Applying Old Testament Law in a New Testament Age Part 2

Well, for some of you who were not here at the end of September, we are continuing with a topic that I began at that time. I used a certain amount of material from this large book that the Church has on the New Covenant. It asks the question, Does it Abolish God's Law? We looked at some of the main categories of law, such as commandments that define the way God is. Commandments as they were expanded by Jesus during His earthly ministry as He put more into the law because there's a spiritual intent behind every word of God. We looked at the subject of statutes and judgments and got a good start. I mentioned we'd come back this time and look at some of the areas where we have a lot of questions that come up. Like, how do we apply some of these laws of uncleanness or fringes on garments, laws of revenge, polygamy? We'll look at a number of those, but obviously we aren't going to cover the whole Old Testament. I mentioned last time that someone had researched out, and you'll hear this figure on a regular basis, that there are 613 laws given in the Old Testament. So we're left with the question, how do we apply those? Now, let me read just a little bit, and this is a quote I took from this booklet on the New Covenant, because this is from a box on pages 37 and 38 about how the book of Hebrews explains some of the temporary aspects. And it says, these temporary aspects of the Sinai covenant were applicable only until everything they symbolized was fulfilled through Jesus Christ. And I think that's a very important statement to keep in mind as we begin looking at some of these. Some, by their very design, were intended to be figurative and temporary, and they pointed us to what Christ was going to do, and when it was done, then they're still there. There always are principles from which we can learn, but as far as the application in our life today, you know, we don't have a child born, you don't have to take, like Mary did, two turtle doves to offer at the temple. We don't have to do that anymore. Continuing, it says, the author of Hebrews does not say that the laws of God defining righteousness were changed or abolished by the New Covenant, or that they were only temporary. And we comment on that. Some law is eternal. It is spirit, spiritual. It is, as Paul called it, holy and just and good. And it was around from Sinai, and we find it in the kingdom of God, because it defines love and love to God, love to neighbor. So, then it says, the author explains, or he does, he explains that the Sinai Covenant's symbolic features, which he summarized as food and drink and various ceremonial washings, are no longer necessary under the New Covenant. The fact that these examples are restricted to physical items, all having only symbolic significance, is crucially important. The laws of God, the defined sin, are not included among those items explicitly identified as terminated with the destruction of the temple. The focus in Hebrews is entirely on things associated with the symbolic worship system of the physical tabernacle, later the temple complex, and the temporary Levitical priesthood.

Okay. The tabernacle, temple, ministry, or service of the Sinai Covenant was only symbolic and temporary. However, God's laws defining righteousness are not symbolic or temporary. The Psalms depict them as wonderful and perfect and destined to last forever.

All right. So, we ended rather abruptly, and I just had mentioned in some of these areas, if in doubt, ask yourself questions such as, did Christ alter it in the New Testament? And we'll look at circumcision in a little bit, and that's probably the prime example we run across. Circumcision was, of course, first introduced with the Abrahamic covenant. It then became the sign of the Sinai Covenant. And yet, it's very clear in the book of Acts, and in Paul's writings, that physical circumcision is not necessary today.

It's a personal individual, a family decision. But what is most important is the spiritual circumcision that is pictured by our own baptism, that the unclean part of our heart is removed and left behind and cast aside. So, I also said we could ask, was the law figurative or temporary?

And then, thirdly, if in doubt, look to the church. Look to the church. The church, Paul, in writing Timothy said, the church is the pillar and stay of the truth.

And so, if in doubt, the church has a pretty good track record in finding a balance. Sometimes, we want to get way off on one extreme or the other, but the church has got a good track record of keeping us close to the trunk of the tree. Well, let's turn to Leviticus chapter 12.

And let's first consider some some areas I'll just call ceremonial laws.

Leviticus 12.

And notice, we'll just notice the first few verses here, maybe first five verses.

So, Leviticus 12 verse 1.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, and I'll be reading from the old King James today, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, if a woman have conceived seed and borne a man child.

Now, please don't ask me later why was the length of purification for the male child or the birth of the male child longer or shorter than for the female child? The answer today will be, I don't know. But as I was looking at this, this morning, I thought, you know, I need to dig into that, but I'm not prepared today. Then she shall be unclean seven days. And this is tied in with the fact that it says in the next verse that the male child will be circumcised on the eighth day, because the mother was ceremonially unclean, ceremonially defiled that first seven days after the childbirth process. So, unclean seven days, according to the days of the separation for her infirmity, shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. So, you add those, and you have a total of a forty-day period of purification if she bears a male child. She shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. And you could look in Luke 2 somewhere there, halfway through the chapter, Mary went, and she had the two turtle doves, according to the law. And that would have been after this period of time. But if she bear a made child, then she shall be unclean two weeks. So, it's twice the time that she is ceremonially unclean. And actually, you had certain ones who, um, well, midwives, midwives, those who helped with the childbirth, who were also unclean.

The husband was pictured, and from things I've read, he was just kept out of the picture, and did not become unclean. At any rate, that's going off on a tangent a little. As in her separation, and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying three score and six days. So, 14 and 66, that's 80 days, that's twice as much, until the full process is gotten passed.

So, ceremonial uncleanness. Now, these apply in principle. It is not something we have to do. There is no functioning holy place, and all of the sacrificial law pointed to Christ, and then it was fulfilled. There is no need to be it apart from or quarantined from people. It is best to seek doctors, seek medical counsel on that. I personally always cringe when a young, usually a young couple brings out a child into a public setting too soon, too fast. Best to let that child get a few weeks under its belt, and grow up, and get life going. But the doctor will also advise, the question comes up as far as a man and a woman, and the intimacy a doctor can advise on that. Now, in verse 3, it mentioned circumcision. So, while we're here, let's comment on that just a little bit. It is not required. We know from the New Testament today, it is not required in a legalistic manner, but it is an individual decision.

It may be advisable, but then you have others who... you'll hear the arguments both ways. And it is a personal, individual, family decision to make. But formally, it was a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. It became also the sign of the Sinai Covenant. Remember the story where Zipporah circumcised their sons, the sons of Zipporah and Moses, and through the four skins at his feet, you have circumcision of the males there after Egypt. After the wilderness wandering years, there at Gilgal, once again you had circumcision. So, it was a very important sign of being in that covenant relationship with God. But when we go to the New Testament, in fact, let's not even turn there. We are aware that in Acts 15, we have the conference that was called that Paul and Barnabas, as they began going to some of the non-Israelite areas and peoples were called and became members of the church, the question came up. I mean, if you had a man who's 37 or 53 or 22 and he's baptized and he's physically uncircumcised, you can realize that would be a very real, legitimate question that would come up. Paul was teaching, no, but then you had some from the Jews, the Judaizers. I mentioned that term last time. We have modern-day Judaizers who want to go back to as much of the law of Moses as possible, but you had a decision that was rendered by the church. The answer was no. And Paul writing there, right at the end of Romans 2, I think Romans 2, verses 28 and 29, you can go there. Circumcision is of the heart. It is not in the letter, not in the flesh. So it is of the heart. The circumcision of your flesh, or excuse me, of your heart, is what is most important. Now, while we're here in Leviticus, let's go to chapter 15.

Chapter 13 and 14 largely deal with the diagnosis of leprosy and what to do with that. Denise and I found it interesting. In one of the airports we were in, in the Philippines, they had large banners. Some of the warnings, leprosy apparently is a real issue there. We hear of it once in a while in this country and others. But in chapter 15, verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, speaking to the children of Israel and saying to them, when any man has a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue, he is unclean. So the issue of blood made one ceremonially unclean, cut off from being in the presence of the tabernacle and so on. This shall be his uncleanness in this issue. Whether his flesh run with his issue, I mean, wording is difficult here in the King James. They tried to overly clean it up. Verse 4, every bed whereupon he lies, that has an issue is unclean, everything. You know, we could go on and read on down here, the washing and so on. But the issue here of ceremonial uncleanness, you know, the basic thrust for us today is just simply the common sense of proper physical hygiene.

You know, man came a long way when basically we learned to take a bath, you know, use soap, you know, don't go weeks on end. Then we came to the point where we'd have our Saturday or Sunday bath. And now I suppose it's a daily bath for probably most people. But at any rate, the point for us today would be just practice common sense hygiene. But there's not a spiritual value in the sense of what little bit we looked at there in chapter 15. Let's go to numbers 15 and look beginning in verse 38 where it talks about sewing on these fringes on the borders of their garments. And again, you run into people today, they want to go back to that and have these blue cloths that are sewn underneath. And there are commandments and laws written on them. And so let's see what's written here. Numbers 15 verse 38, speaking to the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put upon the fringe of the borders of Rybant of Blue. And it shall be unto you for a fringe that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them, and that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to go a whoring, that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am the Eternal your God. So here, again, they had... but think of what we're dealing with. We're dealing with the carnally-minded people, with rare exceptions, like Moses and Aaron, through whom God was working. Joshua, Caleb, with whom God worked. But by and large, they are a carnally-minded people. And remember what God said in Deuteronomy 5 verse 29, as He said at the end of the wandering years, Moses said, oh, that there were such a heart in them that they could obey. But they were a carnally-minded people. So a lot of us, probably in our homes somewhere, will have a plaque on the wall, and it has the Ten Commandments. And that's fine, and right and good. We have one, and it sure doesn't hurt us to look over at it and be reminded, does it? And it doesn't. But let's, and keep your place back here, we're going to be coming back Leviticus numbers quite a bit. But let's look at Matthew 23, because when Christ came, this is a chapter where He, in a very strong language, corrects the Pharisees of that day, the scribes and Pharisees, and some of the things that they did in order to be seen of men. And that's why they did it. It was their own pride, and He condemned that. So in Matthew 23, and let's just notice verse 4, They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Verse 5, But all their works they do for to be seen of men.

Now, in Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount, He talked about how they'll blow the trumpet when they're going to give a gift. And when they fast, they'll go around looking miserable because they want to be seen of men. And Christ said, they have their reward. Then He says, they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments. And so by the wording here, He is condemning the practice of the putting of the garments, or the borders on the garments, if it's just simply to be done to get attention. What is most important is what Jeremiah stated, and then it's repeated in Hebrews of the time when God would write His law on our hearts.

So for ancient Israel, they were carnally minded, they by and large were not converted, and they needed, and I'll call it a crutch, they needed the crutch of having a border on their garment where you had commandments written to remind them of how they were to live.

But with the calling of God, a part of what happens with the sins being washed away and the gift of the mind of God, the Spirit of God, part of what happens is the law is written on our heart, and it becomes a part of us. And that is what is most important, and what was done back in numbers pointed toward that time, and once that time comes, then it's just simply unneeded, unnecessary to go around and to have these borders on clothing that have commandments on them. All right, let's go back to Leviticus, and we won't take much time, but merely refer to Leviticus chapters 1 through 5. And here we have a variety of sacrifices that Israel was introduced to. Now I want, as we go here to Leviticus 1, at least on my Bible, just across the page, you see in the last chapter of Exodus, Exodus 40, and notice verse 17.

This gives us the time setting. Verse 17, and it came to pass in the first month in the second year on the first day of the month that the tabernacle was reared up. Now remember, they were in Egypt. They kept the Passover in Egypt. During Unleavened Bread, they're leaving Egypt. The weeks that followed, they're moving toward, at least tradition says, they were at Sinai when the law was given, the events of the Sinai Covenant. Moses is given, like Exodus 25, the blueprint for construction of the tabernacle tent, the altar, and everything that would go into it.

And so, months and months and months pass. And finally, it is all, verse 18, and Moses reared up the tabernacle. So it takes the bulk of a year, and then we come, and following right on the heels of Exodus, we come to Leviticus. The story flow goes right on into the next book. And we have in chapter one the instruction about the burnt offering. The offering, the sacrifice that is completely, totally consumed on the fire to God. Chapter two deals with, again, if you have the old King James, it unfortunately says the meat offering, but it is meal, cereal, grain offering. And here are instructions on bringing from the crop, the grain, and how you then offer it to God. You have then the peace offering in chapter three. You have the sin offering in chapter four, and the trespass offering. In chapter five. So you have these different sacrifices, but these were strictly temporary.

They pointed to Christ. They too were for a carnally minded people. They were not a part of the original covenant entered into at Sinai. Now keep your place here, but let's look at Jeremiah seven. We looked at this last time, but Jeremiah seven very clearly states that when God brought them out of Egypt, he didn't speak to them about sacrifices. Those came a bit later after Israel had promised that whatever the Lord says, we will do. And then they went out and they sinned. They broke the promise. So Jeremiah seven and notice verse 22. This is hundreds of years later.

For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people, and walk you in all my ways, the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you, but they hearken not. Therefore, God added the sacrifices. They were not originally apart, but the ceremonial law came a bit later. Now, let's look at Galatians 3, because Paul as well, in writing to those at Galatia, that region, he mentions a law that was added. Now, the Ten Commandments, as we saw in our local Bible study in September, I believe it was, the Ten Commandments were in force long before Sinai. We find them at Edom. Eden, we find them when Cain killed Abel. God went to him and warned him. If you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And so, we saw scriptures that showed that the commandments went back all the way to the beginning. They became part of the Sinai covenant. But here, Paul also speaks of something that was added, and the only conclusion to come to is the the ceremonial, sacrificial, ritualistic laws that were added later on. Galatians 3, verse 19, wherefore then serves the law. Now, the Greek word nomos is just law, so we've got to tell from the context what we're talking about. It was added. Well, the Ten Commandments weren't added. They were a part all along. They were just simply codified and etched in stone at Sinai.

It was added because of transgressions till... Oh, so that tells us this law that was added was temporary. It was figurative. Till the seed. Now, there are prophecies of a seed to come that go all the way back to Genesis 3, verse 15, because God told the serpent and Adam and Eve that that woman's seed would bruise the head of the serpent. The serpent would hurt his heel.

Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. Let's see. Let's skip down a little. Verse 24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster. I should have read verse 23. But before faith came, and in our case that would have been before God called us, before there came this calling, this choosing, this conviction that came to our heart. Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should be revealed afterwards. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we may be justified by faith. And after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Chapter 4 goes on. It uses this analogy in the early, well, say the first seven or eight verses of this heir who has this servant of the master who, like a tutor, a governor, I mean think of over in Great Britain, we have a royal line. You have little Prince William and those children, especially the one who's the heir. Next in line is Charles, and then next in line would be his oldest son, and then this little child. But each of them had these tutors, these governors, these teachers that were preparing them ultimately to take the throne. Let's see.

Verse 3, even so, we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world, and when the fullness of time was come, God sent his son made of a woman made under the law, to redeem them which are under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. Anyhow, I think we've seen enough. The ceremonial sacrificial law was added, and it pointed to Christ, to the need for Christ's sacrifice. But before we leave the sacrifices, we realize there are prophecies that speak of, at the beginning of the millennium, the sacrificial law coming back. There are. One example is in Ezekiel 43.

Ezekiel 43, and I think we should take quick notice of that, because these latter chapters of Ezekiel 40 through 48 are looking at a millennial temple, and the river going out from it. Part of what is covered in chapter 43 is the fact that the sons of Zadok, whoever that priestly line are going to be offering sacrifices. So verse 10, You son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern. All right, that's not what I was looking for.

Verse 11 speaks of the ordinances thereof and the laws thereof. Let's go down to verse 19. All right, verse 19, And you shall give to the priests, the Levites, that be of the seed of Zadok, who minister unto me, to minister unto me, says the Lord, a young bullock for a sin offering. And you shall take the blood thereof, and it says what to do with it.

And, well, you know, actually it goes on through. So you see that you do have, in a millennial setting, some of these coming back. In chapter 44, verse 10, The Levites, that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house and ministering to the house. They shall slay the burnt offering and sacrifice for the people, and so it goes on. Verse 15 again mentions, The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, charge of my sanctuary. So we have prophets that speak of, early in the millennium, some of the sacrificial law coming back, and so the logical question is, why? Why?

Well, perhaps the answer is that, once again, we will have, you know, those who, when the dust settles and the smoke clears, the kingdom of God is set up. You have, once again, a very carnally-minded people, and the kingdom of God is being established and spreading around the earth, and a carnally-minded people. You know, God never gave bad laws. There's so much, there's, you can pick up works like the Law of the Offerings by Andrew Jukes, J-U-K-E-S, and he wades through the burnt offering, meal offering, peace, sin, trespass, every detail of every animal and how it was dealt with, and some were shared with the priests and the family, and some were totally burned up, and every minute detail, like the grain offering, was finally beaten like Christ was, and offered with no leaven, which pictures sin as Christ was when He died.

Every detail is instructive. So why wouldn't God bring back, can we say, the best of both worlds? It is into the New Covenant, but you have carnally-minded people who don't understand what better than to bring back this schoolmaster, this tutor, to keep them focused toward what Christ has already done for them, because each person will have to reach that point of coming to conviction and professing repentance and accepting in faith the sacrifice of Christ, and once they are converted and the law is written in their heart, there'd be no need for the sacrifices. But for a little while, it's as though God uses a little bit of the best of both worlds in dealing with the carnal people. We use that phrase, a picture's worth a thousand words. Nothing like seeing, if you'd see a meal offering and how the grain is taken and finally beaten and offered and all that happens with it, every detail would teach them, and they can see it and connect the dots in their mind. Okay, enough for that. Let's go.

Actually, let's go to Genesis chapter 4.

Denise isn't here, so we'll comment on the topic of polygamy. I would comment on if she were here. She knows that she has me wrapped around her pinky, and she knows that I know that I caught my limit.

In Genesis 4, in verse 19, it just says, And Lamech took unto him two wives, the name of one Ada, the name of the other Zilla. That's all we'll read. We realize from the biblical accounts the stories told that there were quite a few that we find had more than one spouse. I'm not aware of one story where you can find a wife that has more than one husband. Anyhow, don't shoot the messenger on that. But you do find a number of men who had more than one wife, and that's probably, to our thinking, completely foreign. But we do know that at the beginning, at the creation, as you get to the end of Genesis 2, you have, of course, Adam names the animals, and a part of the point is for him at the end of the process to realize, I'm alone. There's the male and the female that just passed by me of all the animals, but I'm alone. And so then God created Eve, and he said, this is now bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. And it's very important where it says there, man will leave father and mother cleave to his wife. They become one. They become a... it's a new family unit. And of course, we're attached to the extended family, but it's a separate family, and that couple. But it said, a man shall take his wife. It didn't say he'll take his wives. Now, in history, once upon a time, I was reading about some of the Comanche wars as the state of Oklahoma was being settled, and you had areas where the Comanches that held out so long, they finally lost in the Red River War. And Quanah Parker, his mother was white, his father was a Comanche chief, but Quanah Parker led the little remnant to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. And upon arrival at the reservation they had there, I've actually been to his grave site. He died in, I think, 1911. At any rate, when he arrived, he had several wives, and so the soldiers instructed him that, sorry, you can only have one wife. And it was reported that he told them, fine, but you go and tell them which ones have to go and which one stays. Sounds complicated when you talk about polygamy. Very complicated. But God allowed certain things, and it doesn't mean that he underwrote it with his full support. There were things he allowed. Now, we have Genesis 2 that tells us a man will take his wife. We have a statement that, let's notice Ephesians 5, where Paul, the old single man, focused on marriage for a while.

And he likewise, in the first century, goes all the way back to the creation. Ephesians 5, verse 31, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife.

They, too, shall be one. Not they three, or they six become one, but those two become one singular family unit before God. Then, a little later here, let's see, verse 32, the next verse, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Any analogy breaks down somewhere along the line, but one of the beautiful analogies that God uses is the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Lamb, Christ, marries the bride of Christ, who has made herself ready. It does not say anywhere Christ and His brides, plural, but Christ and His wife, Christ and the church, Christ and His bride. But human marriage typifies Christ and the church marrying, and it's only in the analogy one man, one woman.

Let's go back to Deuteronomy this time. Deuteronomy 19. Let's talk a little bit about laws of revenge.

As parents, there probably are times for a lot of us when something happens to one of our kids, where we have to struggle with ourselves. Most men are that way. If somebody messes with our little girl or one of our little girls, it has a way of getting our attention.

We might want to strike back and execute a little vengeance on our own. Well, there were laws that allowed for revenge of shedding blood for someone who caused the shedding of blood, and it was part of their society. Deuteronomy 19, beginning in verse 4, and this is the case of the slayer, which he will flee there, that he may live. I know I'm breaking in on a subject here, but we have to realize this is one place it refers to. There are other places it talks about setting up the six cities of refuge. You had safe havens, but let's see what it says. Who so kills his neighbor ignorantly? If it was premeditated, it was decided. If it was premeditated, it's going to be a life for life. But if, well, okay, it goes on and gives examples. There's a man I knew in Memphis many years ago, and something he struggled with was years earlier in operating some huge equipment in an industrial setting. He made a mistake, and a man down below made a mistake at the same time, and it cost that man his life running a huge crane. And it was something that haunted him, but it was totally innocent. Accidents happened to all of us. Verse 5, as when a man goes into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with an axe to cut down a tree, and the head, margin says, the iron slips off the helv, or the handle, and lights upon his neighbor that he die.

He shall flee into one of those cities and live. And so you can picture that in your mind. You go out there into the woods with your Husqvarna 20 inch or 24 inch bar chainsaws, and you're cutting down some trees. And maybe a gust of wind comes along, and a tree falls in an unexpected way, and it costs somebody his life.

It's an awful thing. But as we continue on, and we just read, he'd better flee to one of those cities of refuge. There were six cities set up, and if you do a study on them, it's a fascinating study, the cities of refuge were types for Jesus Christ. The meanings of their names are instructive. The names referred to various aspects of the Messiah who was to come.

For instance, kedesh was one, and it means holy or sacred, consecrated to God. Shechem was another one. It means to bear burdens, to prop up, to sustain, and we flee to God for refuge. We flee to God. Well, cast your cares upon Christ, he said. He cares for us. Let him take our anxiety on himself. There was Hebron. Remember, mainly we hear of that, planes of memory, down where Abraham and Lot were for so long.

And Hebron means to join or to unite his friends. Then there was Beezer, B-E-Z-E-R, to enclose or shut up within a wall. And then Ramoth, the one up above and across the Jordan over in Gilead, Ramoth Gilead. Ramoth means to be raised up high or exalted. And then you had Golan to remove or cause the pass away. So you had these six cities of refuge, and if such a thing happened, you accidentally, nobody intended it. It was an accident, and an axe head flies off and hits somebody on the head and they die.

Then the one who was guilty of manslaughter, as we would call it today, had better get on a fast horse or whatever he can get and get to that city where he would state his case. The decision would be made by the city elders. Do we let him come in and have refuge? And then, as the law required, he had to stay there, stay in that city until the high priest died.

If he went out and the avenger of blood, the man who died, maybe his brother who took off after him, if he left that city, he was fair game. So, verse 6, lest the avenger of blood pursue the slayer while his heart is hot and overtake him because the way is long and slay him, whereas he was not worthy of death.

See, it was an accident. It wasn't a life-for-life situation, inasmuch as he hated him, not in time past. Wherefore, I command you, saying, you shall separate three cities, and it goes on. But these were the laws dealing with revenge. It was a part of their society, and it had its purpose then of teaching an attitude toward spilling of blood, and the life was in the blood, and there is a sanctity to human life.

And sadly, it is being neutralized in our society today with things like abortion, partial birth abortion, with, well, think of Chicago, it's becoming murder capital USA, passing how many hundreds of murders? I think two or three, a couple of months ago, they passed 500 murders.

It is just commonplace. People are killed, people are shot, people are sliced up by knives. Well, it taught that there is a price to be paid when you shed blood. It taught a gravity for shedding blood, but it also allowed for those who did not have criminal intent to be able to flee and to live out their life, and then after the high priest died, they were free to go on back and the other person's family was to leave them alone.

Well, let's, again, keep your place here, but let's go to Hebrews 6, because today we are under a spiritual dispensation. Hebrews 6 will read verses 18 through 20. Verse 18, and again, we're breaking out on the story here, but verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hopes that before us.

And the word picture, the picture being painted here in words, is one fleeing to and laying hold of the horns of the altar. Now, remember when Joab was to be killed. Joab actually ran and he grabbed hold of the horns of the altar, but in his case he was taken away because of what he had, the blood that he had shed. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and who enters into that within the veil, where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, and that leads him into a discussion there.

Let's look at Romans 12 verse 19. Romans 12 verse 19.

And this is a very important scripture to tie in here. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. You need to deal with that wrath. Don't let the sun go down on your anger.

For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

And then he goes on and said, if your enemy hungers, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing he calls the fire on his head. So today we live under a spiritual dispensation. We flee to Christ for refuge, and we trust God. We place our lives in his hands, and we do not presume to take vengeance that God reserves for himself. Remember, one of his names is jealous. He's a jealous God, and if he's the one who says, I will repay, he's jealous that we don't presume to go and blow somebody away. I mean, we've got so much of that attitude in this world around us that he did something to me. And how many times you hear road rage, and you hear people getting out and going to Knuckle City or worse, pulling out a 357 Magnum and blowing somebody away. A Christian is called to render good for evil, to feed our enemies, to pray for those who spitefully use us.

Now, I didn't even get as far as I thought I might, but we have...

We may come back to this another day, but not right now. We haven't touched on slavery or other areas of violence. There's divorce, there's land Sabbath, jubilee, but I hope that at least this gives you something to use as a springboard. That once again, when you look at an Old Testament law and you puzzle, how does this apply today? You know, if it's a part of the eternal law that defines the character and the mind and the love of God, then it's just as applicable today as it ever has been. It's eternal. But if it's in this area of these temporary figurative laws, there still are lessons we can learn from them. But, you know, the law said if somebody is caught in adultery, they die. So imagine the uproar there in John 9 when they brought, not both of them as the law required, but they brought the woman testing Christ, and he said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. Because so much of the Old Testament laws did not allow for repentance, and thank God that we have been allowed to repent and not have to pay what we may owe. God is in the forgiveness business, and so we should be as well.