Thursday Thought – August 6, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

Exodus 21, 22, and 23 contain detailed regulations that were to be followed by the Israelites. They deal with many aspects of life. They deal with family relationships, master-slave relationships, theft, murder, unintentional killing, injury caused to another, and on and on the list goes. Just reading through the laws is a difficult thing and to follow them precisely would have required careful attention to every aspect of life. It was the burden the Jews were required to carry in order to please God.

It was a burden none of them succeeded in carrying without fault. They all became guilty of failing to obey God. They were prisoner to the Law, bound by its provisions and unable to keep them. They were lost!

That’s exactly where God wanted them to be. God wanted them to recognize how lost they were. He wanted them to know how incapable they were of living up to the standards He set. When they understood that, they would be right where they needed to be in order to cry out to God for help.

Paul told the Galatians, “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:23-25)

The one group of people that Jesus responded to most harshly was the Pharisees. They believed they could and did keep the Law. They believed they were righteous and did not need forgiveness or help. There was no hope for them until they recognized their failure and reached out for a Savior!

Those who were ready for Jesus were those who recognized the depth of their need. They recognized the depth of their own sin and knew they needed a Savior or they were lost.

Thank God for the Law that shows us how lost we are. Thank God for the Savior God has already provided!

His, by Grace, Steve