Lens Crafters

As I read through the Pentateuch I can’t help but contemplate the vast difference that can be observed between the theocratic law handed down to Israel by God through Moses and the often democratically fueled cultural relativism that seems to permeate the world view of the average human today. And that's really the crux of the issue; one's world view. What is the baseline, the cornerstone, the foundation of how you perceive the world around you. Does it begin with the ascendancy of your rights and prerogatives as a sentient creature? Or is God's sovereignty and prerogatives the lens through which you see His creation?

Our society’s fixation on personal equal rights for all makes it quite difficult I think to read through ancient Israel’s laws without revulsion and disdain.  It’s no wonder really that God is so often portrayed by people today as a bloodthirsty tyrant who has no place in modern society.  The fuel they typically prefer to use for their fire is the many examples throughout the Old Testament of laws which seem backward and uncivilized to our modern minds.  One example can be found in Deuteronomy 17:2-7.  The Law as given through Moses dictates that if anyone is accused of worshiping other gods in the manner of the heathen nations Israel was going in to dispossess, that person was to be immediately executed if the charges were proven to be true.  This particular law concludes with the sentence “You must purge the evil from you.”  I am confident that any average “modern” citizen of the U.S. or any other western nation would be horrified by reading such a thing.

The reason for the harshness of this law is that Israel was God’s chosen nation.  As such they had to be uniquely holy and blameless to the nations around them so as to accurately reflect God’s attributes and thus showcase His glory.  It was absolutely critical for this to work that the Israelites could not, under any circumstances, engage in the despicable practices (including infanticide via burning to death) of the false religions they were surrounded by.  Therefore God knew that any tendencies toward even the “tamest” of these heathen practices would in time lead Israel down a path of forsaking Him and decreasing His glory and thus necessitated purging immediately and with finality. Even if we do not completely understand how summary capital punishment for an Israelite found practicing pagan idolatry can be right and true we must accept that it is because scripture tells us that God is perfectly just and good (Exodus 34:5-7, Psalm 18:30, Matthew 5:48).

Could God have instead implemented a system of counseling a wayward citizen back from the brink of idolatry or any other approach which might seem less draconian to us?  Perhaps, but that’s really beside the point.  God in His perfectly manifested and perfectly synchronized justice and omniscience chose not to do it that way.  He chose to do it in a manner that best exalted His name.  His glory was and is of paramount importance, not that of one of His creations.  And this I believe is the foundational worldview-shaping truth which is anathema to modern unregenerate mankind.  The idea that anyone or anything in the universe should be ascribed greater worth than oneself is a detestable thought to a heart which has always been and currently is in rebellion against God.

So the question is this.  Who built the lens you use to perceive reality?  Was it you or is it God?  The answer to this question has ramifications far beyond your opinion of justice in ancient Israel.  It will shape how you see everything from the doctrine of salvation to church polity, from the role of women in ministry to forgiveness, from judgment among Christians to evangelism.  If your lens was constructed by you then you cannot help but have a problem with the concept of God’s authority.  It may not manifest itself in every area of your theology but it must come out sooner or later.  And when it does it will be in favor of your rights and prerogatives, not God’s.