| WHO NEEDS LAWS? |
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| kept alive, as is the case today" (6:24). In other words, the laws were given for the Israelites' own good. Most of the Ten Commandments were given in a negative form, "You shall not." But each of these negative statements protects a privileged relationship between two people or a person and God. For example, "Do not murder" could be restated, "Human life is sacred and has enormous worth. Respect such life as the image of God, and defend it." Other commandments protect marriage, private property, honesty, and the day set aside to worship God. Never Forget Moses could not have emphasized the laws more strongly. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts," he said. "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (6:6-7). Moses wanted to make sure the Israelites would not possibly forget the laws. He instructed the priests to gather the whole nation together to hear them read aloud every seven years (31:9-13). Any king of Israel was required, as one of his first acts, to write out the laws by hand (17:18-19). One last visual reminder served to impress the laws on the Israelites' minds. The priests wrote them in bold letters on stones covered with plaster. As the tribes marched across the Jordan River into the new land, they passed between the writing-covered stones (27:1-8). No one in Israel could plead ignorance of what God required of them - his rules were carved in stone. As history would prove, obeying the rules was another matter. |
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