage. He did this by marrying a woman not of the faithful Hebrew lineage. Therefore, his descendants would always be tempted to intermarry with heathen because of his example.

Now we come to the final chapter in this saga.

“And when Abram was ninety nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be you perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you and kings shall come out of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you and to your seed after you. And I will give unto you and to your seed after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:1-8)

The promise of descendants and land is now repeated for the fourth time. In spite of getting entangled in national conflict, which was due to Lot’s selfishness and Abraham’s compassion, the promise is renewed. In spite of his ill-advised marriage to Hagar, God kept His promise. Was this because of favoritism? No, it was because Abraham humbly learned, repented, and obeyed. “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Abraham was teachable. God was gracious. And this is a winning combination for anyone and everyone.

However, we must be realistic about learning from our mistakes. It always comes with pain. Just as the reward of inner peace is the unavoidable result of doing right, so the natural punishment of evil is unavoidable. To mitigate the effects of Abraham’s sinful marriage, God instituted the rite of circumcision which would mark his descendants with a sign of sexual purity forever. “And God said unto Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you and your seed after you in their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you, Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” (Genesis 17:9-10)

Would circumcision prevent fornication or adultery? Of course not, but it would be an avoidable sign along the way warning the people to think about their actions and consequences.

Also, Abraham injected his errant human ideas into God’s plan, so now God would permanently require this human action. Of course, introducing a human requirement was introducing a point of failure, but human nature is insistent on injecting itself unnecessarily into the operations of Omnipotence. Three times, God promised Abraham land and people based on nothing else but trust and obedience. Now, an external requirement was added because of Abraham’s sin. All external rules and rituals were “added because of transgressions.” (Galatians 3:19) When we insist on making things dependent on us, then God let’s have our way so we can learn, hopefully.

Mount Sinai

We have two things to consider at Mt. Sinai: what was said and how it was said.

“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the far part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke of it ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him by a voice.” (Exodus 19:17-19)

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak you with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that you sin not.” (Exodus 20:18-20)

God knows that love cannot be commanded and fear can produce only conformity, at best. So why the thunder and shouting?

For many years, the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. For the most part, they had lost their faith in the God of the fathers. Many were accustomed to idolatry and participated in it. When Moses reappeared just before the end of the 400 year prophecy (see Genesis 15), they knew (or should have known) that their deliverance was imminent. Their faith should have been rock solid after seeing the plagues on Egypt and the destruction of their army in the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Yet, they complained.

They complained about food. They complained about water. They complained about the time being taken to cross the desert to the Promised Land. They complained in the sight of the pillar of cloud and fire that guided them day and night. They followed, but to say that their faith was immature and easily shaken is an understatement.

God wanted to explain to them the principles of love rather than make such a fearsome display of power (see next section), but the people were not ready for it. They needed to be read the riot act, as it were. They needed to be impressed with the power and authority of God so that they would know their limits and perceive that definite boundaries existed and that enforcement was sure. The teenagers needed to know who was in charge.

And what were the teenagers told? Very minimal, very negative commandments. While the potential was contained in the words for spiritual people to extract, a literal obedience and enforcement would produce merely a nation of well-behaved kids. The ten commandments of heaven were worded for earthly teens much like a school handbook that expects little more than order and good citizenship.

Except for two, every commandment is negative, and even the fourth is partly negative. (see Exodus 20)

 

You shall not have any gods before me.

You shall not make any graven images.

You shall not take God’s name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath by not working.

Honor your father and mother.

Do not kill.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not lie.

Do not covet your neighbor’s things.

 

Those are the teen commandments—excuse me, ten commandments. A nation that trains their children to conform to these statutes, by consistently enforcing them, will be a well-ordered, safe society. The citizens‘ hearts may be exclusive and prejudiced towards outsiders, they may be shallow in their thinking and loving, but the trains will run on time, families will be well-behaved, and business will be conducted with integrity and efficiency. By any worldly standard, such a nation will be a model of excellence.

God wanted more from Israel, but He commanded only minimal obedience. If the Hebrew nation would cooperate, then He would richly bless them, and through them, the entire world. That was the plan starting with the first promise to Abraham. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you and curse him that curses you and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

In Israel, God was dealing with a nation of immature teens. In the world, God was dealing with nations of rebellious teens. Though faith was scarce in the earth, God refused to give up. Though He knew such minimal requirements could not produce a nation or world of spiritually transformed people, He was showing us what works, what doesn’t work, and taking away our excuses.

God was merely taking Israel, and the world, where they were at the time and trying to lift them up one step. This is forgotten in the many accusations against God and ancient Israel because modern people sit in pompous judgment on history with which they are unfamiliar. In spite of its many flaws, abuses, and apostasies, the Christian church has raised the world’s standard, but it is rarely given due credit, yet its standard is what is used to condemn antiquity!

Jesus demonstrated this principle in his response to the Pharisees who tried to trap Him with the question, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause? Christ directed them back to the ideal example in Eden of a man and a woman united for life. Then “they say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:7-8)

It was always a sin with evil results for married couples to divorce, regardless of fault. Jesus was not going to sugarcoat the injustice and the pain. Marriage is an eternal principle and its violation results in unavoidable pain. Therefore, it was always wrong and always disapproved by God.

However, in the anti-woman sentiment of the times, arbitrary writs of divorce were legally permitted even though they were morally condemned. The consequences of bad marriages, infidelity, women as property or worse, all must be taken into historical context when considering this rule. God was bringing Israel, and the onlooking nations, to a higher practice one step at a time. God winks at the times of our ignorance (Acts 17:30), but later, at the appropriate time, commands us to repent.

Every parent makes bargains, allows exceptions to rules, and takes strange negotiating positions when dealing with their particular teenagers in their particular situations. It has been said that raising teens is like trying to nail jello to a wall. Israel was no different with their quirks and rebellions in a world in which we no longer live and understand.

Levitical priesthood

The creation of the Levitical priesthood is a case in point of the immaturity of the Israelites. After speaking the ten commandments to the tribes, God called Moses up into the mount for 40 days to receive them in written form on tables of stone. While their leader was gone, the people became impatient and demanded an idol to lead them as their god back to Egypt. If you ever felt that yelling at your teenager was an exercise in futility, now you have a Bible example to back you up!

Moses came down from the top of the mountain, “And it came to pass, as soon as he came near unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses‘ anger grew hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.... Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” (Exodus 32:19-26)

For their faithfulness during that crisis, Levi was rewarded with the priesthood and with taking care of the sanctuary. Previously, the father was the priest of the household and offered sacrifice and prayer for the family. It was more personal and less hierarchical. However, the apostasy at Sinai brought about a centralization of the spiritual duties and privileges. The priests functioned as mediators in the Mediator’s place.

Of course, this did not change the ideal of a father representing the Father, but even in Christian times, power and decision making and spiritual leadership is jealously horded by priest and pastor. Just like teens who have tasted power and popularity, it is hard to let go.

Sanctuary ceremonies

“Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

With the building of the sanctuary, Israel became blessed above all nations. The Shekinah Glory, the actual presence of God, was in their midst to comfort and protect, guide and correct. The theocracy of Israel could have been a shining light to all mankind restoring the whole earth to Eden-like peace and prosperity.

The simple sacrificing of a lamb was expanded to many types of sacrifices and offerings to meet various needs and to teach various lessons. The detailed instructions and rites reflected the order and precision of heaven, and had the Israelites reflected upon them as they should have, they would have advanced from faith to greater faith. They would never have rebelled. They would have been ready to receive the Messiah. They would have conquered the nations, not by war, but by peace that only the gospel can bring.

The fact that Israel reduced their educational opportunities to empty ceremonies should not be attributed to God. The majority of Israel made the immature choice to look no further than outward appearances. Like so many ambitious, yet shallow, high school students, they learned to conform outwardly to standards of good citizenship and religious obedience. Yet, in secret they indulged self and participated in perversions that sometimes made the heathen blush.

From the days of Adam and Eve down through Abraham’s and Mose’s time and beyond, God’s ideal of patterns of faith, hope, and love never changed. As Israel’s spiritual vision became increasingly nearsighted, God commanded micromanaged expectations in black and white terms so there would be no excuse. Their one mission was to enact the symbols of the Savior to come and share those lessons with the surrounding nations.

The teenagers of ancient Israel never grew up and accepted their responsibility and privilege to teach the world the truth about God. Instead, they wanted to be like the nations around them to gain their approval and applause. They covered their idolatry with hypocrisy and made themselves into the worst example possible. They appeared to be God’s people, but they did not have the faith and love of God. Therefore, they were a negative example that repelled rather than inspired.

Nehemiah’s sabbath enforcement

Even after seventy years of exile in Babylon, then graciously returned home, the Israelites continued to go their own way, yet expected the blessing of God. It was a long fought battle, but prophets such as Ezra and Nehemiah finally put ancient Israel on the path of obedience.

“In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of goods, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened until after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge you about the wall? if you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day.” (Nehemiah 13:15-22)

This sabbath enforcement event is chronologically near the end of the Old Testament. Several hundred years later we open the New Testament to see a sect of priests called Pharisees taking this lesson to an extreme. Idolatry had been eradicated and fastidious rule-keeping took its place. Trust in God was still non-existent, but faith in rituals was paramount.

This swing from wild self-indulgence to extreme self-denial in appearance only is common among humanity. We swing back and forth from liberal to conservative and back again. We repent in sorrow, then we trust in our repentance, then we make a manmade religion of it. Immature people and immature societies will always do this until they destroy themselves, just like a group of teens who are capable just enough to deceive themselves with appearances until the facade gives way.

This leads us to question the God of the teenagers and blame Him for their hypocrisy. We look at their shortsightedness and think He is the same way, but He is not. God knew ahead of time who He was dealing with and the price He would pay to advance the educational process to the next step. He knew from the beginning that the old covenant of external requirements, in and of itself, could never inspire the internal heart. He went forward with it to teach future generations a valuable lesson about what really works and what doesn’t work. He sealed that lesson with His own blood on the cross of Calvary.

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks split.” (Matthew 27:50-51)

In a very unmistakable and dramatic way, God declared the end to the old covenant, to all external motivation for personal righteousness. The Lamb replaced all lambs. The blood of the cross replaced the blood of sacrifices. The soul of the Son of God made all slaughtered animals worthless. That which God never wanted was finished forever.

However, this long journey through the old to the new had previously been marked with clues that something better, something higher, something spiritual was the real solution.

Breaking the stone tablets

“The LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give you tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them.” “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 24:12; 31:18)

This is the first of two times that God gave the tablets to Moses. Notice that God supplied the tables of stone this time. There is strong evidence that this stone was cut from God’s sapphire throne, but that is another study entirely. For now the point is that God supplied the stone, carved the tablets Himself, and wrote with His own finger.

What did Moses then do with God’s laws?

“And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.... And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.” (Exodus 32:15-19)

Moses broke the commandments! Actually, Moses broke an expression of the commandments. He did not merely nail them to a cross, he smashed them to smithereens.

Just several weeks previously, God had spoken in fire and smoke and thunder and lightning. The King of the universe had declared His law in unmistakable tones to the people that “His fear may be before your faces, that you sin not.” Did it work? Obviously not, and God knew that it would not work. Why did He do it? To prove that such an external display of power is powerless in the long run. The point is that the shouting of law did not produce obedience and that the disobedience of the people did not change the law.

Whether we obey or disobey the law, whether we keep or smash an expression of the law, the law of the universe is still the law of the universe. Faith, hope, and love can be rejected, but they cannot be broken. Moses no more abolished or changed the law by his action then the people changed the law by their actions. How do we know this?

“The LORD said unto Moses, Hew you two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which you broke.... And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.” (Exodus 34:1-4)

The first time, heaven’s law was written on heaven’s stone. The second time, heaven’s law was written on earthly stone. The expression changed. The law itself did not. With new covenant compassion, God rewrote the old covenant on material adapted to teach a lesson to sinners. What God did on Sinai, He repeated on the cross, but in a new and living way.

Smashing the brass serpent

“And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against you. Pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:5-9)

There was no magic in the brass image. Those who were bitten must exercise faith unto obedience to be healed. This was an object lesson of the future Savior who would be made “sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Instead of reflecting on the deep meaning of the simple act, later generations attributed power to the serpent itself. Therefore, it was rightly destroyed.

“Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.... And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brass serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it.” (2 Kings 18:1-4)

God has no problem using symbols appropriate to the maturity level of the audience. Neither does He have a problem destroying those symbols when the meaning is rejected or perverted.

Hating the burnt offerings

“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings and your food offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take you away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)

God required the feast days, the burnt offerings, and the food offerings. Why does He now hate them? Because the offerings were not mixed with judgment and righteousness. Sacrifices were not get-out-jail-free-cards. Offerings were not payments for crime. Worship was not a counterbalance for selfishness. The external requirements had no power and no significance unless their meaning was perceived and faith looked upward and forward to the Messiah.

“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:6-8)

God was never fooled by shallowness or hypocrisy or bribery. Salvation and spirituality never were bestowed on the basis of external obedience or ritual sacrifice. They were only educational means to encourage faith in the future Savior who was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)

New covenant needed

“Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke although I was a husband unto them, said the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Long before the new testament era began, the need for a new covenant was recognized. Devils could circumcise, kill animals, and perform rituals, yet remain unchanged. Hardhearted humans were no different. In fact, the sinner could be made worse in the belief that their selfishness and crimes were covered and even justified by the ceremonies. The old covenant requirements—the externals—were but parables without meaning and rituals without power. Individuals needed to look through the surface to the inner patterns of faith, hope, and love offered by the Father.

Humans in ancient times were no different than humans in modern times. Salvation worked no differently back then then it does now. From Eden until now, God has offered us His heart and only the offering of our heart connects us to Him.

The old covenant of external requirement for immature people had educational value but was incapable of transforming and saving. Therefore it needed to be replaced. Our main questions in this section are: What was replaced? Who did the replacing? What was the replacement?

The sermon on the mount

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” (Matthew 5:17)

By filling the requirements for external behavior with internal love, both inward and outward expectations were exceeded. This is from the sermon on the mount which declared a far higher standard than the thunder on Mount Sinai.

“You have heard that it was said of them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

Jesus is clearly replacing the old commandment with a new commandment, but is the new commandment more or less than the old? Does not the positivity of the new command include the negativity of the old one and supercede it? Of course it does. Therefore, Jesus replaced the old ten commandments by fulfilling them with new, greater spiritual commandments.

“You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Again, Jesus replaces and fulfills one of the ten commandments. This should not be surprising for He has the authority. He gave the old commandments as well as the new. (see Galatians 3:19-20; 1 Timothy 2:5)

“You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:38-39)

Eye for eye is a good principle for proportional justice by any government, but it is actually difficult to carry out on the individual level. Points must always be tallied. Revenge must be exacted to repay all slights. Peace cannot be had until all scores are evened, but even then, true peace does not come. There is a sort of satisfaction at matching destruction for destruction, but no joy based on creativity.

“You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

The ten commandments are based on heaven’s principles. Thus they are always a good start on defining good citizenship, but let self-renouncing love become the pattern of life and positive perfection is achieved. If a person were to follow all the laws illustrated in Christ’s sermon on the mount there would be no question about fulfilling the ten commandments on Sinai. No one doubts a math professor can do all the number counting taught to kindergartners. Everyone agrees that a professional runner can fulfill all definitions of walking.

Leaving the temple

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you; how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, You shall not see me from now on until you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 23:37-39)

Just a few days before His crucifiction, Jesus concluded His rebukes against the leadership with these words, then left, never to return. The Meaning of the sanctuary sacrifices had been rejected, so the Lamb of God physically acted the truth. Shadow was about to meet substance. Type was about to meet antitype. Parable was about to meet truth on the cross.

Ministry of death

“Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.” (2 Corinthians 3:6-13)

Did Paul do away with the law, or did he do away with the writing and the engraving of the law? Paul did away with the engraving of the law just as Moses had done away with the engraving. To be more accurate, Paul did not do away with anything. He is merely pointing out the truth that the glory of Moses‘ ministry of condemnation was superceded by the glory of Christ’s ministry of righteousness. The ten commandments engraved on stones, thundered from mountaintops, and imposed by terrifying power was abolished.

What replaced the killing letter and the ministration of engraved death?

“Unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-18)

The Spirit frees us from staring at the stone tablets that can do nothing but tell us what to do and how we fail to do it. The Spirit leads us by faith to look into the face of the Lord who changes us from glory to greater glory. This illustration says the same thing Jesus did in His sermon on the mount. The negative engravings are replaced by fulfilling them with positive obedience from the heart which is spiritually motivated by love.

Nailed to the cross

“And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, in which also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he given life together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:10-17)

This passage is often the subject of fierce debate, so we should spend some extra time with it.

The replacement comes before that which is replaced. The text starts, “You are complete in Him.” There is no need of extra supplements or external prodding. The converted Christian has had his sins washed away in baptism and now he lives the circumcised life in Christ. He is no longer a condemned Gentile doomed to act out the body of sins, but he rises and lives the Christ life of victory over sin.

This distinction between the old death and the new life shows that a law is still in operation to discern and judge between the two, but it is not man’s law written in man’s words. There is no need to prod and push the Christian into the right path by blocking his will with tables of stone or a multitude of rules on paper. The Christian has everything he needs in Christ, including motivation to live above sin. He does not need the ministry of death engraved on stone and written on paper to continually prod him back to the right path. He is drawn to the Savior by the Spirit’s operation on the heart and this is enough.

When external forces, whether it be God’s thunder or man’s judgments, are used on the true Christian, they actually get in the way and impede performance. What before was lovingly sacrificed is now obeyed out of fear and mindless conformity. Staring at the rulebook all day will not make a loving and lovable Christian. Therefore, if we want to be a Christian and make Christians we should stop judging and not let ourselves be affected by others‘ judging. Take up your cross and follow straight after Christ. That is our whole duty and privilege.

Everyone has their peculiarities of eating, drinking, sabbathkeeping, and ways of celebrating holidays. “One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eats eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks.” (Romans 14:5-6)

The ministry of death is long over. It was nailed to the cross. Yet, human tendency is take elevate our judgment to written rules on paper then enforce them as if they were engraved in stone. When it comes to matters of conscience and religious practices, God alone is judge. During the years of the ministration of death He showed Himself well able to enforce His laws. Both the laws and their enforcement were shadows of greater, final things to come.

So what exactly was nailed to the cross? All external motivation. All commandments engraved on stone. All rules written on paper.

The Christian complete in Christ has all of heaven’s laws written on his heart. External motivations, expressions, and enforcement is unnecessary and counterproductive. The still small voice of the Spirit is easily drowned out by shouting.

Slain the enmity

“Wherefore remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” (Ephesians 2:11-16)

All those less than ideal safeguards God put in place to be physical prompts to obedience became barriers to extending the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews were favored by their obedience and the Gentiles were cursed by their disobedience, according to the thinking of the time. The primary function of the law was to draw this distinction that could not be changed. However, the lifeblood of Christ was able to elevate Jew and Gentile alike to earnestly fulfill the moral law. That more than satisfied the written rules, and therefore united insiders and outsiders into one body.

Shadow of things to come

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things.” (Hebrews 10:1)

Which law? Any law! The purpose of the expression of law is to announce requirements. To the sinner, that announcement is death (see Romans 7). That announcement is a shadow of what is expected and experienced in real life. The proclamation of the law is a dark, one-dimensional parable of the fullness of joy of the truly obedient believer in Christ.

No longer under a schoolmaster

“Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Galatians 3:19, 24-25)

A friend once told me that raising kids is like trying to nail jello to the wall, but it is our job to keep them alive until they turn 18 when they can make their own decisions. Children are natural transgressors and it is the parent’s job to inspire and punish, to encourage and condemn, to plead and force. We sometimes must go to awful lengths to keep our kids from playing in the middle of traffic.

But there comes a time when the senses and reasoning abilities develop to the point where the young man or young women must learn on their own. There comes a time when the nation of Israel must grow up and no longer be governed by Mount Sinai, but by Mount Calvary. There comes a time when the sinner must stop being prodded by self or others to avoid the fires of hell and instead be moved only by a cup of living water shared with Christ.

The law and Christ both expect us, demand us, require us to live a morally perfect life in harmony with an eternally perfect universe. However, only Christ can actually live in us and motivate us to make it happen. The schoolmaster was a person hired by wealthy Romans to raise their children and make sure they get to school on time. When a person is in Christ, they are in school. A schoolmaster is now an unhelpful distraction.

Disentangle from yoke of bondage

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

Why were we yoked in bondage? Why were we held in prison? So that we would not stray too far from the cross to come. Once the Savior appears the yoke that leads to the Savior is not needed. The ministration of death cannot help the living.

Not under the law

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:14-18)

Many supposedly new covenant Christians view the law in an old covenant, legal way. Therefore, they view grace in an old covenant, legal way. In their view, the problem is that our record of sins is keeping us out of heaven and grace is the blood that cleanses those records. But that is not the problem. It is only an expression and a recording of the problem.

When we were under the law, we were servants of sin. We naturally acted out the old heart, the old man, the old creature. We could not escape ourselves. We were in bondage, not only to Satan, but to our selfish habits and sin-loving natures. The law told us many times to stop sinning, but we could not stop.

At the cross, the law stops being our cold-hearted master and grace takes over. A new heart and a new mind is transplanted into us and we view things and feel things differently. We now naturally do righteousness from the inside out.

Contrary to popular opinion, grace is not getting rid of masters. It is changing masters. Grace does not get rid of God’s law. Grace brings us the Gift of God. Forgiveness, right-loving, right-thinking, and right-doing come along with it as part of a complete, all-or-nothing package. Jesus no longer shouts the law at me. He lives it in me.

Old covenant is vanishing

“In that he says, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and grows old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13) “For you are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But you are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:18-24)

The law of the old covenant was thundered from Sinai. The law of the new covenant is spoken and lived from Zion. The more we bring others to Sinai the more we confuse our message and eclipse the glory of Zion’s new covenant.

The new covenant is often preached in an old covenant way. The congregation is told what they must do. They are threatened with the fires of hell if they don’t do it. They are told they need Jesus. Yet, Jesus is rarely preached. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ is not lifted up and left to stand on its own power. His beauty and matchless charms are maybe refered to, but not focused on. The preacher shows more faith in his emotional oratory and in his repetition of shoulds and should-nots, then in the power of God.

If the cross of Christ cannot convert and save the sinner, then nothing will. Jesus is well able to reach the sinner if we, like the disciples of old, will simply bring them to Him rather than hindering their progress with our supposedly grand lectures.

Stone tables part of covenant in ark of covenant

We think it is a slam-dunk to tell people that the writings of Moses—the ceremonial law—in the side of the ark was done away with, but not the commandments. However, in the light of the following texts, this argues too much. We are trying to defend and keep part of the old covenant. We think we must do it so we do not lose the Sabbath, but I will shortly show that this is unnecessary.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Write you these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” (Exodus 34:27-28)

“He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.” (Deuteronomy 4:13)

“When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spoke with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get you down quickly from from here; for your people which you have brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. Furthermore the LORD spoke unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.” (Deuteronomy 9:9-15)

God made an immature covenant with an immature nation. To use new testament language, God made an old covenant with an old nation—a nation of old, unrenewed people. “Old” is a spiritual word, not a chronological word, in this context.

If you are thinking that I am about to tell you that the law of the old covenant written on stone was done away with the old covenant, you are correct. Keep in mind that the spiritual law of the universe cannot be touched, changed, modified, replaced, or deleted in any way, because it is the eternal pattern of God. God is the law of the universe and He changes not. However, His expression of Himself—His law—changes and adapts to meet the needs, language, culture, and mindset of the people with whom He is communicating. Throughout the Bible times, God appeared in many different forms in many different ways but always with the same message. Sinai, with its cold, impersonal tables of stone, was never His ideal.

The faulty first covenant

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Hebrews 8:7-8)

Many times I have heard how God had found fault with “them”—the Israelites. That point was emphasized so that the ten commandments engraved on stone could be defended and kept. However, by now, I think you see the point that the tables of stone are not worth defending. They are part of the faulty first covenant. Not just the people, but the covenant also, was faulty. Stone is a poor substitute for the heart. If the law was on the heart then there would be no need for stone.

So why did God make a faulty covenant? He knows the end from the beginning. He knew all along the old covenant could not last and could not make a righteous person. He knew the truth way before the new testament came on the scene and made the first covenant look old and faulty.

He made a faulty covenant with a faulty people to prove to them, and to us, that old covenant methods do not make new covenant people. For a while, old covenant tactics can keep a nation from imploding, can prevent children from killing themselves by their own stupidity, and can preserve knowledge on a basic level. The old covenant not only shows us that we cannot be holy in our power alone, but God cannot make us holy by His power alone. He does not force. Humanity and divinity must unite in love.

A new heart with a new power is the only solution. New wine must go in new wineskins. We can try to force ourselves and pray to God that He would force us, but it won’t work. Conversion must take place from the inside out, not from the outside in. A deep, sincere abiding love of Christ and His ways is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. Such a love cannot be forced, commanded, legislated, habituated, or pushed by anyone, including God.

We have spent a lot of time tearing down the teen kingdom with its immature ways. Is there anything left of use to us? Yes, but we must use it carefully and minimally.

On this earth of wickedness, in the churches filled with hypocrites, mixed multitudes, and superficial show-offs, the old covenant methods of force and fear are sometimes needed to protect governments and organizations. Govermnents, not churches, sometimes need to execute criminals for heinous crimes to make a serious impression on the minds of other criminals. Churches sometimes need to expel members for publicly teaching and living contrary to church teachings. Every organization has the responsibility to maintain the definition of itself or else it will fade into the background noise and lose its purpose for existence.

Raising kids successfully cannot happen without old covenant methods. Before the age of reason and accountability, the child does not know God. They only know their parents. By a proper blend of love and strictness, external incentive and punishment, the child forms habits of good living. Those habits encourage the development of right thinking. Their teenage years become a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. The old covenant gradually falls away and the new covenant forms a responsible human being able to resist evil, be a good example, and even lead others.

But try explaining the new covenant to an infant and you will meet only with failure. Leave a child alone to figure things out on their own as if they were already an adult and you will again meet with failure. Try to reason with a hardened criminal about the principles of love and mercy, and you will be robbed as soon as your back is turned. Put the criminal in prison, put the rebellious child in “timeout”, then after a time you may have a heart softened and a mind ready to learn. If you don’t, you still have a society relatively safe from harm.

The old covenant was replaced and fulfilled by the new covenant. The teen is superceded by the mature adult. It is now clear that the old covenant corresponds to the teenager and that both are temporary transitions to something greater. But what is that greater, new kingdom? What does the “kingdom of heaven” about which Jesus preached look like on this earth and in human hearts? That is the sole subject of book three.

In that book we will see that God does not teach random things at random times. He has a pattern of core principles that He teaches over and over again in many different ways but towards the same goal. We will see that He was teaching the same ten principles in the same order during the creation week, in the sanctuary, on Mount Sinai, in the sermon on the mount, and in many other places. The experience of the true Christian is a reflection of these principles. Book three will tie together what appears to be random and contradictory by revealing their deeper spiritual unity.

If you wish to abrogate all responsibility for your moral and intellectual independence, then by all means - conform with the herd and obey blindly. — Graeme Rodaughan

Obeying orders just to obey is the mark of a person who has ceased to think. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. — Ilsa J. Bick

He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder. — Albert Einstein

Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority. — Stanley Milgram

If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses. — E. G. White

If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself. — James Madison

The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it....
...After Adam’s sin and fall nothing was taken from the law of God. The principles of the ten commandments existed before the fall, and were of a character suited to the condition of a holy order of beings. After the fall, the principles of those precepts were not changed, but additional precepts were given to meet man in his fallen state.
...The principles were more explicitly stated to man after the fall, and worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences. This was necessary in consequence of the minds of men being blinded by transgression.
The law of God existed before the creation of man or else Adam could not have sinned. After the transgression of Adam the principles of the law were not changed, but were definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition. — E. G. White

How well do kids understand self-sacrifice and altruistic service?

What if Mt. Sinai was Jesus preaching the Beatitudes instead of God thundering the commandments?

At any time in history was salvation and transformation based on conformity to rules?

Why is “eye for eye” good for the old covenant, but “turn the other cheek” good for the new?

What exactly was and was not nailed to the cross?

How long can heaven run on the old covenant? on the new covenant?

Is it accurate to equate “old covenant”, “teen commandments”, and "externals"?

If salvation is new covenant, then why was Israel old covenant?