The eighth commandment

Leviticus 19.14

“You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.”

Communities in ancient Israel were expected to “go the extra mile” with those in their midst who were disabled. If this meant inconvenience, whether to an individual or the community, then this was nothing more than what love requires of us – laying down our own lives in order to care for those in need.

Only societies shaped by a Christian worldview show this kind of regard for the disabled. The more we move away from the Law of God as a basis for our own system of justice, the greater is the likelihood that “the least of these” will be left behind. Or, as a linger conscience compels lawmakers to tax and regulate on behalf of the disabled and poor, the rest of society will grow resentful, and indifference or even scorn for our neighbors may well increase.

But without the Spirit of God to teach and empower us to live God’s Law, we cannot expect to know the protections and benefits its just statutes provide (Ezek. 36.25, 26). Hence the need for those who love God and His Law to reach to their neighbors with the love of Jesus Christ, and to fold them into the community of the faithful, where the love of God comes to expression in good works as designated by His Law.

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.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.