And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.”

The people of Israel were not to take their ethical cues from the surrounding nations, whether Egypt, where they had lived, or Canaan, to which they were going. God’s rules and statutes were to be their guide in all things; His Word was sufficient to equip them for every good work (2 Tim. 3.15-17).

So it is today as well. We are not to be conformed to this world (Rom. 12.1, 2) but are to lay aside all the ways of the flesh and follow in the way that Jesus walked, the way of God’s Word and Law (Eph. 4.17-24; 1 Jn. 2.1-6). The promise for obedience is life. We have the oath of the Lord that, if we obey Him, we will know full and abundant life as He intends.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.