letters to surfers

By the law of love that Jesus taught some of things God said to Moses in Exodus 21 were morally wrong. How do you explain this contradiction?

by Robert Brow   (www.brow.on.ca)



This chapter begins a series of ordinances that Moses gave for the conduct of the nation of slaves who had suddenly been freed to move to the promised land. As he faced difficult decisions he used to go out to a tent to seek God's guidance (Exodus 33:7). In our day a church leader will say "as I have prayed about this matter, this is the rule I have decided to apply in our situation." Moses correctly recorded what he thought God was saying, but no one is infallible and situations change. So we need not assume that every rule Moses made at that time would be appropriate for all people in all situations. Jesus made some "But I say to you" corrections in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44), he said the kosher food laws were not needed (Mark 7:18-19, see Acts 10:13-15), animal sacrifice was soon terminated, and he dismantled the Old Testament patriarchal rules for marriage and divorce. Paul taught a total mutuality between husbands and wives (1 Corinthians 7:1-16) which would have been unthinkable for Moses. Jesus confirmed the permanence of moral law of the ten commandments from Exodus 21 and restated them in terms of love for God and others.

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