Only God can define the nature and proper course of life.

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.” Leviticus 18.1-5

Human beings must make their way in life by some course or other. Throughout history, peoples and nations have developed social systems, ethical norms, religious beliefs, and protocols and standards for relating to one another in an effort to discover the “good life.” More often than not, these various ways of living have resulted in misery and disappointment for the large majority of those engaged in them (Prov. 14.12).

It is not too much to say that whatever of general benefit has been discovered, pursued, and enjoyed in human societies will be found to reflect some aspect of the Law of God. This is undoubtedly because the Lord has written the works of His Law on the hearts of men, as a gesture of His grace common to all human beings (Rom. 2.14, 15). The Law of God was given to Israel to guide the people in the way of life as God defines it. Life is not what we make of it; that was the mistake Adam and Eve made. Life is what God says it is, and He intended His people, Israel, to know life in its fullness, according to His grace. They were not to take their cues about matters of ethics, morality, and religion from the surrounding cultures. God revealed in His Law all they would need in order to live fully in the blessings of His Covenant. Any dallying in the ways of pagan cultures would compromise their calling, frustrate their hopes, and bring them under the discipline of the Lord.

Why should we think that God has changed His mind about what constitutes full and abundant life? Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (Jn. 10.10). He has redeemed into eternal life; it remains for us to lay hold on the promise of life and unpack all its daily benefits. We must “work out our salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil. 2.12), and this we do by walking the path marked out in God’s roadmap for life, His holy and righteous and good Law.

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