Tradition says that there are as many commandments in the Bible as there are seeds in a Pomegranate – 613. Most of us are familiar with ten of them, the Ten Commandments, which are given in slightly different forms in Exodus and Deuteronomy, but a quick reading of Leviticus, for example, shows that there are many more. The number 613 was arrived at by Rabbis during the middle ages, but if we were to try and count ourselves, we would have trouble coming up with the same count. Some can no longer be observed, since they deal with the Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans. Others only apply to Israel and do not apply to us as Christians. There are also many complicated dietary laws, which most Christians do not observe. Some, such as “do not plant two kinds of seeds in the same field”, are unknown to most of us; it would seem to ban the practice of planting pole beans and sweet corn together (this allows the pole beans to use the corn stalks as supports). Others deal with oxen, donkeys, slaves, tattoos and sexual practices to name a few examples. 

 The many commandments, together with the commentaries and decisions based on them, made observing the law, which was the cornerstone of Jewish religion, very complicated. The Pharisees were strict observers of the law, and this required scholars to study and interpret them. These were the scribes, who were basically lawyers. I’m sure that the first lawyer jokes go back to Biblical times and concern the scribes. I can just hear someone saying, “What’s the difference between a scribe and a _______________ (you can fill in the blank stealing from your favorite lawyer joke)?” The Pharisees and scribes were thorns in Jesus’ side and many times accused Jesus of failing to observe the law, especially the parts dealing with the Sabbath. For example, they didn’t like Him healing on the Sabbath, and once they got upset when he rubbed the grain out of a head of wheat while walking through a field on the Sabbath.

 Jesus, however, said that two commandments summarized all the rest. The first is given in Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”, and the second is given in Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But Jesus did much more than summarize; he gave a whole new paradigm that freed us from the Law. In the Old Testament people obeyed the Law to gain favor with the Lord. We learn from the New Testament that we gain God’s favor, His grace, by repentance. For us as Christians it is because we have received God’s favor that we work to obey these two commandments, and not vice versa.

 Read Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim

Originally posted in October 2016