The Laws of The Land
We are to respect and follow the laws of the land…. but above that we are to follow God’s laws. Before Moses let the people proceed into the promised land, he read them a set of laws and commandments which God had given for them to follow….The most important ones being the Ten Commandments….written by God’s own hand on two tablets of stone. Many other laws were given to fit the offensives of the times.
Moses went to great lengths to convey to them the importance of following these laws. He reminded them of the many times they, and the generation before them, had provoked God to anger so badly that he had to beg God to allow the trip to continue. He also made it plain to them that they were being given this land only because God loved them…. In no way was it due to any righteousness on their part. God Himself referred to them as a “stiff-necked people.” They must know they were not worthy or deserving of all God had done, or was about to do, for them. God allowed the people already residing in the land to be destroyed due to their own wickedness….and He would do the same to His chosen people if they refused to obey His laws.
I found it interesting in Deut. 19 that they were instructed to divide the coasts of the land into three parts and separate three cities to be used as a refuge for anyone committing a crime accidentally….such as killing his neighbor accidentally while working with an axe. Such people could flee to these cities in order to escape being killed themselves by the family of the victim. This put me in mind of the “sanctuary cities” that have recently been exposed in the United States.
Most of the laws were meant to prevent rebellion and many led to the death penalty. Stoning was a punishment often used in these cases. To be convicted there had to be at least 2 witnesses whose testimonies matched…. If they had conflicting stories then the witnesses themselves were questioned and the one found guilty of lying was also punished. It was: “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand and foot for foot” Deut. 19: 21.
Many times on their journey the people rebelled and refused to follow God’s direction. Just as Moses interceded and begged the Lord to forgive them, Jesus now intercedes for us once we accept Him as our Savior. This is why we say we are no longer under the law, but under grace. Many laws that are being made today are totally against God’s laws, and we Christians are finding ourselves at odds with the government and society on many issues.
Recently, many people are standing up and fighting against some of the outrageous decisions being made….such as the high school band that was recently told they could no longer play the song, “How Great Thou Art” at the football games. One member of the crowd started singing the song and soon hundreds more joined in! What a message this sends to those who want to stifle the truth!
One person took offense to a memorial placed on the grave of one of our veterans that depicted a soldier bowing at the foot of a cross. An atheist organization which works to promote the separation of church and state was notified and insisted the memorial be removed. Christians and others from across the nation are responding and insisting that it be left alone.
In New Mexico, an organization of believers are fighting to preserve a nativity scene which some claim is unconstitutional. So good to see God’s people standing up and speaking out against these organizations who want nothing more than to silence God and destroy our faith. They forget that there is Power in the name of Jesus… and those who stand up for what is right will be blessed.
Our religious freedoms are coming under fire from every side. In the case of the county clerk refusing, because of her faith, to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court has ruled that she must issue the license or face jail time. Deut. 28: 7 says, “The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face; they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.” We must continue to fight to keep the laws of our land inline with God’s Word and stand with our fellow believers when these laws of the land threaten our right to follow our faith.
Picture from Wikipedia