The Law of the Land
you shall not walk in their statutes Leviticus 18:3 (compare Exodus 23:24)
Statutes – The law of the land. That’s what God has in mind with this commandment. He instructed the Israelites as they were leaving Egypt to never again use Egypt’s legal code as the basis for their actions. The same thing applied to the Canaanites whose land the people of God were about to inhabit. Do not bow down and serve their gods and do not follow the laws of their land. In other words, do not follow their practices.
What this implies, of course, is that God has given a new law, a legal structure that is to become the sole source of practice for all the behavior of His followers. This command has never changed. If you walk according to the statutes derived from a culture out of alignment with God’s holiness, you place yourself under an authority that opposes the Creator. You remove yourself from the kingdom (basileia) of the Christ.
If you’re a follower in the way (in the context of the Old Testament derekh – see Today’s Word January 5, 2006), then you know something about “statutes.” The root word here (hoq) has a basic meaning of “decree.” Context usually determines how the noun (huqqah) is translated. But notice that “decree” carries with it the idea of a pronouncement. God’s law is revealed in spoken word. It is not the result of a popular vote. I don’t get to change the law of God to fit my moral proclivities. Any culture that alters God’s law because of the will of the people (or any other reason) is flirting with disaster.
Of course, this also implies that I have taken the time to learn God’s law. If I am going to follow His decrees, I need to know what they are – and what they are not. Our contemporary Christian culture is filled with decrees that never came from God, decrees designed to empower men, glorify men and provide for men. From theological debates to ethical assumptions, we have an eclectic system of justice. We live compromised moral lives. We bow down and serve without even knowing it. We have taken the word of others rather than the Word of the Lord.
It’s time to stop. God’s law is readily available and unmistakably demanding. Jesus knew it and held his life accountable to it. Do you know what God says? Is His word the only rule of faith and practice for you? Are you following His practices or are you suffering under the confusion of the law of the land, subject to the interpretation of the hearts of men? A more untrustworthy guide would be hard to imagine.
Bring your huqqah into alignment with God’s word – or suffer the consequences.
