Biblical Genres- Law Code

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Biblical Genres- Law Code

Read Exodus 20: 1-21

The ancient idea of Law wasn’t like our concept of law. Some “laws” carried public consequences for breaking them and some were internal issues that others couldn’t see. Law Code functioned more like a wisdom code. In modern times people have been talking about a “rule of life,” a set of personal values to direct where they are going.

There is a context to these commands. They had strict and predictable order in Egypt and now they are in the desert learning how to be a people. This is chaos. Law code is wisdom literature to direct a new people in a way that brings order. Slavery was structured. Freedom is more complex and feels like chaos until you learn to live in wisdom. The point of law code is to give you the structure to build a wise life so you can learn to live as free people.

1. Do you have a different understanding of law code after this weekend? How do you understand this chapter differently?

2. To have a rule of life you have to think about your context. We live in the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. “You shall have no other gods before me” could be hard to interpret in our modern times. We may not have other literal gods but there are “functional gods” that we put our hope in. What pulls your attention off of God most frequently?

3. The fourth command is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. This is the one Jesus spoke to and said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus showed us that the law is there to serve us but if we aren’t careful, we end up serving the law. Have you seen the law used against people as a power grab? The opposite of the function it’s there to serve?

4. The first four commands are about how we relate to God. The next five are observable behaviors about how you relate to each other. But the last one is about coveting. That’s internal. It’s not observable unless you act on it. Why would God put a non-observable commandment in the top 10?

5. Verse 20 “Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Why would Moses say to not be afraid and the fear of God will keep you from sinning?

6. The story transitions after this detail in VS 21. “The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” What do you make of the author saying the people remained at a distance? Why do we “remain at a distance” from the challenge of God?